In 2007, a previously “unknown” Indian MIT doctoral student stole our minds and hearts, and the World Champion Speaker trophy, at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. Afterwards, still captivated, I wondered what made the speech magical to me? Now, having read Emote, I know.
Vikas Jhingran is the originator of the Emote concept in Public Speaking. It’s the biggest breakthrough in several decades and changes how we will now design and craft our speeches. It is a truly signal accomplishment!
This book clearly explains the concept and why it works. The two final chapters “Putting It All Together” (a step-by-step process of preparing an Emote speech) and “The Three Speeches” (three before/after brilliant championship-winning speeches by Vikas) demonstrate the concept in action. These two chapters alone justify buying this book.
One of its hallmarks is its logical flow of thought. Yet it is not a book you skim through. You read and digest, for Vikas covers Emote not just from a Public Speaking perspective, but also from a One-To-One and a Corporate environment perspective, where the same concept has similar powerful application.
The book’s back cover headline reads: “Wow Clients, Create Connections, and Get Your Message Across.” But the book’s organization doesn’t do full justice to the headline’s claim. It does show how to do all three, but on an interspersed basis rather than in three separate sections: Public Speaking, One-To-One, and the Corporate Environment. For me, this was a little distracting.
The flow would have been a little smoother, too, if Vikas’ conversational style had been more consistent. After all, “a speech is a dialog”, he tells us. So, too, is such a book. Yet, too frequently, we see a formal, non-emotive, impersonal style (eg, “The speaker should …” appears regularly.) A consistent dialog approach would make the book even more of a How-To or Self-Help Book, enhancing its appeal further.
But I quibble. These are minor distractions to a very important, valuable, break-through book that will change the way speakers prepare and deliver speeches.
I appreciated being introduced to Plutchik’s 8 Basic Soft/Hard Emotions that have real relevance to the book’s thrust; later Vikas shows us how to use these and other emotions to help us Emote. We see them on full display in his “Postcard” speech, one of my all-time favorite speeches.
My bottom line: This is a book that students (of all ages) of the art of communication will appreciate. There is real meat herein to chew on. I am slowly chewing on it! I am really glad I read it!
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