Many people dread public speaking. And yet we all find ourselves forced to make a speech at some point in our lives, and suffer the same inevitable anxieties: Will my jokes fall flat? What if I freeze up? Is it OK to read notes? What if people walk out?

This book will not magically transform you into a fast-talking, high-flying hotshot. But it does hope to teach you how to be adequate at public speaking - and, with a spot of luck, you might turn out to be 'rather good'.

Using Cicero's five canons of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery) and drawing upon his own highly entertaining tales of success and failure from the speech-giving circuit, Flintoff will arm you with a handful of simple structural techniques that will enable you to stand up, if not with delight, then at least with confidence, in front of any crowd - whether it's a serious work event or a best friend's wedding.

As humble as it is motivating, this is a guide to finding your voice, even if it's a bit croaky at first, and a reassuring affirmation that we all have something to say.

(P)Octopus Books 2021