September Reading: Seven Staples of Public Speaking

Reading:

Seven Staples of Public Speaking

Notes:

 

bullet point [countable]

►a thing in a list that consists of a word or short phrase, with a small printed symbol in front of it

know one’s stuff / know one's onions 

►be experienced or knowledgeable in one's field or in the matter at hand

-- Patrice knows her stuff when it comes to Mexican history.

-- He’s a good lecturer as he really knows his stuff.

-- We need a handyman who knows his onions.

screw up [phrasal verb][ informal]

►to make a bad mistake or do something very stupid [= mess up]

--You'd better not screw up this time.

screw (something) up [ informal]

►to spoil something by doing something stupid [= mess something up]

--She realized that she had screwed up her life.

screw up your eyes/face

►to move the muscles in your face in a way that makes your eyes seem narrow

--He screwed up his eyes against the bright light.

--Her face was screwed up with pain.

screw (somebody ) up [informal]

►to make someone feel very unhappy, confused, or upset so that they have emotional problems for a long time [=mess somebody up]

--It really screwed her up when her mother died.

screw up the/enough courage to do something / screw up your courage 

►to be brave enough to do something you are very nervous about

--I finally screwed up enough courage to talk to her.

wing it [spoken]

►to do something without planning or preparing it

--We'll just have to wing it.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short, inspirational stories and motivational essays.

word for word

►in exactly the same words

--The newspaper printed his speech more or less word for word.

--he repeated the conversation word for word.

also word by word

►if you translate a piece of writing word for word, you translate the meaning of each single word rather than the meaning of a whole phrase or sentence

bore to tears / bore to death / bore stiff / bore the pants off

►= make them very bored

-- Sam was bored to tears by the opera but didn't dare to admit it.

-- Carol bores the pants off me with her constant talk of remodeling.

-- His books bore me to death.