Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience – Strategies for Breaking Free from Sameness and Selling Ideas with Conviction

by Bill McGowan

The media guru and bestselling author of Pitch Perfect helps professionals break away from canned communications and find their true—and most effective—voice no matter the workplace.

The business world has adopted the wrong definition of successful communication. For many years, being “on message” was considered the prime directive. The overwhelming majority of professionals today exist in a rigidly narrow range of bland rhetoric, throwing around industry buzzwords and empty jargon to create the impression of business savvy. But when everyone sounds messaged (and the same), no one stands out. And now, with more ways than ever to get your message across, it’s never been harder to communicate clearly and have your message stick.

Bill McGowan has devoted more than twenty years to helping people find their distinctive voice. From CEOs to White House staffers to television personalities, he has coached thousands of speakers to make their narrative more memorable and distinctive by breaking free from the challenges preventing them from selling their ideas with conviction, motivating their teams during challenging times, or clearly articulating a company’s mission.

Speak, Memorably offers concrete strategies and tools to help anyone, in any stage of their career, cut through the numbing sameness of cliches and boring business rhetoric and find their authentic voice. Inspiring and entertaining, it is a masterclass in interpersonal communication and an inspiring call to action for professionals to break free from forgettable “brand” speak and instead craft thoughtful and memorable messages.

Genres: Self Help, Communication, Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Bill McGowan, Founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group, is the first person many industry leaders call when they want to excel in a media interview or speech. Since 2001, he has been a trusted advisor and media coach to clients at the top of their game: Eli Manning, Shery Sandberg, Jack Welch, Mary J. Blige, Thomas Keller, Pat Benetar, Holly Hunter, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Isaac Mizrahi to name only a few.

Bill utlizies the experience he amassed in his 20+ years as a two-time Emmy Award-winning television journalist. In that time he reported and produced over 700 nationally televised stories for such premiere programs such as ABC News 20/20, CBS News 48 Hours, Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel, Dow Jones Television and MSNBC. He has devised interviewing strategies for news figures such as Charlie Rose, Connie Chung, Bryant Gumbel and Bill O’Reilly. In front of the camera, he has anchored hundreds of hours of news and information programming and has conducted thousands of interviews with newsmakers

As the CEO of Clarity Media Group, Bill has coached hundreds of clients for various high-stakes events such as TED Talks, major university commencement addresses, 60 Minutes interviews and Today Show appearances. His clients emerge from his coaching sessions exuding more confidence and command in front of a camera and an audience. He has helped transform from proficient to polished the public speaking abilities of executives from companies like Facebook, Google, The New York Times, Deutsche Bank, Spotify, Harley Davidson, Bloomberg and Campbell’s Soup.

Reviews

[Jed Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironic for a book on clear communication to slant so strongly in one direction politically without any qualification. That’s not necessarily a problem if it’s acknowledged. The challenge is alienating a significant portion of your audience.

This leaves the reader/listener with the impression that the author either: 1) doesn’t realize or 2) doesn’t care. Neither demonstrate effective communication.

Unless of course, this is his intention which would have been more successful if he directly stated it at the beginning.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

He raises some good points about ways of improving your communications and public speaking.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave some helpful pointers on how to communicate

[Jorge Enrique Alzate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book to add to and update the available literature on public speaking, a medium that I love. I appreciated the inclusion of survey question results in each chapter, as well as the fact that the population surveyed was a diverse group of knowledge workers with a broad age range; this sets the tone for the book's purpose and its intended audience. However, most of the examples are drawn from politics, popular media, Hollywood, and similar fields. Explanations of proper body language and vocal variety don't resonate with me as presented in this book. The chapter on PowerPoint would benefit from an example of an actual slide set that effectively supports a speaker's talk; this crucial element was missing.
However, what is most glaring and memorable as a takeaway is not one, but two instances of a typo: Bill Clinton did not run for president in 1988 against George Bush; it was actually Michael Dukakis. For a book that implores speakers to prepare and rehearse material before presenting, the authors and their editors would have done well to heed this advice.

[Tiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Gotta read it again someday.

As the title implies, this is a book about getting good at speaking. It covers not only public speaking, but also situations like speaking in a zoom meeting, or speaking in smaller groups.

The main point about the book is that you need to be memorable, or people will forget what you said. And being memorable involves standing out, being warm, varying your speech patterns, using analogies, connecting with people, and more.

Speaking aside, it also talks about how to make your presence stand out. In public speaking, sure, but also in zoom (camera angles, backgrounds, microphones, etc). There’s a lot that goes into crafting one’s executive presence, and the book is great at talking about lots of its aspects.

And being very in touch with the current times, the book covers AI, how it can change things, and how it becomes even more important to stand out from the average of AI-generated content if you want to stand out. Ah, the book also covers powerpoint presentations.

Really good and complete book, well written, full of great insights and valuable tips.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved Bill McGowan's book, Speak Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience, with Juliana Silva. From choosing the right words, to how to deliver them with impact and authenticity, the best advice on presentation decks I've ever seen, the insidious impact of Zoom-nesia and so much more, it's just a great and lively read with actionable insights on every page.

Professional communicators, executives and leaders in every industry, the target audience for this material is vast. It's also a very timely and perfect antidote to the idea that this will all be turned over to AI at some point in the not-too-distant future, something that is touched on near the end of the book.

If AI can serve up the verbal equivalent of Swanson TV dinners and Mrs. Paul, Bill's expert guidance and advice is a very tactical and accessible map to farm-to-table gems and Michelin stars. So many of the pages in my copy now look like this. Bravo. (Uncompensated, non-celebrity endorser)

[Riccardo Tedesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

It strikes the perfect balance between theory and practice, grounded in smart concepts but packed with actionable tips that are easy to implement. As someone who regularly gives presentations at work, I found myself nodding (and cringing) as I recognized almost every common mistake the author highlights.

What really stood out to me was how the book didn’t just point out what not to do, it offered a clear, constructive path to doing better.

It challenged my perspective and gave me practical tools to rethink how I structure and deliver my messages.

If you speak in public, lead meetings, or simply want to communicate with more impact, I highly recommend it.

[John Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most business books in this day and age, this could have been covered in a couple long form articles or a single Youtube video. But books need to be a certain length to sell, so what you typically get is a few nuggets of really interesting insight surrounded by pages of filler. I had hoped a book on communication would be different, but I came away a bit frustrated by the time required to access the few practical takeaways.

[William Cassara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva have created the ultimate master class in modern communications. This book will change the way you approach public speaking and any other important engagements on your calendar. The techniques are simple enough to put into practice immediately. You can read this book in an afternoon and make the best presentation of your life by dinnertime!
Essential reading for everyone!

[Jessica Schnelker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve read on this topic in a long time. It’s directed toward corporate America but would be applicable to anyone looking to improve their public speaking in a defining (and yes, memorable) way. I appreciated how the author addressed this unique moment in time where AI can be a tool for speakers to develop their message and content, but ultimately people still need to be looking for humanity and powerful narratives to make their ideas stand out.

[Jonathan Dunkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely essential book for public speakers in 2025. Whether in person, via Zoom, in meetings, this book provides insight into how to hone your skills for any kind of oral presentation. Extremely useful, informative, and current.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great advice presented in an entertaining read. It's like having multiple private sessions at your own pace by a seasoned pro. A must read before any kind of presentation or job interview. The insights are priceless!

[Daniel Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

quick and useful tips.

Excellent tips for anyone who wants to speak in front of people better or learn to get your point across. It also makes you a better consumer of information.

[Becky Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book - a great handbook on writing, preparing for public speaking, understanding & connecting with the audience and more. This should be required for anyone looking to grow their confidence presenting - whether in front of an audience of 2 to 800. Wonderful narrator (& author)

[Tatsiana Ostanina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the last chapters about the value and high importance of EI and empathy to communicate successfully with the audience, and actual tools and techniques for women facing discrimination or toxic comments at workplace and beyond.

[Ivan Biočić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastična knjiga o tome kako pripremiti i kako održati poslovnu (ili akademsku) prezentaciju.
Poticaj sam dobio slušajući PIMA podcast "How to Captivate an Audience" gdje je gost bio upravo autor ove knjige. Za svaku preporuku, i podcast i knjiga!

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

pushes political agenda while communicating

Every example of excellence came from someone from the left while every example of failure came from someone from the right. Repeatedly his politics were brought into his teaching.

[Thomas Papa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A partially useful book but too subjective/fad-of-the-day oriented for my liking. Some of its suggestions are only appropriate for some contexts and audiences rather than durable and universal principles. Recommendations made by gurus a few years ago- such as share structure of presentation- are arbitrarily and without sufficient reasons brushed aside as out-of-date. A lot had to be taken with a pinch of salt.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one likes a babbler, so I’ll keep it brief. A very informative book done with a bit of humor. Worth reading!

[Conor LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love it. Would recommend to anyone interesting in improving their presenting, public speaking, and overall communications skills

[Frank Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, practical advice and tools for all who develop and deliver presentations professionally or otherwise.

[Cynthia Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good speaking tips that translate into the classroom

[Tyler Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lessons here could have been summed up in a 5-10 minute article rather than an 8-hour book.

[Dolores Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good pointers!

[Sue-Anne Lim · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting points to consider when communicating - but as ironic as it sounds… I got bored.

[Carol Kosse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is incredibly useful information delivered in an interesting, highly readable way with lots of examples and humour to make it stick. I recommend this book to both experienced and inexperienced speakers as it will help anyone to speak so that they are really heard. (It will also help you understand how some speakers hold your attention and why others just bore you silly!)