At
first
glance
mathematics
and
persuasive
communication
–
writing,
and
particularly
public
speaking
-
would
seem
to
have
little
in
common.
After
all,
mathematics
is
an
objective
science,
whilst
speaking
involves
voice
quality,
inflection,
eye
contact,
personality,
body
language,
and
other
subjective
components.
However,
under
the
surface
they
are
very
similar.
Above
anything
else,
the
success
of
an
oral
presentation
depends
on
the
precision
of
its
structure.
Mathematics
is
all
about
precision.
It
is
therefore
not
so
odd
to
think
that
applying
some
of
the
concepts
of
mathematics
to
oral
presentations
could
make
them
substantially
more
effective.
As
they
say
in
the
film
industry,
three
key
factors
go
into
making
a
successful
movie:
the
script,
the
script,
and
the
script.
Likewise,
three
key
factors
go
into
making
a
successful
speech:
the
structure,
the
structure,
and
the
structure.
Not
convinced?
Then
let's
start
with
something
less
radical.
I
think
we
can
all
agree
that
good
speaking
is
related
to
good
writing.
If
you
can
write
a
good
text,
then
you
are
well
on
your
way
to
preparing
a
good
oral
presentation.
Therefore,
if
you
improve
your
writing,
you
will
also
improve
your
speaking.
To
simplify
matters,
from
now
on
we
will
talk
mainly
about
good
writing,
because
in
most
cases
the
same
ideas
apply
directly
to
good
speaking.
Know
what
you
are
doing
Many
commercial
companies
do
not
live
up
to
their
potential
-
and
sometimes
even
go
bankrupt
-
because
they
fail
to
correctly
define
the
business
they
are
in.
Perfume
companies,
for
example,
do
not
sell
fragrant
liquids,
but
rather
love,
romance,
seductiveness,
self-esteem,
etc.
Bio-food
companies
do
not
sell
organic
produce,
but
rather
honesty,
purity,
nature,
etc.
Automobile
manufacturers
do
not
sell
transportation,
but
rather
freedom,
adventure,
spontaneity,
prestige,
etc.
The
fact
is,
each
industry,
even
each
individual
product,
may
have
to
determine
what
it
is
truly
all
about
-
and
there
are
thousands
of
them!
Writers
are
lucky.
There
are
numerous
variations
to
what
we
do,
but
there
are
really
only
two
fundamental
types
of
writing.
It
is
important
to
recognise
this,
because
not
only
are
they
quite
different,
in
some
respects
they
are
exactly
opposite.
So
unless
we
clearly
recognise
which
type
of
writing
we
are
doing
-
and
how
it
differs
from
the
other
one
- we
will
almost
certainly
commit
serious
errors.
What
are
the
two
types?
And
how
do
they
differ?
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