Effective Speaking provides the hard scientific information about audience psychology, text preparation, presentation methods, voice production, body language and persuasive advocacy which will help would-be speakers improve their performance. The emphasis throughout is on practical self-help, on methods which have been shown to work, with clear explanations of just why they are effective.

This third collection of Hemingway's short fiction features comparatively fewer of his well-known works. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," "A Way You'll Never Be," and "The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio" are the most familiar of the 19 stories. Nonetheless, the overall quality of both writing and performance is deeply satisfying. Stacy Keach is the perfect reader. He is versatile and effortless at handling a number of accents and ages while the close miking enriches the soft bass of his fine voice without a trace of strain. The gravelly fullness of his performance suggests age and experience, ideal qualities for these austere, distinguished stories.

In Dramatic Discourse, Vimala Herman argues that drama should be of particular interest to linguists, because of its form and dialogue, but also because its subsequent translation into performance is fertile ground for the current theories emphasizing performativity and performance in language.