In this indispensable guide for anyone who must communicate in speech or writing, Schwartzberg shows that most of us fail to convince because we don't have a point-a concrete contention that we can argue, defend, illustrate, and prove. He lays out, step-by-step, how to develop one. In Joel's Schwartzberg's ten-plus years as a strategic communications trainer, the biggest obstacle he's come across-one that connects directly to nervousness, stammering, rambling, and epic fail-is that most speakers and writers don't have a point. They typically have just a title, a theme, a topic, an idea, an assertion, a catchphrase, or even something much less. A point is something more. It's a contention you can propose, argue, defend, illustrate, and prove. A point offers a position of potential value. Global warming is real is not a point. Scientific evidence shows that global warming is a real, human-generated problem that will have a devastating environmental and financial impact is a point. When we have a point, our influence snaps into place. We communicate belief, conviction, and urgency. This book shows you how to identify your point, leverage it, stick to it, and sell it and how to train others to identify and successfully make their own points.

“[A] rousing mash-up of military SF thriller and paranormal adventure . . . Scarlett is a resourceful and endearing heroine.”—Publishers Weekly What if you had a power you had to hide from everyone—until now? In this bold sci-fi action thriller, a secret training program at West Point is turning misfits into a new generation of heroes. Scarlett Winter has always been an outsider, and not only because she’s a hardcore daredevil and born troublemaker—she has been hiding superhuman powers she doesn’t yet understand. Now she’s been recruited by a secret West Point unit for cadets with extraordinary abilities. Scarlett and her fellow students are learning to hone their skills, from telekinetic combat to running recon missions through strangers’ dreamscapes. At The Point, Scarlett discovers that she may be the most powerful cadet of all. With the power to control pure energy, she’s a human nuclear bomb—and she’s not sure she can control her powers much longer. Even in this army of outsiders, Scarlett feels like a misfit all over again, but when a threat that endangers her fellow students arises from the school’s dark past, duty calls and Scarlett must make a choice between being herself and becoming something even greater: a hero. Praise for The Point “An exciting military SF adventure . . . This action-packed military thriller keeps a fast pace and will appeal to fans of X-Men’s Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and TV military series such as The Unit and SEAL Team.”—Library Journal “A thrilling mix of SF and coming-of-age story.”—Booklist “This ‘school for superheroes’ sci-fi action thriller moves faster than a speeding bullet.”—Kirkus Reviews

Jodi has been well respected as an educator in the grooming industry for many years. She is one of the top pet stylists in the world winning multiple titles included World Grand Champion and Best American Groomer. She is here to share her knowledge in this extraordinary book.With over 190 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club along with individual breed-specific grooming instructions, it can become very overwhelming for new groomers to retain the information. Straight to the Point is the solution to learning about pattern lines, which simplifies the learning process. Whether the patterns are set tight or left more natural, the patterns are set in the same fashion. Once a groomer understands basic patterns he or she will be able to groom any breed with ease.The dogs pictured in this book are top winning show dogs presenting the correct profile according to their breed standards. Jodi chose to illustrate this way for several reasons. First, a show dog presents an excellent representation of the breed and how it should be groomed per the breed standard. Second, the reader will be able to see the realistic depth and dimensions of the coat. Last, it will give the reader a vision of the pattern in a realistic view and will be a great reference source when grooming each breed.Once the groomer understands correct pattern placement, it can easily be applied to pet trims. A pet dog does not have to be groomed using show techniques, i.e., hand stripping, to present the proper breed profile. With proper pattern placement and techniques described in this text, the groomer will be able to present a well-balanced, well-blended pet trim to the pet owner.

Liz Waldner's bold new collection takes its title and its inspiration from Definition 1 of Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Its six sections—point, line, circle, square, triangle, and point again—are explorations of various kinds of longing and loss—sex, death, exile, story, love, and time. Drawing from culture high and low—Eno and Aquinas, Lassie and Donne, Silicon Valley and Walden Pond—these poems offer proof of and proof against the “mortal right-lined circle” of memory and identity. The innocence and Keatsian beauty of Euclid's geometry become poignant from a perspective that encompasses all that is non-Euclidean as well as space, time, and the theory of matter. With rare wit and linguistic daring, Waldner opens resonant channels of communication that show there is indeed more than meets the eye—or the mind—in her poems. Hand to Mouth (Twist and Shout) Cold comes slow up out of the darkness among the leaves that smell so good when bruised Do you, too, recognize me god so soon? Her First Reckoning Pour wine into vessels the violet of woods, wine of the reddening stars. You are god, you can do it. Your lover calls you St. John the Conqueror. I have heard her. This is the name of a root. Asperge the thousands and thousands of rooms in which photosynthesis promises sun to the acolyte cells. Rain yourself on a leaf. Birch. The bark is malleable as mushroom flesh. Show that you know me. Scratch out my name with this tree. My name of trees. On the day I arrive at the door of my death, myself now hard to tell from the trees that had hid it from me, I will demand that you love me. You made me like this. Why did you make me like this? Transitive, Intransitive: Extemporary Measures Two crows above the marsh: sew. Stitch the seventeen sleek shades of blue to the shadow-patterned greens below. See fit to make me a suitable view who having nowhere to else to go might as well wear this world well. Llama necks periscope the view: yonder, across the water, you testing the air now a crow chases a redwing blackbird through. What can I show you who sees I don't believe? For now, what the eye of the needle sees: through through through: clouds, birds, me, trees; soon: in, out, with, to; something moving, something moved: a stitch in time's an avenue, future's sutures' revenue— “the shining hour” improved.

The essential guide to writing succinctly. Who doesn’t hate wading through wordy paragraphs? Unfortunately, many writers don’t realize when they are padding their sentences and obscuring their meaning. Enter To the Point, the essential guide to writing succinctly. Featuring hundreds of new entries, this freshly updated edition is complete with: • A guide to the basics of writing concisely, including how to reduce the number of words in a phrase, substitute a single word for a phrase, and delete extraneous words and phrases. • The "Dictionary of Concise Writing," which gives concise alternatives to thousands of wordy phrases. Language expert Robert Hartwell Fiske uses each wordy phrase in a sentence and then rewrites or deletes the phrase entirely to show how the sentence can be improved. • The brand new "Guide to Obfuscation: A Reverse Dictionary," which helps writers build a more pithy vocabulary. To the Point is the perfect reference book for anyone who wants to communicate more effectively through clear and beautiful writing.

Explains how to write simply and directly, describes the basics of organization, and briefly reviews grammar and punctuation

“With a style and voice reminiscent of William Trevor and Graham Swift, Graver’s powerfully evocative portrait of a family strained by events both large and small celebrates the indelible influence certain places can exert over the people who love them.” — Booklist (starred review) Longlisted for the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction Ashaunt Point, Massachusetts, has anchored life for generations of the Porter family, who summer along its remote, rocky shore. But in 1942, the U.S. Army arrives on the Point, bringing havoc and change. That summer, the two older Porter girls—teenagers Helen and Dossie—run wild while their only brother, Charlie, goes off to train for war. The children’s Scottish nurse, Bea, falls in love. And youngest daughter Janie is entangled in an incident that cuts the season short. An unforgettable portrait of one family’s journey through the second half of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Graver’s The End of the Point artfully probes the hairline fractures hidden beneath the surface of our lives and traces the fragile and enduring bonds that connect us.