Disqus - Latest Comments for maxatkinson

Re: Bookmarked: Speaking Internationally (Business Presentations)

maxatkinson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:49:42 -0000

I know about 'on the job' but wouldn't have had a clue about what 'turning a trick' meant - a reminder of George Bernard Shaw's observation that we're 'two countries divided by a common language' if ever I heard one!

Visiting Canada many years ago, my brother had trouble getting some relations to hear him knocking on their door. When they finally opened it, he told them he'd spent ages trying to "knock them up". This also elicited much amusement, as, in Canadian English, it apparently means much the same as "turning a trick" - and may do in US English for all I know.

One question (quite serious) that occurred to me on a trip to the USA last year is whether the American version of the language prefers longer words than the British version - for a little more on which, see http://bit.ly/aMn5Xe

Re: David Cameron’s Unorthodox Rhetoric

maxatkinson — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:35:25 -0000

P.S. I've just been catching up on the BBC TV weekly 'Question Time' program that was broadcast later in the day on which David Cameron made this particular speech. Two of the guests, the editor of a satirical magazine and a Labour cabinet minister, picked out the 'poverty moment' for attack - but got very different reactions from the audience - short video clips on which have just been posted on my blog at http://maxatkinson.blogspot...

Re: David Cameron’s Unorthodox Rhetoric

maxatkinson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:28:24 -0000

I wouldn't have said that Cameron's rhetoric was 'unorthodox', though the content of some it may be as far as traditional Conservatives are concerned. Don't forget that he won the leadership at a beauty parade in which he started out as the outsider - but an apparently unscripted speech won the day for him. A I've blogged about on various occasions, he's the most proficient British orator since Tony Blair.

It's not just his commitment to the National Health Service that surprises some onlookers, bit in the speech you're discussing here, he caused quite a stir by winning a standing ovation from the audience for his position on poverty. Technically, it was a masterpiece, as it was triggered by his first attempt at 'surfing' applause, which I'd recommended he was proficient enough to do in a blog before his speech at last year's conference.

The clip, together with my comments on it, can be seen at http://maxatkinson.blogspot... - from where there are also links to other discussions of Cameron's oratory.