J. Berg Esenwein (Joseph Berg Esenwein) was an American editor, lecturer, and writer best known as one of the most influential writing and public-speaking instructors of the early twentieth century. Editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine and a contributor to the Library of the World's Best Literature, he helped define the standards by which a generation of American writers and speakers learned their craft.
Esenwein's teaching focused on the practical mechanics of communication: how to organize a thought, hold an audience, choose the right word, and deliver an idea with clarity and force. His landmark instructional works on writing, short-story construction, and oratory became standard references in correspondence schools and home-study courses, reaching tens of thousands of self-taught Americans who wanted to express themselves with greater power. The clear, methodical, principle-based approach he pioneered set the template for nearly every public-speaking course that followed.
For Nightingale-Conant listeners, Esenwein belongs in the same tradition as Dale Carnegie and the great communication coaches of the modern era — a foundational voice on the discipline of speaking well and persuading effectively. The Art of Public Speaking offers his classic guidance on stage presence, vocal command, and the structure of compelling delivery, principles that remain as practical for today's leader, salesperson, or teacher as they were a century ago.
The Art Of Public Speaking
