Aimed at writers, speakers, students, and all who wish to communicate with clarity and strength, this book illuminates the principles of effective word use. It features dozens of helpful guidelines and memorable examples--from Tennessee Williams to Oprah Winfrey, from Demosthenes to Dr. Seuss--that illustrate the basics of choosing words and using rhetoric as well as the subtleties of polishing personal style. The book's introduction presents 4 steps to power language: choose words carefully; use words intentionally; build with words deliberately; and win with words purposefully. Chapters in the book are entitled: (1) Power Tools: How to Choose Words; (2) Power Lines: How to Use Words; (3) Power Structures: How to Build with Words; (4) Power Secrets: How to Win with Words; and (5) Power Future: Language in the Next Millennium. The conclusion presents three more keys which "unlock the deepest sources of power language": respect the audience; apply rules of grammar and usage; and break any rule if more power results. According to the book, the "skeleton key," underlying every other key is to think before writing or speaking. (NKA)