Gérald Garutti is a distinguished author, theatrical director (of plays in English and in French), lecturer (at Sciences Po in Paris), and commentator. He is founder and director of the Centre for the Arts of Speech, which provides a politically aware and aesthetically sensitive institutional space within which all the various arts of speech – eloquence, debate, narration, drama – can be cultivated in the context of commitment to their humanistic integration.

"With compelling argumentative force, Garutti's Watch Your Words presents a resolute call for a new appreciation of the arts of speech as the central civic leverage point for emancipatory action. This manifesto explores both the foundational role of the word for the politics of social, political, and economic relations and how to reimagine those relationships in a world increasingly influenced by the internet's logorrheic deluge. Impeccably translated by Raymond Geuss, Garutti's manifesto has already led to the founding of the Centre for the Arts of Speech in Paris."Willi Goetschel, University of Toronto"Beginning with the simplest of propositions, 'we must value speech properly', Garutti tears into linguistic degradation in our time with depth, comprehensiveness, and knife-like clarity. His plea for linguistic restitution as an 'ethics of reciprocity' is equally simple, well articulated, and urgent. Translated by Raymond Geuss, who places the book within the genre of the manifesto, Watch Your Words is a must-read which should be widely discussed."Daniel Herwitz, University of Michigan"A passionate and timely plea to restore dignity and value to human speech. Reminding us that we are what we say, Garutti's manifesto is in fact a practical guide to what Michel Foucault once praised as 'the courage of the truth' made manifest in speech, action, and life."James I. Porter, University of California, Berkeley"Watch Your Words offers a thoughtful and engaged contribution to contemporary discussions on language, ethics, and performance. It invites artists, thinkers, and readers alike to reconsider how we speak, as well as why we do so."JACLR: Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research"Through watching his own words, Garutti has put French philosophy right back in the middle of accessible public discourse, and shone a coruscating light on one of the sharpest civilisational issues of our time."Ethical Space: International Journal of Communication Ethics

• Foreword by Raymond GeussPART IThe Diminution of our HumanityThe Radical Degradation of Speech1 Watch how you speak2 The Other does not exist3 Subject not at homePART IIFor a humanism of speech4 We need to stand up in the full sense for what we say5 Elevating speechPART IIIHumanity lost, humanity regainedSpeech Elevated6 The seven arts of speech. Cultivating our humanity7 The Centre for the arts of speechNotes