5. Research speakers’ Twitter usernames beforehand. Keep them on a piece of paper or notepad for easy reference. 6. Confirm the event hashtag. Find out what the official hashtag for the event is, and make sure you use that watch out for typos. If there’s isn’t one, make a nice short one up check it’s … Keep reading →
One of the most valuable things you can get back from a client after they deliver a speech you’ve written is the marked-up text – the changes they’ve made from what you wrote. You may not agree with every edit, but they’re very clear cues to what your client feels comfortable saying. Two inches of … Keep reading →
In a great wide-ranging report on a National Speakers Association convention panel from Ian Griffin, these two sentences seized my attention: Dychtwald claimed he gets more accomplished in the last 60 seconds of a speech than in the first 30 minutes. “The audience are with me, everything I say hits home.” from How to write a … Keep reading →
How Neil Young Helped Me Quit The Government of Canada “Been to the Royal Mint, I’ve been to Parliament, I’ve crossed the Rideau for a heart of gold…” Brent Kerrigan (who, btw, bears no responsibility for those lyrics) writes a great piece about escaping the financial stability of a gilded cage and starting his own … Keep reading →
Say What: Paul Ryan on America’s tough issues – The Washington Post Check this out. The Washington Post took the prepared notes for GOP vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s convention speech, and set up a page where you can comment on an individual paragraph, watch that segment of video, and call in the fact-checkers. What’s missing? … Keep reading →
From How political speechwriters do comedy. – Slate Magazine: Which brings us to the third rule: Use jokes as damage control. Clinton never made light of the Lewinsky scandal directly. But in 1999, he started off his WHCD speech by somberly noting that had the Senate’s impeachment vote gone another way, he wouldn’t be standing here today. … Keep reading →
Looking for advice on public speaking, speechwriting and leadership communications? Here are some of my most comprehensive posts, on topics that people ask me about most often.
