A good speech has a voice. It sounds like an individual—specifically, the individual who is delivering the speech. It should not sound like the speechwriter. And yet us speechwriters are often given only a brief time with the speaker to
Angela Lansbury and Cate Blanchett spoke briefly at last night’s TONY AWARDS ceremony. They both have magnificent speaking voices. They were not alone. Most Broadway actors have strong speaking voices. The question is: did they become successful because they were
You may be familiar with Matt Latimer’s book Speech*Less about his career as a speechwriter in Washington during the Bush administration. Apparently, President Bush had learned at Yale that all speeches should have an introduction, three points, a peroration, and