AROUND THE WORLD IN RHETORIC
Jul 15, 2025
Rhetoric, for Ill
Speechwriter and speechwriting teacher Guy Doza's fine new book "equips readers to spot the same tricks" evil dictators used in their speeches. But: So we can do what?
David Murray,
Editor & Publisher, Vital Speeches of the Day
EVENTS
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Military Speechwriting Training Online
AUG 12-15 -
AI for Speechwriting & Executive Communication
SEPT 16 - 19 -
PSA World Conference
OCT 28-30 -
Professional Development Academy
ON DEMAND
Jul 17, 2025
Yes, This Work Is Worth It
A note to my fellow exec comms pros, and to young writers who thinking of talking their way into this world.
Christopher Truscott,
Director, Executive Communications, Target
Jul 02, 2025
This Isn’t Writing, It’s Mincing
My analysis of a University of Virginia leaders' letter generates some dark observations about the state of American leadership communication today. Do you see things differently?
David Murray,
Executive Director, Executive Communication Council
Jun 17, 2025
The Story of the Subversive Speechwriter
Edgar Julius Jung wrote an anti-Nazi speech for a milquetoast German political candidate in 1934. Jung didn't live to tell the tale ... but a patiently researched book tells it well.
Neil Hrab,
Rhetoric Editor, Vital Speeches of the Day
Jun 11, 2025
This Isn’t Just About Protests in L.A.
"When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you."
Gavin Newsom,
Governor, California
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Justine Adelizzi,
Founder, FEARLESScomms
FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER,
President, Germany
1
David Murray,
Executive Director, Executive Communication Council
Apr 15, 2025
A Timely Guide to Preparing and Delivering ‘Do-Good’ Speeches
"Speaking on Climate: A Guide to Speechwriting for a Better Future" is full of good advice for young adults and others who want to tackle this tough issue through powerful rhetoric.
Neil Hrab,
Rhetoric Editor, Vital Speeches of the Day
Apr 07, 2025
From ‘Word Donkey’ to ‘Fireman’: A Speechwriter’s Life
In his memoir, former Nixon/Reagan speechwriter Ken Khachigian says, "You can't learn speechwriting from a book."
Neil Hrab,
Rhetoric Editor, Vital Speeches of the Day
Lech Mintowt-Czyz,
Speechwriter
Mar 21, 2025
It’s Lonely Near the Top (But Only If You’re Alone).
Leadership communication professionals need good networks just as badly as the leaders they serve.
David Murray,
Executive Director, Executive Communication Council
David Murray,
Executive Director, Executive Communication Council
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VITAL SPEECHES OF RECENT WEEKS
"When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you."
Gavin Newsom,
Governor, California
"Today we no longer need to ask: Did 8 May free us? What we need to ask is: How can we stay free?"
FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER,
President, Germany
Europeans are emerging from denial. In a single day in Munich, they understood that Ukraine’s survival and Europe’s future are in their hands.
Claude Malhuret,
French Senator
"After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities—once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends—after that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face—what comes next?"
J.B. Pritzker,
Governor, Illinois
How can we seem indifferent when stakeholders are passionate about—and often personally invested in—social issues, including human rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive rights? … How can any organization argue that any of this is not core to what they do, or who they are?
Gary Sheffer,
Public Relations Executive and Professor
In your case, your weapons are your performances. In your case, your weapons are your records. In your case, your weapons are the emotions of sport.
Tony Estanguet,
President, Paris 20204 Organizing Committee
"Listen: If Harriet Tubman ran to freedom, you can run to your destiny! Martin Luther King didn't march for you to get a degree and chill! ... Black folks didn't pick cotton so you could look cute in a black robe!"
Daniel Black,
African American Studies Professor, Clark Atlanta University
Many of us have been saying for a long time that the world has been trying to transition in fog, without a compass, on a road to nowhere. Consumers increasingly agree, as transition realities bite.
Amin H. Nasser,
CEO, Saudi Aramco
"What draws you to your favorite song, your favorite book? It's what makes you feel. The seriousness of it. The intensity of it."
Jason Kelce,
Professional Football Player
"We don’t anoint kings in this country. We have elections. And Donald Trump, of all people, should know we don’t rig elections."
Nikki Haley,
Republican Presidential Candidate