Since Cicero called rhetoric a “great art” more than 2,000 years ago, the world has seen the Gutenberg Press, radio, television, the Internet and social media. These technological advances haven’t diminished the transformative social power of a great speech. If anything, they’ve underlined it.

And so the Cicero Speechwriting Awards recognize the speechwriters and the speakers who make great speeches—who do exceptional research, audience analysis, introspection, writing and thoughtful rewriting. Whether the work is done mostly by the speaker or the speechwriter, or in equal collaboration, the work must be done.

Presented by Vital Speeches of the Day, the monthly magazine that’s collected the best speeches in the world for nine decades, the Cicero Speechwriting Awards recognize the work that makes the speeches that help leaders lead—in every sector of society.

Get the recognition you deserve. Help define excellence in the great art of speechwriting.

Dates and deadlines