Why Do We Still Do Gridiron Speeches, Again?
There are lessons in laughter. One of my proudest professional associations is being a “Friend of the Gridiron,” the oldest journalistic club in Washington. It is best known for its …
A speechwriter is not a tool
I’ve been making fun of this Facebook ad lately, for an AI app that supposedly writes for you. I think the ad itself demonstrates the drawbacks of AI ghostwriting. But …
Leaders Don’t Guess, They Guide
Three times a week, I write a newsletter called Executive Communication Report (to which you should subscribe, because it is useful, and free). Published under the auspices of the Executive Communication Council, its …
The day Madeleine Albright learned the language of humor, in public speaking
I am deeply saddened by the loss of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. I am proud to say that a speech I wrote for her in 1993 — the …
Why didn’t the great Indian speechwriter write a memoir? Two reasons.
By any measure, H.Y. Sharada Prasad had an impressive run as a speechwriter, working closely with three of his native India’s post-independence prime ministers. As one would expect, his years as a …
The General’s Rhetorical Grunt
Like many Americans I was saddened to learn of the passing of Gen. Colin Powell on Monday. In my case, the sadness was personal because I was the General’s speechwriter …
Pullman, Debs and Zuckerberg: History for Communicators
Last week here, I wrote about how the word “unprecedented” was banned at a meeting I attended at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. That’s a hard rule to …
From “Oratorical Inflation” … to Rhetorical Recession?
Intrepid Vital Speeches rhetoric editor Neil Hrab unearthed a great speechwriting-industry time capsule, written by New York Times’ reporter Don Oberdorfer and published on Sunday, April 26, 1964—surely to the stifled consternation of …
Are you a rhetorician, or a word-wielding goon? This young man wants to know
Reading a Fox News piece last week headlined “Biden’s Afghanistan speech written poorly with even worse delivery, experts say,” I was taken back to a formative moment very early in my career. I …
Domestic Abuse: Words Are Not for Throwing
“We don’t hit, we don’t bite, and we don’t throw things.” Those are the first rules any parent teaches any child. And then the parents put the kids to bed, …