Shel Holtz rebuts PowerPoint pilers-on; and I rebut Shel Holtz
May 05, 2010
Communication guru Shel Holtz loves him some technology, and so I wasn’t surprised last week when he rebutted the pilers-on to a strong New York Times piece about how much …
In the back of the old garage: amazing discoveries in the Vital Speeches archives
May 05, 2011
On a happy visit last week to the Phoenix, Ariz. headquarters of the publisher of Vital Speeches—I edit the magazine out of my home office in Chicago—I saw the archives …
A speechwriter’s best friend
Sep 04, 2019
Review of The Political Speechwriter′s Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers, 2nd edition; by Robert Lehrman and Eric Schnure. 536 pages. To call this book an essential tool for …
The serendipitous path of history
Oct 19, 2009
History doesn’t march as much as it wanders, drunkenly. (Or, as the historian says, “shift happens.”)
Communication coaching? Not for him
May 15, 2019
Former University of Wisconsin football star J.J.Watt has relied on dozens of trainers and coaches to guide him through endless hours in the gym, on the practice field and in …
Rhetorical Recap: A Man in Continous Motion
Apr 02, 2019
I don’t know whether Beto O’Rourke keeps a diary. Seems old-fashioned, but you never know. If he does, here is what may have raced through his mind and onto an …
WATCH: Rhetoric, for Ill
Nov 16, 2011
The genius–and the weakness–of Adolf Hitler’s speaking style, as demonstrated by speechwriting consultant Christian Nicholas Eversbusch.
Speechwriting and Speechmaking: Humiliation is Part of the Game
Jun 13, 2012
Part two in a four-part “speechwriter’s digest” of Robert Caro’s new book on Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power.
Why a speech shouldn’t be about three things
Oct 30, 2012
Imagine someone asking you, “What was the speech about?” And answering, “Well, it was about three things ….”
A Beautiful Meeting
Feb 19, 2019
A professional conference is daunting to describe and, unless it has been a comical disaster, depressing to read about. So I’ll neither go on long nor try to tell you …