Learning off the job

Just back from the Ragan Speechwriters and Executive Communicators Conference in Washington, where 180 fulltime, part-time or would-be speechwriters gathered to express indignation to one another and to the leading …

(We’re All) … Waiting on Goodell

Why am I writing just now about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s state-of-the-game speech, which took place last month? Because it took me a few weeks to realize how mad I …

Confessions upon confessions

Barton Swaim was speechwriter to South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford from 2007 to 2010. It was a miserable experience, which he converted into a barely fictionalized memoir titled, The Speechwriter: …

He’s one of ours

He wrote a speech denouncing Hitler and fooled the vice chancellor into delivering it. No, it did not end well. But we ought to honor him by remember his name—Edgar …

Three seek speechwriters

Brought to you by Dana Rubin of the New York Speechwriters Roundtable.  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA is looking for an executive communications specialist to “work directly with our …

That Lame Commencement Address

To say that commencement talks are clichéd is to engage in cliché itself; it is as profound an understatement as "Jessica Alba would prefer that Mr. Long not call her …

A personal tribute to Denise Graveline

I have always been frustrated that there’s so little published about women’s rhetoric and speeches. Then a few years ago I discovered Denise Graveline, who had created a blog, The …