From the monthly archives:

August 2009

Excellent speeches tell a story, involve the audience

by Cynthia J. StarksAugust 21, 2009

Yesterday I attended my first event with a local professional women’s networking group – lunch and a speaker. The food was delicious, the attendees friendly and interesting, and the speaker delightful. Because of the positive experience, I plan to join the group and/or attend future events. The speaker was the head of the state commission [...]

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Facial expressions or words: which carries the speech?

by Cynthia J. StarksAugust 17, 2009

Once upon a time, 1967 to be exact, UCLA Professor Albert Mehrabian came up with a theory – misinterpreted ever since – that the meaning and understanding of a speech is 93 percent body language, facial expressions and tone of voice, and only 7 percent the actual words. Those of us in the word business [...]

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Use persona-based marketing to effectively reach speechwriting clients

by Cynthia J. StarksAugust 10, 2009

I spent a few fascinating days this week in the company of John Edgars, the CEO of a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company; Christine Moffett, the director of communications at an East Coast telecommunications company; and Rob Schneider, president of a Midwest public relations firm with billings of $50M annually. In an industry and business climate [...]

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Words matter

by Cynthia J. StarksAugust 4, 2009

On the world stage, words can win votes, start wars, inspire a generation. In the business world, they can increase customers, boost sales, guide and motivate employees, influence investors, mark individuals as thought-leaders and companies as pace-setters. Today, business executives and organizational leaders lie awake at night worrying about strategic business risks as diverse and [...]

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