From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Like good wine, speechwriters may improve with time

by Cynthia J. StarksSeptember 30, 2009

Recently, looking for more speech samples to add to my Web site, I came across several speeches I wrote early in my speechwriting career. Some of them are truly cringe-worthy, and include using unpronounceable words, making the speech your personal soapbox and taking examples from out-of-left field to make a point.
I believe my speechwriting has improved over [...]

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Writing speeches for three types of learners

by Cynthia J. StarksSeptember 24, 2009

When writing speeches in the past, I never thought about the different types of learners in the audience. A speech was words and maybe a few visuals and that was that.
What a fool I was.
Since then, I’ve seen the light, thanks to my favorite book, Give Your Speech, Change the World, by Nick Morgan. Morgan writes about [...]

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Research: Where speechwriting and fun meet

by Cynthia J. StarksSeptember 15, 2009

What do I love most about speechwriting? Hands down, it’s the research.
I love it when I first find out about the topic, the audience, where the event will take place.
What do I already know about the subject? Where will I get the additional information?  Who is the audience? What are their pain points? What are [...]

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Speechwriting – a niche in time

by Cynthia J. StarksSeptember 11, 2009

What can today’s speechwriters learn from great political speeches?

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Timeless tips for freelance speechwriters

by Cynthia J. StarksSeptember 1, 2009

I recently came across a wonderful Ragan Communications Speechwriter’s Newsletter dating to September 2007, in which David Murray wrote about what freelance speechwriters need to do to become and remain successful. His advice is right on…and still applies. I’d like to share some of it with you.
Murray advises us to “Be famous”—to get ourselves published [...]

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