From the monthly archives:

January 2010

Bad Supreme Court decision good news for corporate communicators

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 30, 2010

The January 21 decision was a startling one.  
 
Michael Waldman, former Bill Clinton speechwriter, now executive director of the Brennan Center, a non-partisan public policy institute that specializes in political reform, said this: “Exxon Mobil’s profits in 2008 were $45 billion. At 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Exxon’s managers could not spend any of that money [...]

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What’s your speechwriting dream job?

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 25, 2010

If you could write speeches for anyone, who would it be?
Some dream of writing for heads of state, industry giants, educational leaders, great humanitarians, advocates for peace, protectors of human rights, or organizers of important labor or environmental movements.
My dream job? Speechwriter to His Holiness, the Pope.
Why? Because writing for the Pope is like writing for [...]

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Public speaking: voicing new hope in a new year

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 21, 2010

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.
                                               Emily Dickinson
In the midst of earthquakes in Haiti, still climbing U.S. home foreclosure and unemployment rates, politicians who break their promises and our hearts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Qaida cells in Yemen and Pakistan, [...]

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Making a ‘dent in the universe’

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 19, 2010

I read something the other day that really struck me – that the most powerful speeches are those which inspire an audience to commit to a cause larger than themselves – and by doing so help them believe they can make a “dent in the universe.”
What a wonderful phrase…and idea.  
And so, in the way that [...]

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Why we blog

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 14, 2010

During World War II, Frank Capra made a series of short films called “Why We Fight,” to help newly drafted American soldiers and the American people understand and support the war.
Perhaps we need a new series called “Why We Blog,” to explain the meaning of the blogosphere to the average American. Even I have been [...]

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Turning the tables: When the speechwriter is asked to speak

by Cynthia J. StarksJanuary 8, 2010

I recently joined The Columbia Club, a private 121-year-old association in Indianapolis, designed for business networking and social connections (www.columbia-club.org). I attended my first meeting of its business network group on Tuesday.
As we went around the table making short introductions, I was impressed by the diversity of professions represented: there were patent attorneys, a forensic engineer, [...]

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