From the monthly archives:

March 2010

The Big Red Book of Advertisers: So that’s where a freelance speechwriter finds clients!

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 23, 2010

I love social networking. Last week, through networks I belong to, I learned of a headhunter looking to fill a speechwriting position at a global company headquartered in the Chicago area.
I spoke with the headhunter but did not pursue the position because it would have meant relocating from my central Indiana home.
However, the recruiter was [...]

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In speeches as in life: dying is easy; comedy is hard

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 18, 2010

Conventional wisdom has it that humor is important in a speech. I’ve never been fond of conventional wisdom. However, in this case it may be right. Humor helps “humanize” a speaker, connects him with his audience and inclines the audience to like him and want him to succeed.
It’s also said, “Dying is easy; comedy is [...]

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A ghost writer ponders “giving up the ghost”

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 16, 2010

I’ve been thinking about the term “ghost writer” this week because a new Roman Polanski film by that name just came out, because I know of two freelance writing businesses called Ghost Writers in the Sky – a name I love –(www.ghostwritersinthesky.com and www.ghostwriterinthesky.ca), and because as a freelance executive speechwriter, I guess I’m a [...]

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Great speeches and great movie dialog: words tempered by love

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 12, 2010

Watching the Academy Awards last weekend reminded me of an exchange of letters I had some years ago with the late film historian John Culhane, concerning the influence Jimmy Stewart’s films had on him – and on me. 
Culhane had written a “Dear Jimmy Stewart” letter for American Film magazine around the time Stewart received a [...]

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JFK condolence letters point to value of e-mails, tweets and blogs

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 8, 2010

A wonderful book was released last week by Harper Collins, called, Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation. The book is a collection of 200 of the more than 1.5 million letters sent to Jackie Kennedy following JFK’s assassination. Most were destroyed, but some 200,000 pages remained untouched for more than 40 years at [...]

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What song openings can teach us about speech openings

by Cynthia J. StarksMarch 3, 2010

I love music; I love lyrics. (I love my baby and my baby loves me). Ahem…
Several years ago, my sister-in-law gave me a copy of Reading Lyrics, edited by Robert Gottlieb and Robert Kimball. It’s filled with “more than 1,000 of the finest lyrics from 1900 to 1975,” and is one of my favorite books. [...]

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