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Speechwriting

The moral implications of writing a speech

by Cynthia J. StarksOctober 17, 2009

Years ago, I met a fellow who was speechwriter to the chairman of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. I remember wondering how he could write for such a client. Didn’t he know tobacco kills? I hadn’t thought about that fellow for a long time, but yesterday morning I sat down to breakfast with the head of [...]

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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 [...]

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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? [...]

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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 [...]

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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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Use creative products to help market your speechwriting services

by Cynthia J. StarksJuly 30, 2009

In my wildest dreams, I never thought there’d be a Web site offering “speechwriter” gear. But I would have been wrong. Last week, I discovered www.zazzle.com, a Web site offering a large variety of creative speechwriters’ “stuff” you might consider using in your marketing efforts. For example, zazzle offers bumper stickers, note cards, magnets, coffee [...]

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