Joan Detz - How to write & give a speech : a practical guide for anyone who has to make every word count

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Dedicated to the writers who have attended my speechwriting seminars since I began the classes in 1992.

Choose excellence. Surpass yourself.

Plus ultra.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

So many people helped during the process of writing this book. Thank you, all.

I particularly want to note: Brian Akre, Shell; Richard Batson, US Coast Guard; Sabra Brown, US Air Force; Carri Chandler, Toyota; Dominic Chianese, actor, aka Uncle Jun on The Sopranos ; Darlene Friedman, Soroptimist International; Ayumi Green, interpreter; Katherine Hahn, WebMD; Jeanne Mell, University City Science Center; Aki Nagunuma, translator; Todd Sommers, Best Western.

Special thanks go to Carole Alfano, communications director, New Hampshire State Senate. She has an amazing ability to make good things happen even under the tightest of deadlines.

My editor, Daniela Rapp, supported this new edition from the first day I mentioned it to her, and her editorial advice proved spot-on. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Steve Roman provided the copyediting, and his work was stellar. Quite simply, he provided the best copyediting any author could hope for. Many many thanks.

I want to express appreciation to my clients: In an era of increasingly large PR firms, your support of my independent speaker coaching and media training has allowed me to work at my professional best. Thank you for that privilege.

Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my son, Seth Rubinstein, who grew up in my speechwriting business. Eight days after Seth was born, I resumed my speechwriting careerputting a baby swing in my home office so I could meet deadlines. Over the years, hes helped in my office in many ways: proofing, editing, making valuable suggestions. (Plus, I cannot begin to count the number of times he has bailed me out of computer crises.) Thank you, thank you. As written on the stone edifice of your old Parrish Hall dorm at Swarthmore College: On and ever on.

CONTENTS

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

PREFACE

How to Write & Give a Speech was first published in 1984. This is the third revised edition. I find it downright sobering that a modest two-page proposal was bought by St. Martins Press thirty years ago and the book still keeps chugging along. Entire bookstore chains have closed their doors, independent bookstores struggle mightily to stay in business, e-book marketing has spent years predicting the demise of printand yet, and yet, here we are. Readers still read. And this little title keeps going now in both print and digital.

With each edition, I have (of course) made changes. But never have I made so many changes as this time.

Whats different in the world since the previous edition? In a word: everything. Most especially, the way we communicate and the way we use technology. A client asked me last week, What kind of speeches should I be giving in an age of tweets? My short answer: Very good speeches.

As I revised this edition, I kept my focus on the business aspects of both writing and giving speeches. That guided my updates. While some speakers may still think of a presentation as filling fifteen minutes on the agenda, savvy speakers and speechwriters know better: Each presentation costs money, and we must make certain were getting a good return on our speaking investment.

Let me ask a few questions.

If you give presentations: Have you ever logged the hours you spend on preparation, rehearsal, and delivery? Whats your time cost for giving a speech? More important, whats your opportunity cost ? What are you not able to do because you spend so much time researching, writing, stalling, rewriting, adding PowerPoint, changing the PowerPoint, and then traveling to/from all your speeches?

If you are an executive with a large corporation: How much money does your corporation waste on mediocre speeches each year? Have you ever added up all the hours your employees spend preparing presentations giving presentations attending presentations? More important, have you ever questioned the return on your investment?

If you work in the public relations department of an organization: Do you have a nagging suspicion your team could be writing better speechesmaybe even much better speeches?

If you are a small business owner or a consultant: Do you worry about competing with larger businesses (who have larger advertising budgets)? Maybe you work on your own as an accountant or a fitness coach or an attorney. Maybe you run a unique store. How much business are you losing by not giving great presentations in the communities, associations, and industries you serve?

If you hire freelance speechwriters: Do you think its taking your freelancers too long to complete an assignment? Are you sick and tired of burning the midnight oil to rewrite their work?

If you are a public affairs officer with the government or the military: Can you itemize all the meeting costs associated with a presentation? From an accountability standpoint, can you justify these costs? (Consider: Work hours? Conference room rentals? A-V fees? Coffee/tea service? Transportation? Lodging?) On top of that, total the number of attendees. Add up the work hours they lose to attend a presentation. What a hefty dollar amount (or yen or pound or Euro amount) that must be!

I wrote this new edition with several goals in mind. I want this book to help you:

1. prepare better speeches in less time

2. give speeches that audiences remember

3. and (yes) give speeches that produce a return on your investment.

I want this book to help you look, feel, and sound terrific when you stand at a lectern.

Never forget: With technology that allows anyone to easily record you (and with the prospect that someone most likely will), a presentation on a given date in a given city takes on a timeless, global quality. You might think youre just talking to some people in San Antonio for about twenty minutes but in a digital world, your recorded presentation can wind up anywhere and it can last forever.

So, heres the question: How do you wish to be seen in perpetuity? (Its enough to make you wish you had put more thought and practice into your presentation, eh?)

Ill wrap with a final observation:

In 2012, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama enthralled an audience at The College of William & Mary (my alma mater) in Williamsburg, Virginia. The arena held 8,200 people. When the public admission tickets for this speech went on sale, they were purchased in just sixteen minutes. Another 10,000 people watched online via Livestream. The audiencelive and onlinecame from 109 nations.

The seventy-seven-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, gave a forty-five-minute presentation (wearing a green-and-gold William & Mary cap, no less) and then handled a thirty-five-minute question-and-answer session with aplomb. His theme? Love, compassion, and understanding.