I often get emails from potential clients asking if I will lower my rates for their speech. I always answer no. I believe there are some things you can bargain for and there are other things that aren't negotiable. My fees aren't negotiable. Invariably I get a response from the potential client saying that there are people writing speeches for less than I charge for writing a speech. At this point, I generally tell the client to go ahead and roll the dice and see if the cheaper speech is any good--I'm skeptical it will be. Countless times over the years since I started my speechwriting business I've gotten frantic emails from people saying they have purchased a speech from another website and how terrible and unprofessional it is, and they need me to write a speech for them in a hurry because the other cheaper speech just won't do. Case in point.

There are lots of speechwriters on the Internet these days, some are actually qualified, educated, experienced speechwriters--many are not. I am qualified, I am experienced, and I have the education to back up my prices, which I why I don't cut my fees. I also never cut the quality of the speeches I write--it's a case of you get what you pay for. Speeches aren't like bread--you can't buy day old speeches, it just doesn't work. I never sell slightly-stale speeches, or less-than-quality work.

I equate it in my mind with really good candy. I love chocolate covered cherries--the really good ones that are like a little bite of heaven that melts in your mouth when you chew it. Once I bought off-brand chocolate covered cherries at a Dollar Store (bad idea!) and I only ate one of them. When I bit into that piece of candy, the chocolate was like wax which didn't even melt in my mouth and the cherry gooey stuff inside tasted like some sort of imitation cherry flavored play-doh. I think I even spit it out if I recall correctly. Some things are worth paying for--speeches and chocolate-cherries.

Good News and Glad Tidings

When people ask me what I like most about my job as a speechwriter, I always answer that I love that every day brings something new and different, that I love learning new things everyday because of all of the research I do, and that I love knowing that I am helping people. It might sound like I am over-inflating the importance of what I do—after all, I just arrange and rearrange words for maximum impact. Nevertheless, when I hear back from clients after they have delivered an amazing speech it makes me happy to know that I was able to help.  I am not saving lives like a doctor is able to do, and I’m not working on a cure for cancer or AIDS, but I still find it incredibly gratifying to know that in my own small way I am making a positive difference in the lives of my clients.

Nothing brings a smile to my face any faster than when I receive an email from a client with good news.  In fact, just today I received an email from a client I helped with a presentation for a job interview—and she got the job! Over the years I have helped clients get elected, get jobs, promote books, deliver speeches at countless graduation commencement exercises, plead humanitarian cases at the UN, praise our troops overseas, launch multimillion dollar facilities, accept awards, and console families at official government memorial occasions following the September 11^th terrorist attacks.  I am smiling even as I write this as I remember back to the clients who have let me know the positive outcomes of the speeches I helped them with over the years. Writing speeches might not be brain surgery but it still feels amazing to be able to help people!  

The holiday season is upon us once again. Every year I think at the beginning of November....ah, before I know it Christmas will be here and I'll have a nice slow period with no speeches so I can hang out with my kids and relax. Then, like clockwork the holiday season speech requests start rolling in, and I remember just how busy the holiday season is for me as a speechwriter! Don't ask me how I forget that from year to year, but I always seem surprised when I realize how busy November and December are for me. When I start reading all of the speech requests, I'm reminded of just how special this time of year is and I forget all about relaxing, and instead I throw myself into helping people create special memories with just the right words. I love being able to help craft wonderful speeches for people to share with their families and friends during these special times. From parties, to balls, to galas, and even family get-togethers and family reunions, I feel like I get to be a part of so many parties and fun times thanks to my profession.

Happy holidays and I hope everyone has a joyous time with friends and family!

As a professional speechwriter I receive lots of emails asking me what would be a good speech topic for someone who is required to give a speech. First, this always makes me chuckle just a little bit, because only in the world of academia is someone asked (well, actually let’s be honest, forced) to give a speech on a topic that person knows very little about. As if it’s not difficult enough to gather the courage to speak in front of a large group of people, but then there is the added pressure of plucking a topic out of thin air to speak about.  This is just one of the multitude of reasons that so many students dislike public speaking classes!

My advice on choosing a topic now isn’t much different than it was during the many years I taught public speaking courses. Back then, I recommended that my students take an inventory of their interests, their likes, their dislikes and their activities in order to come up with some good topics. The first instinct for students was always to say something along the lines of, “I don’t have any interests.”  Of course, this isn’t true and everyone has interests and is engaged in activities! So, once again, I would urge anyone looking for a topic to deliver a speech about to take a look at your activities and interests and likely you will find a topic that will work!

I’ll use myself as an example and to generate some topic ideas that would work for me. First I’ll look at my some of my normal activities: I love to drink coffee…listen to music…I force myself to exercise…I love to read…I love shoes (and boots)…I drive a hybrid vehicle…watch my sons play football and videogames…I own lots of jewelry…I buy antique dishes on eBay…and I love to laugh. Hmm….pretty mundane topics, eh?  Still though, as mundane and boring as they are, believe it or not there are actually some topics that would work well for a basic public speaking course.  Such as, a speech about the history of coffee would actually be an interesting topic since Coffee is a multi-million dollar business these days with a Starbucks on nearly every city corner.  Another topic that I could pull from my interests in music…something along the lines of how the digital age has changed music.  Another topic from my list could look at how football has changed over the years since it first began.  The history of eBay would be a great topic, and it’s actually a very interesting story! I already used my love of laughing as a topic idea and wrote and posted a prewritten speech on my website using the topic “Laughter as Medicine.”  Most of the topics I’ve thought of from my list are informative, but there is some room for persuasive topics there too. The fact that I drive a hybrid vehicle makes a great topic for urging others to buy a hybrid vehicle. Another topic I can pull from my list would be to urge people to invest in gold as an easy way to save for the future. So, as you can see nearly anyone can make a list of activities and interests and generate some great topic ideas.

So, if you are stumped about a topic for an upcoming speech just sit down and do an inventory of your life, your interests, activities you engage in, things you like to do, etc. Chances are by the time you are done with your list you will have several different options.  The key is to pick topics you like and are interested in, and that will naturally relate into an interesting speech. The best speeches I listened to as an instructor weren’t always about the flashiest topics, but were usually given by students who I could tell really liked their topic and had a genuine interest or passion about which they were speaking.

Go on, what are you waiting for? Start your inventory!

If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone moan about having to give a speech, I would be rich! Seriously, considering the fact that I have been involved in public speaking in one role or another for nearly twenty years I have heard lots of whining and moaning and even some serious hyperventilating by people of all walks of life who have been called on to give a speech. When I first started teaching Public Speaking courses at a University as a Graduate Student, I remember distinctly my first experiences with students who would do practically anything to get out of giving a speech--even to the extreme of dropping out of school! At the time I remember thinking, "Well, that's a little extreme isn't it...dropping out of school to avoid a speech...what are these people going to do in life if they ever have to speak in front of a group?". As I continued to teach public speaking courses for the next dozen years or so, I came up against every possible excuse and scenario a person can imagine as students tried to get out of giving speeches. It was a daunting task every semester when classes began to convince my reticent students that public speaking really was a skill they needed to develop and that they would need the skill sometime in their lives. Considering attrition rate is somewhere around 50% in public speaking classes (at least it was in mine!), obviously I failed as often as I succeeded in persuading my students to stay the course and learn this much maligned skill. I no longer teach (thank god--no more Sunday night phone calls from frantic students whose computer had blown up, whose dog had died, or whose car had been stolen with their speech in the car--riiiight) but I do still occasionally run into some of my former torture victims who actually thank me for teaching them the invaluable skill of public speaking--see I was right, it is a skill you need!

I quit teaching several years ago to devote myself full-time to my dream of being a professional speechwriter, which I thought meant I would no longer have to listen to complaining students about their upcoming speeches. Well, I am living my dream of being a professional speechwriter, but I still occasionally have to listen to complaining students. I also get to listen to people of many other walks of life who find themselves in the unavoidable and unpleasant (to them) position of having to deliver a speech. The amazing thing about being a professional speechwriter though is that I not only listen to some occasional whining and complaining--but that I get to craft their speech for them and help alleviate HUGE amounts of stress in their lives. From CEO's to stressed out students, I get to use my love for public speaking and draw upon my knowledge and experiences to make people's lives easier and less stressful--it's a great job! I've written speeches for politicians, CEO's, Pastors, grooms, brides, best men, teachers, valedictorians...pretty much any person you can imagine who is called upon to deliver a speech.

What I can share with you is that it doesn't matter if it's a CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation or a seasoned politician--nerves are a part of public speaking. Just as professional performers are always nervous before a performance--it gives them the push needed to get through a performance--so are even experienced orators nervous before a speech. It's human nature to be nervous! I get asked nearly every time I write a speech for someone for advice on how to overcome nervousness--and I always tell my clients the same thing--you can't get rid of your nervousness but you can minimize it by thorough preparation and you can harness that nervousness to help you deliver a fantastic speech. The key to nervousness is to not let it control you--but rather use it as the fuel to get through the speech and do as good a job as you can do. The main thing I tell my clients (and used to tell my students) is that practice is the key--the more you practice and the more comfortable you become with your information the better you will do on a speech.

If you are reading this blog and you are so nervous that you seriously think that you would rather be dead than give a speech then you are in the right place to learn to harness those feelings and nerves. Breathe in and out...find a topic that you are passionate about...write a speech from the heart that is based on good solid research (or have someone like me write it for you)...and practice, practice, practice...practice in the shower, practice in front of the mirror, practice in front of your family members, practice in the car...you can do it! I promise public speaking can be a wonderfully rewarding and empowering experience—It’s much better than being dead!