Simply Speaking: How to Communicate Your Ideas with Style, Substance, and Clarity by Peggy Noonan

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Ashbrook Center.

"Speeches actually have to say things. And great speeches are great because they say great things. Speeches that consist merely of the stringing together of pretty words and pretty sentiments are not great. And never live."

An enduring gem of speechwriting wisdom tell us that "people don't care how much you know unless they know how much you care." In Simply Speaking, bestselling author, columnist, and presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan shares her invaluable experiences from years in the White House speechwriting trenches, offering specific techniques, fascinating anecdotes, and professional secrets of the trade. Anyone called upon to get up and speak before a group of people—from a Fortune 500 CEO to a family member addressing an anniversary dinner—will reap rich and lasting benefits from Noonan's sage, witty, and incisive advice.

Unlike Sir Thomas More, who was beheaded after his last public speaking engagement, most of us will survive the anxiety that often accompanies public speaking. But we all want to give the best speech we can, and Peggy Noonan helps us do just that by demystifying a wide range of topics, including:

• Finding your own authentic voice
• Developing a text that interests you
• Acing the all-important first paragraph
• Using logic to move your audience
• Creating, developing, and reinventing the "core speech" for diverse audiences
• Strengthening your speech with a vital element: humor
• Winnowing your thoughts down to the essentials
• Handling professional jargon, cliches, and the sound bite syndrome
• Respecting simplicity and clarity—big ideas need small words
• Presenting your speech in the best way
• Collecting intellectual income—conserving your speech treasures
• Breaking all the rules and still succeeding
• Reading for inspiration—how to use the excellence of others