Top Ten Quotes: On Speaking Well
A speechwriter for Reagan and a consultant for The West Wing? Count me in.
I’ve long been fascinated with Peggy Noonan, but on the recommendation of a friend I picked up On Speaking Well: How to Give a Speech with Style, Substance, and Clarity. It did not disappoint.
Noonan marshals decades of experience to help all of us become better speech-givers. The book is a master class on how to create and give a speech, how to be fully present when speaking, and how to connect with your audience. And it’s worth it based simply on her collection of wide-ranging, history-making speeches.
Beyond that, On Speaking Well is a delightful, wit-filled romp into the often-witless world of politics. It points us to a better age where the weight of words meant something a bit more noble.
Here are my top ten favorite quotes:
- If you can have a thoughtful conversation you can probably write and give a thoughtful speech.
- When you forget yourself and your fear, when you get beyond self-consciousness because your mind is thinking about what you are trying to communicate, you become a better communicator.
- Reagan always needed a joke at the top of a speech because he needed the quick victory of laughter. It helped him relax. It also helped the audience relax. It’s a speaker’s way of saying, “This won’t be painful, humor is allowed here.” Also, during the laughter everyone in the audience sort of gets to shift around and get comfortable in their chairs.
- True wit is a surprise in any person, and always a happy one.
- Every speech has a job to do, and no matter who you are, pope, president, poet or pipe layer, if you’re giving a speech you have to understand what its job is and work to make sure it’s done.
- People like short digressions, they’re a short stop on a long drive.
- Your style should never be taller than you are.
- You must speak in a way that is worthy of the office you desire.
- Fabricate or exaggerate and your audience will lose faith in you and dismiss what follows.
- …when you’re working on something important to you, read good writers. Let their excellence seep in.
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