SOMETHING VITAL WAS MISSING FROM OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
When I heard that President Obama was going to do a different kind of speech for his State of the Union address, I had high hopes. Word was that he was going to focus on values and set an agenda …
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WHAT THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS TEACHES US ABOUT WRITING SPEECHES
It was 151 years ago today that President Lincoln delivered the one of the two greatest speeches in our country’s history. That speech is as inspiring today as it was the day he gave it. One could say that …
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WANT TO WRITE BETTER? SPEND $7 ON THIS APP INSPIRED BY PAPA HEMINGWAY
Would you spend 7 bucks to make everything you write better? I think you’d be a fool not to. But $6.99 is the one-time cost of a new app that you can download to your desktop and use on whatever …
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ROSS SHAFER: CHOOSE SHORT, POWERFUL WORDS IF YOU WANT TO INSPIRE
Ross Shafer was a local kid who became a sought-after celebrity. Then he took a sharp left turn and remade himself into one of the top keynote speakers in the world. Now based in Colorado, Shafer gives 70 to 80 …
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NIKE TAUGHT ROCKEY THE VALUE OF TELLING SIMPLE STORIES
Helen Rockey is a great example of a CEO who knows the power of using short words in simple sentences. It might have helped that she got her start at Nike, which has one of the best tag lines ever: …
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USE SHORT WORDS IN SIMPLE SENTENCES TO INSPIRE AN AUDIENCE
Most people, even those who give lots of speeches, will tell you that a good speech is a blend of strong content and an engaging delivery. But if you rely on just content and delivery, odds are that your audience …
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HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR MESSAGE WILL DO THE JOB
Back when I was doing writing workshops, I would run people through an exercise that often caught them by surprise. I want to share it with you. I would go around the room and have people tell me the most famous quotes …
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WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE SIMPLE ELEGANCE OF STEVE JOBS’ WORDS
In June 2005, Steve Jobs found himself standing before the soon-to-be graduates at Stanford University. He gave a speech that many say set him apart from most other admired business leaders. It was a talk that fixed his place as the …
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IF STRING THEORY CAN USE SIMPLE WORDS, SO CAN YOUR NEWS RELEASE
As I talk with people about the need to simplify what they say or write, the push back that I often hear goes like this: “I like what you’re saying in theory, Wiley, but I work in a technical field. …
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JESUS KNEW THE KEY TO A GOOD SPEECH: USE 1-SYLLABLE WORDS
Few would argue that the Sermon on the Mount is one of the most inspirational speeches of all time. This being the Lenten season, I thought it might be fun to see how it measures up for its word choices. …
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