How to Write your Own Remarks Using This Book

More than 2000 years ago, Aristotle identified three ways to be an effective public speaker.

• The first way was to have raw talent.
• The second way was through technique.
• The third way was to copy good models.

This book will help you become an effective speaker by employing Aristotle's third way. The book offers 50 of the most effective business speeches you can use as models for your own remarks.

Learn from the masters. The hardest thing about preparing a speech is starting from a blank slate. But when you can start with a model speech that actually moved audiences in circumstances similar to your own, the task of writing a speech is much easier. Much of what you need to get started is probably right here: an opening, a pithy joke or anecdote, suggestions for content, ideas for rhythm and delivery, a closing. All you need is a start. Whatever your speech challenge may be, this book offers models that you can use as a foundation for your own.

Speeches in this book are organized by occasion. For example, the book models such speeches as: acceptance, anniversary, groundbreaking, memorials, retirements, tributes, welcomes, visionary speeches, motivational speeches, etc. It's a rare worker who serves but one master. In the same way, it is the rare speech that serves but one purpose. Most speeches satisfy more than one objective. Introductions can also serve as farewells or as opportunities to announce news. New product announcements can piggyback on rallying the sales force speeches. By cross-referencing each speech by keyword, you can easily find speeches and remarks that will offer you suggestions for your own.

Take a look at the format of the book. To give you a peek into the secrets of professional speechwriters, each speech is represented in two columns. The left-hand column has the edited text of the speech. The right-hand column, labeled "Talking Points" describes the rhetorical decisions that make the speech successful. Perhaps it's a matter of phrasing, rhythm, or the deliberate use of a device such as repetition, metaphor, or oxymoron. The best speeches are all distinguished by subtle humor, innovative pacing, alliteration, or other devices. If so, I make sure these devices are noted. The mechanics of speechwriting are beyond the scope of this book, but studying these Talking Points is like taking a crash course in speechwriting.

Every speech also has a section called a "Scoping Document." Professional speechwriters always prepare the speaker by providing them a scoping document which captures the elements of the speech by identifying the title and theme of the speech, time and place of delivery, type of audience, and length of speech.

Many inexperienced public speakers worry about speaking too long or not long enough. Timing a speech can be tricky. For that reason, each of these speeches includes a word count and an estimate of how long the speech is in minutes. For the time calculation, I use a range of 100-125 spoken words per minute.

All speeches are made up of component parts, and the manager who is to give a speech is well advised to remember this point. I suggest the reader examine the speeches in the book to identify the opening, statement of the theme, main body, recapitulation of the theme, and closing. Every speech has these parts, although not always in the obvious order. The Talking Points focus on these constituent parts of speeches and their relative order.

Speeches Given and Speeches Yet to be Delivered

This book may be useful to you even if you don't have an immediate speaking obligation you must honor. If you don't have an opportunity right now, chances are it won't be too long before you will be called upon to speak in public. This collection of speeches also provides inspiration on a number of business subjects for the general reader. In these pages are collected the accumulated wisdom of some of the most successful business leaders of the last 25 years. Their challenges are your challenges. Learn how they approached any number of business situations. While your business challenges may not precisely align with theirs, their approach may offer you examples and alternatives you might not otherwise have considered.

This collection of business speeches and brief remarks can advance your career on a number of levels. The book gathers 50 high-impact business speeches and remarks addressing a number of the most common business occasions and teaches you how to make your speeches and business remarks just as good. For those who have a speaking engagement to prepare for, the models in this book can inspire your efforts. Attend to the wording, cadences, and structures of the masters. Then find your voice and "Speak the speech, I pray you, trippingly on the tongue."

Now, on to the speeches and remarks.