The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write It * How to Deliver It

New twists

Good speech writers seem to have a knack for taking a fresh look at an old subject. Here is an opening in which the speaker first mentioned the topic to be discussed, then put a new twist on a couple of hoary clichés:

This afternoon I want to share with you some observations about what's happening in world trade, and in the process I'll try to bring you up to date on what's happening with Georgia's seaports, which handle at least 95 percent of the state's international trade.

Someone recently described our ports in Savannah and Brunswick as Georgia's "best-kept secret." In this regard, it occurs to me that there were only seven wonders of the ancient world, but today there must be a million things that have been called "the eighth ...