Inexperienced speakers HATE the idea of “dead air” when they have command of an audience. Why are so many of us so afraid of silence? Perhaps we fear the audience will consider us inept, or not in control of our material. Perhaps we think silence will reveal our little secret–that butterflies are skydiving in our stomachs and that we would rather be any place […]
I recently came across this article by Adam Frankel, former head speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and loved both the conversational style and the very practical advice he offers. Here’s what he said, with some added commentary from yours truly: By far, the best way to learn how to write speeches is to read the […]
The term “out of print” is now practically extinct. I recently returned from the Novelists, Inc. annual conference in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Though I, like most of the several hundred attendees at the conference, have long-established credentials in the publishing industry, the foundations of that industry are shifting as inevitably and swiftly as the sands […]