Mary Matalin Quotes

Speeches in our culture are the vacuum that fills a vacuum.

Mr. Chairman, I desire to say to those present that their perfect attention will not embarrass me in the least.

I hate speeches.

In a perfect world, I would never give another speech, address, talk, lecture or whatever as long as I live.

When a man is asked to make a speech, the first thing he has to decide is what to say.

There is nothing more fearful for the average person in our society than to stand before a group of people and speak.

Boyle's Law: As pressure on a candidate increases, the volume at which he speaks also increases.

We need a new stump speech.

Some people compose their thoughts in front of a typewriter but I find that I am better at composing my thoughts in front of an audience.

I happen to have given lots of free speeches.

When I give a speech, I tell it like a story.

Always, with speeches, I feel like it's an opportunity to say something.

I'm liking the idea more and more of just standing up with a microphone and talking.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.

Using rhetorical questions in speeches is a great way to keep the audience involved. Don't you think those kinds of questions would keep your attention?

What I find daunting always is to stand on a stage and talk to people, whether they agree with me or not.

I was on the speech team, we called it forensics.

Speeches are not magic and there is no great speech without great policy.

I can't think of any more powerful moment than when you stand on a stage.

Hey, I'm not a politician. I'm a ham. I love to give speeches.

With reference to political speeches in political campaigns or with reference to discussions in the Senate, I do no more than make a skeleton outline of the line of argument I wish to pursue. I do not undertake to reduce the speech to manuscript form. Many of my speeches which have been most satisfactory to me I have prepared in a few hours. I think it is quite accurate to say that the manuscript is practically unknown in my speaking. Furthermore, I should say that even the skeleton outline referred to above is generally forgotten after I begin my speech. I try to get the subject and the outline of the subject and the objective thoroughly in my mind, and all the preparations are with a view of doing this rather than with the idea of having something before me to follow.

Speechwriting is where the philosophical, ideological and political tensions of the administration get worked out.

The curse of speech writing is being part of a team.

Part of politics is redundancy. You’ve got to say the same thing over and over even if you get tired of it…not everyone has heard it.

Part of politics is redundancy. You just have to repeat things sometimes because not everyone has heard your message.