Speech Crafting Quotes

The way that I write speeches is to do bits and pieces and then knit them together

Nearly every politician plagiarizes their speeches, because nearly every politician has a speech writer do the work for them.

The receipt to make a speaker, and an applauded one too, is short and easy. Take common sense quantum sufficit; add a little application to the rules and orders of the House [of Commons], throw obvious thoughts in a new light, and make up the whole with a large quantity of purity, correctness and elegancy of style. Take it for granted that by far the greatest part of mankind neither analyze nor search to the bottom; they are incapable of penetrating deeper than the surface.

We need a new stump speech.

There is not alternative to speechwriters. You can’t run for president and write your own speeches.

Making clever speeches takes a lot of work and a lot of time.

Part of my job as a presidential speechwriter (along with great writers like Jon Favreau and David Axelrod) was finding that sliver where 'presidential' and 'actually funny' overlap.

A presidential speech is always the work of many hands.

Modern political speechwriting is certainly a skill, and one that requires experience and practice to master.

Take it not amiss, O speech, that I borrow weighty words, and later try hard to make them seem light.