http://blog.ragan.com/speechblog/ The world of corporate and political rhetoric, according to Hal Gordon en Copyright 2008 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:54:36 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://web.mac.com/gordon.h. I may not post as much or as often –- since after April 30 I won’t be paid for it –- but I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you over the past couple of years, and I’ve had enough positive feedback to encourage me to continue. During the last speechwriters conference in Washington back in February, I was particularly pleased to meet some of you in person. As an added incentive for you to follow me to my new location, I’m offering a bonus feature. Starting in about a week, I’m going to be posting selections from my quote file. If at all possible, I will be posting a new quote every day from Monday to Friday. What’s so special about Hal’s quote file? The answer is that I’ve been collecting quotes, poems and anecdotes for going on 30 years now, and many of them are not to be found in Bartlett’s or other anthologies. I hope to offer useful tidbits that are out of the ordinary in the hope that my fellow practitioners can use them to enliven their own speeches. I’m going to be in Albuquerque this week, speaking at the 2008 Communications school of the National Association of Government Communicators. I expect to resume posting at my new location on or about Monday, May 5. I hope to see you there. In conclusion, I’d like to thank Ragan Communications for starting me off as a blogger, and to thank you for your readership. I hope we’re not saying “Goodbye” on this occasion, but rather, “See you soon.” Signing off for now. ]]> http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/new_location_fo.html http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/new_location_fo.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:54:36 -0600 New York Times has a story about national politicians making fun of themselves on national television. In particular, the story mentioned President Bush’s appearance on “Deal or No Deal” last night, and the fact that last week alone Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all appeared on the same episode of “The Colbert Report.” Trouble is, when so many national politicians try to gull the voters into thinking that they are just plain folks by doing comedy shticks on TV, it gives the game away. The ploy becomes obvious. There’s a lot that could be said about politicians trying to broaden their appeal by deliberately being funny. But the best and the shortest comment was made long ago, by one of the greatest comic geniuses who ever lived: Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin said this: “I remain just one thing … a clown, and that places me on a higher plane than any politician.” Send in the clowns. ]]> http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/send_in_the_clo.html http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/send_in_the_clo.html Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:15:48 -0600 Winston Churchill’s complete speeches, from 1897 to 1963, fill eight volumes and total five million words. A few years ago, Churchill’s grandson produced a representative selection of the great man’s feats of oratory –- and that single volume ran to 500 pages. Even Churchill’s less well-known speeches are instructive for speechwriters today. In fact, in this political season, I have found myself tantalized by a recurring fantasy: If Churchill could be brought back as a speechwriter for the 2008 presidential election, which party would vie more eagerly for his services? The answer is by no means obvious. Churchill changed parties twice – from Conservative to Liberal and then back. Democrats, focusing on his Liberal period, might snap him up for a single speech he gave in 1905, warning of what would follow if the ruling Conservative Party won the next election: “We know perfectly well what to expect – a party of great vested interests banded together in a formidable confederation, corruption at home, aggression to cover it up abroad, the trickery of tariff juggles, the tyranny of a party machine; sentiment by the bucketful, patriotism by the imperial pint, the open hand at the public exchequer … dear food for the million, cheap labour for the millionaire.” Republicans, for their part, might also hire Churchill on the strength of a single speech -- this one from 1933, after he had returned to the Conservative fold: “Our difficulties come from the mood of unwarrantable self-abasement into which we have been cast by a powerful section of our own intellectuals. They come from the acceptance of defeatist doctrines by a large proportion of our politicians. But what have they to offer but a vague internationalism, a squalid materialism, and the promise of impossible Utopias?” OK, John McCain would never say anything like that to a group of potential voters. But other Republicans might be very glad to have Churchill’s eloquence and sheer output on their side. The rate at which Churchill churned out words is astonishing. It seems beyond the capacity of any one man. Indeed, when Churchill’s grandson lectures in America, he says that one of the questions he is most often asked is, “who was your grandfather’s speechwriter?” Each time the question is posed, the great orator’s grandson replies with a twinkle in his eye, “He was a most remarkable man, by the name of Winston Spencer Churchill.” http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/churchill_for_h.html http://blog.ragan.com/archives/speechblog/2008/04/churchill_for_h.html Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:17:48 -0600