What We Can Learn from Great Political Speakers

The worlds of business and politics might seem worlds apart, but executives can learn a lot from the most successful political communicators. Terry Szuplat spent several years on the speechwriting team for President Barack Obama, helping to carefully craft his messages and win over audiences. He has gone on to coach business leaders including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and he says that many of the same principles for good speechwriting and delivery apply - whether you’re giving a presentation to your team, pitching a client, or making comments in a moment of crisis. He explains the importance of authenticity and personal stories, structure, language choice and presence. Szuplat is the author of the book Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience.

Share Podcast

[HBR IdeaCast podcast series]

HBR IdeaCast
Episode 989

What We Can Learn from Great Political Speakers

Listen | Podcast loading...

###

A conversation with former Obama speechwriter Terry Szuplat on commanding an audience, no matter the size.

• Subscribe:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

All episodes

Details

Transcript

September 24, 2024

The worlds of business and politics might seem worlds apart, but executives can learn a lot from the most successful political communicators. Terry Szuplat spent several years on the speechwriting team for President Barack Obama, helping to carefully craft his messages and win over audiences. He has gone on to coach business leaders including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and he says that many of the same principles for good speechwriting and delivery apply - whether you’re giving a presentation to your team, pitching a client, or making comments in a moment of crisis. He explains the importance of authenticity and personal stories, structure, language choice and presence. Szuplat is the author of the book Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience.

• Subscribe On:

Apple

Spotify

RSS

Latest in this series

All episodes

This article is about BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

** Follow this topic

** Following

Related Topics:

• Presentation skills

• Politics

• Power and influence

• Managing yourself

• Personal strategy and style

• Corporate communications

Original source