Speechwriting For Impact: Strategic Skills Online Course
Seven one-hour sessions. Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00 pm EDT. Oct. 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22 & 27, 2020. Price $575 US or $575 Cdn plus HST
10 seats available
10 seats available
Speechwriting isn’t rocket science, But, it does take skill to craft a talk that will engage listeners, hold their attention and move them to agree with or take action on the speaker’s ideas. This course provides the knowledge, insights and “how to” approach needed to plan, organize and write a compelling speech.
In six sessions online you’ll learn how to:
You’ll also review and analyze recorded excerpts of speakers delivering speeches, take part in hands-on exercises, engage in discussions and get answers to your questions. Plus, I’ll share stories, examples and lessons drawn from my 30 years of speechwriting and time spent managing a public sector speechwriting unit. At the end of the course you’ll take away a wealth of tips, tools, tactics, techniques and templates you can use to achieve terrific results.
And there’s even more! You’ll leave knowing how to:
Additionally, you'll receive:
In six sessions online you’ll learn how to:
- Be strategic in choosing your speech purpose
- Structure your speech around a main message and supporting messages
- Write with clarity for yourself or the speaker you support
- Analyze the audience and use the information to meet the need for information and insight
- Frame ideas to resonate with listeners
- Write the way people talk to achieve a conversational tone
- Create speech “maps”, outlines, talking points and full scripts
- Open in a way that draws people in
- Close on strength by leaving people with a memorable message and/or call to action
- Use rhetorical tools to persuade
- Come up with humor any speaker can deliver
- Breathe life into statistics
- Make abstract ideas concrete and visual through example, analogy and metaphor
- Use speechwriting metrics and digital tools to increase your efficiency
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a speech and edit it in minutes
You’ll also review and analyze recorded excerpts of speakers delivering speeches, take part in hands-on exercises, engage in discussions and get answers to your questions. Plus, I’ll share stories, examples and lessons drawn from my 30 years of speechwriting and time spent managing a public sector speechwriting unit. At the end of the course you’ll take away a wealth of tips, tools, tactics, techniques and templates you can use to achieve terrific results.
And there’s even more! You’ll leave knowing how to:
- Ask the right questions of event planners, subject matter experts and the speakers you support to keep your speech on target
- Understand why every audience is different and yet the same and how to deal with that contradiction
- Be methodical in your approach, solving problems before they become obstacles to your success
- Follow a process and use templates to plan, organize and write solid speech scripts
- Be more strategic in your decisions and in the advice you provide
- Use metrics and apps to increase efficiency
- Work fast to meet tight deadlines
- Use speechwriting techniques to improve your writing overall
- Enjoy writing speeches much more than you do now
Additionally, you'll receive:
- Six sessions, each at least an hour long, which will be recorded so you don't have to worry about missing any of them
- A bonus hour-long session, also recorded, where you can take a deeper dive into areas of special interest
- A manual (40-50 pages in pdf form, which practically makes it a book) filled with how-to articles, checklists, templates, metrics, practical tips and resource lists
- Exercise materials including a “Beauty Makeover” handout that shows you weak writing transformed into powerful prose
- A strategic speechwriter’s aide mémoire
- A certificate of achievement (pdf)
- A subscription to The Spoken Word (previously Pen & Podium), an e-newsletter for people who write, manage, contribute to and/or deliver speeches and presentations
I would recommend this course to anyone who gives speeches, writes speeches, or assigns speeches. It'll be time and money well spent.
Cecilia Blanchfield, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
…Practical information you can apply in real life.
Mireille Khouri, Public Affairs Officer, Canadian Institutes for Health Research
I generally hate being assigned to a speech – now I’m looking forward to the next one.
Brenda Heald, Canadian Co-operative Association
Wendy's presentation style is very accessible and warm, as well as professional and thorough. The handouts and exercises are great too. I'm recommending her speechwriting workshop to my colleagues.
Mary Trafford, Senior Public Affairs Officer, Status of Women Canada
Payment & Cancellation
Your payment is due before workshop materials are sent to you. In the event you have to drop out before you receive workshop materials, a $50 charge will be taken from your registration fee to cover admin costs. Once workshop materials have been sent to you, no refunds will be made.
You can, however, rebook to attend a future workshop.