"The most important lesson I’ve learned about speechwriting is very simple: Say something true. When people are thinking about giving a speech, they’re often thinking, “What will make me sound smart or interesting or witty or powerful?” Or they’re thinking, “What does the audience want to hear?” Those really shouldn’t be your first and most foundational questions. Your first question should be, “What is the deepest and most important truth that I can tell at this moment?” Whether you were giving a speech to 1,000 people or talking to your board or leading an informal meeting, it’s really important to say something that is clearly and glaringly true. I think that it makes people trust you. It makes them respect you. It shows your authenticity. I think it makes you credible and it’s a really good way to start. I’d say it’s also a good way to continue and end a speech."
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21st-century American womenHarvard University21st-century American women writersAmerican women non-fiction writers
Original Language: English
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Career Insight: Speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz on Becoming a Strong Storyteller Wharton Global Youth Program (March 30, 2017)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Hurwitz
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Sarah Hurwitz
Sarah Hurwitz is an American speechwriter born in Wayland, Massachusetts. A senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010, and head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama from 2010 to 2017, she was appointed to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Barack Obama shortly before he left the White House.
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