'New Statesman' on political speeches & speechwriting
Translation news: Выступать легко: Все, что вам нужно знать о речах и презентациях
- The name of the originating Russian publishing house is 'Nofun Publishing', which, at least to English ears, doesn't sound too promising.
- The title of the book, according to Google's automated literal translation, is To come out easily (with the same sub-title as the English version). Even though this might take it into new and unexpected markets, I'm rather hoping that the version given to me by the books translator - Speaking in Public is Easy is nearer the mark.
- News from my brother, who speaks Russian, about the mysterious title: "vistupat is a compound verb - 'vi' (= 'outwards') + 'stupat' (= 'move') - and it can mean 'walk out' but more usually 'speak out', 'make a speech'. "
- 250 Roubles = £5.24 (i.e. about half the price it is in the UK!).
Ronald Reagan's master class on how to cope when the teleprompter lets you down
STRASBOURG, France — President Reagan, often spoken of as "the great communicator," was noticeably at a loss for words when his TelePrompTer broke down during his major speech before the European Parliament today.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan's TelePrompTer cut out three times, causing the President to lose his place.
I don't agree with this 25 year old headline from the Los Angeles Times, as I saw it as a master class on how to recover from the worst thing that can happen when a speaker is using a teleprompter.
- Was there a hard copy of the script on the lectern?
- Was he wearing the right contact lenses to be able to read it without glasses?
400th post: Oratory and the Sound of Music
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The best awards ceremony acceptance speech?
Not sure about that, because it has to compete with Alfred Hitchcock's speech accepting the Irving G. Thalberg Award (given to 'a creative producer who has been responsible for a consistently high quality of motion picture production') at the Oscar awards in 1967 - the full text of which was:
"Thank you."
I'm also a big fan of Paul Hogan's widely ignored tips for award winners' speeches at the 1986 Oscars, which can be seen HERE.