Terry Szuplat, one of President Barack Obama's longest-serving White House speechwriters, discusses the ideas behind his national bestseller Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience in a public lecture open to the EUI community, in person and online. The event will be followed by a Q&A and an open discussion with the audience.
At the heart of his analysis lies the idea that great speaking starts with authenticity rather than eloquence. Drawing on his experience in the White House, he shows how to build an emotional connection with an audience, work through the anxieties that come with public speaking, and use storytelling to win listeners over. His approach favours concise language, arguments structured around relatable stories, and vocal variety to hold an audience's attention.
From 2009 to 2017, Terry Szuplat helped craft nearly 500 speeches for President Obama on global security, international economics, foreign and defence policy, entrepreneurship, development, and human rights, joining him on visits to more than 40 countries. During Obama's second term, he served as deputy director of the White House Speechwriting Office, overseeing a team of speechwriters and helping produce State of the Union addresses.
Since leaving the White House, Szuplat has drawn on this experience to help leaders in politics, business, and civil society become better communicators. As part of this work, he previously served as an instructor for the Executive Certificate on Policy Communication, designed by the Florence School of Transnational Governance. His lessons are also collected in Say It Well, which debuted on USA Today's list of top-selling books in America, has since appeared in more than 50 countries, and has been translated into nine languages.
The lecture comes ahead of his talk at the EUI’s first TEDx event on 2 October, centred on the theme ‘Agents of Change’.
Seats are limited, so early registration is encouraged.
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