BEFORE THE SPEECH

What follows is a list of pre-speech publicity events that will build suspense and interest in your words well before you ever deliver them.

1.   Send a Release to the Media. If you want coverage, you must let the news media know to whom, on what and when you are speaking. Remember the requirements of each form of news media: Newspapers require print and photos where appropriate; TV needs brief sound bites of catchy phrases and later photo opportunities. Radio, of course, needs simple 15 to 30 second sound bites, most of which can be read over the phone.

2.   Develop a Knockout Title. The more expressive the title of your speech, the more attention it will attract. Let’s compare two different titles:

Boring:

“Democracy ...

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