Join us at the JFK Hyannis Museum with Terry Szuplat, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama and author of the highly anticipated book, “Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience.”
This exclusive event will feature a conversation with Terry Szuplat as he shares insights from his time crafting speeches in the White House and reveals the secrets to effective communication that can inspire and influence any audience.
Say It Well will be available for purchase in the Museum’s gift shop. Book signing after the event.
Registration is now closed.
About Terry Szuplat
Terry Szuplat was one of President Barack Obama’s longest-serving speechwriters, and he is a sought-after speaker and trainer who empower audiences with the communication skills he learned at the White House. From 2009 to 2017, he served as a special assistant to the president and as a member of the National Security Council staff, and from 2013 to 2017 he was the deputy director of the White House Speechwriting Office. Today Terry runs his own speechwriting firm, Global Voices Communications, and he teaches speechwriting at his alma mater, American University’s School of Public Affairs. His essays have appeared in major publications, including the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and the Washington Post. Originally from East Falmouth, Massachusetts, he now lives outside Washington, D.C. with his wife and two children.
About Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience
One of Barack Obama’s longest-serving speech writers reveals the public speaking lessons that will help you become a more confident and compelling communicator and leader in your work and in life.
As a White House speechwriter, Terry Szuplat helped craft hundreds of speeches for President Obama. But when it came to public speaking himself, Szuplat—like many people—was gripped by anxiety and preferred to stay in the shadows. When he was invited to give the first major speech of his life, he faced a choice—keep hiding from what scared him or finally face his fears.
In Say It Well, Szuplat shares the life-changing lessons he learned from Barack Obama—one of the most admired speakers of our time—and how he applied these techniques to become a better speaker himself. In every chapter, he brings you never-before-heard insights and advice from Obama on public speaking and riveting behind-the-scenes stories of writing for a president—so you can learn how to communicate more effectively with any audience, from your company to your community.
Along the way, Szuplat introduces you to remarkable people from all walks of life—students, advocates, business executives, veterans—who’ve used these techniques to give speeches that have gone viral and inspired millions of people around the world. At a time of division and distrust, Say It Well also shows how we can all speak with the empathy, civility, and honesty that we need now more than ever.
In sharing his journey to find his own voice, Szuplat will help you find yours. Written with humor and warmth, this is your new guide to the art of public speaking. And the next time you speak—whether you’re giving a toast or a eulogy for a loved one, a presentation at work, or an impassioned appeal for a cause you care about—not only will you know what to say, you’ll know how to say it well.
“For eight years, Terry Szuplat collaborated with President Barack Obama on some of the most impactful speeches of our time. In Say It Well, this gifted speechwriter shows you how your words can change your community, your nation, even the world.”
—DAVID AXELROD, Former senior strategist for President Barack Obama and New York Times bestselling author of Believer: My Forty Years in Politics
