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  • Published: 7 January 2025
  • ISBN: 9781529146561
  • Imprint: Ebury Edge
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $36.99

Say It Well

Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience




A practical and transformative speech writing guide from President Barack Obama’s longest-serving senior speechwriter.

Whether you're delivering a heartfelt toast or eulogy, giving a presentation at work, or speaking up for change, this comprehensive guide gives you the tools you need to become a confident and compelling speaker, communicator, and leader in your work and in life.

Drawing on the life-changing lessons he learned from his time in the White House, leading speechwriter Terry Szuplat shows you how to:

• Communicate clearly and confidently in any situation
• Create an emotional connection with your audience
• Adopt a new mindset to help overcome your anxieties
• Use the power of storytelling to win over any audience

Full of practical tips, fascinating psychological research and never-before-heard insights and advice from his conversations with President Obama, this book will transform the way you approach speaking in public forever.

  • Published: 7 January 2025
  • ISBN: 9781529146561
  • Imprint: Ebury Edge
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $36.99

Praise for 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

I’ve worked with Terry for nearly a decade, and I’ve seen firsthand how his brilliant advice can help anyone give the speech only they can give. If you’re a CEO, executive, or employee who wants to energize your team, differentiate your brand, and win over new customers, read this remarkable book today.

Marc Benioff, Co-founder, chair, and CEO of Salesforce and New York Times bestselling author of Trailblazer

In a world where every word matters, Say It Well is a masterclass in how to articulate your vision compellingly and turn your speeches into powerful tools for leadership, persuasion, and impact. This book is destined to become a classic for anyone who wants to perfect the art of public speaking.

Dorie Clark, Professor of executive education, Columbia Business School and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game

If you’re called upon to give a speech, it’s helpful to have a master teacher. Terry Szuplat is one of those masters, and at the Pentagon he helped me make every word count. Say It Well is a profoundly experiential book that will help you find your cadence and help our country reclaim the civility we need today.

William S. Cohen, Former Republican U.S. Senator from Maine and Former U.S. Secretary of Defense

I was shocked when my graduation speech went viral and shocked again when Terry included my speech in this book. Say it Well is a true gift—an easy-to-use handbook, written with wisdom and humility, for how we can quiet our self-doubt, find our most authentic voice, and amplify our stories from the page to the stage!

Donovan Livingston, Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Faculty and Author of Lift Off: From the Classroom to the Stars
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