Aug 22Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Outspeak.How one castaway persuaded her way to victory — Note: This piece contains spoilers about Survivor Season 42. Maryanne Oketch started Season 42 of Survivor at the bottom of her tribe (this piece uses the same terminology as the show), on the cusp of getting voted off the island. Twenty-six days later, she was crowned Sole Survivor by the…Speechwriting5 min readSpeechwriting5 min read
Apr 17The Cuss That CuredYou and I can probably agree that “fuckin’” is overused. In Boston, it’s practically a part of speech: a disyllabic article, a replacement for “uhs” and “ums.” The word appeared in the first Good Will Hunting script nearly 150 times. When the T’s delayed, you hear it at every stop…Baseball8 min readBaseball8 min read
Mar 6The Reverend Senator’s Civil ReligionRaphael Warnock and the power of prayer in politics — “It’s been called!” The Analytics team erupted. From the fortieth floor of an Atlanta Marriott, we had been analyzing precinct returns with a birds-eye view of Georgia’s capital. …Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Feb 27Why Speechwriters Take Humor SeriouslyHow leaders can land a joke that packs a punch — and proves a point — As leaders of West Wing Writers’ humor practice, satirists who have been published in the pages of The New Yorker and McSweeney’s, and veterans of the political comedy world, we’ve dedicated our careers, in part, to crafting jokes that serve a higher purpose — whether it’s helping progressives advocate more…Humor5 min readHumor5 min read
Nov 15, 2022Five Lessons from Election NightFrom the speeches that won the evening — Whether it’s a victory or a concession — or even a set of undelivered remarks — election night speeches offer powerful lessons for all kinds of speakers. We asked West Wing Writers to share a few of their favorites and what we can learn from them. Here’s what they said: Skip the preamble …Speechwriting4 min readSpeechwriting4 min read
Oct 4, 2022Niche Comedy for a Wide AudienceWhat Hasan Minhaj’s “Homecoming King” teaches us about family, identity, and connection — My mom and dad have exactly one dinner party story. When asked about the light of their lives (read: me and my sisters), my parents rattle off our names — Adesh, Isha, and Disha — and await the inevitable: Oh! Isha AND Disha? Did you want their names to rhyme? …Speechwriting7 min readSpeechwriting7 min read
Aug 26, 2022West Wing Writers’ BookshelfFive Books for Better Communication — Back-to-school season has us feeling a little nostalgic — for fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and, perhaps most of all, a stack of new books waiting to be read. In that spirit, we’ve put together a back-to-school reading list of our own, one with lessons for communicators of all stripes. We…Speechwriting5 min readSpeechwriting5 min read
Jul 5, 2022“Poetry In Motion”Why one speechwriter’s favorite speech isn’t really about speech at all — The average American utters a whopping 16,000 words per day — nearly 1,000 per waking hour. Most of us pay no mind to how we speak them. …Speechwriting7 min readSpeechwriting7 min read
Jun 9, 2022Commencements Worth OvationsWhat this year’s graduation speeches can teach us about effective communication — After two years of canceled commencements, Zoom ceremonies, and socially distanced celebrations, graduation season has finally returned. Commencement speeches need to check a particular set of boxes: they have to reach graduates at a similar stage in life, mark their transition to a new adventure, and hold their attention —…Commencement5 min readCommencement5 min read
Mar 7, 2022When Instagram Becomes a DaisWhat speechwriters can learn from AOC — Throughout history, the most effective form of political communication has been the speech, often dressed in formality. Of course, it’s in my best interest as a speechwriter to say as much, but it is true: the backdrops have been grand, the rhetoric elegant, the ideas provocative. When Martin Luther King…Speechwriting6 min readSpeechwriting6 min read
