speech writers toronto

SPEECH WRITING SERVICES

• Copywriting
• Translation

Really. You should see the difference speech writing services makes in people with stage fright. When they know the words will do all the heavy lifting and take the audience to the right places, they can relax. And they do. Speeches are so much better when the speaker doesn’t step to the podium with a proverbial stick in their actual bum.

About our speech writing services

First we sit down to listen to how you speak. Do you speak slowly or quickly? Do you have an accent? The more we know about your voice, the better we can write for it.

During our initial consult, we’ll also go through the expectations your audience has. What are they hoping to hear from you? Is it something you’ve said before? And speaking of the audience, we’ll want to know who they are too. Clients? Friends? Family? Strangers?

After the massive information dump you give us, we’ll be ready to start writing. And then you’ll be ready to start persuading. And with the speech we write for you, it’ll be easy.

Copyediting and proofreading for speeches

Editing and proofreading a speech is super fun for us because we actually get to step inside the mind of our clients.

We’ll check your facts, figures and names so you don’t actually get up there and blow it over misinformation.

Then we’ll read your speech at the podium and listen for common areas of struggle. Maybe a sentence that trips everyone up, or a section that even the speaker can’t deliver with a straight face.

We do it this way so we don’t wind up changing something really good because of a personal bias. This isn’t our speech, it’s yours. And we want you to feel awesome delivering it.

French translation for speeches

If you have to deliver your speech in French, it’d better be accurate. The more you can endear yourself to your audience, the better response you’ll probably get.

Speech writing tip

As a rule of thumb, one page of double-spaced, 12-point text will take slightly less than two minutes to read at a reasonable pace.

How Can We Help You?

© Re:word Content Co. 2024

Privacy Policy • Terms of Use

Writing Editing Proofreading Translation

And it's off !

Thanks! As soon as your request makes it through cyberspace, we’ll give it a look. Until then, enjoy the best of Niles Crane . Pound for pound, there’s never been a better TV character.

Seeking an executive speechwriter in Toronto?

Tell bolder stories with thinkit creative., get started.

In-depth experience

Over 20 years of direct experience writing speeches and presentations for senior executives in Canadian business, non profits and the public sector. From Toronto economic forums to product launches, from conferences to panel discussions, we’ve been there.

Proven flexibility

Insight & analysis

Be more persuasive and gain a better understanding of the needs of your audience through us. We dig deep on every project to make words sing and make messages stick: transforming even the dullest statistics into attention-grabbing facts.

Speaker profile

From CEOs to VPs to Director-level executives,  we carefully study how each client speaker delivers a keynote,  ensuring that unmistakable tone of authenticity to help connect with audiences. Count on this every time with us.

Independent research

Hassle-free support

You get direct access to your speechwriter and prompt response to texts, emails and in-office meeting requests. Plus we publish a secure, online calendar for every job, keeping you up-to-date on milestones and deadlines.

Clients who count on us for executive speechwriting services in Toronto and across Canada include:

Start telling bolder stories today.

Toronto speechwriting is among the services we offer our ever-growing list of clients in the gta and across canada. read more about what they have to say:, you should hire us.

TELL BOLDER STORIES, MADE FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

Speechwriting

NATIONAL knows how to pen a good speech. We do it all the time, preparing texts for top CEOs in Canada and abroad. NATIONAL’s team of writers comes from the media, business and government. So we’re no strangers to the art of delivering a compelling speech. Collectively, we’ve sat through enough clangers that we know what makes an effective speech.

We personalize speechwriting, spending time with you in manageable sessions to drill down on your key messages so that they don’t get lost in your speech. We support you so that your speech not only paints pictures with words but that those words are truly yours. An effective speech is one that is true to you and your beliefs.

It’s all about preparation – and we will put you through your paces in terms of practice and rehearsal. It’s about cadence and finding the rhythm and your voice.

It’s about confidence.

Our experts

Want to learn more about our experience in this field, mark seland, managing partner, leslie molko, chief of staff and senior director, andré bouthillier, executive vice-president, alexandre boucher, senior vice-president, larry markowitz, senior director, financial communications, contact our experts.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

For freelancers

20 best speech writer freelancers to hire in 2024, looking to hire speech writer freelancers with the perfect set of skills for your next project work with the world's best freelancing talent on contra..

Michelle Griczika

Writing that sells✨

Maggie Harris

Readable technical content for regular humans

SEO Blog-Writing Expert

Anthony Ellison

Make Them Cry. Make Them Laugh. Make Them Buy.

Vikash Chauhan

Empowering businesses with impactful strategy

Medical pro turned graphic designer and writer!

B.A in Graphics Design | Photo Editing Pro

No genre is untouchable and no story is too small.

Taylor-Joy Lagpacan

Creating Effective Messages for Every Occasion.

Indira Midha

Turning your ideas into impactful words

Jai Algarin

Multifaceted Content Creator +

Retro Dreamsmith: Crafting your Nostalgic Daydream

Writing, Copywriting, Strategic Communications Pro

Athena Romaine Cruz

Academic and Speech Writer📚

Carolyn Aguel

Creative Design Expert - Branding & Templates

Ricardo Ocaña

CSWA 3D Modeler & Writer for hire ✨

Vlad Coñado

Versatile Marketer & Brand Designer 🚀

Kashif sidhu

Multilingual wordsmith for hire! 🌍✍️

Brett Bailey

Wordsmith, content writer and editor

Margaux Paul

Freelance Writer

Speech Writer related skills for your next project

Common projects for speech writers.

Writing keynote speeches for conferences or seminars.

Crafting motivational speeches for corporate events.

Developing persuasive speeches for political campaigns or social causes.

Creating informative speeches for educational sessions or webinars.

Writing personal speeches for weddings, graduations or other special occasions.

Developing scripts for video presentations or podcasts.

Tips for working with and hiring Speech Writers

Know your audience.

Understanding your audience is key to creating a compelling speech. Share details about the audience, their interests, and their expectations with the freelance speech writer. This will help them tailor the speech to suit the audience.

Be clear about your message

Ensure you communicate the core message of your speech to the freelancer. A clear understanding of the message will enable the speech writer to create a powerful and persuasive speech that resonates with the audience.

Check their writing style

Every writer has a unique style. Review the speech writer's previous work to ensure their writing style aligns with your needs. This will help in creating a speech that is consistent with your personal or brand voice.

Maintain open communication

Regular communication with your Speech Writer freelancer through Contra is crucial. Provide feedback and ask for updates regularly. This will ensure the final speech meets your expectations.

How to hire Speech Writers

Define your needs.

Before you start the hiring process, define the scope of the speech, the core message, and the audience. This will help you communicate your needs to the speech writer more effectively.

Post a detailed job

Posting a detailed job on Contra will attract the right freelancers. Include information about the purpose of the speech, the target audience, and the desired tone and style.

Review applications

Review the applications you receive and shortlist freelancers based on their skills, experience, and fit for your project. Look at their past projects and reviews on their profile.

Conduct interviews

Conduct interviews with the shortlisted freelancers. Discuss your project specifics, ask about their writing process, and how they handle feedback and revisions.

Make an offer

Once you've found the right freelancer, make an offer through Contra. This will include the project details, payment terms, and timeline.

3 questions to ask when interviewing Speech Writers

1. Can you share examples of speeches you have written in the past?

2. How do you approach the process of writing a speech from scratch?

3. How do you incorporate feedback and revisions into your writing process?

Hire the best freelancers with ease

Discover vetted talent

Connect with verified, high-quality freelancers.

Expert matching for your opportunity

Post your opportunity and we’ll do the work for you.

Manage contracts & payments

Create contracts, pay, and chat with freelancers.

Scale your business

Focus on core business functions by outsourcing.

Save time & money

Let our team help you through the process of hiring, all for free.

99% of Clients report having a positive experience on Contra

Why Clients trust Contra

The quality of independents on Contra is top-notch, and the onboarding process is one to model. Being able to speak with a team member to truly understand what we needed as well as offer suggestions of talent in the network was a whole new experience for me.

Love, love, love. Contra is an amazing place to find flexible, creative talent. The process of getting to know independents through their profiles was incredibly easy and fast.

The talent I find on Contra has been excellent. But aside from that, Contra’s community differentiates Contra from other freelancing platforms. I love the responsiveness of the Contra team, and how invested they are in your success. I actually pay freelancers I’ve found outside of Contra through Contra because I love the platform so much, especially that they don’t take a cut of your payment.

I used to waste hours trying to find talent. Switching to Contra was 10x on my time, energy and money as an Entrepeneur and Creator. Lauren was a perfect fit from day one, and I couldn’t have found someone of this calibor without Contra.

I can vouch for Contra that it is a great hiring tool. I shoot my shot and the candidates I keep seeing are incredible.The process took minutes and the support I always get from their team is 10/10.

Freelancers on Contra come across very professionally. They actually seem to read your job posting and have directly relevant skills, which isn’t always the case on most other freelancer sites. On Contra, freelancers who matched with my job seemed to have the relevant skills I was seeking.

Frequently asked questions

What does a freelance speech writer do.

A freelance speech writer crafts speeches for a variety of events and occasions. They work closely with the client to understand the purpose of the speech, the audience, and the core message. The speech writer then uses this information to create a compelling, engaging, and persuasive speech.

Why hire a speech writer on Contra?

Hiring a speech writer on Contra gives you access to a pool of talented freelancers who can help you craft a powerful and persuasive speech. With Contra, you can review their portfolio, collaborate efficiently, and handle contracts and payments, all in one place.

What tools do speech writers use?

Speech writers predominantly use word processing tools like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. They may also use speech writing software like Final Draft or Scrivener, which offer features specifically tailored to the needs of writers.

How do I hire a speech writer on Contra?

You can post a job detailing your speech requirements on Contra. Speech writers who match your requirements can then apply for the job. You can also browse through the profiles of speech writers and invite those you are interested in to apply.

What types of projects require a speech writer?

Projects that require a speech writer often include keynote speeches for events, motivational speeches for corporate events, persuasive speeches for campaigns, personal speeches for special occasions, and scripts for video presentations or podcasts.

How much does it cost to hire a speech writer on Contra?

The cost of hiring a speech writer on Contra can range from $92 to $163 per hour. The total cost may vary depending on the complexity of the speech and the experience of the speech writer.

What is a speech writer?

A speech writer is a professional writer who creates speeches for individuals, corporations, and politicians. They use their writing skills to craft speeches that convey a particular message in a way that engages and moves the audience.

Start hiring Speech Writer freelancers

How to get started on Contra

Contra for Clients

With Contra, you can discover and hire top-notch talent, manage payments, contracts, and projects, and work the way you want.

Guide to Discover

This guide will provide the steps to finding your perfect match on Contra using our Discover tool

How to Post a Top-Tier Opportunity

If you need an Independent for your next opportunity, you're in the right place. Learn about how you can find your next collaborator.

How to hire on Contra

There are three ways to hire on Contra -- we’ll go through all three of these in this article and when to use each one!

Best Practices for Working with Independents

Thinking about hiring an Independent? Here are some tips to maximize your partnership and collaboration

Learn more on hiring

Related articles.

How to Become a Freelance Writer: 8 Steps ✍️

Types of Literary Devices: 13 You Must Know ✍️

From a to z: the different types of literary devices ✍️.

What to Know About Different Writing Styles, From A to Z ✍️

Hyperboles: Definition & 4 Examples for Writers 😱

How to Write Dialogue That Adds Depth to Your Storytelling 💬

she / her / elle

I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) with over 20 years experience working with children in schools and in private practice.  I  consider myself a modern communication specialist, whose professional experience as an SLP, personal experience as a woman, as well as learnings and practice in mindfulness, are expertly blended into my speeches, writing and teachings. 

A proud Franco-Ontarian, I currently reside in Toronto with my two teenage daughters and two fur babies (Ozzie and Bijou). I am passionate about sharing my personal and professional experiences so that others can reclaim their voice, stand in their own power, and become vehicles of positive change in the world.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

Sales Presentation? Wedding? Bar Mitzvah? Retirement? Eulogy?

Toronto speechwriter.

Bruce Walden, our owner, is an award-winning comedy writer. For over 15 years, he’s also been ghostwriting speeches for a wide variety of ecstatic clients.

Wedding speech writing

Wedding speeches typically need to balance the heartfelt with the humorous. Receptions are one of the few opportunities in life to publicly express how we feel – sharing what the support of family and friends truly means – all while leaving our guests with some laughs and warm memories of an entertaining evening.

Want something short and sweet? Or prefer a full-blown roast of the groom? Bruce will interview you about the upcoming celebration, and ensure the tone and content of the speech is a perfect fit for both you and the occasion.

Bruce is also experienced ghostwriting eulogies and speeches for other social events, such as engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, graduations, and retirement parties.

Corporate speech writing

The number one rule of a corporate speech? Don’t be boring. That’s because typically your goals are to captivate, enlighten, persuade or motivate. You want to educate your audience and convince them to share your point of view – whether it be to believe in the value of a new product, or the team effort essential to meet sales projections.

Having worked with thousands of businesses across virtually every field, Bruce has a unique perspective that will help you connect with customers or employees. He’s written speeches for clients in the education, manufacturing, retail, healthcare and financial industries.

A great speech gives you the confidence needed to nail the delivery. And, no one ever need know you hired a pro. Contact Bruce to find out more or schedule an initial interview.

Strategic. Creative. Affordable.

1-800-536-7173

About Us - Passionate and Experienced Speech Therapists!

Welcome to Speech Specialists! We’d like to start off by telling you a little about us!

We are a passionate team of Speech Language Pathologists, Speech Therapy Assistants, Behavioural Therapists, and Occupational Therapists that provide private therapy services to clients all across Southern Ontario.

We provide individualized and comprehensive assessments as well as unique treatment programs for each of our clients.

Our therapists provide a variety of services for both children and adults. These include:

• Speech and Language Delays
• Articulation and Motor Speech Therapy
• Autism Spectrum Disorders Services
• Augmentative Communication
• Accent Reduction and Modification
• Language and Literacy Development
• Reading and Writing
• Stuttering and Fluency Therapy

We have 2 clinics in Scarborough and Mississauga and provide in-home services in the Durham Region and in Ottawa.

Our therapists are located all across the GTA and Southern Ontario. For more information, please fill out a contact form and a speech therapist will contact you on a priority basis.

Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance

Discover How Voice & Speech Can Help You

Book a complimentary 15-minute online chat with Jay. Discuss your current needs and objectives. Get the facts about options for training. Determine your next steps.

Voice Lessons – Toronto Vocal Coach Jay Miller Offers Public Speaking, Presentation & Media Training

Voice lessons, develop a strong, engaging voice – one others will find attractive and persuasive., public speaking & presentation skills, manage nervousness, build self-confidence, and deliver compelling messages., media training, quickly develop effective skills to handle the media – both on and off camera., making good speakers great.

Could you benefit from voice lessons in Toronto? A vocal coach from Voice & Speech can help you make optimal use of your speaking voice, and gain confidence in front of an audience. Or perhaps you need media or presentation training? Toronto voice coach Jay Miller, and his associates, offer a range of voice and speech services, including voice lessons, public speaking training, presentation skills training, on-camera media training, accent reduction, and speech writing.

Jay is uniquely qualified to help you communicate more clearly. He has a degree in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from Temple University, and both a Master of Fine Arts degree and Voice Teaching diploma from York University. His strong technical skills are enhanced by a patient and supportive coaching style.

One of Canada’s Finest Vocal Coaches

Jay’s education in speech sciences and performing arts, combined with his experience as a speaker and instructor, has allowed him to assist a wide variety of business clients. For over 15 years, he’s provided voice lessons and public speaking training in Toronto to many Fortune 500 companies, developing a reputation as one of Canada’s finest vocal coaches.

Would you like to learn more about voice lessons in Toronto? Public speaking training? How to polish your presentation skills or be your best in a media interview? Contact us!

Contact Jay Miller

TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

Be heard , speak ‍ clearly and ‍ confidently

We help you gain the skills and confidence in day-to-day conversing, meetings, interviews and presentations. In the professional world, mastering communication is the key to success.

We're a team of speech-language pathologists (SLP) with expertise in helping working professionals gain confidence in their speech and to excel both personally and professionally.

Success Stories

Learn why clients want to improve their communication and how they achieved it.

Join Lou and 8.9+ million other Small Business Owners

Speech and content writer

Who we want to be referred to, the products and services we offer.

Are you sure you want to delete this recommendation?

Speech Avenue

NOW OFFERING: Speech and Language Therapy group sessions for children! Learn more.

Speech Avenue and All Avenues are one and the same.

Speech language therapy & rehabilitation services toronto.

All Avenues and Speech Avenue strives to offer the best speech therapy & behaviour therapy for children and adults in the Greater Toronto Area.

Services for Children

Our clinicians can help with:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Developmental Disabilities
• Language Delay
• Learning Disabilities
• Paediatric Swallowing
• Pragmatic Language
• Play Skills & Communication
• Preschool Stuttering
• Speech Delay
• Speech and Language Group Therapy

Services for Adults

We provide support for:

• Accent Modification

2 Convenient Locations

We offer safe, in-person services at our clinics located in Etobicoke and Scarborough. Our offices follow COVID-19 safety guidelines to keep you and your family safe.​

Services in 16 Languages

 We provide services in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Gujarati, Swahili, Malayalam, Tamil, Tagalog, Russian, Hebrew, Urdu, and Hindi.

• 416-857-0687
• [email protected]
• 577 Burnhamthorpe Rd. Unit 1, Etobicoke, ON M9C 2Y3

• 4240 Sheppard Ave E, Scarborough, ON M1S 1T5

General Inquiries

First Name *

Last Name *

Phone Number *

Preferred Location * —Please choose an option— In home Scarborough Office Etobicoke Office Virtual

Service of Interest * —Please choose an option— Speech Therapy Behaviour Therapy Both

How did you hear about us? *

Message (optional)

At Two Can Talk, We’re More Than a Clinic – We’re Your Partner in Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Autism Services

We believe in individualized treatment that involves the client and the caregiver. We combine your knowledge with our expertise to develop a unique plan of care. Our experience, passion, and family centered approach will make the difference.

We value the importance of high quality care and provide individualized intervention. We combine compassion with evidence based practice to support every individual’s unique communication goals.

We strive to combine compassion with evidence-based practice to support every individual’s unique communication goals.

• Our team of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), Speech Language Pathology Assistants (SLPAs), and Occupational Therapists (OTs) provide speech and occupational therapy services including assessment, treatment, and consultation, both in-person and online.
• In-person sessions are available at our Vaughan clinic or at the convenience of your home. 
• Teletherapy is delivered using interactive video, creating an “in-person” experience, similar to traditional sessions.

Speech Therapy Services

Services for children, services for adults, group therapy, traumatic brain injury cognitive communication, autism assessments, our clinical philosophy.

We maintain the highest standards in the provision of evaluation and treatment, pulling from the most current, innovative, and evidence-based techniques. Our clinical standards of practice are guided by ethical and professional excellence, consistent with CASLPO. Our goal is to deliver high standard, compassionate and enjoyable care, to help adults and children reach their highest communicative potential.

Why Choose Speech Therapy from Two Can Talk?

Reliable & caring.

Highly trained to assess and treat communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults.

IN-CLINIC, COMMUNITY & ONLINE

In-clinic, at-school/daycare, and virtual sessions to suit your lifestyle & schedule.

PERSON CENTERED

Individualized intervention plan to meet your specific needs and to promote carryover and generalization of skills.

Trusted by healthcare practitioners, teachers, psychologists, private schools & daycares, developmental centres and most of all our satisfied clients.

Latest from the blog, speech-language pathologist vs. communicative disorders assistant (or speech language pathology assistant): what’s the difference, teaching basic concepts, early intervention: the importance of parent-coaching, toronto speech therapy – tailored to your needs.

• Is your toddler reluctant to start saying any words while other kids are already forming sentences?
• Is your preschool or school aged child having a hard time pronouncing certain sounds?
• Struggling with reading and writing skills?
• Has a member of your family had a recent stroke and cannot understand or formulate language?

We are here to help!

Two Can Talk is a Toronto-based speech therapy practice where clients of all ages (from kids to adults) receive personalized care to remediate communication delays or disorders. Whether you are concerned with understanding and using speech and language, fluency (stuttering), literacy, or loss of previously acquired language skills, we are here to support and guide you towards effective communication.

Our speech language pathologists are highly skilled at assessing and treating various speech and language difficulties. We work together with family members to put together a personalized intervention plan and implement evidence therapeutic techniques. With Two Can Talk, you will receive one of a kind, caring and effective care.

Speech Therapy in Your Native Language

Multilingualism practice tends to create the development and general acquisition of cross-cultural communication skills .

We are committed to delivering speech and language services that are accessible to various multilingual communities. Whether your child doesn’t speak English at home, or you prefer to speak to someone in your native tongue, our multilingual clinicians are here to help. Apart from English, our speech and language therapists are fluent in many other languages – from Arabic and Russian to Mandarin and Hindi. This can also be beneficial for families trying to raise bilingual children as we can determine whether the communication difficulty exists in one language or both.

In-Clinic, In-Person and Virtual Speech Therapy Available!

At Two Can Talk, we provide speech therapy at…

• Our clinic in Vaughan
• Multiple locations across the Greater Toronto Area
• Your child’s daycare, learning center, or school

Our speech teletherapy sessions are delivered online via a secure platform and involve both traditional and innovative speech and language techniques. Teletherapy is available to children and adults living all over Ontario.

Accommodating to your schedule!

We aim to accommodate your busy schedule and can offer weekday and evening appointments at various morning, daytime, and evening times. Speech therapy is covered by most extended health benefits and a doctor’s referral is usually not necessary. If you are searching for “speech therapy near me” looking for the best speech therapist for yourself or your loved one – you’ve come to the right place. Select a session type that fits your needs and begin your journey towards effective communication with Two Can Talk!

Add Two Can Talk to your Homescreen!

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• AP Top 25 College Football Poll
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

How speechwriters delve into a president’s mind: Lots of listening, studying and becoming a mirror

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. It’s an annual process that former presidential speechwriters say take months. Speechwriters have the uneviable task of taking dozens of ideas and stitching into a cohesive narrative of a president’s vision for the year. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

• Copy Link copied

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speechwriting, in one sense, is essentially being someone else’s mirror.

“You can try to find the right words,” said Dan Cluchey, a former speechwriter for President Joe Biden . “But ultimately, your job is to ensure that when the speech is done, that it has a reflection of the speaker.”

That concept is infinitely magnified in the role of the presidential speechwriter. Over the course of U.S. history, those aides have absorbed the personalities, the quirks, the speech cadences of the most powerful leader on the globe, capturing his thoughts for all manner of public remarks, from the mundane to the historic and most consequential.

There are few times in a presidency that the art — and the rigorous, often painful process — of speechwriting is more on display than during a State of the Union , when the vast array of a president’s policy aspirations and political messages come together in one, hour-plus carefully choreographed address at the Capitol. Biden will deliver the annual address on Thursday .

It’s a process that former White House speechwriters say take months, with untold lobbying and input from various federal agencies and others outside the president’s inner circle who are all working to ensure their favored proposals merit a mention. Speechwriters have the unenviable task of taking dozens of ideas and stitching them into a cohesive narrative of a president’s vision for the year.

It’s less elegant prose, more laundry list of policy ideas.

Amid all those formalities and constraints of a State of the Union address, there is also how a president executes the speech.

Biden’s biggest political liability remains his age (81) and voters’ questions about whether he is still up to the job (his doctor this past week declared him fit to serve ). His every word is watched by Republican operatives eager to capture any misspeak to plant doubt about Biden’s fitness among the public.

“This year, of course, is an election year. It also comes as there’s much more chatter about his age,” said Michael Waldman, who served as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. “People are really going to be scrutinizing him for how he delivers the speech, as much as what he says.”

Biden will remain at Camp David through Tuesday and is expected to spend much of that time preparing for the State of the Union. Bruce Reed, the White House deputy chief of staff, accompanied Biden to the presidential retreat outside Washington on Friday evening.

The White House has said lowering costs, shoring up democracy and protecting women’s reproductive care will be among the topics that Biden will address on Thursday night.

Biden likely won’t top the list of the most talented presidential orators. He has thrived the most during small chance encounters with Americans, where interactions can be more off the cuff and intimate.

The plain-spoken Biden is known to hate Washington jargon and the alphabet soup of government acronyms, and he has challenged aides, when writing his remarks, to cut through the clutter and to get to the point with speed. Cluchey, who worked for Biden from 2018 to 2022, said the president was very engaged in the speech drafting process, all the way down to individual lines and words.

Biden can also come across as stiff at times when standing and reading from a teleprompter, but immediately loosens up and appears more comfortable when he switches to a hand-held microphone mid-remark. Biden has also learned to navigate a childhood stutter that he says helped him develop empathy for others facing similar challenges.

To become engrossed in another person’s voice, past presidential speechwriters list things that are critical. One is just doing a lot of listening to the principal, to get a sense of his rhythms and how he uses language.

Lots of direct conversation with the president is key, to try and get inside the commander in chief’s thinking and how that leader frames arguments and make their case.

“This is not an act of impression, where you’re simply just trying to get the accent down,” said Jeff Shesol, another former Clinton speechwriter. “What you really are learning to do and need to learn to do -– this is true of speechwriters in any role, but particularly for a president –- is to understand not just how he sounds, but how he thinks.”

Shesol added: “You’re absorbing not just the rhythms and cadences of speech, but you’re absorbing a worldview.”

Then there is always the matter of the speech-giver going rogue.

Biden is often candid, and White House aides are sometimes left to clean up and clarify what he said in unvarnished moments. But other times when he deviates from the script, it ends up being an improvement on what his aides had scripted.

Take last year’s State of the Union . Biden had launched into an attack prepared in advance against some Republicans who were insisting on requiring renewal votes on popular programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which would effectively threaten their fate every five years.

That prompted heckling from Republicans and shouts of “Liar!” from the audience.

Biden immediately pivoted, egging on the Republicans to contact his office for a copy of the proposal and joking that he was enjoying their “conversion.”

“Folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the — off the books now, right? They’re not to be touched?” Biden continued. The crowd of lawmakers applauded. “All right. All right. We got unanimity!”

Speechwriters do try and prepare for such moments, particularly if a president is known to speak extemporaneously.

Shesol recalled that Clinton’s speechwriters would draft remarks that were relatively spare, to account for him veering off on his own. The writers would write a clear structure into the speech that would allow Clinton to easily return to his prepared remarks once his riff was over.

“Clinton used to liken it to playing a jazz solo and then he’s going back to the score,” Waldman added.

Cluchey, when asked for his reaction when his former boss would go off-script, described it as a “ballet with several movements of, you know, panic, to ‘Wait a minute, this is actually very good,’ and then ‘Oh man, he really nailed it.’”

Biden is “at his best when he’s most authentically, most loosely, just speaking the plain truth,” Cluchey said. “The speechwriting process even at its best has strictures around it.”

BREAKING: Case against Trump in Georgia can continue if DA Willis or special counsel remove themselves, judge rules

Despite being found liable for attack, Trump claims E. Jean Carroll made 'false accusations' against him

ROME, Georgia — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated his claim that writer E. Jean Carroll had levied “false accusations” against him, even as similar remarks have resulted in large court judgments against him.

Speaking at a Georgia campaign rally that represented Trump’s pivot toward the general election as he seeks to prevent a second loss to Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump reiterated a number of grievances, Carroll’s civil court victories among them.

“I just posted a $91 million bond, $91 million on a fake story, totally made-up story,” he said, referencing the bond he posted this week as he appeals a defamation verdict against him.

“Ninety-one million based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn’t know, never heard of, I know nothing about her,” he continued.

“She wrote a book, she said things,” Trump told the raucous crowd in Rome, about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta. “And when I denied it, I said, ‘It’s so crazy. It’s false.’ I get sued for defamation. That’s where it starts.”

At issue for Trump has been Carroll’s allegation that he raped her during an encounter in the dressing room of a New York department store in the 1990s and then defamed her by calling her account a “hoax” and a “con job.” 

In May, a jury did not find Trump liable for the alleged   rape but awarded Carroll $5 million after finding the former president liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

A separate case focused on similar comments Trump made about Carroll while in office and concluded he defamed her when casting doubt on her story. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that case would be about determining damages — later adjudged to be $83.3 million — as the abuse was factual.

Trump is appealing both cases.

The judgments did not appear to dissuade him from returning to his denials of her account. On Saturday, Trump said that Carroll “is not a believable person” and that Kaplan — whom he called “a terrible person, a terrible judge” and “highly corrupt” — knows as much.

Trump blamed “Democratic operatives” for his defamation woes, and called the city where he and his father bought, sold, traded and developed real estate projects for the better part of a century a crooked metropolis.

“New York is a very corrupt place,” Trump said.

It did not appear Carroll had responded to Trump’s latest denials of her story as of early Sunday.

Jake Traylor is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

Lindsey Pipia is an Associate Producer for the 2024 Political Desk.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Fine, Call It a Comeback

By Ezra Klein

Opinion Columnist

If the Joe Biden who showed up to deliver the State of the Union address last week is the Joe Biden who shows up for the rest of the campaign, you’re not going to have any more of those weak-kneed pundits suggesting he’s not up to running for re-election. Here’s hoping he does.

But that’s not the only thing from Thursday night that I hope Biden holds onto. So far, the Biden team has been more sure-footed attacking Donald Trump’s threat to democracy than it has been defending Biden’s incumbency. That reflects a strange problem they face. By virtually any measure save food prices , Biden is presiding over a strong economy — stronger, by far, than most peer countries . As Noah Smith has noted , the Biden economy looks far better than Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America”: Unemployment is lower, inflation is lower, interest rates are lower, stock market returns are better.

But Americans feel otherwise. The most recent Times/Siena poll found that 74 percent of registered voters rated the economy either “poor” or “fair.” By a 15-point margin, voters said Trump’s policies helped them personally. By a 25-point margin, they said Biden’s policies hurt them personally.

Voters seem to remember the tail end of Trump’s third year, when the economy was strong, and not the utter calamity of his fourth year, when his Covid response was chaos and the economy was frozen. In November of 2020, unemployment was 6.7 percent and Trump had just turned a White House celebration into a superspreader event . Republicans who say Americans should ask whether they’re better off than they were four years ago should be careful what they wish for.

But Biden is in a tough spot. You don’t want to run for re-election telling voters they’re wrong and the economy is actually great. Nor can you run for re-election telling voters that they’re right and the economy is bad. Biden has often seemed a little unsure what to say about his own record. On Thursday night, he figured it out.

“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation’s history,” Biden said . “We have. It doesn’t make news, news — in a thousand cities and towns, the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”

Biden’s refrain of the American comeback is a sharp one. It does two things simultaneously. It reminds voters that there is something America is coming back from — namely, the dislocations of the pandemic, and the wild, erratic management style that Trump brought to it — and it lets Biden point to progress without declaring victory. It’s the right message for an incumbent: There are good things happening. Let’s keep going.

It also describes the way the Biden team actually imagines a second term. When I talked to administration officials in the weeks leading up to the State of the Union, I was struck by how many told me that the top priority of a second term was bringing the legislative accomplishments of the first to fruition. Biden’s record is atypically physical : The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act are all about building real things in the real world. It’s slow work that takes time — too much time , if we’re being honest.

Wind power is rolling out more sluggishly than the Inflation Reduction Act’s authors hoped, and we’re not building new transmission lines at anywhere near the rate necessary to hit the administration’s decarbonization goals. “The biggest barriers to deployment between now and 2030 are non-cost in nature — like siting and permitting delays, backlogged grid interconnect queues, and supply chain challenges,” a recent analysis by the Rhodium Group and M.I.T.’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research concluded .

Similarly, the advanced semiconductor factories the CHIPS program seeks to build are facing cost overruns and construction delays , and the administration’s efforts to persuade Congress to exempt future plants from environmental review failed .

Then there’s the part of the economy that still has people furious and is inarguably worse than when Biden took office: prices. Biden announced a number of concrete policies to bring prices down: A temporary tax credit to give Americans mortgage relief while they wait for interest rates to come down. The elimination of title insurance fees on federally backed mortgages. Expanding Medicare’s power to drive down drug prices.

But he could go further. Tyler Cowen, the economist and Bloomberg columnist, is right when he says that the weakness of Biden’s economic agenda has been that it “has a lot of expenditure but very little deregulation.” Even if Biden wins, he’s very likely to face a Republican Senate in 2025. Spending more money will be hard. But the money he’s already spending will go further, faster, if he cuts the red tape that makes it so hard to build homes, roads, factories and energy infrastructure. That requires a deregulatory agenda that can be a tough sell among parts of the Democratic coalition but might, just might, be possible as part of a deal with Republicans.

Biden is practiced at talking about the threat that Trump poses to democracy. It’s clearly what motivates him in this campaign. But he, not Trump, is the incumbent, and Biden has lacked a simple frame to tell the story of his presidency — one that balances what he’s achieved with what Americans still consider undone, and that reminds voters of what he inherited while still laying out a vision for where he’s going.

“Turning setback into comeback,” Biden said on Thursday. “That’s what America does.” It’s a good message. And it has the added benefit of being true.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Ezra Klein joined Opinion in 2021. Previously, he was the founder, editor in chief and then editor at large of Vox; the host of the podcast “The Ezra Klein Show”; and the author of “Why We’re Polarized.” Before that, he was a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where he founded and led the Wonkblog vertical. He is on Threads . 

Trump Finds Another Line to Cross

The former president used to exercise a modicum of restraint around Joe Biden’s stutter. No longer.

Listen to this article

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

Former President Donald Trump , perhaps threatened by President Joe Biden’s well-received State of the Union address, mocked his opponent’s lifelong stutter at a rally in Georgia yesterday. “Wasn’t it—didn’t it bring us together?” Trump asked sarcastically. He kept the bit going, slipping into a Biden caricature. “‘I’m gonna bring the country tuh-tuh-tuh-together,’” Trump said, straining and narrowing his mouth for comedic effect.

Trump has made a new habit of this. “‘He’s a threat to d-d-democracy,’” Trump said in his vaudeville Biden character at a January rally in Iowa. That jibe was also a response to a big Biden speech—one tied to the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection. (Guess who the he was in that sentence.)

More than Trump’s ugly taunt, one thing stands out to me about these moments: the sound of Trump’s supporters laughing right along with him. This is a building block of Trumpism. The man at the top gives his followers permission to be the worst version of themselves.

I was on my way to meet friends last night when someone texted me a link to Trump’s latest fake-stuttering clip. I am a lifelong stutterer, and as I rode the subway, holding my phone up to my ear, out came that old familiar mockery—like Adam Sandler in Billy Madison saying, “Tuh-tuh-tuh-today, junior!” Only this time the taunt was coming from a 77-year-old man.

Read: What Joe Biden can’t bring himself to say

Stuttering is one of many disabilities to have entered Trump’s crosshairs. In 2015, he infamously made fun of a New York Times reporter’s disabled upper-body movements. Three years later, as president, when planning a White House event for military veterans, he asked his staff not to include amputees wounded in combat, saying, “Nobody wants to see that.” Stuttering is a neurological disorder that affects roughly 3 million Americans. Biden has stuttered since childhood. He has worked to manage his disfluent speech for decades, but, contrary to the story he tells about his life, he has never fully “beat” it.

As I noted in 2019 when I first wrote about Biden’s relationship to his stutter, living with this disorder is by no means a quest for pity. And having a stutter is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for any verbal flub. Sometimes, when Biden mixes up a name, date, or fact, he is doing just that: making a mistake, and his stutter is not the reason. I am among those who believe the balance of Biden’s stuttering to non-stuttering-related verbal issues has shifted since I interviewed him five years ago.

And yet, Biden can still come off confident, conversational, and lucid. Although he’s not a naturally gifted orator like Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, he can still be an effective public speaker—someone who, as my colleague Jennifer Senior noted, understands “the connect.” Notably, he can find a way to do all of the above while still periodically stuttering, as he proved during his State of the Union speech. Depending on the day, his voice might be booming or it might be shaky. He may go long stretches of time without interruption, or visibly and audibly repeat certain sounds in a classic stutter formation. Such moments are outside of Biden’s control, as they are for any stutterer, which makes them an appealing pressure point for Trump, the bully.

For a time, Trump exercised a modicum of restraint around this topic. As I once wrote , Trump was probably wise enough to realize that, to paraphrase Michael Jordan, Republicans stutter too . (Including Trump’s friend Herschel Walker , who has his place on the Stuttering Foundation’s website, along with Biden .) During the 2020 election, Trump wouldn’t go right for the jugular with the S-word. Instead, at his final campaign events, he would play a sizzle reel of Biden’s vocal stumbles, looking up at the screen and laughing at Biden along with the crowd. Back then, Trump left most of the direct stuttering vitriol to his allies and family. “Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe,” his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, said at a Women for Trump event. She’s now RNC co-chair.

David A. Graham: Republicans are no longer a political party

Watching this new clip brought me back to my conversation with Biden five years ago. At the time, I asked him whether he thought Trump would one day nickname him “St-St-St-Stuttering Joe.” If Trump were to go there, Biden told me, “it’ll just expose him for what he is.”

Trump has now definitively gone there. What has that exposed? Only what we already knew: Trump may be among the most famous and powerful people in modern history, but he remains a small-minded bully. He mocks Biden’s disability because he believes the voters will reward him for it—that there is more to be gained than lost by dehumanizing his rival and the millions of other Americans who stutter, or who go through life managing other disorders and disabilities. I would like to believe that more people are repulsed than entertained, and that Trump has made a grave miscalculation. We have eight more months of this until we find out.