Never forget?

That's easy. Because September 11th is one more reason I appreciate being able to help people with speeches. On the 10th anniversary of the attacks, I had the honor of working with a fire chief who would be speaking to a group, including his city's major, about 9/11 and the first responders who so bravely did their jobs.

As a speech writer, I can help someone take a special moment like that and turn it into something a little more memorable with the power of words. And that's why I honestly see speech writing as something that's a whole lot more than a job.

Of course I love it when moments are special because of something especially GOOD that happened all the way around. But life give us good and bad, and what was remarkable about 9/11 was the bravery that we saw and the good that ultimately came from it.

What I'll never forget about 9/11 is that this world needs all the good people it can get doing all the good they're able to do. There's never a time when we can't contribute and make the world a better place by giving the best of ourselves to others.

I've received great feedback from speech clients since 2002 when I first began this service. But I didn't really think to start collecting the best of the best feedback into a testimonial page until more recently. But I've realized ... this isn't just a great way to show others that I can help them. It's also a great way to keep feeling motivated about the work I'm doing.

For instance, I just worked on a wedding speech for a client who gave me this feedback:

After the first draft: "This speech is truly amazing, I am so touched, I LOVE IT! It's so great and everything I imagined it would be. You are the BEST!"

And after the second draft: " I really got to sit down and read this revision, and I think it is truly perfect!!! ---- loves it too. I think it will be a HUGE hit! It is a small price to pay to have an amazing killer speech." S.M.

You can imagine that this makes me pretty darn happy about doing what I do, knowing I've made an honest difference for someone.

Best of all ... the only testimonials I post, like this one, are unsolicited. The client gives this feedback spontaneously, and only afterward do I ask if they'd mind me using their kind words on the website. Let me say ... great clients are a heck of a reason to keep putting my best work into speeches, even after more than 10 years of writing them.

At least a couple times in the last few months, I remember people coming to me for help with writing a speech, but when we connected, I found that they not only had a first draft written -- they actually had a GOOD first draft written.

When this happens, I let someone know that I could rewrite it and charge them full price for a speech, but that MY recommendation is to keep THEIR voice. I recommend having me just lend a hand with smoothing out the speech for a much lower rate.

This made me think of the topic of when someone really needs speech writing help. In a lot of professional settings, it's important for a lot of reasons. Business people often don't have time to get the speech written, there is research to be done, complex organization, etc. So unless they are very good writers and have the time, it's a good idea to outsource the work to a speech writer.

But in so many personal or social speeches, writing one's own speech almost can't fail. You know your voice, you know your stories, and everyone listening wants you to succeed. They're not expecting a lot. They're with you at an event to share in something. In most of these cases, a speech writer isn't needed. No point in reaching out for help.

Still, I can't deny that a lot of people are very nervous about giving a speech, even in such a friendly setting. They WANT to feel that a professional has helped to organize their words. Someone else might be very busy with work and has the extra funds for help. That's ok too. In other cases, someone wants to have a real impact, even though it's just a social setting. Well, this is another reason someone might get help.

Since these events still rely on the personal stories of the speaker, I always charge less for social speeches than I do for business speeches. It's much more a matter of getting personal information and then organizing it and making it flow for the best possible speech.

At the end of the day, choosing to get help for a speech is a personal decision and comes down to how you feel, what you're trying to do, and what you're confident in being able to do. (Plus budget.) I encourage you to believe that people in a social setting are rooting for you and that you don't need to spend on getting help. But if you DO want a hand, I really understand that and try to make my help as affordable as possible while still providing high quality service and revisions for a flat fee.