Random bullets: three wise men

Random bullets from 3 wise men:

• David Slack is one of the most eloquent writers around. He's a speechwriter, and the brains behind speeches.com. His post on Public Address on how to write a maiden political speech is a classic. Check it out. He starts with the question "Why are you here?" and gets better after that.
  
• My favourite writer Malcolm Gladwell has a new book out in a few days. It's called Outliers and is about people who are exceptional. I can't wait.
  
• Ian Brodie has a post "don't tell 'em what you told 'em..," on his blog, reminding me why the simple formula that works in training won't work if you're doing a keynote speech. I like his point that the purpose of a keynote could be one of 3 things: to make a speech -which is to get one point across to an audience, to entertain, or to educate and train.