This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
Recently, Jon Favreau came to speak at American. He worked for Obama as a speechwriter for eight years, including Obama’s first term as president. Jon gave insight into his life and his normal coming of age struggles and job hardships just like any of us would experience. He was not shy to tell embarrassing stories on how he almost got fired, or the fact that he started out making less than $20,000 a year and lived in a basement with rats. Here are three major pieces of advice he had.
- Be honest. Speeches and writing need to be honest and to be told simply. There is no need to have huge sentences, incomprehensible words or try to speak over your audience. In order to have a decent speech, the audience needs to understand it in the first place!
- Tell a story. Speeches need to tell a story and speak to people specifically. In other words, try to connect with them on more of a personal level. Some people claim that storytelling is a lost art but we’re here to prove them wrong.
- Keep your head down and do your work. Jon said he did as he was told and kept out of trouble in the workplace. He believes this is what got him places and where he is now. Be a reliable, respectable and hard worker.
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