Web Resources
Giving and Writing Speeches
- Public Speaking Tips
- Topics include: Accepting Awards; Delivering Eulogies; Delivering Technical Briefings; Giving Sales Pitches; Introducing Speakers; Preparing a Speech; Presenting Awards; Speaking to Diverse Audiences; Successful Speeches; Visuual Aids and Props; and Gestures and Body Language. From Toastmasters International.
- Six Tips for Writing Successful Persuasive Speeches
- From the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
- Speeches
- Creating an effective speech by "establishing the purpose of the speech and making it easily understandable." From the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Speeches by Various Persons
- American Rhetoric
- Includes an Online Speech Bank containing text for over 5,000 speeches (many with audio/video), a "Top 100 Speeches" list, and a "Speech of the Week." Please be aware of the extensive advertising throughout the American Rhetoric website.
- The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever
- "We've hand-picked over 300 addresses going back to 1774. Search by name, school, date or theme." From National Public Radio (NPR).
- Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World
- "Gifts of Speech is a non-profit project, sponsored by Sweet Briar College, dedicated to preserving and creating access to speeches by inspirational, influential and contemporary women from around the world." Text only. Includes Nobel Laureate lectures.
- The Holy Father: The Holy See
- To find the speeches of the popes from Pius XII to Francis, click on their name, and then on "Speeches" in the left hand colmn of the resulting page. From the Vatican.
- Nobel Peace Prize Speeches and Lectures
- To find transcripts of the Nobel Peace Prize winners' lectures from 1901 to the present, select a person and click on "More" at the top of the page. Some will also include videos of the speech. Under the video select the language to "Read the Nobel Lecture." From NobelPrize.org.
- Notable Speeches and Letters by African Americans, From Benjamin Banneker to Barack Obama
- From Factmonster.com.
- Notable Speeches and Addresses by U.S. Women, 1849 - present
- From Factmonster.com.
- Say It Plain, Say It Loud...: A Century of Great African American Speeches
- From American RadioWorks this website has audio and transcripts of speeches given by Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama and others.
- Selected Speeches of Winston Churchill
- Speeches from 1901 through 1963. From the Churchill Centre and Museum.
- Vital Speeches of the Day
Speeches by U.S. Presidents and Their Administrations
- Abraham Lincoln: Words and Speeches
- Archived website. See also the Abraham Lincoln Papers website for General Correspondence (1833-1897). Adobe Reader is required to view speeches. From the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission at the Library of Congress.
- Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt
- Primary Speeches, Addresses, and Essays by Theodore Roosevelt.
- Convention Speeches
- From the American Presidency Project.
- Famous Presidential Speeches
- Includes: George Washington's First Inaugural Address and Farewell Address, James Monroe's State of the Nation Address and Proclaiming the Monroe Doctrine, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man with the Muck Rake" Speech, Woodrow Wilson's War Message and Advising Congress to Declare War on Germany, Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Fireside Chat / Third Inaugural Address / War Message / Asking Congress to Declare War on Japan, Harry Truman's Farewell Address, John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address and Proposing the "Great Society" Program, Richard Nixon's Resignation Speech, Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address, George H. W. Bush's State of the Union Address and "Envisioning One Thousand Points of Light," William Clinton's Inaugural Address, George W. Bush's Address to Congress and the American People. From Infoplease.com.
- The History Channel: Speeches - Audio and Video Gallery
- Historical speeches from U.S. Presidents, world leaders, and military persons. Navigation can be tricky: Select from thematic playlists using the navigation bar located above and to the right of the video/audio panel. From there, select from a vertical list of persons. Audio/video requires Adobe Flash.
- Presidential Recordings
- "The Presidential Recordings Collection is made up of two distinct types of presidential speech: public speeches made by U.S. Presidents and secret recordings made in the White House between 1940 and 1973." From Archive.org.
- Presidential Speech Archive
- "The Scripps Library, through cooperation with various presidential libraries, has been collecting some of the more important presidential speeches of the past 60 years. These speeches are available in their entirety in full audio. When possible, we have also provided transcripts of the speeches. Recently we have expanded our collection to include the full text of some of the more important presidential speeches from the 18th and 19th centuries." Website provided by the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia.
- Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln
- Speeches of John F. Kennedy (JFK)
- From the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
- State of the Union Speeches
- Video and transcripts of America Presidents back to Truman (videos back to Nixon). From C-SPAN.
- The White House Briefing Room
- Speeches, statements, press briefings, televised appearances, and videos from the U.S. President and members of his administration.
