Useful videos about writing speeches from Jon Favreau – President Obama’s first Director of Speechwriting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Favreau was Barack Obama’s first White House Director of Speechwriting from January 20, 2009 to March 1, 2013. There is a series of brief YouTube videos of him from the Oxford Union on March 4, 2016.

 

One (2:39) is titled What Makes a Great Speech? He says that he most important job of a speech is to tell a story from beginning to end, and to put together a logical argument. A second (3:16) is titled Writing The State of the Union Speech.  A third (3:18) is titled Political Correctness in Speechwriting. A fourth (1:39) is titled Politicians Are Afraid To Be Themselves. A fifth (3:04) is titled Marco Rubio Comment “Insane”. And a sixth (1:52) is titled Obama Never Got Angry. Contrast that with Donald Trump, who never stopped being angry. 

 

Mr. Favreaus’s entire presentation at the Oxford Union(1 h 2 min) is titled Jon Favreau | Life as Obama’s Speechwriter | Full Address.

 

There also are videos from University College Dublin (UCD) – a 12-minute one titled What I learned from President Obama | Jon Favreau (speechwriter) | UCD Literary & Historical Society and a 55-minute one titled Jon Favreau – former chief speechwriter for President Obama | Q&A with UCD L & H Society.

 

And there also is a 45-minute video at Life Stories titled Jon Favreau Interview: Redefining Patriotism through Obama’s Speeches (part of the HBO documentary Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union).

 

The Obama portrait came from Openclipart.