There is a useful book from 2024 by Melissa Harris and Jenn Bane titled Everybody Needs an Editor: The essential guide to clear and effective writing. Google Books has a preview through page 26 (with some omissions).
The Contents are divided into the following SECTIONS and Chapters [my numbers added] and page numbers:
SECTION 1. LET’S WRITE IT
Chapter 1: Writing Better Business Communication 3
Chapter 2: Writing Effective Personal Communications 41
Chapter 3: A Few More Tips for Any Kind of Writing 57
Chapter 4: Using Artificial Intelligence Intelligently 73
SECTION 2. LET’S TOP IT
Chapter 5: Getting Opened 91
Chapter 6: Getting Noticed 98
SECTION 3. LET’S FORMAT IT
Chapter 7: Organization for Emphasis 115
Chapter 8: How to Make Your Communication Look, Feel, and Sound Better 122
SECTION 4. LET’S FORMAT IT
Chapter 9: Advice on What to Do – and Not Do – for Effective Communication 141
Chapter 10: Cliches and Other Common Blunders 193
On pages 39 and 40 they discuss How to Write (and Give) a Speech:
“A graduation speech isn’t the same as a keynote at the International Conference on Aardvark Conservation. But almost any speech will be served by the following tips:
Know what you want your speech to do. If you’re not sure, talk it through with a friend. A clear title – say, ‘How to Write (and Give) a Speech’ – will steer you.
Say it out loud as you write. Remember that a speech, whether you’re writing it for yourself or someone else, is meant to be spoken. And heard. Vary the length of your sentences. Make most of them short. Not too many numbers.
Divide your speech into sections. There’s a reason books are divided into chapters. Two reasons, really. Chapters help the writer beak ideas into manageable portions. They also give the audience a sense of traveling toward a goal. In a speech, you don’t have to enumerate the sections for your listeners. However, they will appreciate a hit about how long they have to sit before they can go to the bathroom: ‘Now, for our final ten minutes, I’ll get into…’
To quote or not to quote? A couple of quotable quotes can fortify your own thoughts. But don’t overuse other people’s words. If you do quote, make sure you attribute – correctly.
Humor helps. But don’t measure the success of your speech by how many laughs you get. A touching story is better than a parade of weak jokes.
It’s OK to be personal. A speech is rarely the place to bare your whole soul. But even if you’re talking about aardvarks, people appreciate a personal anecdote or two, especially if you can connect your life to theirs.
Create rapport with the audience. Look at them. If you’re in a small or medium-sized room, make relaxed eye contact with individuals, just a few seconds per person. Ask them a question or two.
Slow down by using frequent pauses. The pause builds suspense and lets your words sink in. Comprehension occurs in the pauses.
No need to memorize your speech. But rehearse it. Record it. Listen to it. Know it well enough that your eyes aren’t always glued to your script. Consider highlighting key words with a yellow maker so that if you lose your place the important ideas are easily visible.
End strong. Repeat a major point or two. Consider a dash of poetry. Or issue a call to action.
Before you face the crowd, get calm. Take a few full breaths. Then go give that great speech you’re going to sit down right now and write.”
And on pages 109 and 110 they discuss How to Give a Presentation That Won’t Make Audience Members Play Games on Their Phone:
“Research tells us that audiences remember the beginning of a presentation, the end, and not much from the middle. So make sure you nail the beginning. Here’s how.
Give your presentation a descriptive title with powerful verbs. Make your audience hungry to know more. If you’re stuck, use the ‘how to’ format, share one overarching idea, or go with a listicle:
How a book about mice transformed my work
How shutting up made me a stronger leader
Ten secrets to better small talk
Five reasons to take that big road trip
Make it interactive. When audience members are using their brains, they’re engaged. Find a way to include them as soon as you can. Make ‘em raise their hands, participate in a poll, move around, interview each other, or play a game. (One of our favorite openers: Give everyone a pen and paper, and instruct them to tell a story about themselves using only visuals.)
Limit the text. Don’t make listeners read when they should be listening. Only display what is truly essential. Your presentation is merely a tool to aid your voice-over. The first slide sets that up.
Make it accessible. Use soft background colors with text in a high-contrast color. Choose fonts that are easily deciphered. Start by searching online for ‘presentation compliance.’ It’s the speaker’s responsibility to make the presentation accessible.
Don’t spend forever introducing yourself. If you’ve got a long list of credentials – well, look at you, hotshot – ask someone else to introduce you. Your opening moments don’t need to include your whole background: they only need to answer the question ‘Why am I in this room?’ Hopefully the answer is something like ‘To demonstrate how data visualization can tell powerful stories,’ and not ‘I have no idea.’ “
The cartoon was adapted from one at OpenClipArt.
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