Ten Minutes To The Speech

“The entertainment industry is all about communication. This book is all about making communication work for you.”

- Marhall Herskovitz, Producer of “Last Samurai,” “Traffic,” and “Thirtysomething.”

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“If I had to speak in front of any size audience, this is the book I’d turn to.”

- Mark Gordon, Producer of “The Patriot,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

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If the prospect of giving a maid-of-honor speech makes you want to run as fast as your dyed-to-match satin pumps can carry you, take heart: Vance Van Petten, author of “Ten Minutes to the Speech” and executive director of the Producers Guild of America, says using his “Four-H” rule will get you through your toast unscathed.

Start from the heart, expressing admiration and love for the bride and groom. Season the speech with lots of humor, using funny stories you get from the couple’s family members. “If you don’t get a really good version of how the couple met, you failed,” says Van Petten (”Wedding Crashers” notwithstanding). Expose your own and the couple’s humility by expressing how honored you are to be giving the speech and how lucky they are to have found each other. Finally, end with haste. A wedding speech should last between three and five minutes. Start early and practice telling the stories so you don’t have to use notes. And above all, leave the bride alone. “For a wedding, a bride is sacrosanct,” Van Petten says. “Never embarrass the bride.”

- Stephanie Schaerr, Newsweek, June 11 2007 Issue.

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Your book, Ten Minutes to the Speech, is exceptional! It’s filled with anecdotes, quotes and thematic stories that parallel its premise, much great advice, extremely helpful!

I’m going to put it right next to my copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White because it is destined to become an industry standard!

Loreen Arbus, Producer

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Ten Minutes to the Speech –It might take close to an hour to read this book (not ten minutes), but it’s well worth your time. The author is a good friend, and I can vouch for his public-speaking expertise. Vance Van Petten honed his trade in a city known for performances–Hollywood. While screen actors get a number of takes, public speakers can’t yell “Cut!” and expect a do-over. Vance currently serves as Executive Director of the Producers Guild of America, but he’s also worked in the business and legal-affairs departments of several Hollywood studios. He’s had to speak to a variety of audiences–and convince some pretty powerful people. In the book, he provides a sixteen-point checklist that’s invaluable for speech-givers. I found the concept of “smeathing” particularly novel and compelling. If you want to know what “smeathing” is, though, you’ll have to buy the book. It just hit the shelves about three weeks ago. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve had trained with some top-notch speech coaches, and I guarantee they all would give Vance’s book a thumbs up!

- Gary Cohen, CEO, CO2 Partners

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“Ten Minutes To The Speech” is a must-read for anyone facing ANY “audience” - giving clear, concise, pertinent advice and direction not only to “Speechmakers” but also applicable for actors, teachers, ministers, politicians (etc.), plus some talk-show hosts who could well heed the book’s superb, fast-moving, well-designed content. The author has created a magnificent manuscript which will be of huge benefit to all who read it.

- Richard Mann

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The great thing about “Ten Minutes to the Speech” is that you probably could read it cover to cover in the ten minutes before you have to give a speech; and it’d probably make your presentation ten times better than it would’ve been otherwise.

This is an ideal book for anyone who has to speak publicly, and would be particularly effective for those who are intimidated by the prospect. Van Petten’s style is engaging and conversational, packing a multitude of great examples into a concise package. His tips for improving your speech are pragmatic and common-sensical, and he’s particularly good about reminding you of the “abstract” qualities that affect the reception of a speech, such as your posture, facial expression, delivery, etc. As anyone who’s given a speech knows, it’s not just about what words you pick! Even veteran public speakers will probably be able to pick up a few tips from this brief but comprehensive how-to.

In short, this is an effective manual for the beginning and accomplished public speaker alike. It’s quick, handy and helpful, and like a great speech itself, there’s not a wasted word in it.

- Craig Steepley