All sorts of people give speeches, not only politicians and

executives of international conglomerates. Virtually every major

life event involves some sort of speech. For example, toasts are

offered at weddings, eulogies at funerals, roasts at retirement,

anniversary, and company gatherings, and presentations at a

variety of events. Everyone makes a speech sometime -- which is

why it is consistently ranked as the #1 fear.

If you have a way with words, and can turn mundane expressions

into colorful and memorable ones, you can easily make a decent

moonlight income writing for people in your community.

Advertise initially by posting flyers wherever people

congregate: churches, schools, community bulletin boards,

libraries, etc. Once you have a few speeches under your belt,

word-of-mouth will provide you with an ample supply of referral

customers.

Plan on spending an hour, or so, with each new client gathering

background information, details, and anecdotes. Bring a tape

recorder to the meeting so you can capture some of the client's

favorite sayings and verbal mannerisms. Have your questions

written out before meeting with the client, but listen to each

answer for opportunities to explore interesting "side roads".

As a added value, you might offer to rehearse the speech with

the client and offer tips for effective delivery. Plan on at

least one "tweaking" after the client has read the speech to

correct areas where the client stumbles during the reading.

Charge $15-20 per typewritten, double-spaced, 10-12 point type

page, and $25-30 an hour for any research you need to do in

addition to the initial interview. Do your first two or three

speeches free, or better yet, do them in exchange for a

testimonial and an agreement to refer prospective clients.

A great way to learn more about this moonlighting gig (and

speech communication in general) is to sit in on a local

Toastmaster International meeting. Ask a few questions; make a

few friends. Visit the Toastmasters website

to find a public

meeting in your area.

Web Links:

Dave's Guide to Speechwriting

http://davegustafson.com/speech/

SpeechTips.com

http://www.speechtips.com/

Speechwriting Books at Amazon.com

http://bisoncreek.com/link/SpeechwritingBooks.html

Mike Morgan owns Bison Creek Author Services

. He is the publisher of "The

Moonlighting Parent Newsletter", a free email newsletter sent

biweekly, and the moderator of the "Article Post - Short

Content" (AP-Shorts) publisher-author exchange.