--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically…" description: "\"Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are in conveying big ideas, any candidate can do a good job of giving a speech if the goal of a s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg" --- # Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are… ![“Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are in conveying big ideas, any candidate can do a good job of giving a speech if the goal of a speech is more than just delivering it well but achieving some end, whether it's convincing people of some issue or persuading them about you as a…” quote by Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg) > “Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are in conveying big ideas, any candidate can do a good job of giving a speech if the goal of a speech is more than just delivering it well but achieving some end, whether it's convincing people of some issue or persuading them about you as a person.” [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective speeches aim beyond style, seeking persuasion and tangible outcomes, not just eloquence. **In simple terms:** Good speeches achieve goals, not just sound good. Key Takeaway Focus on purpose, not just delivery. Themes communication persuasion purpose politics Mood analytical motivational Type public speaking political When to use this quote - political rallies - campaign ads - community meetings - debates - public advocacy Key Concepts rhetoric goal-oriented speaking influence Questions to Reflect On - What purpose does your speech serve? - How balance style with substance? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on outcome may ignore authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-idea/) [Big ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-ideas/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [If the party of Lincoln wishes to become the party of intolerance, selecting Trump to be its presidential candidate is a good way forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/if-the-party-of-lincoln-wishes-to-become-the-party-of-intolerance/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [Speeches? I don't ever feel like I'm giving a speech. I don't look at myself as a motivational speaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/speeches-i-don-t-ever-feel-like-i-m-giving-a-speech-i-don-t-look-at/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [A lot of people think that public speaking means that you are standing at a podium giving a speech, but public speaking comes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-perino/a-lot-of-people-think-that-public-speaking-means-that-you-are/) [Dana Perino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-perino/) > [I'll be giving a speech at the randomest place, like a bank or something, and a guy in a suit will say, 'I'm totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-ll-be-giving-a-speech-at-the-randomest-place-like-a-bank-or/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [“He spent the next ten minutes giving a speech about the great day that is the day of their Surrender, and I can’t be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/he-spent-the-next-ten-minutes-giving-a-speech-about-the-great-day/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“The best public speakers are those who seem to genuinely enjoy giving a speech. Because they’re relaxed, we’re relaxed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-zeoli/the-best-public-speakers-are-those-who-seem-to-genuinely-enjoy-giving/) Richard Zeoli > [Donald Trump giving a speech on Islam is like me giving a speech titled, 'The Best Haircuts to Have If You Really Want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/donald-trump-giving-a-speech-on-islam-is-like-me-giving-a-speech/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [Talk to people no one else is talking to. Who would have thought that giving a speech at a funeral at age 12 would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-casnocha/talk-to-people-no-one-else-is-talking-to-who-would-have-thought-that/) [Ben Casnocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-casnocha/) > [Recently, I was giving a speech and I said that it's time for many of us to "go home." Not necessarily to move back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/recently-i-was-giving-a-speech-and-i-said-that-it-s-time-for-many-of/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [I don't like the energy at award shows. It's rehearsed and everybody is just focused on themselves and nobody wants to genuinely applaud for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaani-kapoor/i-don-t-like-the-energy-at-award-shows-it-s-rehearsed-and-everybody/) [Vaani Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaani-kapoor/) > [“This country prides itself on freedom of the press and went to war with England because you wanted religious freedom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-wilder/this-country-prides-itself-on-freedom-of-the-press-and-went-to-war/) [Lin Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-wilder/) > [The only big ideas I've ever had came from daydreaming, but modern life keeps people from daydreaming. Every moment of the day your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-only-big-ideas-i-ve-ever-had-came-from-daydreaming-but-modern/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [“You want the story of my life? Big ideas, small results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-stanwyck/you-want-the-story-of-my-life-big-ideas-small-results/) [Barbara Stanwyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-stanwyck/) > [Believe in something larger than yourself... get involved in the big ideas of your time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/believe-in-something-larger-than-yourself-get-involved-in-the-big/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Jon Lovett > [Most of my time at the White House, I wrote very unfunny speeches, but every year, I would work on the correspondents' dinner, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/most-of-my-time-at-the-white-house-i-wrote-very-unfunny-speeches-but/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-in-doubt-mock-the-powerful-not-the-powerless/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [I worked on one speech about the financial system that caused the Dow to drop, like, 200 points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/i-worked-on-one-speech-about-the-financial-system-that-caused-the-dow/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There is that definition of leadership that says, 'Leadership is convincing people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't have done because you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-is-that-definition-of-leadership-that-says-leadership-is/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['Veep' is a great satire of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/veep-is-a-great-satire-of-democracy/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Part of my job as a presidential speechwriter (along with great writers like Jon Favreau and David Axelrod) was finding that sliver where 'presidential'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/part-of-my-job-as-a-presidential-speechwriter-along-with-great/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There are a lot of heartbroken, anxious people that thought better of their country. We're heartbroken by how far Trump has gotten to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-are-a-lot-of-heartbroken-anxious-people-that-thought-better-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['1600 Penn' was a hit. It's 2018. Anything you want can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/1600-penn-was-a-hit-it-s-2018-anything-you-want-can-be-true/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [More and more people support equality for their gay friends and neighbors, and that is not because the 'Duck Dynasty' guy almost lost his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/more-and-more-people-support-equality-for-their-gay-friends-and/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [We need people to point out groupthink - We need people to point out stale, old, dumb thinking - and we sometimes need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-need-people-to-point-out-groupthink-we-need-people-to-point-out/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There's only so much mistrust we can take before things get much worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-s-only-so-much-mistrust-we-can-take-before-things-get-much-worse/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When I was a kid, all I knew about Michael Jackson was that he was crazy. He had a monkey named Bubbles and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-i-was-a-kid-all-i-knew-about-michael-jackson-was-that-he-was/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [The First Amendment's protections have always put a great deal of responsibility in our hands: not only to respect the power of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/the-first-amendment-s-protections-have-always-put-a-great-deal-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Trump is a raptor testing the fences, and he found weaknesses to escape and try things that would work, every single day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/trump-is-a-raptor-testing-the-fences-and-he-found-weaknesses-to/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) [Explore all 82 Jon Lovett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## More Big idea quotes > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I really like Kickstarter because you don't have to be a Medici to fund the arts and sciences or to get behind a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gansky/i-really-like-kickstarter-because-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-medici-to/) [Lisa Gansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gansky/) > [Believe in something larger than yourself... get involved in the big ideas of your time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/believe-in-something-larger-than-yourself-get-involved-in-the-big/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [“You want the story of my life? Big ideas, small results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-stanwyck/you-want-the-story-of-my-life-big-ideas-small-results/) [Barbara Stanwyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-stanwyck/) > [It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-takes-a-big-idea-to-attract-the-attention-of-consumers-and-get/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The only big ideas I've ever had came from daydreaming, but modern life keeps people from daydreaming. Every moment of the day your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-only-big-ideas-i-ve-ever-had-came-from-daydreaming-but-modern/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-will-never-win-fame-and-fortune-unless-you-invent-big-ideas/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-laugh-at-me-because-i-use-big-words-but-if-you-have-big-ideas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I've never been shy about big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/i-ve-never-been-shy-about-big-ideas/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [“The path to success involves two parts. Part One is all about imagination and dreaming up a big idea. Part Two is all about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-clark/the-path-to-success-involves-two-parts-part-one-is-all-about/) [Clay Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-clark/) > [You never know when some small thing will lead to a big idea. Travel is very inspirational - but it's in the ordinary that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/you-never-know-when-some-small-thing-will-lead-to-a-big-idea-travel/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [The job of the leader is to get the big ideas right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/the-job-of-the-leader-is-to-get-the-big-ideas-right/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [“There is a current perception is that science has overtaken Philosophy and in effect rendered Philosophy irrelevant. Science, when sufficiently abstracted, approaches Philosophy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-golway/there-is-a-current-perception-is-that-science-has-overtaken/) [Tom Golway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-golway/) > [I always tell people that revelling in big ideas for me is kind of like an antidote to existential angst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/i-always-tell-people-that-revelling-in-big-ideas-for-me-is-kind-of/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) [Browse all 254 Big idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-idea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are in conveying big ideas, any candidate can do a good job of giving a speech if the goal of a speech is more than just delivering it well but achieving some end, whether it's convincing people of some issue or persuading them about you as a person.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Lovett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetorically-gifted-they-are-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big idea" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetorically-gifted-they-are-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/jon-lovett-8245_big-idea_regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetoricall_1618507.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically gifted they are in conveying big ideas, any candidate can do a…” — Jon Lovett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jon Lovett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Regardless of how lyrical or rhetorically...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetorically-gifted-they-are-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/regardless-of-how-lyrical-or-rhetorically-gifted-they-are-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```