Backed by a view of the City from Windows Off Washington, Mark Ribbing presented "The Art of Speechwriting - Perspectives from the Mayor's Office." Mark, currently the speechwriter for St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay, had previously served as a speechwriter for the Mayor of New York through the tragic events of last year.

In the days and weeks following 9/11, Ribbing created dozens of funeral speeches, individualized to the victims and their families. A lesson from that experience was that there can be great power in words—making it important to write passionately for each audience. The Yale graduate and St. Louis County native suggested that is the case for his work with Mayor Slay and the City of St. Louis. Using powerful language about what the City has to offer can be a useful tool in continuing to improve the City of St. Louis. Mark concluded his presentation with five suggestions for speech writers and communicators in general:

(1) Believe in what you are doing;

(2) Know your speaker and your subject;

(3) Use language carefully and emphasize truth and clarity;

(4) Read significant literature as often as possible; and above all,

(5) Don't waste your audience's time.