“Words matter,” author Wynton C. Hall told his audience Wednesday night.

Hall, a best-selling political author and speech writer, spoke to the College Republicans in the Student Learning Center about his newest book, “The Right Words: Great Republican Speeches that Shaped History.”

Hall lectured about the significance of speeches by conservative leaders such as Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and his personal experience in writing his book, calling it a “labor of love” because of his interest in history and political science.

He also spoke about the three common denominators of great Republican speeches: support for a strong military, emphasis on self-reliance and firm support for Judeo-Christian morals.

“I tried to recreate the moment for the reader,” Hall said.

He said his goal was to make the reader feel as if they were in the audience for the delivery of any of the speeches he studies in the book.

A question and answer session immediately followed Hall’s lecture and covered topics such as Newt Gingrich’s candidacy in the upcoming election and ways in which contemporary Republicans can exemplify some of the key points advocated by previous leaders.

Approximately 40 students were present for Hall’s
speech.

“He’s sort of a big name speaker,” David Ballard, chairman of College Republicans, said.

“It’s obviously significant for the University to have someone of his caliber address an audience.”

Gary Baker, member of College Republicans, was the University’s connection to Hall. Baker is a former public speaking pupil of Hall’s at Bainbridge College and has maintained a close friendship with Hall since 2003, he said.

C-SPAN reporters were also present at the speech and filmed Hall for a future Sunday airing.