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Who can forget the unfortunate speech delivered by Jenna Bush, the daughter of President George W. Bush, at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City? After commencing the speech by expressing both her and her sister's love of Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, she added, "thanks to him, if one of us ever decides to marry a Democrat, nobody can complain. Except maybe our Grandmother, Barbara. And, if she didn't like it, we would definitely hear about it. We already know she doesn't like some of our clothes, or music, or most of the TV shows we watch. Gannie, we love you dearly, but you're just not very hip. She thinks Sex in the City is something married people do, but never talk about."

Other speakers at the 2004 Republican Convention included New York Gov. George Pataki, Vice President Dick Cheney, Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, First Lady Laura Bush, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Schwarzenegger and of course President Bush himself, whose comments were more on point than those of his two daughters. Referencing the convention locale and the nearby events of 9/11, President Bush stated, "we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud."

What's the Tennessee connection? Several of those speakers at the 2004 Republican convention were coached by a married couple from tiny Altamont, Tenn., (pop. 1,136) in Grundy County who specialize in the art of public speaking. And this month, Roy and Jeanette Henderson, principals in the Tennessee firm Podium Master, were once again awarded a contract by the Republican National Convention Committee to serve as the "speech coaches" and "presentational advisors" for the upcoming September 2008 Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. The fifth consecutive convention the Hendersons will be working, the couple has coached virtually every speaker the public has seen during the course of the conventions since 1992.

How does a company like Podium Master land such a contract? Through political connections? Large donations? Not in the least, says Jeanette Henderson.

"We've never donated money to the Republican party," she relates. "Frankly, I would do this for the Democrats if they thought they needed us."

Jeanette, who boasts over 30 years of communications education and experience, is a published writer and political commentator. With her husband, Roy, she co-wrote the book There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking (Penguin/Prentice Hall), which is #1 on Amazon for books on public speaking since February. Roy Henderson, an actor, director and alumnus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, has spent six decades working on the art of leadership presentation and the study of audience psychology. Together, the Hendersons began their business in the late 1980s working with Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble, helping top executives prepare for year-end meetings. Today, they travel nationwide consulting a gaggle of diverse clients. Expertise, not political favors, earned the Henderson's their role in national Republican politics.

So, too, did persistence. In 1992, Jeanette says the Hendersons "felt the Republicans needed help with their speakers" and reached out to the Convention's head of proceedings. The reaction? Party heads felt speech coaching wasn't necessary for their experienced Convention speakers. Only after six months of pestering by the Hendersons, and after the Convention settled on a theme for the 1992 event that involved non-politicians without much experience in public speaking did the Convention hire Podium Master to help.

Those inexperienced speakers, Jeanette says, "blossomed so quickly because they had no bad habits to break." Pretty soon, the Hendersons had some of the keynote speakers at the 1992 Convention asking for guidance. They ended up working with about half the speakers that year. "At that point, they realized it was worthwhile and have invited us back every time," Jeanette says. Currently, the couple assists with other aspects of the convention, from staging to timing to lighting to writing to other related backstage work intended to ensure a seamless and professional production capable of eliciting the desired positive response from the TV viewer.

The list of speakers the Hendersons have worked with through the years is a veritable who's who in Republican politics, ranging from Colin Powell to Tennessee's own Bill Frist. Jeanette says she worked personally with then-governor George W. Bush in 1996. Roy has worked with current Republican nominee John McCain every Convention since 1992. But importantly, Jeanette points out, the Hendersons did not work with the Bush sisters in 2004. "If we had," she assures, "it would have been a completely different presentation."

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