Through it all, Pauling kept talking about the A-Bomb to local groups. Ava Helen accompanied her husband to all his speeches, sat in the front row, and listened carefully. She also kept an eye on the audiences, gauging what worked when he delivered a speech and what did not. Then she told him what she thought. "You’re not convincing," she said. She told him that when he spoke he was deferring too much to other authorities and, as a result, "You give the audience the impression that you are not sure about what you are saying." Sometimes his talks were too dry and technical.

Pauling was proud of his speaking abilities -- he had excelled in rhetoric as a college student, and was renowned as a great teacher of chemistry -- so he decided to work harder on his A-Bomb speeches. He reviewed the field in greater depth, exploring not only the science and technology of the new weapon, but also its politics and economics, the ways in which it was being used and overseen by the government, how it was employed as a tool of global diplomacy, and why it mattered to people in everyday life. He began absorbing everything he could find in newspapers and magazines. He paid special attention to what the scientists in the discussion groups and the FAS were saying. After a few months, he began speaking with a new passion and sense of authority. His talks caught fire.