Cavett Robert was born in Starkville, Mississippi in 1907 on the Mississippi A&M campus where his father was a teacher. He graduated from Ole Miss in 1929 and obtained his law degree from Washington and Lee University. After practicing law in New York, he moved to Arizona in 1937 and established himself as a successful lawyer and insurance and real estate salesman. He began his career as a platform speaker in his early sixties and in 1972 he won the coveted Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. In 1973 he founded the National Speakers Association. Currently, that organization awards the prestigious "Cavett Award" and statue, annually, as their highest award.