Talking Shop with my 10-Year-Old

Every once in awhile I have the chance to take a little father-son walk with my 10-year-old. Sometimes we talk about little things of little consequence. Sometimes we talk about big things that matter a lot to him. Other times we just play silly word games.

Often, though, he asks me what I've been doing at work lately. I don't remember ever asking my dad what he did at work. I knew he was a computer analyst with the Government of Canada, but I had no idea what that meant and I wasn't all that interested in finding out.

So I'm grateful that my son takes an interest in what I do all day. I told him I was working on a speech for a conservation association dinner in New Brunswick. They're very concerned about Atlantic salmon populations in the Miramichi River. He said he thought it sounded pretty important and I agreed that it probably was.

Then he told me that it's too bad the speechwriters don't receive some sort of recognition when the speaker delivers the speech. I explained to him that our job is to help the speaker sound good and deliver the right message. If the speaker or someone else in the organization expresses kind words about the product, that's all the recognition that we need.

He said he guessed so, but then he asked me if other people write their own speeches. I told him President Obama or Prime Minister Harper would have writers who work closely with them and almost nobody really knows or cares who they are.

I discussed how someone like the President and his speechwriters would likely work together to help him deliver the message he wants to convey. I said that if he wants to get across the message that his government has everything under control, the President can't just stand up there and say, "Everything's under control!" He has to use the right words and tone to convey the FEELING that everything is under control. This is how some politicians live or die on what comes out of their mouths and how it comes out of their mouths. It's one reason why so many politicians don't aspire to great oratory anymore. The nature of the news media in the 21st century is another. Politics no longer rewards risk-taking and bold statements so much as it rewards not screwing up.

I told my son that many of the great public figures of the past, like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill, wrote their own speeches. I reminded him that King was first and foremost a minister of religion who had both training in, and a natural gift for, public speaking - a sense of rhythm that made his words come to life in a way that no other speaker could. All the great speakers have a way of making the speech their own. A great speaker knows his or her strengths and weaknesses and is able to use both to good effect.

When I said "rhythm" to my musically precocious son he started making hip-hop noises with his mouth and did a rap to "I have a dream." I explained that rhythm in this case means something a little more complex but just as captivating, if not more so.

We discussed why another person might not be able to pull off the "I have a dream" speech, just like another speaker might not be able to do justice to Churchill's "what is our aim?" or even Nixon's "Checkers" speech.

This is why the writer needs to know the speaker's strengths and weaknesses as well as the speaker does. I once worked for a Cabinet Minister who was a very good speaker in a folksy sort of way, but couldn't or wouldn't attempt anything more than a word or two in a foreign language. Writing speeches for a trip to Russia, I inserted an entire paragraph in of Russian. When it came back from his office for revisions, everything but "spasiba" (thank you) had been crossed out. He wasn't going to look silly tripping over a whole paragraph's worth of foreign words and, in hindsight, I don't blame him.

I have always enjoyed writing for speakers who enjoy public speaking and give a lot of thought to what they're saying, to whom they're saying it, and why. The first question I ask when I sit down with program experts to discuss a speech is something along the lines of "why is the Minister speaking and what are we trying to accomplish?"

This is something else all the great speakers have - a sense of purpose. Every speech has a purpose, however grandiose or humble. The job of the writer is to find out what it is and make sure it accomplishes its goal.

How Speechwriting Will Save your Bacon

Several years ago, when I wanted to get out of the broadcasting industry, a speechwriting unit provided my entree into corporate communications. Since that time, speechwriting has often been my primary role and it has always been a big part of my work.

There have been times when my position was tenuous due to circumstances beyond my control, such as changes in governments or departmental restructuring. There have also been times when I was the one who wanted out of a particular situation. In every instance, speechwriting has saved my bacon.

This is because there are a lot of very good writers who can’t write a speech to save their lives (or their bacon). In other words, good speechwriters are hard to find.

The good news is, speechwriters are made as much as they are born. Many people who don’t think they have a knack for speeches just haven’t figured out how to do them.

There are numerous articles and books about speechwriting, and many training providers will teach you the rudiments. I’m going to try to add a little bit extra from my own experiences.

The first leg on the journey toward really good speechwriting is reading and listening to really good speeches. Don’t concern yourself with whether you agree with the speaker’s thesis or politics. Just think about the elements that make it a good speech. Learn what makes a word or a phrase sound good out loud. Some people have a better feel for this than others, but it comes down to listening, reading out loud and practicing.

Don’t give your speaker long sentences. She needs to breathe between sentences, not in the middle of them. Don’t give your speaker words with which he himself is not familiar. They will sound unnatural and will be prone to mispronunciation.

Don’t shy away from literary devices like alliteration; in fact, you should embrace anything that will make your words come to life and stick in people’s minds. Pay attention to rhythm and pacing too.

Read Shakespeare - this is good advice for any writer in any genre, but speechwriters should read him out loud.

Know what you want the speech to accomplish and state the purpose of your speech clearly at the outset. Otherwise your audience will be distracted by wondering why they are there.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and one that comes to mind immediately is Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate in a divided Berlin. He started out speaking about the history of Berlin and its dual status during the Cold War as a beacon of freedom and a symbol of oppression.

As he went on, Reagan talked about the failures of Communism - no new ground here. Then he came out with the most audacious demand imaginable in its time: “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate; Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! There was no hint during the speech of what Reagan was leading up to. But since the speech up to then was short and to the point, people were still listening when he got there.

This brings me to something else that’s important - be sure to include just a few short, simple, key messages that people will easily remember and take home with them. Generally, if people remember just two or three lines that a speaker delivered during the course of a speech, then the speech has accomplished its purpose. Think of lines like, “I have a dream;” “blood, toil, tears and sweat;” “a day which will live in infamy.”

The moment doesn’t have to be one of great gravity either. Here’s a line that one of my colleagues wrote for an internal event at work for World Oceans Day:
"Oceans that are cleaner, safer, better understood and better protected for generations to come."

You should also know something of the history and stucture of the language in which you write (see my previous blog post on this topic). This will help you to determine word choice, which is an important factor in setting the right tone for your speech.

Don’t fret over what you can’t control. In a perfect world you have regular access to your speaker. When I was working for the Mounties, I had a monthly meeting with the Commissioner to discuss all of his upcoming engagements. This is not the way the real world normally operates. You probably won’t have access to your speaker, so try to listen to recordings of her previous speeches to get a feel for how she likes to talk and phrases she likes to use. Whenever possible, go listen to the speeches in person.

Don’t write jokes into a speech. If your speaker wants to tell a joke, it’s better that she tell one of her own. she’s not a professional comedian and you’re not a gag writer. Both are specialized skills and there’s a reason these people do what they do and not what you do.

Finally, remember that it’s not your speech. Once the podium copy is the hands of the CEO, it’s HIS speech. He has to deliver it and he may alter it any which way to suit his mood or his audience.

These tips have all worked for me. Other writers might have other gems of information that will help you learn this specialized skill. In the end it comes down to knowing yourself and using what you think will work for you.

Good luck.