writing speeches for politicians

Political Speech Writing: How Candidates Can Craft Compelling Messages

Understanding the Power of Political Speeches

Political speeches play a pivotal role in shaping the course of nations and can shape the trajectory of societies. Effective speech writing for elections allows leaders to communicate their vision, values, and policy objectives to the public. These speeches serve as a means of persuasion, providing a platform for leaders to connect with their constituents emotionally. Through carefully tailoring speeches, a political oratory has the potential to inspire, mobilize, and unite people around common goals and ideals.

One key aspect of political speeches is their ability to inform and educate the public. In a democratic society, an informed citizenry is essential for making sound election decisions and understanding government policy implications. A well-done political oratory allows leaders to clarify their positions and present evidence and data. Speechwriting for elections often requires addressing complex issues and helping citizens make informed choices about how they want the country to move. Moreover, political speeches serve as a channel for transparency and accountability.

Beyond their informational role, a well-crafted political oratory fosters unity and social cohesion by containing messages of hope, unity and inclusivity. They can transcend political divides and unite people, transcending differences of opinion and background. In times of crisis or uncertainty, campaign speeches provide reassurance and a sense of purpose. Furthermore, campaign speeches help a nation navigate challenges and emerge stronger.

Well-crafted campaign speeches can be transformative in elections by serving as a dynamic tool for candidates to connect with voters, sway public opinion and ultimately change the outcome of an election. When a candidate speaks passionately about issues that resonate with your audience, it creates a sense of trust and authenticity by tapping into the electorate's hopes, fears, and aspirations.

Speechwriting for elections helps to clarify a candidate's policy positions and goals, providing voters with a clearer understanding of what they stand for, allowing them to set themselves apart from their opponents and creating a sense of confidence in their leadership. A well-crafted political speech can sway undecided voters to the candidate's side.

Rousing persuasive communication can galvanize volunteers and grassroots activists , encouraging them to work harder for the candidate, leading to a higher voter turnout among the candidate's base.

Steps to Effective Political Speechwriting

Here are five tips for crafting an effective political speech:

#1: Make time for research.

Digging deep to find relevant information is crucial when writing a political speech because it adds depth and credibility to the discourse. Great research also ensures that the political speech addresses the complexities of voters' concerns. A speechwriter can write informative and persuasive communication by seeking out comprehensive data.

#2: Consider your audience.

Analyzing a target audience is essential for understanding their demographics, values, beliefs, and concerns. It allows speechwriters to tailor their message to resonate with their intended listeners' specific needs and interests. This analysis enables speechwriters to speak directly to the heart of the issues that matter most to the target audience. It also helps avoid potential pitfalls, such as using language or framing that might alienate or offend specific target audience segments.

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#3: Draw on the elements of storytelling.

Storytelling in politics is essential for political speechwriters because it helps engage and persuade the audience effectively. Furthermore, storytelling in politics captures the audience's attention by connecting them emotionally with the message. The right message provides a relatable and human dimension to the content. Furthermore, storytelling in politics helps create a cohesive speech that flows seamlessly, ensuring listeners understand and retain key points. Whether it is rallying support for a candidate, advocating for a policy change, or fostering a sense of unity, a well-crafted narrative can convey a compelling vision for the future and ignite a sense of purpose among the audience.

#4: Set the right tone.

A campaign speech must set the right mood because the emotional tone and atmosphere it creates can significantly impact how the audience receives and responds to the message. By establishing a positive and receptive attitude, the audience is more likely to be engaged and attentive to the speaker's message, which can inspire hope, rally support, and forge meaningful connections. Crafting a political speech that is positive and relatable makes the audience more receptive to the speaker's arguments, so it is a vital political communication strategy. A speech promoting a mood of unity helps to bridge divides, bringing people together.

#5: Edit and practice ahead of time.

Editing and rehearsing a political speech is essential because it ensures the message is clear, concise and free from ambiguity. A well-edited speech enhances the speaker's credibility by demonstrating that the candidate has thoroughly researched and prepared their remarks. Therefore, giving speeches can be a key political communication strategy.

Practicing a speech allows the speaker to fine-tune their delivery and tone to maintain the audience's engagement. Furthermore, practice enables the speaker to reinforce the critical points of the speech, ensuring that they communicate central ideas in an easily memorable way.

Examples of Memorable Political Speeches

Let's turn our attention to some political speechwriting examples. These political speechwriting examples can serve as a powerful guide for candidates.

#1: Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Consider Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, as it is one of American history's most impactful political speeches. Presented during the Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the speech was concise, lasting just over two minutes, but its impact was profound. Lincoln eloquently emphasized the principles of equality and liberty and redefined the purpose of the American government as a "government of the people, by the people, for the people." This speech solidified the United States' commitment to democracy and freedom. It also marked a turning point in the Civil War, as it galvanized public sentiment and reinvigorated the Union's resolve to preserve the nation.

#2: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

Another of the most impactful political speeches was Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This political speechwriting example was pivotal in the American civil rights movement. King's eloquent articulation of his dream for a racially integrated and just society resonated deeply with millions. The speech helped mobilize support for civil rights legislation and highlighted the urgent need for racial equality. King's call for nonviolent protest and his vision for a future where individuals would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin inspired generations of activists. It was crucial in advancing civil rights legislation, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

#3: Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” Speech

One of the most impactful political speeches ever given was the one delivered at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, during which President Ronald Reagan issued a powerful challenge to the Soviet Union by demanding, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The Berlin Wall, which had divided East and West Berlin for decades, symbolized the Cold War's division. This political speechwriting example indicated the West's commitment to freedom and democracy. While the immediate impact of the speech was limited, it contributed to the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Reagan's words resonated with people on both sides of the Iron Curtain, serving as a rallying cry for change.

Studying these speeches and tailoring speeches after them and other iconic speeches is a great way to learn public speaking strategies. These American political speeches share the theme of advocating for equality, justice and freedom. They transcended their immediate contexts to become lasting symbols of American ideals and continue inspiring generations of Americans and people worldwide. 

Here are some public speaking strategies to employ based on these inspirational speeches:

Ensure that the central theme of your political campaign communication resonates with the target audience and keep it at the forefront of the speech.

Using metaphors, similes, and emotionally resonant phrases to evoke powerful imagery and emotions in the audience is a critical speech delivery technique that can help your political campaign communications.

Understanding the audience's needs, aspirations, and concerns so that the message connects deeply is a speechwriting best practice you will want to remember.

Incorporating a clear and compelling call to action into the speech is an essential political communication strategy.

Be aware of historical contexts when crafting political persuasions for political campaign communications.

Align messages with the speaker's personality and values.

Employ strategic repetition to emphasize critical political persuasions because it will make them more memorable.

Use speech writing techniques to capture the speaker's authentic voice and beliefs.

Tips for Effective Speech Delivery

Candidates often ask speechwriters to give them speech delivery techniques. They may recommend several public speaking strategies that will help you with effective speech delivery. These include:

Using body gestures and body language to enhance the message's impact is a critical speech delivery technique as it helps convey confidence and credibility so that the audience connects to you better.

Connecting with the audience is paramount because it establishes rapport, fosters voter engagement and ensures the message resonates with the listeners personally. Therefore, it is crucial to remember this idea while focusing on speech delivery techniques as you build your political communication strategy.

Breathing deeply right before giving a speech is a vital speech delivery technique that can help you overcome stage fright as it calms nerves and boosts confidence.

Adapting Your Speech for Different Audiences

Among speech writing best practices is to adapt a speech to different audiences and your audience's demographics. This is essential for ensuring political persuasion as the message is relevant, relatable, and inclusive. Practicing this as you concentrate on other speech writing best practices ensures audience engagement occurs and that they will understand your messaging better.

Another key among speech writing best practices is remembering to be specific during a speech. This is vital as it adds credibility and clarity to the candidate messaging, helping to ensure audience engagement. Therefore, ensure that you use speech writing techniques for persuasive communication that address specific issues and concerns experienced by the audience.

Navigating Ethical Considerations in Political Speechwriting

Honesty is a fundamental pillar of trust and accountability in a democratic society, so when politicians are truthful in their political campaign messaging, they build integrity and foster the public's faith in their leadership. Citizens can make informed decisions when a politician uses truthful political campaign messaging. Therefore, make sure to always practice ethical speech writing.

Ethical speech writing also means avoiding divisive rhetoric because it often deepens existing divisions, polarizes communities, and makes finding common ground on important issues more difficult. Divisive rhetoric hinders constructive dialogue between political opponents. Using speech writing techniques that are inclusive, respectful, and constructive fosters unity, promotes understanding and achieves positive outcomes, which is essential for driving audience engagement in your political campaign messaging.

Leveraging Technology for Speechwriting

Many speech writing resources can help you. Let these speechwriting resources serve as a guide, but do not rely totally on speech writing resources, or you will block out the candidate's personality. Among the most effective speech writing tips is to let speechwriting tools enhance the speech writing process by using them to improve speech writing techniques. Among these speech writing tools, speech writing software is a vital resource that plays a pivotal role in organizing thoughts, structuring arguments, and drafting coherent content while creating political discourse and crafting political messages. Utilizing these effective speech writing tips gives you access to templates, outlines, and organization features that help transform ideas into well-structured political discourses. Even if you usually shy away from technology, try speech writing software.

An easy place to start is GoodParty.org’s AI Campaign Manager , which can help candidates draft launch speeches with ease, saving time and energy. 

Additionally, another favorite among effective speech writing tips is to use research databases. These are invaluable tools for the speech writing process as they allow you to access vast amounts of information, including historical data, statistics, and policy details. Therefore, they are an invaluable speech writing resource, enabling speechwriters to conduct thorough research, fact-check statements, and bolster arguments with credible sources.

Furthermore, grammar and style-checking software is another indispensable software component critical to the speech writing process. This speech writing resource helps to refine language and ensure that the political rhetoric is clear, is grammatically correct, and resonates with the intended audience. These tools help avoid common language pitfalls and enhance the overall quality of the writing.

Another effective speech writing tip is to incorporate digital elements into political discourse, as using them engages a more diverse audience. Integrating visuals, such as infographics and charts, can make complex data more accessible by providing a visual context that aids comprehension. These graphic elements enhance understanding, make the speech more memorable, and help to ensure that crucial candidate messaging resonates with broader demographics.

Speech writing and public relations are intrinsically linked, playing a pivotal role in shaping the perception of individuals. Effective speechmaking in public relations allows for the dissemination of critical messages to target audiences. Through speechwriting and public relations strategies, public figures can build and maintain trust, manage their reputation and foster meaningful connections with voters, underscoring the indispensable synergy between speech writing and public relations in elections.

The Role of Speechwriters in Political Campaigns

Speechwriters often collaborate closely with candidates to help them build political communication skills. These political communication skills include articulating their vision, values and policy positions. Ethical speech writing requires you to lay aside your ideas and write from the candidate's point of view. This effective speech writing tip often begins with in-depth interviews to understand the candidate's personality, goals and key messages. Speechwriters then craft political rhetoric aligning with the candidate's voice and resonating with their intended audience. Regular communication and feedback loops are vital for crafting political messages, allowing for revisions and fine-tuning political communication skills to ensure that inspirational speeches are authentic and compelling. The partnership between speechwriters and candidates when crafting political messages is a dynamic process that must convey the candidate's vision effectively and connect with voters.

However, not all candidates need to hire speechwriters. With GoodParty.org’s AI Campaign Manager , candidates can generate drafts of political speeches, completely for free. Our tools are especially helpful for crafting launch speeches, which candidates can give at campaign launch events and to kick off their campaigns.

Inspirational speeches, meticulously tailored to resonate with diverse audiences and delivered with authenticity, possess the potential to inspire, inform and mobilize voters, encapsulating a candidate's vision and values. Often, the words spoken reverberate in the electorate's hearts and minds. Tailoring speeches in this way gives them the power to shape the outcome of campaigns and the nation's course. Political rhetoric bridges the divide between candidates and voters, uniting diverse communities under a shared vision. Overall, remember that the qualities of a great speech rely on elements of style, elements of substance, and elements of impact.

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• Political Campaign

The Most Effective Way To Write An Impactful Political Speech

Table of Contents

A while ago, I remember watching President Obama’s address at Selma, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the African-American community’s historic march for voting rights.

A President, more than any other, defined by his oratory skills, Obama has given plenty of powerful, era-defining speeches over the years, from the one that propelled him to the public eye in 2004 at the DNC to his final address as president in 2017.

But this speech at Selma was something special. It reflected the complicated history of race in the country and expressed a profound hope for the future. It was one that only the first black president of the United States could have given. And by all accounts, it was the perfect speech by virtue of bearing all the hallmarks: Style; Substance; Impact.

Even years later, watching it through a screen, one can not help but feel the solidarity that those in attendance at that 50th-anniversary event must have felt.

Now, there are a number of reasons you may be in want of a speech. After a resounding election victory. Or after a disastrous defeat. To bring an audience to their feet in celebration. Or calming them in the aftermath of a tragedy. Whatever the cause, here are the aspects you can use to construct one.

Deconstructing a great speech

Let us take a closer look at how to write a political speech through the lens of Obama’s speech at Selma:

Style When we look at the renowned orators in history, we see masters of both the written and the spoken word. Lincoln’s ten-sentence Gettysburg address holds the same weight today, despite there being no audio recording. As may the speech at Selma in the future, in the way it was masterfully constructed.

Substance Needless to say, beauty withers under a scrutinizing gaze. The same could be said for a speech. Every great feat of oration has always backed its elegant prose with a sturdy backbone that is its theme. In Selma, the theme set forth was that of racial justice.

Impact What impetus does your speech provide its listeners? What should the receiver ruminate on as they lay awake in their beds that night? That is how you will measure the impact of your speech. If the audience can take something concrete, something worthy, you will have fulfilled this condition away from the venue.

In Selma, it made the youth in the audience think – What excuse do we have not to vote when our parents and grandparents fought so hard for our right to do so ?

Now we take a deeper look at how to bring these three components to the forefront of our speech by examining each individual element. Not all of these elements may be present in all speeches, nor are they necessary, but they are helpful to have at hand.

Elements of Style

The selection of words.

Linguistic studies define the concept of “word choice” or “diction” as a critical element in communication theory. 

One word can paint an entire picture. The work of word selection is the work of relating to your audience and evoking powerful imagery in their minds. 

The solemnity of the occasion necessitated the use of a more formal speech by Obama but did not limit him to it. With phrases like “the fierce urgency of now” and “the roadblocks to opportunity” combined with the occasional informal language, he adeptly managed to weave more abstract concepts with the ground reality.

The tone of delivery

Speakers do not always write their own speeches. If that is the case, a speechwriter should be aware of the speaker’s mannerisms and how they talk and play to their strengths. Look at their past speeches for moments of greatest impact.

Pay attention to their tone, tenor, regional accent, and minor idiosyncrasies as they speak. If the speech is made for a specific audience, it is good to take note of local colloquialisms as well.

The structuring of sentences

The best speeches are texts that are beautiful to both hear and read. A surprisingly effective measure towards this end is to read the speech aloud in the process of writing. If it sounds natural, you are on the right path.

Obama alternates between short and long sentences, creating an almost unconscious rhythm to keep the attention of his audience throughout.

Creating an emotional beat

This, more than any other element of style, is self-evident. The work is half done if the speaker can take an audience on an emotional journey, orchestrating their highs and lows. 

One way is to follow moments of levity with poignancy. Obama does this well at points in his speech, such as when he describes the provisions a marcher would need for a night behind bars, “an apple, a toothbrush, a book on government,” and follows with the enormity of the task they have set out to do.

Allusions and symbolism

Depending on how they are used, devices like symbols and allusions serve to lend a speech a level of grandeur, a level of importance beyond itself, by linking the present to past events. 

In this speech, the most prominent symbol is the march itself. It is positioned as an inspiration for later similar movements, such as the one in Berlin, leading to the fall of its wall, and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa .

The march at Selma saw violence intended to dissuade protestors from carrying on. Obama makes a point to connect the suffering of marchers to the trials faced by slaves in American history through the use of terms like the “North Star,” which slaves followed in their bid for freedom in the northern states of the country.

Elements of Substance

Elements that pack a punch and instantly connect you with your audience are essential in a political speech. They are:

• Reflecting on the present.
• A conversational start.
• The core message.
• The stories and anecdotes.

Let’s read on to learn them in detail.

Reflecting the present

Any political speech should hold up a mirror to the issues and happenings of the present. By showing that you understand these issues, you will put yourself in good stead to talk about solutions to them. 

Allow your audience to trust you. That will occur when they realize that you and they are one and the same and that what they see is what you see.

A conversational start

It is often the case that you should ease into the topic of the day. 

Start off with something one would say in a conversation. Avoid a grandiose tone or statement at the outset. If it sounds cheesy, you risk losing the audience’s interest. Find something natural to say that holds meaning to the voters so that the listeners do not think it is a rehearsed piece of text. Obama starts by showing his admiration for the previous speaker.

The core message

The takeaway from your speech may just be one short soundbite for a listener. Let that soundbite be the core message of the speech .

Time it so that the message hits the audience at the peak of their interest. Once hooked, the audience will open themselves up to what you have to say.

The stories and anecdotes

Speaking of events in your life or in the lives of others: loved ones, constituents, or people you look up to, can lay the tone of your speech and set the stage to relay a greater message.

A well-placed anecdote should help people relate to the speaker. Tell the audience what influences you to do the things you do. Talk about tough times that show you understand a voter’s circumstances or a grieving loved one’s pain.

Elements of Impact

Ethos, pathos, and logos.

As put forth in Aristotle’s Rhetoric , 2300 years ago, the answer to how to write a political speech may be directly traced back to these three elements:

Ethos – The credibility of the speaker as perceived by the audience. Pathos – The emotional connections you make with the audience. Logos – The sound logical argument brought forth in your speech.

By having your audience buy into your speaker, their conviction, and their argument, you can leave a lasting impact. We can see ethos, pathos, and logos at work in the elements of style and substance as well.

By merit of being the first black president, Obama had established a level of ethos before even stepping on the stage. A further point of ethos within his speech is in the opening paragraph, where he calls John Lewis, a congressman who was a leader in the Selma march, “a personal hero,” establishing that Obama was a supporter of the struggle for civil rights.

Pathos can be found in the imagery evoked by the President throughout the speech. The telling of men and women who marched for their rights, steadfast in spite of “the gush of blood and splintered bone,” helped the audience identify with the courage of the marchers.

In his speech, he invokes logic to denounce the cynicism that he feels is rampant among youth today. He states that the march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery could only happen because of the belief of marchers in the fundamental ability of the country to change for the better, such as in this line: “If you think nothing has changed in the past 50 years, ask someone who lived through the Selma or Chicago or Los Angeles of the 1950’s”

The build-up and repetition

Every speech should steer toward the central idea that serves as its backbone. Build up toward that idea through every anecdote or statistic you share. The audience’s mind may wander. The use of repetitions will enforce your idea in their minds. Studies in psychology suggest that repetition enhances cognitive processing and aids in information retention.

Here, repetition is used time and again to underline and explain various ideas in Obama’s speech, such as in this line where he underscores the qualities that he believes his country has, “The idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America.”

The note to end on

Depending on how you played your cards, this could be the point of the speech where you leave the most impact. Here, you can choose to twist the knife or administer the antidote.

As the speech nears its conclusion, impress upon the listeners the salient points of your speech. Make them think. And then conclude on a plaintive note or a joyous one:

“We honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar. And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power of an awesome God, and we believe in this country’s sacred promise.”

Once done, It is time for the speaker to retire and the audience to stand at attention for perhaps a moment longer, spellbound.

And that is how every great speech inevitably ends.

Featured Image Source:   Mikhail Nilov  

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Speechwriting in Perspective: A Brief Guide to Effective and Persuasive Communication

February 25, 1998 – April 12, 2007 98-170

The frequent delivery of public remarks by Senators and Representatives is an important element of their roles as community leaders, spokespersons, and freely elected legislators. Congressional staff are often called on to help prepare draft remarks for such purposes.

Writing for the spoken word is a special discipline; it requires that congressional speechwriters’ products be written primarily, although not exclusively, to be heard, not read. Speeches are better cast in simple, direct, and often short sentences that can be easily understood by listeners. Rhetorical devices such as repetition, variation, cadence, and balance are available to, and should be used by, the speechwriter.

It is important for speechwriters to analyze audiences according to factors such as age; gender; culture; profession; size of audience; political affiliation, if any; and the occasion for, and purpose of, the speech. Most effective speeches do not exceed 20 minutes in length.

After researching a topic, speechwriters should prepare an outline from which the speech will be developed. They should strive to maintain a clear theme throughout the speech. Most speeches will have a three-part structure consisting of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

The accepted style of contemporary American public address is natural, direct, low key, casual, and conversational. This puts listeners at ease and promotes a sense of community between audience and speaker.

Punctuation should reflect the sound structure of the speech, reinforcing the rhythm and pace of actual speech. Clarity of expression is as important a consideration in speech grammar as rigid adherence to rules for written language.

Effective delivery can greatly improve a speech. Congressional speechwriters should make every effort to become familiar with the speaking style of the Member for whom they are writing, and adjust their drafts accordingly.

A wide range of speechwriting resources are available for congressional staff from the Congressional Research Service and other sources.

Topic areas

Domestic Social Policy

• Introduction

Writing For The Spoken Word: The Distinctive Task of The Speechwriter

Repetition and variation, cadence and balance, rhythmic triads, parallelism, alliteration, sentence variation, rhetorical questions, sentence fragments, inverted order, suspension for climax, use of conjunctions, audience analysis, demographics, audience size, degree of political affiliation, occasion and purpose, information, entertainment, time and length, time of day, how many words, speech research, speechwriting resources, policy resources, additional resources, speech preparation, building blocks: suggested principles, the speech outline, thematic clarity, three-part structure, techniques of persuasion, attention-problem-solution, this or nothing, contemporary style and tone, pitfalls to be avoided, punctuation, grammar and syntax, speech presentation, analysis of lincoln's farewell to his neighbors, general observations.

Writing for the spoken word is a special discipline; it requires that congressional speechwriters' products be written primarily, although not exclusively, to be heard, not read. Speeches are better cast in simple, direct, and often short sentences that can be easily understood by listeners. Rhetorical devices such as repetition, variation, cadence, and balance are available to, and should be used by, the speechwriter.

Introduction 1

"Rhetoric," wrote Aristotle, "is the power of determining in a particular case what are the available means of persuasion." This report reviews some effective means for the rhetoric of persuasive communication in speeches written by congressional staff for Senators and Representatives. By speeches, this report means draft statements prepared for oral delivery by Members. Such speeches are often prepared under the pressure of deadlines that leave minimal time for extensive revision. Moreover, they must often be drafted in whole or part for Members who may have little opportunity to edit and amend them. The burdens of public office (as well as of campaigning) and the insistent demand for speeches of every kind for a variety of occasions require some degree of reliance on speechwriters, a reliance that is heightened by the limitations of time and the urgencies of the media.

A speech thus "ghostwritten" should nevertheless reflect the intention and even the style of the speaker. The best ghostwriters are properly invisible; they subordinate themselves to the speaker in such a way that the final product is effectively personalized in the process of actual communication. The only ways to achieve or even approach this ideal are practice and experience. This report seeks to provide some guidance for congressional staff on the principles and practice of speechwriting. The suggestions offered herein, when combined with practice, attention to audience and occasion, and, most importantly, the Member's attitudes, convictions, and style, can help create a speech that can be a "seamless garment" when delivered by the Member.

Writing effective speeches requires a constant awareness of the distinction between the written and the spoken word: the speechwriter must learn to "write aloud." While the best speeches read as well as they sound, the novice speechwriter should give priority to the ear and not the eye. His or her speech must be written to be heard, not read.

This means that easy intelligibility should be a paramount concern, so that the listening span is not strained. One of the first rules of the speechwriting profession is that a sentence written to be heard should be simple, direct, and short. When the speechwriter "writes aloud," George Orwell's advice to cut out any word that can possibly be cut is helpful, so long as the resulting effect is clarity, and not verbal shorthand. 2 Ciceronian oratory on the one hand and Dick-and-Jane simplicity on the other are extremes to be avoided. The speechwriter thus faces the challenge of crafting words that convey the speaker's meaning clearly, but that also draw on the rich nuance and texture of spoken English.

The average spoken sentence runs from eight to 16 words; anything longer is considered more difficult for listeners to follow by ear, and according to one expert, may be too long for the average listener to absorb and analyze quickly. 3 By comparison, written sentences of up to 30 words are easily understood by average readers. 4 Given these generally accepted limitations, what devices are available to the writer to make more complex sentences and speech wording accessible to the listener? Complex sentences can be clarified by repeating key words and using simple connections. By numerous rhetorical techniques, the speaker states, restates, and states again in different ways, the central themes of the speech.

Repetition with variation is a basic speechwriting tool used by many of the greatest speakers to emphasize key elements while avoiding monotony. Some examples follow.

• Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was a striking example of this technique, using that phrase to introduce a series of his visions for a better future.
• Lincoln at Gettysburg emphasized the significance of the day's events by restating the solemnity of the occasion in not fewer than three variations: "We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground, ..."
• Similarly, Winston Churchill's World War II speeches used repetition with variation to build a powerful climax: "We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches and landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills, ... we shall never surrender."
• Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1937 "One third of a Nation" speech imparted a sense of urgency by his deliberate repetition of a "here are" construction to describe conditions in the country, followed again and again with "now":

Here is one-third of a nation ill-nourished, ill-clad, ill-housed—NOW.

Here are thousands upon thousands of farmers wondering whether next year's prices will meet their mortgage interest—NOW.

Here are thousands upon thousands of men and women laboring for long hours in factories for inadequate pay—NOW.

Another venerable rhetorical device is the use of cadence and balance in the spoken word. This is a part of speechwriting where the speaker and the writer need cooperation to ensure success. The tradition of public speaking in the English language owes much to the poetic tradition, which was originally an oral tradition. As one observer noted, "the language of the speech should also be poetic —replete with alliteration, metaphor, and other figures of speech. Such adornments, far from being superfluous, enhance meaning and emphasize relationships among ideas." 5 As difficult to define as to achieve, cadence and balance impart movement and harmonious effect to any speech. Essentially a matter of ordering groups of words (and ideas) into rhythmic patterns, cadence and balance can be attained by such classical rhetorical devices as the ones described below. Do not be put off by the classic Greek names of some of these rhetorical devices; in practice we use them naturally in conversation and writing every day.

The grouping of words into patterns of three can lead to a memorable effect, provided the device is not overused. Some notable examples from classic oratory include " Veni, vidi, vici "; "Never ... was so much owed by so many to so few"; "The kingdom, the power, and the glory ..."; "I have not sought, I do not seek, I repudiate the support of ..."; "one third of a nation ill-clad, ill-nourished, ill-housed...."

The linkage of similar words or ideas in a balanced construction that repeatedly uses the same grammatical form to convey parallel or coordinated ideas: "Bigotry has no head and cannot think; no heart and cannot feel;" "Charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

The repetition of initial sounds in a series of words to give emphasis. For instance, "We need to return to that old-fashioned notion of competition—where substance, not subsidies, determines the winner," or, "... the nattering nabobs of negativism...."

This is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Churchill's famous defiance of Hitler, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds ...," which has been previously cited, is one of the most famous examples.

A common form of parallel structure comparing and contrasting dissimilar elements. For instance, "... give me liberty, or give me death."; "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."; "To some generations much is given; from others, much is demanded ..."; "A great empire and little minds go ill together."; "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of folly."; "If Puritanism was not the godfather to Capitalism, then it was godson."

This technique involves more than alternating longer sentences with short ones. The writer may employ either periodic sentences, that is, those in which the main clause comes at the end, or loose sentences, in which the main clause is presented at or near the beginning, to be followed by other main or subordinate clauses. Sentence variation also includes the use of such devices as those described below.

"Is peace a rash system?" "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" The speaker leads the audience to the conclusion he hopes they will draw by asking a question that makes his point, and that he intends to answer himself, either immediately, with a flourish, or at greater length during his remarks, through patient exposition.

"Dear money. Lower credit. Less enterprise in business and manufacture. A reduced home demand. Therefore, reduced output to meet it." The speaker dramatizes the situation by reducing it to a stark declaration, which he renders more striking by pausing to let the facts sink in after each sentence fragment.

"With what dignity and courage they perished in that day." This classic rhetorical practice, once more widely used, seeks to embellish the general flow of words, much like an ornament or a musical flourish. It also helps give a particular sentence special emphasis by causing it to stand out from others by its unusual form.

With this device, the speaker comes to a complete stop in his remarks, using the ensuing moment of silence to concentrate the listeners' attention on his next phrase. "My obligation as President is historic; it is clear; yes, it is inescapable." Even periodic sentences, if used with care, repeating the "suspended" subject or verb before modifying phrases or clauses can contribute to the effect: "Thus did he prove to be a leader who—victorious in battle, magnanimous in victory, skilled in the arts of peace—was able, in the face of his most determined foes ..."

Repeating key words and using simple connective conjunctions ( and , for , because , but ) can make many complex sentences more easily intelligible to the ear by breaking them up into "bite size" segments. For instance, "Be a craftsmen in speech that thou mayest be strong, for the strength of one is the tongue, and speech is mightier than all fighting."

No speech will sound fresh and vivid if it is not animated by imaginative imagery, by metaphor in its many forms: "the hatred of entrenched greed"; "America will always stand for liberty"; "Democracy is the healthful lifeblood which circulates through the veins and arteries of society ..."; "Whether in chains or in laurels, liberty knows nothing but victories."

Extended metaphors or analogies, comparing similarities in different things, should be used with care so that the principal subject will not be lost in the image. Two or more metaphors in a single sentence or thought can be safely ventured only by the most experienced writers—"To take arms against a sea of troubles"—without incurring ridicule (as in the famous—and perhaps apocryphal—example attributed to the newspaper Pravda , the onetime propaganda organ of the Soviet Communist Party: "The fascist octopus has sung its swan-song").

Above all, in the spoken word there must be an element of identity and rapport with the listener, whether the speaker uses a "natural" conversational tone or a more oratorical style. Effective speechwriting for Congress is not a branch of "creative writing." Its "rules" are meant to foster clarity of expression, whatever the occasion and purpose of any given speech. Mere clarity is not enough for persuasive rhetoric, however. Indeed, there are times when clarity, brevity, and the like are not appropriate. The issues, because of their import and complexity, may preclude such treatment; similarly, the gravity or delicate political nature of the occasion may call for some measure of deliberate ambiguity. The best speechwriter will take into account the context of the speech and the speaker's personality, the image that is projected—that is, the speaker whom the audience sees and hears. The section on speech analysis in this report attempts a closer look at Lincoln's great Farewell Address at Springfield, illustrating many of the principles considered in this report.

What Jefferson Bates called "audience analysis" is probably the single most important factor to be considered in writing every speech: know your listeners, and you will have a much better chance of connecting with them. 6

Bates and others list a number of criteria useful in audience analysis, including, among others: age; gender; culture; education; profession ; size of the audience; and affiliation. 7 Age is obviously an important factor; high school students, young parents, and senior citizens have different levels of life experience, different interests reflecting the challenges they face at their particular stages of life, and, to some extent, they even speak different languages. Although gender differences in societal roles are less pronounced than a generation ago, some believe that certain persistent disparities of viewpoint between many men and women on some topics persist. With respect to "culture," William Wiethoff, in Writing the Speech , states that it "has escaped a standard or preferred definition. Speechwriters, however, may envision culture as the race, customs, and religion shared by members of an audience." 8 The factors of education, profession, and income level can be a pitfall for the unwary speechwriter. Never confuse education with intelligence, or professional status and worldly success with moral superiority or virtue, or modest means and educational attainment with the opposite.

The writer must be sensitive to these varying frames of reference found in an audience. Draft remarks should be familiar, sympathetic, and topical, without being condescending. They must, as always, be phrased in a way that is natural for the Member; it is painfully obvious to an audience if a Member is not comfortable in his role or with his words.

The size of an audience is another important factor in preparing a speech. A large audience and a formal occasion usually call for greater formality in language and delivery, lengthier remarks, and greater reliance on some of the classical rhetorical practices cited in this report. By comparison, many Members will require only talking points for a town meeting, and will almost certainly speak extemporaneously in still more intimate gatherings. In the age of cable and satellite television, and Webcasts, the Member is often asked to address what may appear to be a very small group of listeners physically present at the broadcast venue; at the same time, however, many others, perhaps thousands, may be viewing from other locations, or from their homes. It is the writer's task to craft remarks that simultaneously take into consideration the people physically present in the studio or location, and those who may be watching from home or other locations.

Speechwriters must also condition their words to the degree of political affiliation, or lack thereof, in the intended audience. A gathering of the party faithful is usually ready for some "red meat." An audience consisting of a non-partisan citizen's group, such as the League of Women Voters, is almost certainly not. The writer must also always remember that, while the Member is affiliated with one political party, and comes from a particular part of the state or district, he or she represents all the people, and gives due attention and respect to the legitimate views and aspirations of all constituents.

Another of the speechwriter's tasks is to assess the occasion at which the Member has been asked to speak and tailor the remarks accordingly. In contemporary society, the delivery of remarks by public figures is an expected element in almost every secular public ceremony, and at many religious services. The speechwriter must ensure that the occasion and the speech agree with one another, in both tone and content.

For instance, Veterans' Day and Memorial Day are among the most solemn public holidays in the calendar. For these two events, the speechwriter should focus on themes of commemoration, service, and sacrifice. The atmosphere should appropriately be both somber, and hopeful: "their sacrifice led to a better, more secure life for those who followed them." High school and college commencements are of a different genre altogether. The occasion may demand inspirational remarks, but as one observer noted, "I've heard speakers ... deliver a tedious, solemn policy address at graduation ceremonies in which the graduates and families just want to hit the exits and have a good time." 9 Conversely, a formal address to a learned society will differ dramatically from friendly remarks at a neighborhood picnic, town meeting, or retirement home. Simply put, the writer should exercise common sense in preparing remarks appropriate in tone and content to both the audience and the occasion.

Another useful consideration for congressional staff is to plan the delivery of substantive remarks on substantive occasions. If the Member is scheduled to announce a major policy statement or initiative, it should be delivered in commensurate surroundings, and on occasions when media coverage will be adequate. Timing is also a serious factor; speeches delivered at mid-morning, at lunchtime, or early afternoon at the latest, are far more likely to be covered that same day by local TV news.

The purpose of a speech and the occasion at which it will be delivered are closely related. Most frequently, the latter will govern the former. William E. Wiethoff suggests a "purpose" template for speechwriters in Writing the Speech . 10 In it he establishes three categories of purpose: information , persuasion , and entertainment .

These speeches seek to convey facts or information to the audience. The speaker first identifies the information that is about to be presented, seeking to link the new facts with others the listeners may already be aware of. Next, the speaker elaborates on the details of the information just conveyed, while avoiding a level of complexity and detail that would confuse the audience. Finally, the speaker draws together the facts and ideas related earlier, ideally recapitulating the main points in order to fix them in the listener's memory.

The persuasive speech is a two-edged sword: it can seek to instill in the listeners either the acceptance of, or at least a more favorable opinion toward, a particular condition, fact, or concept. This variant is described as advocacy . Conversely, a speech may also attempt to change an audience's impressions, opinions, or most ambitiously, their convictions. Wiethoff calls this dissent , and asserts that it is more difficult than advocacy, since the speaker faces the burden of proving to the listeners that what they have heretofore accepted should be modified or rejected. 11 In both cases, the writer must marshal the arguments that will convince the audience.

Wiethoff's third category of speech purpose is entertainment. A great percentage, perhaps a majority, of Member speeches will fall into this category. The choice of title for this group may be misleading, however. These are not necessarily frivolous occasions, and they are not unimportant to the life and people of a town or village, students at a school, or members of a club who constitute the audience for such remarks. Speeches in this category serve the vital function of reinforcing the common ties and experiences that bind communities together and help reinforce the vitality of civic life in America. As Wiethoff notes:

These speeches are delivered during ceremonies or rituals that are significant in themselves. They do not need clarification in order to be understood. They do not need proof of their importance. Instead, on these occasions people share an expectation of what will happen, and they are dissatisfied if the events do not take place as expected. 12

"Entertainment" speeches may be solemn in nature, such as a Memorial Day address, or celebratory, such as remarks at the opening of a new school, library, or child-care facility. They remind citizens of their joint identity as members of a community; these events, seemingly everyday, or even trite, are actually vital expressions of civic life. The Member's role as a community leader and spokesperson on these occasions should not be underestimated; it is a great honor for him or her to deliver remarks at these community rites, and a congressional speechwriter should devote talent and originality to them.

Obviously, the three purpose categories cited here are not necessarily mutually exclusive; in order to convince an audience, a speaker often needs to combine persuasion with information. Similarly, while some types of remarks are intended purely for entertainment, such as a celebrity roast, the careful speechwriter will always seek to entertain audiences in order to capture and retain their attention.

How long should a Member speak? The answer to this fundamental question of speechwriting, like so many others, depends on a wide range of factors. Audience analysis and occasion have been previously noted, but the habits and attitudes of the speaker must also be taken into consideration.

The natural inclinations of the Member must be examined. Is the Member a person of few words, or is he or she a good talker? Does the Member stick to the text, or lay it aside to share anecdotes, personal reminiscences, or even humor, with the audience? These and other related questions can be answered only through experience on the part of the congressional speechwriter. Learning the Member's style and preferences will result in a better product that communicates more effectively.

Time of day should be considered by the writer. In the morning, people are relatively fresh, and are generally better prepared physically to listen attentively. By late afternoon, or after a luncheon, however, the audience may need to be stimulated, either by coffee or by lively remarks. Finally, lengthy after-dinner remarks should almost never be inflicted, especially on a paying audience. The potential auditors are full, tired, and ready to go home. It's best to give them their wish as quickly as possible.

Finally comes the classic question: how many words should the speechwriter prepare? Once again, the factors of audience, occasion, Member preference, and time of day should be considered. The question of length of time, however, must be dealt with at some point. A number of classic speech authorities suggest that in most cases 20 minutes should be the upward limit. Conventional wisdom often holds that most listeners tune out, perceptibly or not, after that period. 13 Ritual or pro forma speeches, such as occasional remarks at schools, churches, or public functions where the Member is a guest, but not the main attraction, benefit from brevity, perhaps being limited to five to 10 minutes. Although substantive public policy speeches may merit greater length, in modern America, only presidential inaugural and State of the Union messages seem to exceed the 20-minute limit regularly, with the latter often weighing in at over an hour.

The question of pace is also important; is the Member a fast talker? Different speakers exhibit considerable variety in pace, ranging from 115 to 175 words a minute. Once again, the speechwriter will factor these personal differences into his work. As a benchmark, however, an often-cited rule-of-thumb is that the average 20-minute speech contains about 2,600 words, or, about 130 per minute. Most word processing programs will provide a total document word count as part of their spell check feature. 14

Having a fixed time stimulates careful preparation. Both a time limit and notes or text help guard against logorrhea , or excessive verbiage. Time limits also encourage speakers not to be overly comprehensive, saying everything there is to be said on the speech topic. This is a temptation difficult to resist, but a speech is, by nature, a precis or digest. Excessive complexity or verbiage are capable of transforming an effective speech into something ponderous and exhausting. Jefferson's sharp judgment of 1824 applies today with equal force: "Amplification is the vice of modern oratory.... Speeches measured by the hour die with the hour."

Theme, audience, time, place, occasion and purpose—once these are settled, the speechwriter's next concern is to gather ideas, facts, examples, illustrations, quotations, and humor, in short, whatever is needed to give substance, character, and interest to the speech. There is no shortcut for researching a speech, although a number of resources can speed the process.

Congressional speechwriters often consult the Congressional Research Service first when preparing a draft statement or an address for a Member. CRS offers a range of speechwriting resources for the use of congressional staff, many of which are available from the CRS Home Page, at http://www.crs.gov .

To find this report and other speechwriting resources, go to the CRS Home Page and click on the tab on the right, "Reference Desk" http://www.crs.gov/ reference/ general/ reference.shtml . On the left side of the page you will find a link to "Speechwriting & Holidays/Commemorative Events" http://www.crs.gov/ reference/ general/ speechwriting.shtml . This page provides links to commemorative speech materials, many of them focusing on major holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Labor Day, and month-long celebrations like Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month. Information is provided on the history of and related facts about the holiday or celebration. The speechwriting page also accesses sources providing practical tips for writing a speech, quotations, the full text of selected speeches and United States historical documents and writing guides.

Other sources of information on public policy, reference resources, appropriations information, legal resources and many external links conveniently organized by topic are also available on the CRS Home Page. From the "Reference Desk," you can access "Basic Resources for Daily Work in Congressional Offices": government directories, encyclopedias, statistical sources, dictionaries, grammar guides, maps, and other online reference links. There is also a "Legislative Reference Source" page with links to facts about Congress including information on membership, committees, rules and schedules.

Providing timely, accurate, and unbiased information and analysis on current policy questions is the most important function of the Congressional Research Service. The congressional speechwriter can access the CRS Home Page to garner analysis on current policy issues. The page links to the Current Legislative Issues, such as the Economy, Homeland Security, Internet/Telecom, and Iraq. These are further divided into subcategories, with links to the full text of CRS reports, containing comprehensive and multi-disciplinary analysis and information. They are available exclusively to congressional staff from the CRS Home Page and provide a ready resource to the congressional speechwriter.

In addition to the Current Legislative Issues on the CRS Home page, on the left side of the page is a link to "Featured Products." The first Featured Product link is entitled "Floor Agenda: CRS Products." For a speechwriter who wishes to write about recent bills scheduled for floor action, this is an invaluable resource. This link accesses CRS reports about legislation that is scheduled for floor action that week. The link to the "Appropriations Status Table" accesses the latest status of and links to appropriation bills, as well as committee and CRS reports.

Congressional staff who wish to discuss any policy-related issue with the appropriate CRS analyst can call the Inquiry Section at [phone number scrubbed], to place a request or to ask for a briefing by an analyst. Alternatively, to find out how to contact a CRS expert from the Home Page, click on the "Contact Expert" tab. A request for analysis or research assistance may also be faxed to the Inquiry Section at [phone number scrubbed] or may be placed from the CRS Home Page by clicking on the "Place a Request" tab.

The CRS Hotline at [phone number scrubbed] is available for immediate ready reference requests, such as questions about presidential quotes on the virtues of the Constitution or perhaps variations in the Consumer Price Index for the past five years. In addition, the LaFollette Congressional Reading Room (LM-204, James Madison Memorial Building, the Library of Congress), Rayburn Research Center (B-335, Rayburn House of Representatives Office Building), and Senate Research Center (SR-B07, Russell Senate Office Building) provide a full range of in-person assistance, including many standard reference sources and CRS products. They are staffed full-time by information professionals available to assist you.

Legislative information is also available from commercial publications such as CQ Weekly , the annual Congressional Quarterly Almanac , and the same publisher's eight-volume history of major legislation and national issues since 1945, Congress and the Nation. A journal of similar content but with greater emphasis on executive branch activities is National Journal , which appears weekly.

There are sites on the Web that may be helpful to the speechwriter.

American Rhetoric http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ index.htm This is an Index to an expanding database of over 5000 full text, audio and video versions of public speeches, debates and interviews. This site has a useful set of communication links and is updated every two weeks.

Speechwriter.com http://wwwthespeechwriter.com This website contains many links to research sites, statistics, encyclopedias, business links, current events, anecdotes, quotes, speeches, toasts and biographies.

The Advanced Public Speaking Institute http://wwwpublic-speaking.org/ public-speaking-articles.htm This website has 43 articles on the use of humor in a speech.

Additional helpful resources may include books on speechwriting. Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use ( Essence of Public Speaking Series ), by Alan M. Pearlman, has endorsements from two public speaking groups, the National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International. You may also wish to consult a work by Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One—How to Deliver It . The author, a former journalist and public relations executive, discusses the content, the memorability, rule of three, and other speechwriting methods. Finally, Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence that Works ( Essence of Public Speaking Series ), was written by Ronald H. Carpenter, a professor of English and communications. These books may be requested from the Loan Division of the Library of Congress, telephone 707-5441.

There are other basic materials with which every speechwriter should be familiar. These include a good standard dictionary (spell check is not foolproof, and has a rather limited vocabulary). The preferable dictionary is prescriptive as well as descriptive, that is, it prescribes or recommends usage in addition to providing descriptions or definitions. A thesaurus, such as Roget ' s , published in numerous editions since 1852, or J.I. Rodale's Synonym Finder , various editions since 1961, is useful in finding the right word and generally superior to the thesaurus feature offered with most word processing programs. For quotations, consult the standard Bartlett ' s Familiar Quotations in any one of its many editions, or Respectfully Quoted , a quotation dictionary compiled by the Congressional Research Service. Annual almanacs, such as the Information Please Almanac and the World Almanac , are often essential for quick reference.

Literary and religious sources include the works of Shakespeare in any readable edition and the English Bible, especially the King James or Authorized Version. Aside from its obvious spiritual aspects, the King James Bible is important for both its literary quality and its tremendous influence on spoken and written English.

Access to some standard encyclopedia, such as Americana , World Book or Britannica, is also helpful for fact checking and general information. Chase ' s Calendar of Events is a useful annual guide to special observances throughout the nation. A wealth of facts, statistics, and data useful in speech preparation can be found in the annual U.S. Government publication Statistical Abstract of the United States , published annually. For sample speeches on many topics of contemporary interest, the speechwriter may wish to consult Vital Speeches of the Day , published twice monthly, available through EBSCO Host and other Internet sources. It provides examples of speeches delivered by recognized public figures on topical questions and major issues and events of the day, and is annually indexed by author and topic. All these sources are available in the La Follette Congressional Reading Room, and most are also available in House and Senate office building reference centers.

Daily newspapers are a familiar, if neglected, resource for speeches; a dedicated speechwriter will read or skim several each day, noting and saving background items that may prove to be useful later. Both national and hometown papers should be included. Other useful sources include weekly news magazines and more specialized journals that cover public policy issues. Here, again, the advent of the Internet provides new sources of information valuable to the congressional speechwriter: home district newspaper web sites may be regularly scanned for local news on issues and events of interest to the Member. These are usually posted online the day they are published, and almost always well in advance of postal delivery of the printed product.

Certain general principles may be useful to guide the congressional speechwriter in choice of content and style:

• Quotations and humorous anecdotes or remarks are like spices, and should be used with discrimination, mindful of good taste and effectiveness. Speeches overloaded with quotations and anecdotes can sink from their own weight.
• Pseudo-quotations should be avoided. Never use a quotation that cannot be verified in an authoritative source.
• Unless a writer is gifted with lightness of touch, self-deprecating or gentle humor is usually more effective than satire or ridicule.
• Jokes aimed at people's personal lives or at religious and ethnic groups are invariably offensive, regardless of the speaker's motives. Avoid them.
• Statistics should be used with care and moderation. Like the points in an outline, they are better alluded to in context than cited in tedious detail. A speech filled with statistics becomes a statistical abstract, not a speech.
• When selecting material, the responsible speechwriter will take great care to quote accurately and give full credit for whatever is borrowed outright. Plagiarism is often illegal and always unethical . On the other hand, it is entirely proper to adapt existing materials to one's own purpose in preparing a new speech for any occasion. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in response to accusations that he had plagiarized parts of the Declaration of Independence from other works, "I did not consider it as any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether and to offer no sentiment which had ever been expressed before." Straining after originality, which has been defined by an anonymous wit as "imitation not yet detected," can ruin the best of speeches.
• Finally, the seasoned speechwriter soon learns to recycle the best parts of previous efforts, to save time and effort, and also to preserve a particularly fine turn of phrase.

The task of actually writing the speech, once the preliminaries are completed, will be greatly facilitated in most cases by the use of an outline. The novice speechwriter may be tempted to dispense with this device, on the grounds that it adds a time consuming extra step to a process that is often constrained by tight deadlines. On the other hand, it forces the writer to plan and organize his thoughts, to determine in advance what he intends to say, and to begin at the beginning.

A speech outline generally is not nearly as detailed as an outline for an academic work, such as a journal article, or even a research paper. The outline serves as a skeleton, a framework to carry the flesh and blood of the fully developed speech. At the same time, this skeleton should eventually be invisible, clothed in delivery with ideas and emotions, and as simple as possible; beware of explicitly enumerating too many points or topics. Outlines may be written in topics, or key sentences, or in complete thoughts, so long as there is an orderly sequence.

The frugal writer will retain speech outlines, since they can easily be reworked for future efforts. In whole or in parts, these can be placed in folders in a word processing program, or written out into a looseleaf notebook binder or even on index cards. From any of these media, the outlines can be quickly cut, rearranged, or added to as future occasions may require. President Ronald Reagan, for example, was legendary for his expert use and reuse of note cards that included facts and themes he sought to emphasize in various speeches.

Throughout the speech, the writer ought to be constantly asking: "What is it I am trying to say?" and, after it is written: "Have I, in fact, said it clearly, succinctly, and well?" Every speech seeks in some way to move an audience, to win support, to motivate, to convince, perhaps to inspire, or simply to entertain. Adhere to the central theme or idea while addressing it in different ways, much in the manner that good sentences are constructed for a paragraph.

The arrangement of ideas and themes should follow a logical progression. Each fact establishes a certain point, which leads to the speaker's next point, and so forth, ultimately climaxing with the thematic conclusion. While it is more dramatic to gain an audience's attention by opening a speech with a grand conclusion, be sure that the initial dramatic assertion is followed up by the essential process of weaving the argument the Member seeks to make.

Do not try to say too much, particularly when the speech is intended as the vehicle for a major announcement or initiative. The most memorable presidential inaugural addresses have been those that set a single theme, or coherent group of related themes. 15 Stick to no more than three major points, rather than attempting to say a little something about everything. Anything more risks running afoul of Churchill's famous comment concerning a bland dessert: "This pudding has no theme."

Nearly every speech will have a basic three-part structure of introduction, body, and conclusion. An arresting introduction should lead into an emphatic statement of the main theme or themes. The argument that follows seeks to elaborate and develop the theme convincingly and effectively—that is, without too much detail. The central theme is restated in the closing peroration. One helpful approach for overcoming the feeling of word fright (what can I say and how?) is to write the speech in reverse: begin with the conclusion, which should summarize the central message, while abridging and restating whatever goes before. If the introduction sets the tone and establishes initial appeal or rapport, the closing communicates the final effect and is more likely to be remembered. Working backward is one way of imparting unity, coherence, and emphasis to the speech as a whole.

There are many techniques available for the actual writing of a speech. Almost all speeches delivered by, or on behalf of, Members of Congress, even those for ceremonial or pro forma occasions, will have a certain political character because of the Member's representative function, and also because of the way in which his or her office is perceived. In the rhetorical context, political means persuasive, including the expression of personal interest and concern, assuring and reassuring, conveying the Member's identity with each audience, and so creating a community of interest and trust. Three kinds of persuasive techniques are usually distinguished:

• the appeal to reasonableness: "Surely Democrats and Republicans alike can agree that there is no excuse today for hunger in the world's richest nation...."
• the appeal to emotion: "Can we, as a nation, close our eyes to the spectacle of millions of children going to bed hungry every night...?"
• the ethical appeal (that is, to the character of the audience): "our historic traditions of decency and generosity demand that we face squarely the question of hunger in America...."

All three approaches may be used in any given speech.

One popular option for developing a speech is the "attention-problem-solution" method, especially for longer speeches of a non-partisan character. Useful for many different occasions, this method begins by stimulating the interest of the audience, usually with attention-grabbing examples of a problem that needs to be recognized and confronted. The speaker then moves to define the "problem" situation, and concludes with the proposed "best" solution, presented so as to win listener support.

Another option, the "this-or-nothing" method, advocates a policy mainly by presenting and refuting proposed alternatives as inadequate or worse. It lends itself well to partisan occasions or to stirring those already convinced. In every case the speaker seeks to reinforce and strengthen his principal ideas as they are unfolded in the speech. Prior audience analysis and subject preparation will often help the speech "write itself."

No speaker should ever apologize for his or her presence, or for the content of the speech. If it truly deserves apologies, it is better left unsaid. Further, a prudent speaker, rightly wary of the impulse to speak "off-the-cuff," will make certain that "extemporaneous" or "impromptu" remarks are not unprepared. For most speakers it is also better not to memorize a speech (unless one has a gift for it), since memory is fallible and elusive at best.

The congressional speechwriter should not shrink from commonly accepted contemporary usage: the all-day speeches and obscure classical allusions of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay make wonderful reading, but they are history. The development of public address systems, radio, and, finally, the "cool" medium of television, and the perhaps even more intimate medium of the webcast have combined with other social changes to turn down the volume, both in decibels and emotions, of public speaking in the United States, for better or worse eliminating its more histrionic qualities.

The accepted style of contemporary oratory is generally low key, casual without being offensively familiar, and delivered directly to the audience in a conversational tone and volume. It puts the audience at ease and helps promote psychological bonding between listeners and speaker. The speaker is perceived as a neighbor or friend, as well as an elected official. This is, of course, what every Senator and Representative strives to be. Perhaps the first, and certainly one of the most effective, practitioners of this art was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his radio "fireside chats." His calm, reassuring voice and homey language revolutionized the bond of communication between the American people and their Presidents. It could be said that FDR spoke "with," rather than "to," the people, a standard to which Members can honestly aspire today. Once again, certain exceptions are allowed, but these are generally reserved largely to the President, or for only the most formal occasions.

Use natural words and phrases in a speech; let the sentences flow conversationally. It is helpful for some writers, time permitting, to prepare a first draft in longhand, shaping the sentences slowly, speaking aloud the phrases they intend to use.

The first person is perfectly acceptable in modern public discourse, and when combined with other personal pronouns—remember to avoid "I" strain—it can help connect listener to speaker and create a sense of community within the audience. While the first person singular is sometimes deprecated, it is its excessive use that should be avoided. Conversely, speakers should avoid referring to themselves in the first person plural (we) or the third person singular (he or she). The former has been reserved to monarchs, and is considered archaic in modern speech. The latter too often conveys a sense of excessive self importance to listeners. For instance, a Member should think twice before referring to himself or herself in the third person singular: "Dave (or Mary) Smith thinks the problem of hunger is the greatest challenge facing America today."

Writers should generally use simple, declarative sentences, preferably in active voice, when making important statements of fact, assertion, or opinion. Use of the passive voice should not be dismissed out of hand, however; it is sometimes the more desirable form, and can lend grace and variety to the speaker's flow of words that stimulates the listener. It is excessive use that should be avoided. Similarly, exclusive use of the active voice can impart a choppy, juvenile cadence to even a content-rich speech.

Just as there are points to emphasize in every speech, serving as clear transitions or aural signposts for paragraphs ("secondly," "nevertheless," "finally," "accordingly," "as a result," "in spite of," "as I have said," etc.), so there are things to avoid, and they are more numerous. While they are discussed in full in many reference works, they include:

• jargon and trendy neologisms: "impact" used as a verb, "stakeholders," "incentivize," "outside the box," et al .;
• redundancy resulting from excess verbiage, not deliberate restatement;
• mannerisms that may distract the listener, and trite phrases or cliches, with the exception previously mentioned, monotony of style or pace, and, in general, language inappropriate to the audience and occasion.

Punctuation is crucial to an effective speech; it helps to clarify the delivery of the spoken word. Good punctuation in English, apart from a few basic elements, is less a matter of inflexible rules than of purpose and style, particularly where speeches are concerned. Historically there have been two broad traditions of punctuation: syntactical—that is, guided by syntax or grammatical construction; and elocutionary—deriving from the rhythm and pace of actual speech. One writer has further distinguished three methods of punctuating:

• by structure or logic to indicate the sense of what is being said;
• by the rhythm of word order and intended meaning—a subtle use best avoided by novice speech writers;
• and by respiration—that is, by the physical ease of natural speech, which assumes that what is read is really spoken. 16

This last method, essentially the same as the elocutionary style, is the most widely used and certainly the most appropriate for speeches. In short, punctuate according to the ear and not the eye. This also means punctuating for the lungs: give the Member time to breathe! A long and convoluted sentence (something to be avoided in general) can leave the Member literally gasping for breath as he or she concludes it. A useful practice for congressional speechwriters is to declaim aloud (speak aloud, not in a conversational tone, but as if one were speaking to an audience) any lengthy sentence intended for the Member. If the writer finds it taxing on the lungs, then so will the Member; in such cases, it is advisable either to fashion shorter sentences, or to repunctuate the original, using such obvious "time out" devices as the colon and semi-colon, both of which are described in the next paragraph.

Commas and dashes are useful to the speaker and listeners alike as guideposts to what lies ahead in a speech. They also provide pauses where the speaker can let the import of the previous sentence sink in, or simply catch his or her breath. Opinion is divided on colons and semicolons; some consider them as serving the same functions as commas and dashes, while others suggest that they are more emphatic, demanding a full stop in the flow of remarks, rather than a short pause. They are also sometimes criticized as leading to long compound sentences that are difficult for audiences to process, and that are better replaced by shorter declarative ones. In the final analysis, the Member's personal preferences and style should be the congressional speechwriter's guide.

Correct grammar and syntax in the context of speechwriting and delivery mean using a level of English usage that is appropriate to the occasion. While it is highly desirable, the formal grammar of the written language is not an end in itself; it exists to further the clarity of expression. Far more important than the grammarian's rules is the communication of personality by which a speech, as opposed to a lecture, is clothed with emotion and enthusiasm, so that the speaker is perceived to be sincere and trustworthy, neither "talking over people's heads" nor "talking down" to them. While this may belong more to the presentation or delivery, the writer should strive for it in speech preparation as well.

Effective delivery can transform a weak speech and make it sound very good. Poor delivery can ruin the best-prepared speeches, and sometimes does. Although delivery is not the concern of the speechwriter as such, it must be always in mind as a speech is actually written. The speaker's pace, his or her style, mannerisms, tendencies (such as departing from a text), peculiarities, or special difficulties (words to avoid)—these are elements with which the writer should be well acquainted before preparing any speech. Knowing how a Member speaks is essential in preparing a draft that is both useful and realistic.

Ideally, a speech draft ought to be reviewed three times—by the writer, by the prospective speaker, and by a disinterested third party. Of these three, priority should ordinarily be given to the speaker. The revised product is likely to be more effective. With speeches, as with food, however, too many cooks are undesirable. Moreover, time seldom permits this much critical evaluation and rewriting. It may even be easier to provide for some appraisal of the speech's impact and audience reaction after delivery. For example, it is said that Senator Robert F. Kennedy's speech writers would follow his delivery of a speech word by word, noting those phrases or ideas that were well received, or others that created problems.

An effective political speech is defined not by rules of rhetoric, but by the character of response it evokes. The speaker, then, is always concerned to measure that response and to elicit "positive feedback." This means a network of contacts that can report on the opinions and reactions of the audience, and evaluate the interest generated and evident a week or more after the event. It requires an awareness of media coverage and subsequent treatment from constituents, the sponsoring organization, and others. In short, it means adding a political relevance to the familiar phrase, "keeping in touch."

Although there are substantial distinctions between legislative and non-legislative speeches, the basic principles of preparation and presentation are identical for both. Good writing is nurtured by wide reading, which in turn fosters a sense of style, enriched vocabulary, accuracy in grammar, and a feeling for English syntax. The best speechwriters will, through regular daily reading, bring an ever more abundant background to their work. Everything is grist for the speechwriter's mill. Moreover, nothing is surer in speechwriting than that "practice makes perfect." The more one writes, the easier the task becomes, and the smoother and more conversational the flow of the Member's remarks.

As with so many aspects of speechwriting and delivery, the physical form of a speech is a matter of personal preference. Some speakers prefer to work from a completely polished text, one that may include carefully tailored "spontaneous" anecdotes and jokes at appropriate places, and may even incorporate hints on speech delivery or effective body language in the text. Others prefer to speak from notes derived from such a text, proceed from a series of "talking points," or simply extemporize. Whichever method is used, preparatory notes or an outline are recommended, with the cautionary warning that dependence on a manuscript can deaden the delivery, just as the excessive use of notes or cards can stimulate verbosity.

President-elect Lincoln's farewell speech at Springfield, Illinois on February 11, 1861 is arguably the shortest great speech ever delivered from the back of a train. Its railway car setting recalls to mind the now-vanished connection between political events and the railroad, including the whistle-stop campaigns of most presidential candidates from William Jennings Bryan to Dwight Eisenhower. What Jacques Barzun called Lincoln's "workaday style [would become] the American style par excellence," undermining the monopoly exercised by purveyors of "literary plush." 17 The Springfield speech illustrates with extraordinary brevity—it is only a 15 line paragraph—the Lincolnian qualities of precision, vernacular ease, rhythmic virtuosity, and elegance.

The sense of right order and emphasis throughout culminates in the closing sentence—"one of the greatest cadences in English speech." 18 The effect is achieved by the simple yet artful devices of parallelism, the balancing of similar and antithetical words phrases, and ideas, evoking rich Biblical overtones among his hearers. Lincoln's style is rooted in the "speaking intonations" and "humanly simple vernacular" of everyday speech, heightened by form and rhythm, the distinctively American tradition seen at its best in such writers as Emerson and Frost. 19 Although some hold that today there is no place for rhetorical eloquence, arguing that "bluntness and clarity" and simplistic thoughts are the norm, 20 others assert that the craft of speechmaking, the impact of skilled political rhetoric is as significant as ever in our history. 21 Lincoln's mastery of that craft remains a formidable example.

My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell. 22

The rise and, indeed, the virtual triumph in American political speaking of "the popular conversational idiom," with its emphasis on simplicity, brevity, and terseness, has tended to encourage "simplistic language together with slogans or catch words ...," influenced perhaps by the techniques of mass media advertising and particularly television. 23 "Repetition and retention of a few simple ideas are stressed more than a complex concept." 24 In consequence, some have noted a growing trend toward what some have characterized as a numbing mediocrity: "Since the 1920s more political speakers have addressed larger audiences on a wider range of topics than at any time in history. Yet so marked is the decline in the quality of style that the majority of speeches are pedestrian, prosaic, and impotent." 25 This last may be an excessively pessimistic evaluation of the state of contemporary political speech. Few, moreover, would advocate a return to the florid style of public speaking that prevailed as recently as the 1920s.

The remedy, in part, may be the cultivation of style. "Time should be devoted," writes L. Patrick Devlin, "to using impressive language," which he defines as "the most vivid, clear, concise, and meaningful style." 26 It will be most effective if it bears the personal stamp of the speaker. "The process of persuasion is ... more a matter of communicating values than logical information." 27 In essence, good speechwriting requires that the speaker assume a role: to some extent, he or she must be able to impart confidence and to sense the character of an audience. We need not agree with Talleyrand's cynical observation that "speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts" to recognize that effective persuasion calls for the ability to win the hearts and minds of listeners. To seem natural is not easy; as George Fluharty and Harold Ross wrote in Public Speaking :

The speaker is estimating his audience and his audience is estimating him. His ethics, his integrity, understanding, and humanity are strong forces for good and also strong components of his "ethos" or personal effect upon not only his present but also his future audiences. The speaker should therefore make sure that the actual situation permits him to use a given persuasive device. 28

Once again, the words of Abraham Lincoln, himself no mean practitioner of the public speaker's art, may serve to summarize the speechwriter's ultimate goal:

When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and true maxim that "a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall." So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great high-road to his reason, and which, when once gained, you will find but little trouble convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause really is a good one. 29

How To Write A Political Speech

11 min read

Crafting a compelling political speech holds immense importance for any aspiring politician and successful political campaign. It is a powerful tool for connecting with the audience, influencing opinions, and igniting action. To make speeches truly impactful, harnessing the power of voter engagement and direct sourcing is key. Politicians can gather valuable insights directly from the people they aim to represent by actively engaging with voters and listening to their concerns.

This approach adds significant value to speeches and establishes an authentic connection with voters. This blog post will explore the significance of delivering compelling political speeches and highlight the benefits of incorporating voter engagement and direct sourcing techniques. By the end, you'll gain practical insights into creating lessons that resonate with your audience and make a lasting impact. Revise your political speechwriting skills with valuable tips and actionable strategies!

Writing a compelling political speech that resonates with your audience is vital for any politician. Two key factors are crucial to achieving this: defining your objectives and knowing your target audience.

• Defining the objectives: Your speech should have a clear purpose, whether it is to persuade, inspire, or educate your listeners. You can shape your address by defining your goals to achieve those desired outcomes effectively. ‍
• Knowing your target audience: Understanding your audience's demographics, concerns, and aspirations is fundamental. This knowledge allows you to tailor your message in a way that connects with them on a personal level. You can create a speech that resonates deeply and captures their attention by addressing their needs and desires.

Research and Preparation

Research and preparation are vital steps in writing an impactful political speech. By gathering comprehensive data from various sources, conducting surveys, and analyzing voter demographics, you can enhance the effectiveness of your address. Here are key actions to take:

• Collecting data from various sources: Traditional media such as newspapers, TV, and radio provide insights into current political events and public sentiment. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube offer information on trending topics and public discourse. Online forums and communities like Reddit, Quora, and specialized political forums allow you to tap into discussions and understand different perspectives. ‍
• Conducting surveys and opinion polls: ‍ Engaging in surveys and opinion polls helps you gauge your target audience's opinions, preferences, and concerns. This data provides valuable insights to shape your speech accordingly. ‍
• Analyzing voter demographics and specific concerns: ‍ Understanding your audience's demographics, including age, gender, and location, enables you to tailor your speech to resonate with their unique backgrounds and experiences. Additionally, identifying specific concerns and issues that matter to voters allows you to address them directly in your speech, making it more relevant and impactful.

By undertaking thorough research and preparation, you will have a solid foundation for crafting a compelling political speech that speaks directly to your audience's needs and aspirations. In the upcoming sections, we will explore these topics in more detail, providing you with practical strategies to integrate the collected data effectively into your speechwriting process. Get ready to take your political speechwriting skills to the next level!

Crafting a Compelling Political Speech

Crafting a powerful political speech requires careful consideration of the message you want to convey. Here are key steps to help you create a compelling address:

• Identifying key issues and topics: Start by identifying crucial issues such as the economy and jobs, healthcare and social welfare, education and student debt, climate change and environmental policies, and national security and foreign affairs. These topics are often at the forefront of public discourse and resonate with voters. ‍
• Prioritizing topics based on voter feedback and relevance: ‍ Listen to the feedback and concerns of voters through surveys, town hall meetings, and direct engagement. Prioritize the topics that resonate most with your audience, ensuring your speech addresses their pressing issues. ‍
• Developing a compelling narrative: ‍ Structure your speech with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion to provide a cohesive flow. Utilize storytelling techniques to make your message engaging and relatable, capturing your audience's attention. Connect your experiences to policy proposals, humanizing your speech and showing your understanding of real-life impacts. Emphasize empathy and relatability to establish a genuine connection with your audience, showcasing that you understand and share their concerns.

Following these steps, you can craft a persuasive political speech highlighting key issues, resonating with voters, and inspiring action. In the following sections, we will delve deeper into each aspect, providing you with practical tips and techniques to enhance the impact of your speech. Prepare to deliver a memorable and influential address that leaves a lasting impression!

Rehearsing your political speech is a critical step that significantly aids your confidence and overall delivery. Here are some valuable tips to consider when it comes to rehearsing:

• Practice makes perfect: Dedicate ample time to rehearsing your speech before presenting it to an audience. Aim to rehearse your address at least five times to familiarize yourself with the content, structure, and flow. ‍
• Seek feedback from your team: Once you've practiced independently, deliver your speech to your team and invite their constructive criticism. Their feedback can provide valuable insights and help you refine your points, delivery, and overall performance. ‍
• Conduct a full dress rehearsal: Organize a complete dress rehearsal with your team, where they play the roles of a moderator and your competition. This simulation allows you to identify potential weaknesses in your arguments, anticipate challenging questions, and fine-tune your delivery. ‍
• Capture and review your performance: Consider filming yourself giving the speech during rehearsal. Watching the recording afterwards lets you objectively evaluate your performance, body language, and speaking style. Take note of areas where improvements can be made and make adjustments accordingly. ‍
• Ensure accessibility through simplicity: While rehearsing, approach your speech from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with the topics you're addressing. Use simple language and many analogies to make your political speech accessible to many listeners. This approach enhances understanding and enables your message to resonate with the entire electorate.

By incorporating rehearsal into your speechwriting process, you can boost your confidence, identify areas for improvement, and deliver a polished and impactful speech. Remember, rehearsing allows you to refine your points, connect with your audience effectively, and ensure your message is conveyed clearly, concisely, and relatable. ‍

Use Common Language

Using common language in political speech writing is essential to effectively connect with your audience and ensure your message resonates with a wide range of listeners. Here are key considerations when it comes to using common language:

• ‍ Speak in an accessible manner:   Communicate in a way that is easily understandable to all. Avoid excessive jargon, complex terminology, or convoluted sentences that may confuse or alienate your audience. Use clear and concise language that allows anyone to grasp your message. ‍ ‍
• Avoid offensive terms:   Maintaining a respectful and inclusive tone during your speech is important. Steer clear of profane or derogatory language that could offend or marginalize certain groups. Treat your audience with respect, emphasizing unity and understanding. ‍ ‍
• Harness the power of stories and personal accounts:   Stories and first-person narratives profoundly impact your audience. Utilize relatable anecdotes and real-life experiences to illustrate your points, making your arguments more engaging, relatable, and emotionally compelling. ‍ ‍
• Balance simplicity with depth:   While most of your content should be easily understandable by anyone, it is acceptable to incorporate academic research, quotations, or statistics that may require additional explanation. Find a balance between simplicity and depth, ensuring that even complex ideas can be grasped by your listeners with the appropriate context and explanation.

Using common language can effectively bridge the gap between complex ideas and the understanding of your audience. Remember, the goal is to connect with as many people as possible, making your message accessible, relatable, and impactful. So, craft your speech with clarity and simplicity while utilizing stories and personal accounts to create an emotional connection that resonates with your listeners.

How to Construct An Argument

Constructing a compelling argument is crucial to writing a persuasive political speech. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you build a strong and impactful argument:

• Clearly state your thesis: Begin by articulating your main point or thesis statement. This sets the foundation for your argument and provides a clear focus for your speech. ‍
• Gather supporting evidence: Collect relevant facts, statistics, expert opinions, and real-life examples that support your thesis. Strong evidence adds credibility and strengthens your argument. ‍
• Organize your points logically: Structure your argument logically and coherently. Present your facts in a sequence that builds upon each other, leading your audience towards your main thesis. ‍
• Anticipate counterarguments: Consider potential counterarguments to your position and address them proactively. This demonstrates thoroughness and strengthens your overall argument. ‍
• Use persuasive language: Choose words and phrases that are persuasive and compelling. Craft your message to resonate with your audience emotionally and intellectually. ‍
• Appeal to logic and emotions: Blend logical reasoning with emotional appeals to make your argument more persuasive. Use rational evidence to support your claims and evoke emotions to connect with your audience more deeply. ‍
• Use rhetorical devices: Employ rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions to enhance the impact of your argument and make it more memorable. ‍
• Summarize and restate your main points: Conclude your argument by summarizing your main points and restating your thesis. Leave your audience clearly understanding your position and a compelling call to action.

These steps can construct a strong and persuasive argument in your political speech. Remember to support your claims with evidence, organize your points effectively, and appeal to logic and emotions. With a well-constructed argument, your address will be poised to influence opinions and inspire action.

Voter Engagement for your Speech

Engaging with voters through various tactics is essential to crafting a compelling political speech. Here's why it matters and how you can make the most of it:

importance of voter contact tactics:

• Door-to-door canvassing allows you to connect with voters on a personal level, fostering trust and building rapport.
• Town hall meetings provide a platform for open dialogue, enabling you to directly understand local issues and concerns of the community.
• Phone calls and text messages offer an opportunity to engage voters individually, creating a sense of importance and personal connection.

Benefits of engaging voters directly:

• Building trust and rapport strengthens your relationship with voters, making your message more impactful and memorable.
• Understanding local issues and concerns firsthand helps you address them effectively in your speech, showing your commitment to representing the community's needs.
• Obtaining firsthand stories and anecdotes allows you to humanize your speech, adding authenticity and relatability to your message.

Techniques for effective voter engagement:

• Active listening and showing empathy demonstrate your genuine interest in understanding voters' perspectives and concerns.
• Asking open-ended questions encourages voters to share their thoughts and experiences, providing valuable insights for shaping your speech.
• Encouraging voter participation in the speechwriting process empowers them. It ensures their voices are heard, enhancing the authenticity of your speech.
• Utilizing social media platforms to solicit input and feedback broadens your reach. It allows you to engage with a wider audience, gathering diverse perspectives and ideas.

By actively engaging voters through canvassing and other community outreach , you gain invaluable insights, stories, and anecdotes that can greatly enrich your political speech. In the upcoming sections, we will delve deeper into these techniques, providing you with practical strategies to maximize voter engagement and create lessons that truly resonate with your audience. Get ready to harness the power of direct sourcing and make a meaningful impact with your speech!

Incorporating voter input into your speechwriting process is a powerful way to create speeches that truly resonate with your audience. Here's how you can leverage voter input, with a special emphasis on the significance of canvassing:

• ‍ Analyzing and categorizing voter stories and concerns: By carefully listening to voters' stories and concerns gathered through canvassing, town hall meetings, and other engagement tactics, you can analyze and categorize them to identify common threads and key issues. ‍ ‍
• Identifying common themes and patterns: By recognizing recurring themes and patterns in voter input, you gain insights into your constituency's collective concerns and aspirations. This knowledge allows you to address them effectively in your speech. ‍ ‍
• Integrating voter anecdotes into the speech: Personalizing the message by incorporating specific anecdotes and stories voters share, you personalize your speech, making it relatable and impactful. Highlighting real-life impacts: Sharing how specific policies or decisions affect real people helps create a deeper understanding and empathy among your audience. ‍ ‍
• Acknowledging and addressing dissenting viewpoints: While incorporating voter input, it's important to acknowledge and address dissenting views. By respectfully engaging with opposing perspectives, you demonstrate inclusivity and a willingness to consider all voices.

By actively involving voters in the speechwriting process, you ensure their concerns and experiences are reflected in your message. This adds authenticity and relatability and strengthens your connection with your audience. In the subsequent sections, we will delve deeper into these strategies, providing you with practical tips to seamlessly integrate voter input into your political speeches. Get ready to create addresses that truly resonate and engage your audience profoundly!

The Ten Minutes Beforehand

The ten minutes beforehand hold significant value in maximizing the impact of your political speech. Here's how you can make the most of this crucial time, offering practical strategies to enhance your performance and connect with your audience:

Center yourself through mindfulness techniques:

• Take deep breaths to calm your nerves and center your mind.
• Practice mindfulness or meditation to focus your thoughts and promote a sense of presence.

Review your key talking points:

• Take a moment to mentally review the main points and messages you want to convey.
• Ensure that your speech aligns with your objectives and resonates with your audience.

Visualize success:

• Visualize yourself delivering a powerful and impactful speech with confidence and clarity.
• Envision a positive response from your audience, creating a sense of belief and determination.

Positive self-talk:

• Engage in positive self-talk to boost your confidence and banish self-doubt.
• Remind yourself of your strengths, expertise, and message value.

Establish a connection with your audience:

• Scan the room and make eye contact with individuals in the audience.
• This brief interaction establishes an initial connection and helps you establish rapport.

Review technical aspects:

• Double-check any specialized equipment or visual aids to ensure they are functioning properly.
• Familiarize yourself with the stage setup and microphone placement for seamless delivery.

Warm up your voice and body:

• Perform vocal warm-up exercises to ensure clarity and projection in your speech.
• Engage in gentle stretches or movements to release tension and promote a relaxed body language.

By utilizing these strategies ten minutes beforehand, you can optimize your mindset, refine your delivery, and establish an immediate connection with your audience. Remember that these moments set the stage for a memorable speech, allowing you to effectively convey your message, inspire your audience, and leave a lasting impact.

Engaging voters through direct sourcing, especially through canvassing, holds immense power in creating impactful political speeches. By incorporating voter input, speeches can exude authenticity and relatability, connecting with the concerns and aspirations of the electorate. This approach inspires trust and establishes a strong connection between politicians and the people they aim to represent. Crafting well-articulated speeches that resonate with voters is a transformative way to influence opinions and ignite action. As you refine your speech writing skills, remember the significance of actively engaging voters, listening to their stories, and addressing their concerns. By doing so, you will deliver speeches that make a lasting impact, inspire change, and foster a deeper connection with your audience.

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What It's Really Like To Be a Political Speechwriter

Spoiler alert: it's nothing like The West Wing .

Few political staffers are lionized as much as the political speechwriter. You know the caricature: the rumpled hair, desk strewn with empty coffee cups, peering at a laptop screen searching for the perfect turn of phrase. Their struggle is real, but their gallant prose can bring a nation to its feet.

In reality, few speechwriters look like Sam Seaborn, or even his rubber-ball-throwing counterpart, Toby Ziegler . Rather than tortured wordsmiths who can afford to belabor every syllable, speechwriters have to deal with the same time constraints, bureaucracy, and petty office politics as any other drone in a political office.

Barton Swaim occupied that space for nearly four years as a speechwriter for Rep. Mark Sanford during his time as governor of South Carolina. When Swaim started working in Sanford's office, he knew he wanted to write a book about the political life — something funny, maybe a novel. Then the Appalachian Trail happened. Swaim's new book, The Speechwriter , chronicles his time in Sanford's office before and after the revelation that Sanford was having an affair with a woman in Argentina when he told his staff he was hiking.

When he first came to Sanford's office, Swaim, who has a Ph. D. in English, quickly learned that his writing was not up to the governor's snuff. One of Swaim's duties was transcribing Sanford's dictated letters to constituents, and he picked up the quirks of the governor's speech that way.

"I copied down a lot of his phrases and weird expressions, and I would just sprinkle everything I wrote with those expressions, whether they were appropriate or not," Swaim said.

Some of those phrases: "speaks volumes," "a whole host of," "in large measure," "pearls of wisdom," "unique," "fabulous," and especially "given the fact that." When giving a speech or discussing policy, Sanford would demand the writers give him three points, never two.

Sanford preferred to write his own speeches when he had the time, so Swaim was consigned to writing speeches for less-than-momentous occasions — the ground-breaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies that take up much of a governor's face time with the public.

"I thought I was going to be this great speechwriter, stringing grand phrases together and soaring oratory and all this," Swaim said. "I was basically just coming up with cute things that you could say at a gathering of the National Square Dancing Society, or a grand opening at the Heinz factory. So, coming up with stories about ketchup."

Matt Latimer can sympathize. He became a speechwriter for then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2004. He recalls receiving a "snowflake," one of Rumsfeld's infamous brief one-page notes, from the secretary on his writing preferences.

"One of my favorite snowflakes he sent me was, 'I never use the word "very." It is a very weak word,' " Latimer said.

In 2007, Latimer moved from the Pentagon to the White House to write speeches for President George W. Bush. This was in the late stages of Bush's presidency, when the Iraq War was going sideways and the economy was collapsing in on itself.

"It was less like Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and more like The Office ," Latimer wrote in his 2009 book Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor .

Like Swaim, Latimer often found himself frustrated with the layers of bureaucracy involved in writing more high-profile speeches, so he gravitated toward ceremonial speeches. One of the speeches Latimer is most proud of writing was when Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Here's an excerpt of that speech:

"I'm interested in a story about a young man who was so worried that the Army might change its mind about allowing him to fly that he drove immediately to the train station; he left his car as well as $1,000 worth of photography equipment. He never saw his car. He never saw his camera. But he became a flyer. These men in our presence felt a special sense of urgency. They were fighting two wars: one was in Europe, and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens. That's why we're here."

It's a near-perfect blend of prose, research, anecdote, and commitment to the greater purpose of our country. And even Latimer, who by that point already felt some disenchantment toward his job, still recognized the importance of delivering all those elements — that Bush's audience deserved to hear something good.

Being a speechwriter is like being a novelist, only with more behind-the-scenes power and fewer accolades. The one thing being a speechwriter does not provide is fame — that is, until you leave your job and write a tell-all book about your old boss.

Swaim and Latimer are just two in a long tradition of political speechwriters turning toward more creative expressions of their craft. Peggy Noonan's book, What I Saw at the Revolution , chronicles her work as a speechwriter for President Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush. And Mark Salter, who wrote speeches for Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential run, was revealed as the anonymous author of O: A Presidential Novel in 2011.

When asked if he would ever want to work as a speechwriter again, Swaim — who now works as the communications director for the South Carolina Policy Council — chuckled. "Who would hire me?"

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of a speechwriter for Sen. McCain's 2008 campaign. His name is Mark Salter.

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How To Write A Presidential Speech

Katie Clower

The Importance of a Presidential Speech

Presidential speeches have been a prevalent and important part of our country’s society and culture since Washington’s inauguration in April of 1789 in which the first inaugural address, and presidential speech in general, was delivered. Since then, we as a country have beared witness to countless presidential and political speeches. Some have been moving, some inspirational and motivating, some heartbreaking and tear-jerking. Others have made us cringe out of anger, fear, or disappointment. Some have simply fallen flat, having been described as boring or awkward or unsettling.

Many presidential speeches are remembered and regarded to this day, despite how many decades or centuries ago they were delivered. Often, we remember and reflect on those which were the most special and important. But, in some cases the horribly written or delivered ones stick out in our minds, too. This writing guide is designed, in part, for those presidential or politician candidates and hopefuls to use as a tool to ensure their own speeches will be remembered and reflected on for years to come, for their positive messages and audience responses, not the opposite.

If you are not or do not plan to be a politician or president, do not stop reading! This guide is also written with the average person, even one with little to no political ties or aspirations, in mind. Public speech is a large aspect and topic of discussion in our society, one that has become critical to the presidential process. As such, many of us may be fascinated by and curious about the process of constructing and delivering a successful presidential speech. This guide will convey all of this information via data and analyses of previous both renowned and failed presidential speeches, deductions of what it was that made them so great or so catastrophic, syntheses of expert research and findings on the topic, and more. It does so in a casual, easy-to-follow tone, further making it a read for all.

Another reason this guide is applicable to everyone is because the speech-making tips and techniques shared throughout the text are true for not just political speech, but any form. Everyone has to deliver pitches, speeches, or presentations at some point in their lives or careers. The conclusion section emphasizes how the information and advice shared in this guide can apply to and help with all other forms of speech writing and delivering. With all of this in mind, this guide is meant for truly anyone who wants to take the time to read and be informed.

Goals of the Speech

Presidential speeches have become increasingly important over time as a means to connect with and appeal to the people in order to articulate and drive forward presidential goals, deliver or reflect on tragic or positive news, and more. As Teten put it in his study, “speeches are the core of the modern presidency” (334). He finds that while “in the past, speechmaking, as well as public appeal in the content of speeches, was not only infrequent but discouraged due to precedent and technology,” today it is one of the most important and most frequently utilized presidential tools (Teten, 334). Allison Mcnearney states that “even in an age of Twitter, the formal, spoken word from the White House carries great weight and can move, anger or inspire at home and around the world.” These findings make perfecting this method of communication with the people even more crucial to master. One part of doing so requires keeping in mind what the main, general goals of these speeches are.

Connection to Audience

While presidents and politicians deliver many different types of speeches which often have contrasting tones and messages depending on the occasion, there is always an exigence for politicians to make efforts to connect with their audience. This in turn results in a more positive audience perception and reaction to both the president and his speech. Later in the guide, specific rhetorical and linguistic strategies and moves will be discussed which have proven effective in fostering a connection with audience members through speech.

This overall notion of establishing connection works to break down barriers and make the audience feel more comfortable with and trusting of the speech giver. McNearney points to FDR as a president who successfully connected with the people, largely, she claims, through his fireside chats. The fireside chats exemplified a president making use of the media for the first time “to present a very carefully crafted message that was unfiltered and unchallenged by the press” (McNearney). Today, we often see our presidents use Twitter as a media avenue to connect and present their “unfiltered” version of a policy or goal.

Lasting Message

Another central and overarching goal presidents and politicians should keep in mind when writing and delivering a speech is to make it lasting and memorable. It is challenging to predict what exactly will resonate with people in a way that makes a speech long remembered. Many of the various rhetorical and linguistic techniques outlined in section III have helped former presidents deliver speeches that have become known as some of “the greats.”

Sometimes it is a matter of taking risks with a speech. Martin Luther King and Barack Obama are among some of the most powerful speech-givers our country has seen. Both men took risks in many of their speeches. Mcnearney points to Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech as being “risky” in its focus and discussion on racial tensions in the country, an often avoided or untouched conversation. But, the speech was well-received and well-remembered, proving this risk was worth it.

What to Do: Rhetorical and Linguistic Moves

A conjunction of previous findings from various scholars and my own research make up this section to portray the effective rhetorical and linguistic strategies that have been employed in successful presidential speech.

Emotive Language

In section II one of the central goals discussed in a presidential speech is to appeal to one’s audience . An effective way to do so is through emotive language and general emotional appeal. In their study, Erisen et al. note the value of “strik[ing] an emotional chord with the public” as a means to gain public support, increase public awareness, and overall aid presidents in pursuing their political agendas (469). They work to prove the effectiveness of this strategy through an analysis of an Obama speech, delivered during a time of growing economic crisis in the country.

Erisen et al. identify Obama’s implementation of both emotional and optimistic tones as rhetorical moves to connect with and appeal to his audience of constituents. The success of his use of emotionally-related rhetorical strategies are evident findings that came out of a survey that “reported that 68% of speech-watchers had a ‘positive reaction’ and that 85% felt ‘more optimistic’ about the direction the country was heading” (Erisen et al., 470). Stewart et al. also find that “more emotionally evocative messages… lead to higher levels of affective response by viewers” (125). This clear data indicates the power connecting with an audience through emotion can have on their response and future outlook.

Optimistic Tone

Along with Obama’s “optimistic tone” described above, others have employed what has been described as both hopeful and reassuring tones as rhetorical moves to appeal to an audience. Two of the ten “most important modern presidential speeches,” as selected by the nonpartisan affiliated scholars of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, are JFK’s address on the space effort and FDR’s first inaugural address (McNearney). JFK’s address was successful and well-received because of the hopeful tone he employs when discussing the goal to land a man on the moon. He gave the people an optimistic perspective on this lofty goal, making “Americans feel like there was nothing we couldn’t do” (McNearney). In his inaugural address, Roosevelt too pairs bold claims with optimism and reassurance to his audience.

Inclusive Language

Another found strategy utilized by presidents to appeal to their audience through speech is the use of inclusive language. In Teten’s study, he looks at the use of the words “we” and “our”, specifically, in presidential State of the Union Addressesses over time. His findings revealed a steady increase in these words within the speeches over time. The usage of these “public address and inclusion words” create an appeal with presidents’ audiences because they help presidents in creating “an imagined community in which the president and his listeners coexist on a level plane (Teten, 339-342). These findings illustrate the importance of not presenting oneself as an omnipotent power and leader, but rather a normal citizen of the country like all of those watching. Identifying oneself with the audience this way breaks down any barriers present.

Persuasive Language

Persuasion is another often-used rhetorical strategy, especially during presidential campaigns. In their study about “language intensity,” Clementson et al. look at the use of “persuasive language” as a strategy presidential candidates employ during their campaigns. They assert that “candidates seem to vary their language as they try to persuade audiences to perceive them favorably” (Clementson et al., 592). In referring to this persuasive rhetorical strategy, they utilize the term “problem-solution structure” as one which is often well-received by an audience. People appreciate hearing exactly how a president or presidential candidate plans to fix a problem at hand.

What Not to Do

  As stated earlier, while there are many speeches that are excellently written and delivered, there, too, are many speeches that flop. Alexander Meddings wrote an article which spotlights a number of political speeches which he deems some of the “worst” in modern history. In comparing what makes a good versus a bad speech he asserts that “a bad speech must, by definition, be flat, garbled and publicly damaging either for the speaker or for the cause they’re seeking to promote” (Meddings). In looking at some of the characteristics that make up some of the “worst” speeches, this section will highlight what not to do in the process of working to compose and deliver a successful speech.

The research demonstrates that length of speech actually proves very important. In Teten’s study, in addition to looking at inclusive language over time in presidential State of the Union Addresses, he also graphically measured the length, specifically number of words, of the addresses across time. His results proved interesting. There was a rise in length of these speeches from the first one delivered to those delivered in the early 1900s and then there was a sudden and far drop. There was a movement around the time of the drop to make speeches more concise, and it is clear, since they have remained much shorter as time has gone on, this choice was well-received.

Meddings alludes to this in his piece, describing both William Henry Harrison’s presidential inaugural address and Andrew Johnson’s vice-presidential inaugural address as some of the worst speeches, largely because of how dragged out they were. A very important aspect of speech-giving is capturing the audience’s attention, and this cannot be accomplished through a lengthy, uninteresting oration.

Lying And/or Contradiction

Though it should be fairly obvious that one should not lie in a speech, for the consequences will be great, there have been a number of presidents and politicians who have done so. Regan, Clinton, and Trump are all among the presidents and politicians who have made false statements or promises within speeches. Though it is understandable that a politician would want to speak towards what he or she knows will resonate and appeal to the audience, doing so in a false or manipulative way is not commendable and will lead to much greater backlash than just being honest.

Word Choice

Some politicians have been caught lying in speeches when trying to cover up a controversy or scandal. Though one should try to avoid any sort of controversy, a president or person in power has to expect to have to talk on some difficult or delicate topics. This is where careful word choice becomes vital. Often the way to ensure a speech is written eloquently, carefully, and inoffensively is through various rounds of editing from a number of different eyes.

Applications to All Forms of Speech-Giving

This guide should prove helpful for not only those looking to run for office, but for everyone. The various strategies and techniques given within this guide are, for the most part, broad enough that they can be applied to any form of speech-giving or presenting. We will all have to give a speech, a toast, a presentation, and countless other forms of written or oral works in our lives. Refer to this guide when doing so.

In terms of political or presidential speech specifically, though, in a sense there is not a clear formula for how to write and deliver them. In studies looking at various different successful presidential speeches, orators, and speechwriters, it is clear they all have their own unique style and form that works for them. But, the tips provided in this guide will certainly work to help to create a proficient and successful political speech writer and orator.

Works Cited

Clementson, David E., Paola Pascual-Ferr, and Michael J. Beatty. “When does a Presidential Candidate seem Presidential and Trustworthy? Campaign Messages through the Lens of Language Expectancy Theory.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 46.3 (2016): 592-617.  ProQuest. Web. 10 Dec. 2019.

Erisen, Cengiz, and José D. Villalotbos. “Exploring the Invocation of Emotion in Presidential Speeches.” Contemporary Politics , vol. 20, no. 4, 2014, pp. 469–488., doi:10.1080/13569775.2014.968472.

McNearney, Allison. “10 Modern Presidential Speeches Every American Should Know.”

History.com , A&E Television Networks, 16 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/news/10-modern-presidential-speeches-every-american-should-know.

Meddings, Alexander. “The 8 Worst Speeches in Modern Political History.”

HistoryCollection.co , 9 Nov. 2018, historycollection.co/8-worst-speeches-modern-political-history/7/.

Stewart, Patrick A., Bridget M. Waller, and James N. Schubert. “Presidential Speechmaking

Style: Emotional Response to Micro-Expressions of Facial Affect.” Motivation and Emotion 33.2 (2009): 125-35. ProQuest. Web. 1 Oct. 2019.

Teten, Ryan. “Evolution of the Modern Rhetorical Presidency: Presidential Presentation and

Development of the State of the Union Address.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 33.2 (2003): 333-46. ProQuest. Web. 30 Sep. 2019.

Writing Guides for (Almost) Every Occasion Copyright © 2020 by Katie Clower is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Unforgettable communication skills that will set your ideas free…

January 20, 2012

How to write a (good) political speech.

Often It's A Good Political Speech That Gets The Vote Out

Political speeches, for the most part, are forgettable . Except when they aren’t. If you’ve spent any time listening to the types of speeches that politicians are giving these days, they are basically junk ( the Phil Davison, GOP Candidate, Delivers Stark County Treasurer Speech on YouTube is a classic bad political speech ). The question is whose fault is this: the speech writers or the speech givers? I’m willing to bet that the art of writing a good political speech has been forgotten by far too many speechwriters. I’m going to solve that problem right now…

What Is Rhetoric?

Political speeches are a specialized form of speech. According to Wikipedia, rhetoric is the art of using language to communicate effectively and persuasively . What this means for us is that when we use rhetoric to create a political speech, we want the speech to accomplish a goal – convince an audience to vote our way.

If you want to dive in deeper to rhetoric , you can explore the three audience appeals: logos (reason), pathos (emotions), and ethos (knowledge). For our purposes here we’ll stick with the understanding that a good political speech needs to win over an audience no matter how you go about doing it.

What’s Wrong With Political Speeches Today?

Most speeches given by politicians today suffer from the same fatal flaw: they are completely forgettable . Exactly who’s fault this is has not been resolved: is it the speechwriter’s fault or the speech givers? No matter, both are probably partially to blame.

Where did things go wrong? Jeff Shesol who is a political speech writer believes that one of the reasons that political speeches have lost their punch is because of how speech writers are writing them.

He points out that it’s all too easy for political speech writers to focus on the sound bites that they hope will be captured out of a speech. In order to make this happen, they over use such tools as alliteration (repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words and/or phrases: “economy, employment, empowerment”) and cliches (an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect: “there’s no place like home”).

Even worse, too many speech writers / speakers believe that if they keep saying the same thing over and over again it will eventually become true . The reality is that the audience tunes out the speaker and the speech ends up being quickly forgotten.

What Does It Take To Write A Good Political Speech?

All of this negativity talking about political speeches might make you feel as though there is no hope – maybe it’s not possible to create a political speech that has an impact . The good news is that history shows us that this is not true. Churchill, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton, etc. have shown us that political speeches can still change the world. They just have to be created the right way.

The first thing that you need to realize when you are sitting down to write a political speech is that the speech needs to have a point . What is the main goal: do you want the audience to take some action, vote a particular way, etc.? A political speech without a point is just a waste of everyone’s time.

Next, you had better take the time to organize your speech in a way that your audience will be able to follow what you are saying. Sure, you might believe that what you are asking them to do is the right thing, but if you don’t lay out your reasoning in a way that they can follow then they won’t come along for the ride.

Finally, and this may be the most important point of all, every single word in your speech must matter . This means that there can’t be any phrases that are in there just for filler or just to transition from one thought to another. Instead, ruthless editing is involved and every word that is not contributing to reaching the final goal needs to be chopped out and removed. Shesol points out that an excellent example of this is the speech that Bill Gates gave at the Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum in which he introduced “Creative Capitalism”.

What All Of This Means For You

At some time we are all called on to write a political speech. We may not be running for president, but perhaps we’re trying to get elected to the local school board. No matter, there are too many bad political speeches out there – we don’t want to contribute to this mess .

Instead, we want to write a good political speech . To do this we need to make sure that our speech has a very clear point to it. The speech will need to be well organized and every word in it will need to have a purpose for being there.

If we can craft a political speech that has these characteristics, then we will have created a very powerful communication tool . With tools like this, elections can be won and from there, the world can be changed.

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting

If you are interested in finding out more about how you and your team can improve how you give presentations using the Clear Blue Presentation System(tm) , get in contact with Blue Elephant Consulting in order to find out how a customized presentation, consulting or training program could be created to meet your unique needs.

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Political Marketing

Speech Writing for Political Campaigns

Jun 16, 2020

Writing a political speech is an art form. Not only must you craft words that will captivate and engage an audience, but you must also choose the perfect words to convey your message.

A great speech is essential for any successful political campaign. After all, how else will voters be able to hear what you have to say?

What is Speech Writing for Political Campaigns?

Every successful political campaign is built on words. Whether it’s a debate, stump speech, or acceptance speech, the right words can capture voters’ attention and ultimately win their support.

That’s why all campaigns employ professional speechwriters to craft persuasive, compelling messages that will help them win over supporters. Let’s take a closer look at the role of speechwriting in  political campaigns .

What does a Speech Writer do?

The primary job of a speechwriter is to craft messages that connect with the target audience and persuade them to vote for the candidate they represent.

They need intimate knowledge of current events and politics to create impactful and relevant messages.

Unlike other forms of writing, such as fiction or  journalism , speechwriting requires a deep understanding of how people think and feel to create speeches that connect with listeners.

crafting the Perfect Speech for Political Campaigns

Writing a political campaign speech requires more than combining a few catchy phrases.

It requires thought, research, and a deep understanding of the issues. To craft an effective political speech, you must first consider your audience and decide what topics to discuss and how to deliver your message engagingly.

Let’s look at some tips for providing the perfect political speech.

The Anatomy of a Political Speech

When writing political speeches, several vital elements need to be included.

First and foremost, the introduction should grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for what follows.

This could include introducing yourself or explaining why your platform is essential and relevant.

Avoid using too much jargon or technical terms in the introduction; instead, focus on connecting with your audience emotionally and inspiring them with your words.

The body of the speech should include more details about your platform, such as specific policies or initiatives you plan to implement if elected.

When writing this section, it’s essential to keep it simple and concise so that everyone in attendance can easily understand your points.

Use stories or anecdotes about your topic to illustrate its importance and relevance.

When it comes time for the conclusion, remember that it is not just a summary of everything you’ve said; instead, it should drive home your main points one last time before leaving the stage.

Be sure to thank everyone in attendance for their time and encourage them to vote for you in the upcoming election!

Know Your Audience

The vital thing you should do when crafting a  political speech  is to know your audience.

Think about who will be listening to your address and what their beliefs might be. What type of language will they understand?

What topics do they care about? Once you have identified the targeted audience, you can begin crafting your speech accordingly.

Create an Outline

Once you have identified your targeted audience, it’s time to create an outline for your speech. Think about the main points or arguments you want to make and list them in order of importance.

This will help keep your address focused and organized, ensuring all key points are included in the final draft.

This outline can act as a roadmap when it comes time to write the speech.

Write with Emotion

When writing a political speech, emotion should always come first.

You want your words to connect with people emotionally; that’s how you get them to relate to and support your message.

Use powerful language that evokes strong feelings among those in attendance, such as “united” or “revolutionary,” instead of more mundane words like “big” or “change.”

By utilizing emotionally charged language, you can ensure your message resonates with everyone in attendance—and beyond!

Understand Your Audience

The most important aspect of writing a speech is understanding who will receive it. Who are they? What do they care about?

How much do they know about the issue? Answering these questions should help craft your speech to resonate with your audience and get them excited about your message.

Develop Your Argument

Once you understand your audience, you must decide what topics to discuss and how to present them.

You need to develop a well-researched and logical argument to convince people of your point of view.

Use data points or real-life examples to illustrate your issues so people can relate to them personally.

This will make it easier for them to connect with you emotionally and intellectually.

For example, if you are discussing economic policy, cite statistics showing how many jobs have been created or lost over the past year to demonstrate the impact of current policies on employment rates.

Plan Your Delivery

Once you have developed an argument based on facts and logic, it’s time to think about delivery.

Think carefully about how you want to speak—the tone of voice you wish to use (e.g., severe vs. casual), whether you want pauses or dramatic silences during certain parts of the speech, etc.—

And practice accordingly until you feel comfortable with it all. It’s also essential that any jokes or stories you tell fit within the context of the rest of your speech and don’t detract from its overall message.

Remember: less is more when it comes to addresses! A concise yet meaningful message will be more effective than one filled with long-winded stories or irrelevant anecdotes.

Speech Writing Secrets for Winning Political Campaigns – How to Craft an Unforgettable Speech?

Writing a speech that leaves a lasting impression can make all the difference in a political campaign. Whether you’re running for office yourself or representing another candidate, the ability to craft an unforgettable speech is critical.

But what does it take to accomplish this feat? What speechwriting secrets can help you create a winning political campaign?

First and foremost, it’s essential to understand your audience. Who are the people that you’ll be speaking to, and what are their concerns and interests?

This knowledge will help you tailor your message to resonate with them on a deeper level.

Secondly, begin with a powerful, attention-grabbing introduction that immediately commands your audience’s attention.

This could be an anecdote, a quote, or a statistic, but whatever it is, it should be relevant and emotionally engaging.

Write a Powerful Speech For Your Political Campaign – The Ultimate Speech Writing Guide?

As a political candidate, you must establish a powerful connection with your audience through a dynamic and compelling speech.

A great political speech is about delivering your message and inspiring your audience to rally behind your cause.

To achieve this, you must craft an informative and emotionally charged speech. With the ultimate speech writing guide provided here, you can create that powerful speech that will leave your audience amazed and willing to support you in your political campaign.

Your speech should begin by defining your constituents’ problems and outlining your plan to address them.

Your solutions must be realistic, viable, and achievable; otherwise, you risk losing credibility and support from your audience. Craft a message that emphasizes your commitment to taking effective action to implement these solutions.

Crafting a Winning Political Campaign Speech with Proven Strategies?

Crafting a winning political campaign speech is no easy feat. It requires strategic planning, practical communication skills, and a deep understanding of your audience’s wants and needs.

Political speeches can make or break a campaign. Therefore, effective speechwriting strategies must be implemented to deliver a message that resonates with voters.

A strong opening statement is crucial to a winning political campaign speech. The first few lines of an address are critical to capturing the audience’s attention and setting the tone for the rest of the lesson.

It is essential to craft an opening statement that is impactful, concise, and reflects the overall message of the campaign. An opening that establishes a connection with the audience and emphasizes common goals and aspirations can incredibly impact the candidate’s and voters’ bond.

Learn How to Write an Effective Speech for Your Political Campaign.

As a political candidate , delivering an effective speech is crucial for winning over voters and gaining their support. An effective speech should be persuasive, engaging, memorable, and reflect your political priorities, values, and beliefs.

Therefore, it is essential to master the art of speechwriting to ensure your intended audience’s message is heard and understood.

To write an effective political speech, you must first identify your target audience and understand their expectations and concerns.

You should also research the latest political issues and trends in your area and consider your personal experiences and perspectives on the topic at hand.

This will help you create a relevant and compelling speech for your audience.

Unlock the Art of Writing Speeches for Political Campaigns?

Political campaigns are characterized by the art of persuasion, with a significant emphasis placed on effective communication through speeches. A well-crafted campaign speech can sway voters and change the course of an election.

Therefore, aspiring politicians must learn the art of crafting impactful speeches that resonate with their target audience.

The first step towards unlocking the art of writing speeches for political campaigns is to identify and understand the target audience.

Who do politicians seek to reach with their messages? What issues are relevant to this demographic? Answers to these questions help inform the speech’s content and tone, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness.

Conclusion:

Writing a great political speech takes skill, practice, and dedication, but when done right, it can make all the difference between winning or losing an election .

By understanding the anatomy of a political speech and how each element contributes to conveying ideas effectively, you’ll be well-versed in crafting effective speeches for any situation!

Whether you’re running for office yourself or you’re to help someone else get elected, taking some extra time and effort into polishing up those speeches can go a long way towards making sure they leave a lasting impression on voters!

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The art of political speechwriting—from a former White House speechwriter

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The West Wing portrays speechwriting as a distinctive skill that requires Herculean efforts at breakneck speed. But, as the television show suggests, the position can also be particularly rewarding, affording the writer a front-row seat to history.

Alan Stone, who worked on President Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992 and then in the White House as a speechwriter from 1993 to 1995, says the real-world experience is pretty similar. “Being part of memorable moments is fairly commonplace for a White House speechwriter, if for no other reason than your physical proximity to the moments that will live in history” noted Stone. “While you are aware of what is going on you are also extremely busy, so it is not often until much later that you realize the weight of the events you are part of.”

Stone, who is currently senior consultant for Northeastern University, wrote speeches on topics ranging from economics to social justice. He even got a line in Clinton’s first inaugural address.

[Watch Stone tell this story on our Facebook page .]

How did you get a job working as a speechwriter in the White House?

I was chief speechwriter for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin during his run for the Democratic nomination in the 1992 presidential election. After Harkin lost and Clinton got the nomination, someone from Clinton’s team called Harkin and said “We are staffing up. Can you recommend some of your senior people?”

I guess my name came up. And people kept saying to me “I hear the Clinton people are going to hire you.” There was even a mention of it in a local gossip column. But I hadn’t heard anything from the Clinton campaign.

I was in Los Angeles at the time and I did something very uncharacteristic; I called the Clinton campaign, asked for David Kusnet, Clinton’s head speechwriter, and asked him what was going on. He said, “I was just about to call you, I swear. When can you get here?”

I told him I didn’t really expect a job offer right then and I’d need to think about it. He responded, “We need you here in 24 hours.” So I packed up my Puegeot 504, with my old Mac, and some clothes, got on the road, and didn’t sleep until I arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas.

[ Hear Stone tell the story of his first encounter with Clinton on our Instagram page.]

What is speechwriting on a campaign like?

The stump speech is the pack mule of every campaign. It’s mostly low art with a bit of high art thrown in. I say low art because it gets repeated in basically the same form hundreds of times in any presidential race. It contains the core message and themes of the campaign as well as proven applause lines and critiques of your opponent. That framework gets adjusted for locale and issues. So, for example, you’d mention ethanol and price supports if the speech is given to a rural group. You always acknowledge local leaders. You try hard to add some local color and humor. But the scaffolding remains the same and these make up the bulk of campaign speechifying.

Be passionate about the issues. It will really help. Leave your ego at the door—your words are meant to be read by someone else. — Alan Stone

What, then, is the “high art” version of a campaign speech?

It’s a campaign speech of significant political consequence given to a critical audience. It requires much more work and craft than a stump speech.

Bill Clinton gave such a speech at the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 11, 1992. Just as is the case today, abortion was a hot-button issue at the time. And this was the first major speech Clinton gave after he was harshly attacked on “family values” by Pat Buchanan and others at the Republican National Convention.

Clinton spoke about the influence the Catholic social mission had had on him and how deeply his plans reflected those values. He talked about how the “religious war” Buchanan sought was antithetical to the values rooted in faith that most Americans have.

The audience was very tough on him that day. There were lots of catcalls and attempts to shout him down. But he stuck to his guns and met his goals, which were to connect to this traditional Democratic constituency, to frame his opponents as not in the mainstream of traditional values, and conversely to identify core Catholic values as those animating his proposals. This speech was beautifully drafted by Kusnet.

Do you think writing in a presidential campaign has changed?

Of course. All presidential campaigning is changing and communications is no exception. While stump speeches and more major speeches are obviously still important to campaigns, and free media is still coveted, and third-party or earned media is still the gold standard, social media is now playing an enormous and growing role in every campaign.

This is not my field of expertise, but I imagine at a minimum if a campaign is not great at using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to its advantage, it is in big trouble. Likewise, if a campaign is not good at assessing its engagement, sharing and networking, and making changes on the fly, it will be at a big disadvantage.

Do you have any advice for people who are interested in political speechwriting?

Be passionate about the issues. It will really help. Leave your ego at the door—your words are meant to be read by someone else. When you hear something you like, go back and study what worked for you. And steal the good stuff—the ideas not the words—because someone else has almost certainly stolen it before you.

As I’ve said, being part of memorable moments is oddly fairly commonplace for a White House speechwriter. For example, when the Oslo Accords were signed, in 1993, I was literally working only steps away. So the most memorable moments for me were ones that stood out for more personal reasons. The night we won, sitting at a pub in Little Rock feeling overcome with equal parts pride and exhaustion; meeting Rosa Parks at a speech in Los Angeles; flying back to Washington, D.C., on my last trip on Air Force One before beginning my new career, thinking about how overwhelming the experience had been and hoping time and reflection would help me understand it more. And it has.

What is it really like working in the White House? What happens behind the scenes?

It was the hardest work I have ever done, by far. The speeches need to be perfect, yet the process that went into them was often chaotic, with changing topics, delayed prep sessions, etc. The deadlines, however—they never moved. And the volume was relentless.

Was there a specific approach you took to writing speeches? A formula? Or was every one new and different?

You have to know the themes and messages of the moment—the stump. You need to know the audience and the goals of the speech. After that, I always tried to tell a story with a spine; I always looked for new data or a new anecdote to make my point; and I always tried to be positive in the sense of forward movement and looking toward the future. Finally, I always tried to end big. That’s about it. I hope I hit my goal more than I missed it, but that is a judgment for history.

Alan J. Stone, an attorney and writer, is president of Alan J. Stone Consulting, LLC. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Political Speeches: A Crucial Art to Master for Every Politician

Political speeches can make or break a politician's career. Distinctive politicians have one thing in common; they know the art of capturing voters' attention and their votes by spinning the words.

Political speeches are not limited to election season speeches at all. In fact, this is a broader niche, incorporating speeches on inauguration day, public events, countering the menace of deteriorating PR , and much more.

When we deconstruct great modern-day orators, Barack Obama, for instance, stands among the top tier of individuals.

His ability to make a narrative through spoken words helped him to reach the global landscape. His inauguration speech was an out-of-the-box piece that is likely to be remembered for ages.

A single powerful political speech is enough to help a candidate go viral among the public.

This stands true at times when most people are driven through emotions, and any candidate connecting with the audience emotionally can steal the show easily.

So how do you write a political speech? Let's see.

Delivering political speeches is an art and every politician can master it, given they are ready to follow the right strategy.

Opposition and Crowd Research for an Effective Political Speech

Before penning even a single word, you have to wander around to find some data about your rivals and the crowd.

Opposition research is a critical part of political speeches. If you are not well-equipped with knowledge about your competitors, political speeches can be a hard nut to crack.

This is more relevant in terms of election speeches and political debates when you are in competition, and voters have choices available in front of them.

For example, consider asking these questions:

• Is your opposing candidate conservative or liberal?
• Do they support the persistent social issues?
• How can you exploit your rival's past vulnerabilities?

There can be numerous questions to search for based on which type of political speech you are going to deliver.

Similarly, crowd research is also important to a significant extent. Most politicians ignore this all-important fact that often lands them in trouble. 

Study about the collective behavior dynamics and the ways to persuade big crowds through high-quality psychological research.

Questions to Ask Regarding Crowd Before Writing a Political Speech

• Is your crowd expecting to hear from you on a certain issue?
• Do they want to discuss the highly popular social issues?
• To which faction of the political ideology does your crowd belong?

Ask yourself these questions before delivering your political speech

These are some of the highly anticipated questions that can give you a good return.

One of the easiest ways to do crowd research is political surveys , proven consequential in driving the elections towards favorable paths.

Prepare Topics in Advance to Adjust According to Audience Behavior

Preparing some topics in advance is always a good idea before delivering a political speech . For instance, if you have time to discuss five topics in a speech, prepare at least seven.

This way, you can switch between topics based on your audience's response. If the crowd is not responsive to one particular topic, jump on the next one immediately.

This way, you can engage the public without any worries. If you do not adopt this strategy, and your audience stops being engaged in your speech, it turns out to be an embarrassing situation.

Focus on Delivery of Speech

A well-crafted speech can be destroyed if it is not delivered properly. As only the pointers of the speech will be noted on your notes, you have to craft the complete sentences yourself standing behind the podium.

Always focus on three aspects of speech delivery, clarity, conciseness, and credibility.

This is an all-inclusive strategy to deliver a powerful political speech . Your message needs to be as succinct as possible using power words, not to mention that the delivery style should be clear to the maximum possible extent.

Vary your pitch as you move forward during your speech while doing the appropriate hand movements at the same time.

Avoid Verbosity to Win Political Speeches

Always remember your audience during your political speeches.

While you may have a mind dictionary full of fancy words, many people in your crowds may not be aware of those words. Keep the jargon away, and do not make your political speech the victim of verbosity.

The political speech should be written in a way that even a layman can understand and comprehend easily, or else people will start moving away from your campaign.

Be Data Dependent to Build Your Credibility

A data-driven speech stands out of the crowd any day. Always ensure that you build your argument around the latest statistics so that people can extract meaning from your speeches.

Numbers have unmatchable power that can easily add beauty to your campaign.

Give references to high-quality research if you want to make a difference.

Final Thoughts

It is pertinent to note here that your speeches are not limited to that specific day only. In today's era of the internet, any political speech is viewed thousands of times on the internet across the globe.

So, while you write your political speech or assign it to any of your volunteers or professional staff members, keeping these things in mind can save you from much political hassle.

As no one is a born orator, even young politicians can perfect this skill over time by practicing it again and again.

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Jan 02, 2020

Stump Speech: The Ultimate Speechwriting Guide

by Martín Diego Garcia

Other Resources show related blog posts

• Political Communication Strategy - Don't Skimp on Speechwriting
• Speechwriting: 7 Questions with Eric Schnure
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• Write a Political Speech

Stump Speech: Connect With Voters by Creating a Campaign Speech.

Here is our ultimate guide to writing a great stump speech. We all know that the candidate is the campaign’s best asset, and the stump speech is the best campaign tool for delivering a 7C’s (clear, concise, contrastive, connective, creative, compelling, consistent) message and personal story about the candidate and campaign. 

WHAT IS A STUMP SPEECH?  A political Campaign speech has been a staple on the campaign trail since the 1800s and is still a critical tool for modern day campaigns. Your stump speech should be the core message for you campaign and repeated at almost every campaign event or activity. A candidate should be able to repeat their stump speech in their sleep and might just start doing that involuntarily after delivering it a couple of hundred times. The speech should be a quick way for the candidate to answer the following questions for their audience:  

• WHO the candidate is? This should be a short introduction of the candidate’s name and a little background to humanize them to voters. Where you’re from, your family, your connection to the community?
• WHY they are running for this office? There should be a very clear and compelling connection between your person story and the collective challenge your community is facing that has prompted you to run for office. Tell a story about the issue(s) you’re running on. Who specifically is being harmed by these problems? 
• WHAT is the contrast/choice for voters? This is VERY important. You need to lay out your vision for the future and differentiate it from your opponent(s)’s idea for the future of your community. If there is no clear contrast the voters will not have a compelling reason to cast a vote. 
• WHAT is the ask for the audience? Lastly, you need a simple and specific ask for your audience. Do you need them to vote for you? Knock on doors? Donate to your campaign? And by when do you need them to do it? 

HOW LONG SHOULD YOUR STUMP SPEECH BE?  An average campaign speech given at an event, at the doors, on an interview can be between 5-10 minutes in length. However, most often a candidate has about 90 seconds to 3 minutes when on the campaign trail for an introduction. So be prepared! 

Think of the shorter version as a quick introduction like cliff notes or a synopsis. This can be used to start a conversation at the door or introduce yourself on the fly. For the longer version of the speech you are merely adding a little more context and color to the story depending on your audience. 

WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR STUMP SPEECH?  Here are the core campaign speech writing components that should be in your speech. They do NOT need to be in this order necessarily, but the speech should have a nature order that flows together. 

• INTRODUCTION: You need to have a hook to grab a person’s (peoples) attention right from the start (be careful with telling jokes unless you’re good at them) and then give the basics – your name and office you’re running for. 
• PERSONAL STORY: Weave in your personal story. What is your motivation for stepping up to run for office? What are the values you hold that are needed in the office or to solve this issue? But whatever your do, please DO NOT list off your resume. No one is interested in hearing that. Trust me.
• PROBLEM STATEMENT: Present a clear and relevant (to audience and electorate) issue that needs to be solved. What is wrong that needs to be fixed? (For incumbents, what needs more work OR to be protected?).  Why do you care about this issue and why is it relevant to the community at large? What is at stake for them? 
• SOLUTION/VISION: What is your solution to solving this program? What skills, experiences or qualities do you have that make you suited to solve this issue? Paint a picture for the audience about what their future could look like if this problem was solved. 
• ASK: What is it you need from the audience you’re speaking to? You need a clear and concise call to action that allows them to be part of your vision and get involved with your campaign. Do you need an endorsement? Donations? Volunteers? Votes? Tell them exactly how they can help be part of the solution. 
• Thank them for their time! 

WHY SHOULD YOU TELL YOUR PERSONAL STORY? 

Stories have been a part of civilization since the dawn of time. Stories have been used to pass down history through generations. It is also how we connect with each other through a shared humanity. It’s no wonder we’re all wired to engage with and react to stories that includes voters! Stories are all around us in books, TV, movies, music, news, brunch, literally everywhere.  As a candidate you’ll get much farther with your constituents by telling a story to show people your vision versus just throwing facts and data at them. 

Utilizing your personal stories can be extremely beneficial due to one thing: it makes you seem normal. One of the issues that America faces today is the lack of care for politics. Candidates who use their personal stories are able to create a positive feeling around their candidacy. Talk about yourself as a way to relate to your audience. Funny stories are great icebreakers. Lastly, and most importantly, always tell the truth. Especially in today’s technological age, it is much easier to find out if a candidate isn’t speaking the truth or is speaking in half-truths.

DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU’RE RUNNING? 

Voters want to know why you are running for office. They want to hear your motivation, so they can see if they trust you or not. Voters know what the problems in their communities are, so instead of repeating them back, tell them how they’ve affected you and your community. 

For example, if education is your core issues, don’t start by throwing out all the stats and facts about struggling, underfunded schools. Start by showing voters how this is affecting actual people, specifically children, talk about a student who was not able to reach their full potential because of the lack of funding or current policies in place. That way, you’re painting a picture and humanizing the issue for voters, so they see it more personally. 

WHY DO YOU NEED TO USE AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL? 

People are not rational beings and we often make decisions based on our emotions rather than the facts. If you look at the sweeping victories for Biden, Obama or Trump the one thing that connects them is that they both got voters to feel something. Biden campaign was based on empathy, Obama’s entire campaign was based on hope and aspiration, while Trump’s was based in fear and division. Two very different strategies but both based in telling emotionally captivating narratives. 

WHY SHOULD YOU AVOID LISTING OFF YOUR RESUME? 

We’ve all been there. Waiting to hear from a candidate and all we get is a rundown of their resume of accomplishment.  Spoiler alert: your degrees and awards won’t buy you love from voters. Yes, having them is important but defining yourself by them is not going to create an emotional connection with your audience. Your stump speech should show not tell your story. It should weave in your accomplishments as supporting evidence but not the main plot line. 

Remember that every  campaign speech will be different, but if you can speak from the heart and tell people your story, they are much more likely to remember you when it comes to casting their vote. So practice, practice, practice and if you need help please feel free to reach out to our team. 

Have questions about writing a stump speech? Drop us a note. 

Questions? Email Us

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Five things to consider before you write your political speech

Speechwriting tips from Joel Deane – part 1 of 2

If you’re reading this blog you either want to or are thinking about walking that pathway to politics and standing for public office.

That’s great.

Now comes the hard part: convincing people to support you.

All of which brings me to the dreaded ‘stump speech’.

Every candidate is told they need one. But what exactly is a stump speech?

Think of it as the political version of an elevator pitch.

Basically, it’s what you’re going to tell people to convince them to back you.

You might deliver a formal version of your stump speech during a preselection contest within a political party – or at a candidates’ forum as part of an election campaign.

Or you might deliver a sawn-off, informal version of your stump speech when you’re meeting people outside the local supermarket, or doorknocking, or cold calling locals on an electorate, or being interviewed by a journalist.

A good stump speech is portable and adaptable .

It can be shortened or lengthened. It can be structurally changed – told in part or back-to-front or sideways. And it can be laterally connected to the broader issues (from schools to hospitals to jobs to housing) that voters care about.

In short, it’s a piece of you.

Here are five things to consider before you write your stump speech.

1. A Speech Is A Conversation

Politics is like football. It’s played differently in different parts of the world.

Take Australian democracy.

Here, voting is compulsory. That means voters are often annoyed when they cast their ballots.

Not only that, Australian voting is preferential. That means those often-annoyed voters usually choose the candidate they hate the least rather than the person they love the most (as occurs in first-past-the-post voting).

Those basic rules of Australian democracy, combined with our relatively egalitarian attitudes, generally mean Australian voters are more inclined to back politicians who look and sound like them – talking to rather than at or down to them.

Put it this way: Australian politics is suburban. It’s not the West Wing. It’s the sausage sizzle at Bunnings.

What does that have to do with your stump speech?

You don’t need to try to sound like a Barack Obama or a Winston Churchill or, God forbid, a Donald Trump.

You need to sound like yourself. An amplified, clarified version of yourself that explains who you are, where you come from, how you got here, what you want to do and – most importantly – why that person listening should care about what you care about.

Think of it this way: You’re trying to start a conversation with a roomful of strangers.

2. You’re Telling a Story

Political people talk a lot about ‘narrative’, but that’s just a 50 cent word for ‘story’.

And what is a story?

Past. Present. Future.

Who we are (present), how we got here (past), and where we are going or need to go (future).

In other words, your speech needs to tell a story that connects with the personal and collective lives of people listening.

3. It’s All in the Delivery

Think of your speech like a movie script.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s brilliant on the page. What matters is whether you can deliver the speech on the stage and connect with people.

I’m not saying that the speech draft doesn’t matter (after all, I’m a speechwriter).

What I am saying is that the purpose of a speech draft is to give the speech maker the confidence they need to stand up in front of a bunch of strangers and perform.

And, just to be clear, when I say ‘perform’ I’m not talking about acting a role: I mean being your best self.

4. This is About You

‘Authenticity’ is another of those buzz words thrown around by political people.

That’s another 50 cent word for ‘be yourself’.

Don’t jazz up your lingo. Don’t raid the Thesaurus. Don’t try to sound like Gough Whitlam. Or John Howard. Or Julia Gillard. Or Maggie Thatcher. Or whoever you wish you were.

This process is about getting down to the nitty gritty of who you are.

It’s about thinking about the one thing you want the person or people to know about and care about and saying that one thing.

It’s about speaking in the language and voice that you’d use to communicate with someone you know and care about or love – maybe a parent or a partner or a friend.

It’s about imagining that the person you love isn’t convinced that you should be a politician.

And it’s about finding the words you would use to speak to that person you love and change their mind.

What would you say to them? How would you say it?

Write and speak like that and you’ll be authentic.

Jacqui Lambie’s ‘Dream a little cheaper’ speech is a brilliant example of authenticity that really cuts through.

5. This is Not About You

You’ve thought long and hard about the who, where, what, how, and why of your candidacy.

You have someone in mind and you know the right words and the right way to say those words.

You’re telling your story. You’re speaking in plain language. You’re being your best self. You’re not pretending to be anyone else or putting on an act.

But, remember, this speech is not about you.

The purpose of doing all of this work to get to the heart of the matter about who you are is so that you have the understanding and the authenticity necessary to go out and connect with voters – convincing them you’re the person who best represents their interests.

With that in mind, look for ways to make lateral connections between the personal story you’re telling and the shared story people are living.

If you can make that kind of connection you can make people listen to – and maybe care about – the causes your fighting for.

Now, when you’re ready, read my 10 tips for writing .

About the author

Joel Deane is an award-winning poet, novelist, journalist and speechwriter. 

Joel has worked in Melbourne and San Francisco as a journalist, lectured on the use of public language, penned reviews and essays for Australian Book Review , and written speeches for numerous past and present Labor politicians, including Julia Gillard, Bill Shorten, Steve Bracks and John Brumby. 

Joel has published one non-fiction book,  Catch and Kill: The Politics of Power (2015); two novels,  The Norseman’s Song (2010) and Another (2004); and three collections of poetry, Year of the Wasp (2016),  Magisterium (2008) and Subterranean Radio Songs (2005). His third novel, Judas Boys , will be published in 2022.

His writing has won the Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize and been a finalist for numerous literary awards, including the John Bray Poetry Award, Prime Minister’s Literary Award, Judith Wright Calanthe Award, Walkley Book Award, the Melbourne Prize for Literature and the Anne Elder Award. In 2019, Joel delivered the Peter Steele Lecture at the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Joel lives in Melbourne and works as a freelance writer. 

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Cambridge Festival of Ideas debate to examine the changing nature of political speeches.

Martin Luther King could get away with elevated language because his cause was a noble one. You can’t really do that when you are talking about the reform of local government. It just isn’t as big an affront to justice. Phil Collins

All eyes will be on Ed Miliband today and much has been written about the importance of his party conference speech.

But what makes a good political speech? Inevitably, Ed Miliband will be compared with Labour leaders of the past, particularly Tony Blair who was known for his persuasive powers. Phil Collins, who wrote many of Blair's speeches, says that great political speeches need a big event or a rallying cause and there are just less of them than there were in the past.

He will be speaking in a debate on political rhetoric at this year's Cambridge Festival of Ideas next month. Other speakers include David Runciman, reader in political thought at the University of Cambridge, author Piers Brendon, former Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre and Michael White, the Guardian's political editor. The event will be held at Churchill College, Cambridge on October 20th.

For Collins, great political speeches need three key ingredients: a serious argument which leaves the audience thinking something new or resolved to act; great delivery that stirs the emotions as well as appealing to reason; and a sense of occasion.

He says: “Martin Luther King could get away with elevated language because his cause was a noble one. You can’t really do that when you are talking about the reform of local government. It just isn’t as big an affront to justice. So, there is a very good reason we have fewer remarkable speeches which is that we don’t need them as much as we did.”

Collins also justifies the use of sound bites, although he says he always worked by building a solid argument first and then trying to distil the best possible phrase out of the argument rather than the other way around. He says that not only are soundbites vital in a world where a 24/7 media edits chunks of speeches down to one phrase, but all the great writers are full of them. “We should guard against the derogatory association of the word soundbite,” he says. “All we mean, really, is a pithy way of capturing the essence of the point. To be or not to be – that really was the question. It was a soundbite too.”

He adds that the emphasis on soundbites is likely to increase. “The endless fragmentation that results from the coverage of modern media is the main reason that the soundbite has become such a ubiquitous part of political discourse. Your words are going to be chopped into pieces in any case so you might as well offer up the encapsulation you think is the best one.”

Collins says that one of the potential pitfalls of modern party conference speech is the number of people who vet it. “The big conference speeches have many authors, or at least many contributors,” he says.  “It is inevitable, when there are lots of hands at work, that the integrity of the argument goes missing. The task for a conference speech is always to recuperate the argument. The more a single person can be in overall control, as a sort of editor-in-chief, the better. Writing by committee is rarely a good way to work.”

Nevertheless, a good political speech can make all the difference. David Cameron owes his leadership of the Conservatives to two speeches, he says – one he gave which was well received and one given by his rival David Davis which “bombed”. He adds that it is hard to imagine Barack Obama would have become President without his oratory powers.

The audience is clearly vital for any speech writer and Collins says people's attention spans have declined, as has the breadth of their vocabulary and range of reference. Mass democracy means that references to  high culture divide an audience where they would once have united it, he says. There are also more political speeches than there used to be.

“Gladstone and Disraeli used to speak rarely every year. Each speech was an epic, months in the preparation, but they would not be doing speeches three times a week, as many politicians are now,” he says. “In the process, we have devalued the currency a little. The effective political speech, though, remains what it has always been – a mixture of reasoned argument and emotional passion.”

Other speakers at the Festival of Ideas debate will focus on the historical or wider issues associated with political speech-making. Piers Brendon, for instance, will talk about Churchill's use of political rhetoric, which he likens to the style of a music-hall performer, and contrast it with today's more colloquial, television-orientated and soundbiteish delivery.

• The event, to be held at Wolfson Theatre, Churchill College from 6-7.15pm on Thursday, 20 October, will be chaired by Allen Packwood, Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre. Arrive at 5.30pm to see an exhibition of documents from the Centre.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence . If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

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Who Writes the President's Speeches?

The modern presidency includes giving upwards of 400 speeches a year. How does the president find time to do it? They don't. That's where the speechwriters come in. This is how the (ideally) inspiring, comforting, clarifying sausage gets made and former Barack Obama senior speechwriter Sarada Peri is giving us a peek behind the curtain.

: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the This transcript may contain errors.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: The faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it.

Hannah McCarthy: Nick, are you familiar with John F. Kennedy's inaugural address?

Nick Capodice: I think so. You don't want me to take a crack at it, do you?

Hannah McCarthy: Sure.

Nick Capodice: Ask not what your country can do for you.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: You can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. That's terrible.

Nick Capodice: That's right. Sorry, everyone. I do love that speech.

Hannah McCarthy: My fellow citizens of the world. So I have to admit here, I'm not sure I ever actually listened to the whole thing. I just knew that line. Ask what you can do for your country, right? But to hear this youngish guy who just narrowly won the presidency speak with so much urgency and energy and certainty in his voice. I could feel the echoes in the air, you know, I could feel the change. It riled me up.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Grief can sacrifice when we ask of you with a good conscience. Our only your reward. With history, the final judge of our deed. Let us go forth to lead the land we love. And I'm just watching this speech and thinking, who wrote that gold?

Hannah McCarthy: This is Civics 101, I'm Hannah McCarthy.

Nick Capodice: I'm Nick Capodice.

Hannah McCarthy: And today we're talking about the political professionals behind the words of the politicians. We're talking about speechwriters, in other words, Nick. We're talking about ghosts.

Sarada Peri: We're ghosts for a reason.

Hannah McCarthy: This is Sarada Peri. She was special assistant and senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and she spoke with former host Virginia Prescott back in 2017.

Nick Capodice: All right, when you and Sarah to say ghosts, you really just mean a ghost writer, right?

Hannah McCarthy: Well, weirdly, I get the sense that it goes deeper than that. A presidential speechwriter is like this spirit of the White House crafting the words that will come out of someone else's mouth.

Sarada Peri: I would joke that I kind of started to kind of inhabit the mind and soul of Barack Obama in some way, right? So, you know, whenever something happened in the world, my first question wasn't, what do I think it was? What does Barack Obama think about this?

Nick Capodice: All right. Hannah, I'm going to pull back the curtain for good or for ill here. But you and I do this all the time. We write a script for a show and we write one another's voices. And when I write your voice, I have to think, What would Hannah actually think about this? Would she say it this way? Would she even know this? So I get that. But writing a script for a show like ours is very different from writing a speech that's supposed to sound like it's coming from the heart and soul of a political leader. So I have to ask, was everything Barack Obama said to the public written by Sarada and other speechwriters?

Barack Obama: It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

Sarada Peri: Well, first of all, I don't think I think it would be disingenuous for us to say that we wrote and write everything as speechwriters. The best speeches are collaborations. And so what we're really trying to do and certainly in the case of the president, but with anyone that you work with is to help them figure out what they want to say and then more often than not use their words to do that. So it's really a collaboration.

Hannah McCarthy: Let's go back to John F. Kennedy. His speechwriter was Theodore Sorensen. Now, for one thing, Sorensen never would have admitted to being the originator of the famous ask not line. In actual fact, when asked if he wrote those words, his responses varied from Kennedy wrote it all himself to I simply don't remember to ask not. That said, here's Sorensen in an interview with WNYC back in 2008.

Theodore Sorensen: JFK never read a speech verbatim in his life that he had not previously reviewed and revised.

Nick Capodice: Which makes perfect sense. If you're a good politician. No matter how much you trust someone on your staff, you're still going to proofread your work and you're going to say, You know what? I wouldn't say it that way.

Hannah McCarthy: But to answer your question, who is writing most of the words a president speaks to the public?

Theodore Sorensen: Starting in the fall of 1956, we spent three or four years traveling the country together, just the two of us to every one of the 50 states, and you get to know somebody and his way of thinking and his way of speaking pretty well. When you do it day after day in all 50 states for three years or more. And so the ideas were his, the policies were his, the judgments and decisions were his. And when he expressed those decisions in the White House, it was not difficult to for me. Having participated in the meeting to go a few steps down the hall to my office and try to reflect, in words on paper, the first draft of the decision he wanted to convey to the public.

Nick Capodice: So in other words, the answer is yes. The speechwriter is writing most of what a president says, but they have to get to know everything the president thinks and feels about the subject they're writing on

Hannah McCarthy: And how that person would choose to speak about that subject. I got the sense that spending time with the president is crucial for a successful speechwriter to be able to write something for someone that they would reasonably say. You have to know them pretty well. Here's Sarada again.

Sarada Peri: So I actually think it's less about getting how someone speaks and more about how someone thinks. And so you really want to spend time sort of immersing yourself in in their thinking, which is often in the form of, you know, talking to them and spending as much time as you can in the case of working for the president. You might get limited time with the person, but I had the good fortune of working for somebody who had been in office for a few years and so I could read every single thing President Obama had said, you know, read all of the transcripts of the interviews he had given his books, you know, even when he was on Jimmy Fallon or something.

Jimmy Fallon: A democracy requires compromise even when you're 100 percent right.

Barack Obama: Yeah.

Jimmy Fallon: Did you get that from Michelle? Because I think because I've been married, I've been married.

Barack Obama: It is. Yeah, that was a marital tip, as well as a tip about democracy...

Sarada Peri: Really immersing yourself in all of their public comments and as well as conversations with them to kind of figure out how they see the world and use that to kind of develop your sense of their voice.

Nick Capodice: Well, it's not just a person's voice or their personality that's on the line. If we're talking about political speechwriters, presidential speechwriters, we're talking about politics, we're talking diplomacy and foreign policy. That part that's got to originate with the politician themselves, right?

Sarada Peri: With President Obama, we weren't making up policy. We weren't making up what he wanted to say. We got that direction from him. And you know, if you want credit for what you say that or what you write, then write it under your own byline and go and give the speech. But ultimately, you know, when President Obama gave a speech that I had worked with him on, it was he who was held accountable for it, right? Not me. And so my job is is to help him do that the best he can. But we're not there to take the credit for having helped them craft that. At least that's what I think, right?

Nick Capodice: In terms of being held accountable, taking credit for the things you say. There are times when a president has to confront something that's difficult. It's not just the good stuff. I'm thinking about Ronald Reagan having to give a speech after the challenger disaster.

Ronald Reagan: And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process. Sense of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted, belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow.

Nick Capodice: Or something that is much more nuanced, like George W. Bush's get on board speech after September 11th. I mean, how do you both condemn terrorism and encourage Americans to get back on airplanes?

George W. Bush: And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry is to tell the traveling public, get on board, do your business around the country, fly and enjoy America's great destination spots.

Hannah McCarthy: Well, why don't we take one of the least enviable speeches any presidential speechwriter would ever have to contend with?

The afternoon --

Ray Price: On Tuesday afternoon, Al called me over to his office Tuesday, the 6th, and I came in and he was sitting there reading and just after a minute he looked up. We need a thousand words. He was going to resign. On Tuesday.

Hannah McCarthy: August 1974, Richard Nixon and his staff decided the writing is on the wall. He is facing near certain impeachment and removal from office following the Watergate scandal. So as people call up his speechwriter, Ray Price, they tell him We need a thousand words on resigning.

Nick Capodice: That pressure must have been unbelievable. This was the speech about something claiming personal responsibility and resigning because of their actions. How do you do that with someone else? Did did Ray Price work with Nixon to get it done right?

Hannah McCarthy: Here's Price describing what it was like. This is from a C-SPAN interview that was done on the 15th anniversary of the August 9th, 1974 resignation.

Ray Price: We went back and forth. He would call me, I would call him. We would revise and reedit, as we frequently did Wednesday night. We'd been through a couple of more drafts, meanwhile, and I was working in my office and I just checked back before we came in here. Some of the times I got a call from him at 8:30 with some more thoughts on the thing, and he had a quote from from from Teddy Roosevelt that he particularly wanted to use a man in the arena, which he did. And a couple of other things.

Richard Nixon: And when my heart's dearest died, died, the light went from my life forever. That was T.R. in his 20s.

Hannah McCarthy: That, by the way, is Nixon reading the tribute Teddy Roosevelt wrote following the death of his young wife.

Nick Capodice: Wow, that is a very intense way of putting the end of your presidency. Was that Nixon's idea?

Hannah McCarthy: Apparently.

Ray Price: 4:15 a.m., 4:30 a.m. he called again some more thoughts on that, working it out, 4:45, they called again. Still more thoughts on that, working it out and that section, which you'll see in a moment the whole toward the end of it, the whole section about what the important legacy is and the important thing is the world and the country must do near as it was essentially worked out in those early morning calls Thursday morning, the last call from was it seven minutes after 5:00 Thursday morning

Nick Capodice: While we're on the subject? Hannah, what exactly is the process for the average speechwriter? I'm going to guess that writing a resignation speech involves significantly more back and forth and anxious phone calls than, say, a president's address at the Ford plant.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, to be clear, it all depends on the structure of the administration. Like Kennedy's speechwriter, who we heard from earlier, Ted Sorensen, he didn't work with a team. He was in addition to being Kennedy's speechwriter, a close presidential adviser, as well. So his process was pretty much right. It run it past Kennedy, make some edits and get it back to the president. Things tend not to work that way anymore. So let's talk about how it worked in the Obama White House.

Sarada Peri: Every White House is different, although I, you know, think that the processes are probably kind of passed along. So in our case, our director of speechwriting, my boss Cody Keenan, would sit down with with us, with our team and kind of go through the schedule and help tell us what was coming up generally and then kind of divide up the speeches based on people's time, people's interest, you know, who had availability.

Nick Capodice: So in the Obama White House, we're talking about a whole team of people devoted to speechwriting.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, over the years, presidential administrations have learned that that is what it takes to ensure that you've got a constant flow of speeches ready to go.

Sarada Peri: So you get assigned a speech and it could be anything from this is happening in two days. Sorry, you better get going on it or it could be. This is happening. You know, this is a commencement address that's happening in a month and a half and you have some time. Typically, it was maybe a week ahead of time that we had. And then if it was a policy speech or something along those lines, you would meet with the relevant policy people. You learn about the policy, they tell you kind of generally what the message ought to be. And then you go back and you work on a draft. And from there I would, you know, we would write a draft. Let's say I was writing an education policy speech. I would do a draft, send it to my boss, who would then edit it, and then we would circulate it around the building.

Nick Capodice: They circulate the speech around the building, how many people see this thing before the president presents it?

Sarada Peri: The lawyers are seeing it. The fact checkers are seeing it, the policy, people are seeing it and everybody has an opportunity to weigh in with their thoughts. Make sure things are accurate. Make making sure that we're also appropriately reflecting the policy. And then it goes to the president who would make his edits usually by hand because he was a, you know, a writer in that way. And then we would take the draft from there and go final. There are some speeches, many actually, where we would get his input on the front end so we might meet with him as in advance as possible to get his thinking up front and then use that to incorporate into your draft and then you go back and forth with him from there. But it really depended on the nature of the speech.

Hannah McCarthy: So Nick, I have to confess at first I was thinking to myself that would be really hard for me. You know, in the highly plausible universe in which I become president, I'm supposed to get up there and act as though the words that I'm communicating to the press and the American people and foreign nations are words that are my own. And then I realized, Oh yeah, speeches take days or weeks to work on what president has time for that?

Nick Capodice: Yeah. Aren't they giving a speech basically every day?

Hannah McCarthy: Pretty much. And then, you know, there's the fact that a speech isn't just given to convey information to the public. It's meant to stir emotion.

Nick Capodice: Yeah, you mentioned being riled up by Kennedy. That's that's part of the point. You're supposed to feel something to come away with some kind of inspiration or comfort. And that speech, Kennedy's inaugural, is famous in part because of how it made people feel. And that's the thing about speechwriters, Hannah, that leaves me a little bit in awe their ability to create something that makes the hair stand up on your arm, something that makes you lean forward in your seat. So what's the secret? How do you write something that makes someone's stomach flip?

Sarada Peri: So when people think about what makes a great speech, they'll often think that it's sort of really beautiful, soaring language and a kind of rhetoric. But I actually think that if you were to strip all of that away, what you would really find in the best speeches is a clear and persuasive argument. And the way you get to that is by having a central purpose sort of knowing why you're giving this speech and what exactly you want to convey so that at the end of the speech, the audience knows what it ought to think and feel and do. And what often happens when we give a speech is that if the speaker has not identified what that is, why am I delivering this and what do I want the audience to think at the end? It can kind of become what we call a Christmas tree. You sort of put a lot of ornaments on the tree. It gets filled up with ideas, but there's no sort of driving animating idea behind it. And so it gets cluttered, but a great speech kind of strips all of that away and makes an argument for one central idea.

Nick Capodice: All right. So while we're on the subject of good presidential speeches, I have to ask a question that I might not want to know the answer to. To me, there is one speech in particular that is the antithesis of the Christmas tree. It is content and style and meaning at its finest, and being written by the president is actually pretty essential to its power. So here I go. Are you going to break my heart, Hannah, and tell me that Abraham Lincoln did not dash off the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope?

Hannah McCarthy: I've got the answer to that, but I'm going to withhold it just a little till after the break, which is right now.

Nick Capodice: But before we go to the break, dear listener, it is my quick weekly reminder that while this show is and always will be free to You, it's not free to make. We want to ensure that we can continue bringing you the ins and outs of American democracy for years to come. And if you can lend us a helping hand in that mission, we would be much obliged. If you can spare a little pocket change or a lot of pocket change, consider making a gift at our website. You can get there by clicking the Donate button at civics101podcast.org. Many, many, many, many thanks.

Hannah McCarthy: All right, we're back.

Nick Capodice: All right. Hannah, you were just about to tell me whether one of the more romantic stories about Abraham Lincoln and his towering genius is in fact true.

Hannah McCarthy: All right, give me the story that you have heard.

Nick Capodice: Ok, the story I know. And it's the only story that maybe I want to know is that Abraham Lincoln en route to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to dedicate a new national cemetery, wrote one of the greatest orators ever to be delivered on the back of a big envelope while sitting on a train.

Hannah McCarthy: Ok, that story is not true.

Nick Capodice: Why are you doing this?

Hannah McCarthy: I why I read one of the most thorough historical deep dives into this question that I could find. The closest thing to truth that we have got is that Lincoln had a full two weeks to work on his remarks prior to arriving at Gettysburg, and he used them. The speech was mostly, if not entirely, completed by the time he arrived in Pennsylvania in 1863. There are some eyewitness accounts of his drafting a copy of the speech on the back of a yellow government envelope once at the hotel in Gettysburg. But this speech was not a stroke of sudden, impromptu genius.

Nick Capodice: But he did, in fact, write it.

Hannah McCarthy: Honest Abe? Yeah, he wrote it.

Nick Capodice: All right, I can live with that. I just was worried I was going to hear that the Gettysburg Address was the work of a team of presidential ghostwriters

Colin Powell: Four score, and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent

Colin Powell: A new nation...

Hannah McCarthy: Because that would have hurt, right?

Nick Capodice: Yeah.

Hannah McCarthy: Because there's this image of Abraham Lincoln laboring over that speech. This sense that it was a part of him that he was conveying to the American public.

Colin Powell: Or any nation so conceived. And so dedicated can long endure...

Hannah McCarthy: If that isn't the case, then that speech somehow loses potency. It feels more like political messaging than it does a heartfelt message to the American people.

Nick Capodice: Exactly. And which is so different from today. We just heard the ins and outs of political speechwriting from a recent administration, and I'm in no way wounded by the idea that Obama had people crafting his words didn't bother me at all. So what happened? At what point did presidents stop writing all their own speeches?

Hannah McCarthy: At no point, George Washington's inaugural address was written in large part by James Madison. Alexander Hamilton contributed a lot to Washington's famous farewell address.

Nick Capodice: I had no idea.

Hannah McCarthy: You weren't supposed to have any idea because for a long time, it was totally taboo for a president to admit to having help with speechwriting. When William Henry Harrison ran for president in 1840, people were not happy that he had a correspondence committee to help him answer letters. Citizens wanted a leader who appeared genuine and human, not someone whose message was carefully cultivated by a team. Still, Mark Twain secretly helped President Grant to write his memoir. Warren Harding had a full time ghostwriter on the DL in the 1920s.

Nick Capodice: All right, so my question is, was Lincoln just the exception to the rule? Did presidents leave speechwriting to the professionals from the very beginning?

Hannah McCarthy: Not entirely. But then they really didn't have to consider the fact that Lincoln gave maybe sixteen speeches in a year, whereas Obama, in his first year of the presidency, gave over 400.

Nick Capodice: That's outlandish. That's more than a speech a day, just constant speeches.

Hannah McCarthy: That is the modern presidency. In the earlier days of governing the country, though, there was time to craft your own speeches or take a lot of time to work closely with people you trusted to get your message across. I mean, Woodrow Wilson, for example, is pretty widely accepted as having written all of his own speeches. It wasn't really until Franklin Delano Roosevelt that all of that changed the presidency had just gotten too big.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Harry Truman: If we fail in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world, and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: It is what the book of history and not with isolated pages that the United States will ever wish to be identified.

Hannah McCarthy: By the time Kennedy was in office, he was calling his speechwriter his intellectual blood bank.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: I am talking about genuine peace, a kind of peace that makes life on Earth worth living if the kind that enables men and nations to grow.

Nick Capodice: In other words, Kennedy's speechwriter was the life support for a major component of the presidency.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, we should emphasize here that speeches are very high stakes thing. They are the most public and widely publicized thing that a president regularly does. Having a really good speechwriter can be a true boon to the presidency.

Nick Capodice: It's interesting. And even though the public is aware and accepting of speechwriters nowadays, there does seem to be a lingering desire for the unpolished, un practiced, seemingly unwritten presidential speech. And we've got a really recent example of that in former President Donald Trump. He prided himself on riffing and was not one to admit to reading words other people had written for him. And a lot of people were totally enamored of that.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, I actually recently watched a montage that The Washington Post put together, illustrating some of Trump's most off the cuff speeches.

Donald Trump: You have you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that. But I'll say it right now. I've condemned neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. It says, I love all of the people of our country. I didn't say, I love you because you're black or I love you because you're white or I love you because you're from Japan or you're from China, or you're from Kenya, or you're from Scotland or Sweden. I love all the people of our country,

Hannah McCarthy: And I think, Nick, the reason you have voters who watch this kind of performance and really like it is that the one thing that did not die out with the modern presidency is this very American desire for seeming authenticity in a president. If a politician seems obviously staged, it gets our hackles up or the very least, it gets a heavy eye roll. And actually, this brings me back to this question I have about modern, definitely ghostwritten presidential speeches. What is going on in these operations that has an effect that is moving or calming or inspiring regardless of where it originated? Why is it OK that Kennedy did not write his Moon speech that his intellectual blood bank Ted Sorensen did?

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things? Not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal...

Nick Capodice: You want my honest take?

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, please.

Nick Capodice: Because that's a promise the president can make. The president has power. If Ted Sorensen promised us the Moon, it wouldn't mean a thing because he couldn't do it. And that power also means that the president can read someone else's words without penalty. Really, the question is, can the president perform well? Are they a good orator? Can they stir something in the hearts of the American people?

Hannah McCarthy: Which Kennedy pretty much knocked out of the park, right? He was considered a consummate performer. And to your point about power, I want to play you one last thing, Nick.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: In short, both the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace. And in holding the arms race agreements to this end, are in the interests of the Soviet Union, as well as ours and even the most hostile nations.

Theodore Sorensen: I know many people think the inaugural was his best, but this was better and more important because it said more in addition to the moratorium on nuclear testing in the atmosphere than what you mentioned. That speech called for a reexamination of the Cold War. No president had ever done that. It called for a reexamination of our relations with the Soviet Union. No president had ever done that. It called for a reexamination, part of which you heard of what we mean by peace itself. So it was an important speech and I had a lot to do with it. Yes. Uh, the president...

Nick Capodice: So Sorensen is saying, Yeah, I wrote that. What does that matter? These are the president's ideas. This is the president breaking new ground because it's the president's ground to break. I am simply the arm of the administration that makes these ideas great on paper. The president is the one who makes the great speech,

Theodore Sorensen: And on the way back, he made the decision and cleared it on the Air Force One telephone with Bob McNamara in Defense and Mac Bundy back in the White House to add to that speech, the moratorium on nuclear testing in the atmosphere, which he hoped would help bring the Soviets to the bargaining table. And it did. And later that same summer, a treaty was signed in Moscow, the first step toward arms control in the nuclear age the limited nuclear test ban treaty. So speeches can have consequences. They aren't just empty words.

Nick Capodice: You know, you talked about speechwriters as these ghosts of the White House, Hannah. But when you think about it like this, the way they capture policy desires pinned them to a page, make them beautiful or funny and then hand them back to the leader of the free world to present to the American people. They're more like mediums than they are ghosts. The president needs to say something, and they have the time and the writing chops to make those words happen.

Hannah McCarthy: This episode was produced by me, Hannah McCarthy with Nick Capodice. Our staff includes Christina Phillips and Jacqui Fulton. Rebecca Lavoie is our executive producer. Music in this episode by Ketsa, Xylo Zico and Evan Schaefer. If you like this episode and want more, you can check out our whole catalog of adventures in American democracy and history at civics101podcast.org. And there is a really easy way to never miss a Civics episode. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Civic 101 is a production of NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio.

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Hannah McCarthy: Nick, are you familiar with John F. Kennedy's inaugural address?

Nick Capodice: I think so. You don't want me to take a crack at it, do you?

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: You can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. That's terrible.

Nick Capodice: That's right. Sorry, everyone. [00:00:30] I do love that speech.

Hannah McCarthy: My fellow citizens of the world. So I have to admit here, I'm not sure I ever actually listened to the whole thing. I just knew that line. Ask what you can do for your country, right? But to hear this youngish guy who just narrowly won the presidency speak with so much urgency and energy and certainty in his voice. I could feel the echoes in the air, you know, I could feel [00:01:00] the change. It riled me up.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Grief can sacrifice when we ask of you with a good conscience. Our only your reward. With history, the final judge of our deed. Let us go forth to lead the land we love. And I'm just watching this speech and thinking, who wrote that gold?

Hannah McCarthy: Th [00:01:30]is is Civics 101, I'm Hannah McCarthy.

Nick Capodice: I'm Nick Capodice.

Hannah McCarthy: And today we're talking about the political professionals behind the words of the politicians. We're talking about speechwriters, in other words, Nick. We're talking about ghosts.

Sarada Peri: We're ghosts for a reason.

Nick Capodice: All right, when you and Sarah to say ghosts, you really just mean a ghost writer, [00:02:00] right?

Hannah McCarthy: Well, weirdly, I get the sense that it goes deeper than that. A presidential speechwriter is like this spirit of the White House crafting the words that will come out of someone else's mouth.

Sarada Peri: I would joke that I kind of started to kind of inhabit the mind and soul of Barack Obama in some way, right? So, you know, whenever something happened in the world, my first question wasn't, what do I think it was? What does Barack Obama think about this?

Nick Capodice: All right. Hannah, I'm going to pull back the curtain for good or for ill here. But [00:02:30] you and I do this all the time. We write a script for a show and we write one another's voices. And when I write your voice, I have to think, What would Hannah actually think about this? Would she say it this way? Would she even know this? So I get that. But writing a script for a show like ours is very different from writing a speech that's supposed to sound like it's coming from the heart and soul of a political leader. So I have to ask, was everything Barack Obama said to the public written [00:03:00] by Sarada and other speechwriters?

Barack Obama: It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

Sarada Peri: Well, first of all, I don't think I think it would be disingenuous for us to say that we wrote and write everything as speechwriters. The best speeches are collaborations. And so what we're really trying to do and certainly [00:03:30] in the case of the president, but with anyone that you work with is to help them figure out what they want to say and then more often than not use their words to do that. So it's really a collaboration.

Hannah McCarthy: Let's go back to John F. Kennedy. His speechwriter was Theodore Sorensen. Now, for one thing, Sorensen never would have admitted to being the originator of the famous ask not line. In actual fact, when asked if he wrote those words, his responses varied from Kennedy wrote it all himself to I [00:04:00] simply don't remember to ask not. That said, here's Sorensen in an interview with WNYC back in 2008.

Nick Capodice: Which makes perfect sense. If you're a good politician. No matter how much you trust someone on your staff, you're still going to proofread your work and you're going to say, You know what? I wouldn't say it that way.

Hannah McCarthy: But to answer your question, who is writing most of [00:04:30] the words a president speaks to the public?

Theodore Sorensen: Starting in the fall of 1956, we spent three or four years traveling the country together, just the two of us to every one of the 50 states, and you get to know somebody and his way of thinking and his way of speaking pretty well. When you do it day after day in all 50 states for three years or more. And so the ideas [00:05:00] were his, the policies were his, the judgments and decisions were his. And when he expressed those decisions in the White House, it was not difficult to for me. Having participated in the meeting to go a few steps down the hall to my office and try to reflect, in words on paper, the first draft of the decision he wanted to convey to the public.

Nick Capodice: So [00:05:30] in other words, the answer is yes. The speechwriter is writing most of what a president says, but they have to get to know everything the president thinks and feels about the subject they're writing on

Hannah McCarthy: And how that person would choose to speak about that subject. I got the sense that spending time with the president is crucial for a successful speechwriter to be able to write something for someone that they would reasonably say. You have to know them pretty well. Here's Sarada again.

Sarada Peri: So I actually [00:06:00] think it's less about getting how someone speaks and more about how someone thinks. And so you really want to spend time sort of immersing yourself in in their thinking, which is often in the form of, you know, talking to them and spending as much time as you can in the case of working for the president. You might get limited time with the person, but I had the good fortune of working for somebody who had been in office for a few years and so I could read every single thing President Obama had said, you know, read all of the transcripts of the interviews he had given [00:06:30] his books, you know, even when he was on Jimmy Fallon or something.

Jimmy Fallon: A democracy requires compromise even when you're 100 percent right.

Jimmy Fallon: Did you get that from Michelle? Because I think because I've been married, I've been married.

Sarada Peri: Really immersing yourself in all of their public comments and as well as conversations with them to kind of figure out how they see the world and [00:07:00] use that to kind of develop your sense of their voice.

Nick Capodice: Well, it's not just a person's voice or their personality that's on the line. If we're talking about political speechwriters, presidential speechwriters, we're talking about politics, we're talking diplomacy and foreign policy. That part that's got to originate with the politician themselves, right?

Sarada Peri: With President Obama, we weren't making up policy. We weren't making up what he wanted to say. We got that direction from him. And you know, if you want credit for [00:07:30] what you say that or what you write, then write it under your own byline and go and give the speech. But ultimately, you know, when President Obama gave a speech that I had worked with him on, it was he who was held accountable for it, right? Not me. And so my job is is to help him do that the best he can. But we're not there to take the credit for having helped them craft that. At least that's what I think, right?

Nick Capodice: In terms of being held accountable, taking credit for the things you say. There are times when a president has to confront something that's difficult. It's not just the good stuff. [00:08:00] I'm thinking about Ronald Reagan having to give a speech after the challenger disaster.

Ronald Reagan: And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process. Sense of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted, belongs to the brave. The Challenger [00:08:30] crew was pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow.

Nick Capodice: Or something that is much more nuanced, like George W. Bush's get on board speech after September 11th. I mean, how do you both condemn terrorism and encourage Americans to get back on airplanes?

George W. Bush: And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry is to tell the traveling public, get on board, do your business [00:09:00] around the country, fly and enjoy America's great destination spots.

Hannah McCarthy: Well, why don't we take one of the least enviable speeches any presidential speechwriter would ever have to contend with?

Hannah McCarthy: August [00:09:30] 1974, Richard Nixon and his staff decided the writing is on the wall. He is facing near certain impeachment and removal from office following the Watergate scandal. So as people call up his speechwriter, Ray Price, they tell him We need a thousand words on resigning.

Nick Capodice: That pressure must have been unbelievable. This was the speech about something claiming personal responsibility and resigning because of [00:10:00] their actions. How do you do that with someone else? Did did Ray Price work with Nixon to get it done right?

Hannah McCarthy: Here's Price describing what it was like. This is from a C-SPAN interview that was done on the 15th anniversary of the August 9th, 1974 resignation.

Ray Price: We went back and forth. He would call me, I would call him. We would revise and reedit, as we frequently did Wednesday night. We'd been through a couple of more drafts, meanwhile, and I was working in my office and I just checked back [00:10:30] before we came in here. Some of the times I got a call from him at 8:30 with some more thoughts on the thing, and he had a quote from from from Teddy Roosevelt that he particularly wanted to use a man in the arena, which he did. And a couple of other things.

Richard Nixon: And when my heart's dearest died, died, the light went from my life forever. That [00:11:00] was T.R. in his 20s.

Nick Capodice: Wow, that is a very intense way of putting the end of your presidency. Was that Nixon's idea?

Ray Price: 4:15 a.m., 4:30 a.m. he called again some more thoughts on that, working it out, 4:45, they called again. Still more thoughts on that, working it out and that section, which you'll see in a moment the whole toward the end of it, the whole section about what the important [00:11:30] legacy is and the important thing is the world and the country must do near as it was essentially worked out in those early morning calls Thursday morning, the last call from was it seven minutes after 5:00 Thursday morning

Nick Capodice: While we're on the subject? Hannah, what exactly is the process for the average speechwriter? I'm going to guess that writing a resignation speech involves significantly more back and forth and anxious phone calls than, say, a president's address at the Ford plant.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, to [00:12:00] be clear, it all depends on the structure of the administration. Like Kennedy's speechwriter, who we heard from earlier, Ted Sorensen, he didn't work with a team. He was in addition to being Kennedy's speechwriter, a close presidential adviser, as well. So his process was pretty much right. It run it past Kennedy, make some edits and get it back to the president. Things tend not to work that way anymore. So let's talk about how it worked in the Obama White House.

Sarada Peri: Every White House is different, although I, you know, think that the processes are probably [00:12:30] kind of passed along. So in our case, our director of speechwriting, my boss Cody Keenan, would sit down with with us, with our team and kind of go through the schedule and help tell us what was coming up generally and then kind of divide up the speeches based on people's time, people's interest, you know, who had availability.

Nick Capodice: So in the Obama White House, we're talking about a whole team of people devoted to speechwriting.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, over the years, presidential administrations have learned that that is what it takes to ensure that you've got a constant flow of speeches [00:13:00] ready to go.

Sarada Peri: So you get assigned a speech and it could be anything from this is happening in two days. Sorry, you better get going on it or it could be. This is happening. You know, this is a commencement address that's happening in a month and a half and you have some time. Typically, it was maybe a week ahead of time that we had. And then if it was a policy speech or something along those lines, you would meet with the relevant policy people. You learn about the policy, they tell you kind of generally what the message ought to be. And then you go back and you work on a draft. And [00:13:30] from there I would, you know, we would write a draft. Let's say I was writing an education policy speech. I would do a draft, send it to my boss, who would then edit it, and then we would circulate it around the building.

Sarada Peri: The lawyers are seeing it. The fact checkers are seeing it, the policy, people are seeing it and everybody has an opportunity to weigh in with their thoughts. Make sure things are accurate. Make making sure that we're also appropriately [00:14:00] reflecting the policy. And then it goes to the president who would make his edits usually by hand because he was a, you know, a writer in that way. And then we would take the draft from there and go final. There are some speeches, many actually, where we would get his input on the front end so we might meet with him as in advance as possible to get his thinking up front and then use that to incorporate into your draft and then you go back and forth with him from there. But it really depended on the nature of the speech. [00:14:30]

Hannah McCarthy: So Nick, I have to confess at first I was thinking to myself that would be really hard for me. You know, in the highly plausible universe in which I become president, I'm supposed to get up there and act as though the words that I'm communicating to the press and the American people and foreign nations are words that are my own. And then I realized, Oh yeah, speeches take days or weeks to work on what president has time for that?

Nick Capodice: Yeah. Aren't they giving a speech basically every day? [00:15:00]

Hannah McCarthy: Pretty much. And then, you know, there's the fact that a speech isn't just given to convey information to the public. It's meant to stir emotion.

Nick Capodice: Yeah, you mentioned being riled up by Kennedy. That's that's part of the point. You're supposed to feel something to come away with some kind of inspiration or comfort. And that speech, Kennedy's inaugural, is famous in part because of how it made people feel. And that's the thing about speechwriters, Hannah, that leaves me a little bit in awe [00:15:30] their ability to create something that makes the hair stand up on your arm, something that makes you lean forward in your seat. So what's the secret? How do you write something that makes someone's stomach flip?

Sarada Peri: So when people think about what makes a great speech, they'll often think that it's sort of really beautiful, soaring language and a kind of rhetoric. But I actually think that if you were to strip all of that away, what you would really find in the best [00:16:00] speeches is a clear and persuasive argument. And the way you get to that is by having a central purpose sort of knowing why you're giving this speech and what exactly you want to convey so that at the end of the speech, the audience knows what it ought to think and feel and do. And what often happens when we give a speech is that if the speaker has not identified what that is, why am I delivering [00:16:30] this and what do I want the audience to think at the end? It can kind of become what we call a Christmas tree. You sort of put a lot of ornaments on the tree. It gets filled up with ideas, but there's no sort of driving animating idea behind it. And so it gets cluttered, but a great speech kind of strips all of that away and makes an argument for one central idea.

Nick Capodice: All right. So while we're on the subject of good presidential speeches, I have to ask a question that I might not want to know the answer to. To me, there is one speech in particular [00:17:00] that is the antithesis of the Christmas tree. It is content and style and meaning at its finest, and being written by the president is actually pretty essential to its power. So here I go. Are you going to break my heart, Hannah, and tell me that Abraham Lincoln did not dash off the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope?

Hannah McCarthy: I've got the answer to that, but I'm going to withhold it just a little till after the break, which is right now.

Nick Capodice: But [00:17:30] before we go to the break, dear listener, it is my quick weekly reminder that while this show is and always will be free to You, it's not free to make. We want to ensure that we can continue bringing you the ins and outs of American democracy for years to come. And if you can lend us a helping hand in that mission, we would be much obliged. If you can spare a little pocket change or a lot of pocket change, consider making a gift at our website. You can get there by clicking the Donate button at civics101podcast.org. Many, many, many, many thanks. [00:18:00]

Hannah McCarthy: All right, we're back.

Nick Capodice: Ok, the story I know. And it's the only story that maybe I want to know [00:18:30] is that Abraham Lincoln en route to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to dedicate a new national cemetery, wrote one of the greatest orators ever to be delivered on the back of a big envelope while sitting on a train.

Hannah McCarthy: I why I read one of the most thorough historical deep dives into this question that I could find. The closest thing to truth that we have got is that Lincoln had a full two weeks [00:19:00] to work on his remarks prior to arriving at Gettysburg, and he used them. The speech was mostly, if not entirely, completed by the time he arrived in Pennsylvania in 1863. There are some eyewitness accounts of his drafting a copy of the speech on the back of a yellow government envelope once at the hotel in Gettysburg. But this speech was not a stroke of sudden, impromptu genius.

Hannah McCarthy: Honest Abe? Yeah, he wrote [00:19:30] it.

Hannah McCarthy: Because there's this image of Abraham Lincoln laboring over that speech. This sense that it was a part of him that he was conveying to the American public.

Hannah McCarthy: If that [00:20:00] isn't the case, then that speech somehow loses potency. It feels more like political messaging than it does a heartfelt message to the American people.

Nick Capodice: Exactly. And which is so different from today. We just heard the ins and outs of political speechwriting from a recent administration, and I'm in no way wounded by the idea that Obama had people crafting his words didn't bother me at all. So what happened? At what point did presidents stop writing all their own speeches? [00:20:30]

Hannah McCarthy: At no point, George Washington's inaugural address was written in large part by James Madison. Alexander Hamilton contributed a lot to Washington's famous farewell address.

Hannah McCarthy: You weren't supposed to have any idea because for a long time, it was totally taboo for a president to admit to having help with speechwriting. When William Henry Harrison ran for president in 1840, people were not happy that he had a correspondence committee to help him [00:21:00] answer letters. Citizens wanted a leader who appeared genuine and human, not someone whose message was carefully cultivated by a team. Still, Mark Twain secretly helped President Grant to write his memoir. Warren Harding had a full time ghostwriter on the DL in the 1920s.

Hannah McCarthy: Not entirely. But then they really [00:21:30] didn't have to consider the fact that Lincoln gave maybe sixteen speeches in a year, whereas Obama, in his first year of the presidency, gave over 400.

Nick Capodice: That's outlandish. That's more than a speech a day, just constant speeches.

Hannah McCarthy: That is the modern presidency. In the earlier days of governing the country, though, there was time to craft your own speeches or take a lot of time to work closely with people you trusted to get your message across. I [00:22:00] mean, Woodrow Wilson, for example, is pretty widely accepted as having written all of his own speeches. It wasn't really until Franklin Delano Roosevelt that all of that changed the presidency had just gotten too big.

Harry Truman: If we fail in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world, and we shall surely [00:22:30] endanger the welfare of this nation.

Nick Capodice: In other words, Kennedy's speechwriter was the life support for a major [00:23:00] component of the presidency.

Nick Capodice: It's interesting. And even though the public is aware and accepting of speechwriters nowadays, there does seem to be a lingering desire for the unpolished, un practiced, seemingly [00:23:30] unwritten presidential speech. And we've got a really recent example of that in former President Donald Trump. He prided himself on riffing and was not one to admit to reading words other people had written for him. And a lot of people were totally enamored of that.

Hannah McCarthy: Yeah, I actually recently watched a montage that The Washington Post put together, illustrating some of Trump's most off the cuff speeches.

Donald Trump: You have you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to [00:24:00] say that. But I'll say it right now. I've condemned neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. It says, I love all of the people of our country. I didn't say, I love you because you're black or I love you because you're white or I love you because you're from Japan or you're from China, [00:24:30] or you're from Kenya, or you're from Scotland or Sweden. I love all the people of our country,

Hannah McCarthy: And I think, Nick, the reason you have voters who watch this kind of performance and really like it is that the one thing that did not die out with the modern presidency is this very American desire for seeming authenticity in a president. If a politician seems obviously staged, it gets our hackles up or the very least, it gets a heavy eye roll. [00:25:00] And actually, this brings me back to this question I have about modern, definitely ghostwritten presidential speeches. What is going on in these operations that has an effect that is moving or calming or inspiring regardless of where it originated? Why is it OK that Kennedy did not write his Moon speech that his intellectual blood bank Ted Sorensen did?

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: We choose [00:25:30] to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things? Not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal...

Nick Capodice: Because that's a promise the president can make. The president has power. If Ted Sorensen promised us the Moon, it wouldn't mean a thing because he couldn't do it. And that power also means that the president can read someone else's words without penalty. [00:26:00] Really, the question is, can the president perform well? Are they a good orator? Can they stir something in the hearts of the American people?

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: In short, both the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies have a mutually deep interest in a [00:26:30] just and genuine peace. And in holding the arms race agreements to this end, are in the interests of the Soviet Union, as well as ours and even the most hostile nations.

Theodore Sorensen: I know many people think the inaugural was his best, but this was better and more important because it said more in addition to the moratorium on nuclear testing in the atmosphere than what you mentioned. That [00:27:00] speech called for a reexamination of the Cold War. No president had ever done that. It called for a reexamination of our relations with the Soviet Union. No president had ever done that. It called for a reexamination, part of which you heard of what we mean by peace itself. So it was an important speech and I had a lot to do with it. Yes. Uh, the president...

Nick Capodice: So Sorensen is saying, Yeah, [00:27:30] I wrote that. What does that matter? These are the president's ideas. This is the president breaking new ground because it's the president's ground to break. I am simply the arm of the administration that makes these ideas great on paper. The president is the one who makes the great speech,

Theodore Sorensen: And on the way back, he made the decision and cleared it on the Air Force One telephone with Bob McNamara in Defense and Mac Bundy back [00:28:00] in the White House to add to that speech, the moratorium on nuclear testing in the atmosphere, which he hoped would help bring the Soviets to the bargaining table. And it did. And later that same summer, a treaty was signed in Moscow, the first step toward arms control in the nuclear age the limited nuclear test [00:28:30] ban treaty. So speeches can have consequences. They aren't just empty words.

Nick Capodice: You know, you talked about speechwriters as these ghosts of the White House, Hannah. But when you think about it like this, the way they capture policy desires pinned them to a page, make them beautiful or funny and then hand them back to the leader of the free world to present to the American people. [00:29:00] They're more like mediums than they are ghosts. The president needs to say something, and they have the time and the writing chops to make those words happen.

Hannah McCarthy: This episode was produced by me, Hannah McCarthy with Nick Capodice. Our staff includes Christina Phillips and Jacqui Fulton. Rebecca Lavoie is our executive producer. Music in this episode by Ketsa, Xylo Zico [00:29:30] and Evan Schaefer. If you like this episode and want more, you can check out our whole catalog of adventures in American democracy and history at civics101podcast.org. And there is a really easy way to never miss a Civics episode. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Civic 101 is a production of NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio.

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Political Speechwriters

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Exploring this Job

The best way to find out if speechwriting is something you wish to pursue is to write as often as possible. The more you write, the more you will improve your skills. You can practice writing speeches on your own, or you can participate with your school's speech or debate teams. Join local groups to learn the basics of effective public speaking so you can write more successful speeches. Reading famous speeches will also help you to understand the components of a successful speech. You can also join nonprofit or political organizations and offer to assist with public speaking events. This will give you the opportunity to make contacts, observe their operations, and you might even get an opportunity to assist a speechwriter with research. You might also consider starting your own blog. In this setting, you can write about anything that comes to your mind, and receive feedback from readers. 

Political speechwriters write speeches for politicians, or they may assist the politician in composing a speech. A politician may need speechwriters for several reasons. Many politicians are extremely busy and simply do not have the time to write the many speeches they need to give. Others may not feel comfortable writing their own speeches and require the presence of a speechwriter to help them make sense of what they want to say, and how they want to convey that message in a speech. Still other politicians may have excellent ideas for their speeches but need help communicating their vision to others.

A political speechwriter usually begins writing a speech once a topic is selected. They may have a topic assigned to them, or they may have to determine the topic of the speech themselves. To do this, a speechwriter may meet with the politician for whom they are writing to receive his or her input. A speechwriter might also meet with representatives of the group to which the politician will be speaking, in order to discover their concerns and ensure that they are addressed in the speech. Next, the speechwriter will typically research the topic to be mentioned in the speech. To do this, they may utilize the resources of libraries, the Internet, or interview knowledgeable authorities in the field.

Once a speechwriter has gathered enough initial information, they begin to write the speech. Speechwriters must keep several things in mind while writing the speech. They need to ensure that the speech sounds like it was written by the politician who will ultimately be delivering it. They also need to keep in mind who will be hearing the speech, making sure that the speech is written so that it will be not only be understood by the intended audience, but that it will also be persuasive and effective in delivering the politician's message. The speechwriter is also concerned with the mechanics of good speechwriting: allowing the speaker to engage the audience; providing clear, key points of the speech that can be easily recognized and digested by the audience; and ensuring that the audience identifies positively with the speaker by the end of the speech. They also have to be concerned with more mundane issues, such as making sure the speech does not exceed any time limits.

After the speechwriter finishes a rough draft of a speech, it will need to be approved by the politician delivering it. Depending on the individual, he or she may or may not have had any interaction with the speechwriter until this stage. The politician, as well as his or her advisers, may revise the speech and send it back to the speechwriter for additional work, changing anything the politician or advisers are not satisfied or comfortable with. At this point, the speech may be shuffled back and forth several more times before it is finally approved.

After the speech is approved, the speechwriter may be responsible for producing the speech in its final form, which varies across different situations. The speech may need to be typed on easily readable note cards for a politician speaking in a small auditorium, or the speech might need to be on a computer disk that can be input into a Teleprompter and displayed on a monitor for the politician to read at a large rally or televised event.

There's Now an A.I. That Can Write Political Speeches

Artificial intelligence systems have produced everything from Friends screenplays to full-length musicals  (the latter with a little human intervention). And now, an A.I. system has taken on politics. Created by a team of researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the system uses a range of methods, including n-grams and recurrent neural networks to generate political speeches [ PDF ]. 

The researchers claim that the system can not only generate coherent speeches, but that it can be made to argue a supporting or opposing opinion, and adjusts its rhetoric depending on which political party it is writing for. “Many political speeches show the same structures and same characteristics regardless of the actual topic,” writes researcher Valentin Kassarnig. “The goal is to generate speeches where no one can tell the difference to hand-written speeches.”

To that end, the team had their system analyze more than 4000 speeches delivered during U.S. Congressional floor debates. Using the vocabulary, grammatical structures, and rhetorical flourishes it observed, the system began generating its own speeches. The results were surprisingly coherent: While many A.I. systems can mimic human writing for a few words or sentences at a time, their creations rarely make much sense when read as a whole. That the political speech generator created reasonably logical speeches is a testament to the Amherst team’s sophisticated design—and throws into sharp relief just how formulaic political speeches can be. Check out a sample from the report below:

Mr. Speaker, for years, honest but unfortunate consumers have had the ability to plead their case to come under bankruptcy protection and have their reasonable and valid debts discharged. The way the system is supposed to work, the bankruptcy court evaluates various factors including income, assets and debt to determine what debts can be paid and how consumers can get back on their feet. Stand up for growth and opportunity. Pass this legislation.

[h/t: Futurity ]