Why do you write speeches?
Why do you want to stop?
At the Speechwriters Conference in D.C. in February, I opened the show by asking how many of the 250 folks in the audience were attending their first Speechwriter's Conference.
About three-quarters of the hands went up.
Later, in a session devoted mostly to veteran speechwriters, someone asked how many in the room expected to be writing speeches within five years. I'd say less than a fifth of the hands went up.
This very morning, I'm writing a piece for Ragan's Corporate Writer & Editor magazine, trying to tell communication generalists everything they need to know about why and whether to add speechwriting to their skill set.
Speechwriter's Slant readers, I hope to get your input for the story: Why are so many people trying to get into speechwriting預nd why are so many speechwriters trying to get out?
Please feel free to respond here or privately, by e-mailing me. In either case, please specify if I have permission to use your name and affiliation in my article.
My deadline is � today.
Comments (2)
It seems I'm a bit late for your deadline, but I feel compelled to respond anyway. You can use it for either future reference, or just for your own personal curiosity, I'm not picky.
I'm still in the very early stages of my political speechwriting career, if you can really call it that at this point in time. I can't speak for everyone (unless I've been hired to, of course), but the reason I'm here and the reason I plan on sticking with it and seeing if I can't move on to bigger and better clients has been clear since the idea to try and break into this field first took root in my cluttered little brain.
A person with a great message and no words to express it by and a writer with words in abundance but no message to convey are both equally helpless beings. Funnily enough, politicians with remarkable writing ability and writers with grand social ambitions both seem to be rare breeds in their own right. It's a symbiotic relationship waiting, needing to be filled. Without it, we can never be sure what grand or revolutionary ideas have simply passed us by just because the person carrying them, even if they were in a position to implement their notions, didn't have the tools at their disposal to sell them.
It's probably a bit naive of me to expect I will ever find a client with a truly powerful message that deserves every opportunity to be heard. I'd draw a great deal of satisfaction in seeing a simply good idea come to fruition, really. And on the whole, this is probably just inexperienced idealism talking. But there it is, nonetheless.
Posted by Richard | March 31, 2005 11:38 AM
Posted on March 31, 2005 11:38
How about this, Richard: How about you keep me (and all the rest of our speechwriter pals) posted on this?
Meanwhile, I wish you luck and, in my own idealism, believe you can make your dream come true.
Keep in touch,
David
Posted by David Murray | April 3, 2005 10:19 PM
Posted on April 3, 2005 22:19