Veteran speechwriter James C. Humes tells a story of sitting down with President Eisenhower and the rest of the White House speechwriting team to discuss an upcoming presidential address. Eisenhower asked some pointed questions, and when his speechwriters could give him only vague answers, he became visibly annoyed. “What is the Q.E.D.?” he asked, finally.

The speechwriters exchanged blank looks.

“Quod erat demonstandum,” the president snapped. “’That which must be proved.’ In other words, why am I giving this speech? If you can’t tell me the answer to that, you’re wasting my goddamned time!!!”

Does it seem incredible that the President of the United States, or perhaps the CEO of a major corporation, would ask why he is giving a speech on a particular occasion? As a speechwriter, I can assure you that it happens frequently.

Important people are always being buttonholed to give speeches. Maybe a golfing buddy of the CEO asked him to speak at his Rotary Club or trade association meeting. Maybe an organization wanted the CEO as a speaker so badly that they gave him a flattering award or title just to make sure he would accept. Maybe a university offered him an honorary degree. Maybe his wife asked him to give a speech to her favorite charity at a moment when he was feeling uncommonly obliging.

Whatever the reason, the CEO makes a commitment to speak, forgets all about it, and then – maybe a week or so before the event – he sends for his speechwriter and asks, “Why am I giving this speech?”

Unless the speechwriter wants to get raked over the coals, he will have an answer ready. He will have investigated the event and the sponsoring organization. He will have spoken to the people in charge and gleaned some idea of what the audience is expecting to hear. He will have researched the subject matter the speech is supposed to cover and he will have appropriate suggestions to make to his boss as to how the speech should be structured. It’s a big responsibility for the speechwriter, but that’s what we get paid for.