10 Simple steps to better speechwriting

William Neal, Tuesday 24 September, Labour Party Conference

Speeches – the oddest medium of communications

• Wordy, florid

• Awkward, clumsy, strange

• …but it’s what we expect and like

• Throw out some of the rules of good writing

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Step 1 – Don’t re invent the wheel

• The sum of nearly all knowledge is available online

• There has never been a better or easier time to access a

previously hidden world of information

• http://www.britishpoliticalspeech.org/

• What strategic comms do you already have?• What strategic comms do you already have?

• Speechwriting should be about polishing what you already

have, not starting again

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Step 2: Environment and audience

• Where are you giving the speech?

• Interesting building that you can relate to the subject

matter?

• Who is it too? • Who is it too?

• What is the culture? Country/religion?

• Jokes, think carefully, don’t spend too long on them

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Step 3: Make the most of the opening

• Think of a wedding – the tenseness of the opening, the

relief when it goes well.

Tactics:

• Break the ice and make people feel comfortable• Break the ice and make people feel comfortable

• An interesting fact or statistic.

• A funny story that speaks to your larger theme.

• More risky, pose a question to the audience and get them

to put their hands up

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Step 4: Help people along – transitions are key

• Work hard on good “bridge paragraphs”

• Signal intent

• Get people listening again

• Spell it out

• Let them know when an ending is approaching• Let them know when an ending is approaching

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Step 5: Get the right length

• If in doubt, keep it short

• 100 – 125 words = 1 minute

• Unless it’s a keynote lecture, most corporate speeches

should 5-10 mins at the very most

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Step 6: Have a Structure

• A path and a destination.

• People will want to know where you’re going and why. Not

feel directionless and tense.

• Let them know in your opening on what you’ll be covering.

• Edit: focus on structuring and simplifying.• Edit: focus on structuring and simplifying.

• If it doesn’t help you get your core message across, drop it.

• Don’t be scared of repetition: Say your key message again

and again

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Step 7: Empathise, humanise, personalise

“Empathize... personalize... humanize. It’s time to end the bad habit of talking

dry economic statistics, budget numbers and the alphabet soup of

government programs and departments. When you talk about the issues

facing America, talk about what it means to real people - families, small

business owners, employees, parents, children and grandchildren - their jobs,

their lives and their hopes for the future. Take the time to show them that you their lives and their hopes for the future. Take the time to show them that you

understand their situation, that you are familiar with the problems they face

and that you have solutions to offer.”

Frank Luntz, Leaked briefing for President Bush, 2004

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Step 8: Use the power of three

• Martin Luther King Jr., used the power of three throughout

his many influential speeches.

• Education, Education, Education

• US President Barack Obama used 29 three-part lists in

roughly 10 minutes during his victory speech

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Step 9: Paint a scene

• “Opening doors" or "breaking down barriers", “a new era

of change”

• Paint a picture with your words

• Your own words will tell you if you are being interesting or

boringboring

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Step 10: Use contrast and antithesis

• Use a negative and then a positive to create impact. It

makes your point seem more important.

• "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you

can do for your country." JFK

• "You turn if you want to, the lady's not for turning.” • "You turn if you want to, the lady's not for turning.”

Margaret Thatcher

• Antithesis, is introducing absolute opposites in same

sentence: “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

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