Thursday, August 30, 2012

Wannabe A Political Speech Writer?

This is a campaign year, and we've heard, and will be hearing, speech upon speech from the candidates of both parties. Some of the speeches are lackluster while others literally glow. Of course, the person delivering the speech has something to do with that, but more importantly--it's up to the speech writers as to whether the speech is a winner or not. They need the perfect combination of words, not an easy task.

Writing political speeches is not for everyone. For one thing, you have to be pretty savvy in that world so that you know what you're talking about. You can't have only bits and pieces of the present political situation or recent history. You have to be fully in-the-know.

You need to know the candidate, what he stands for, what credentials he has, and what he hopes to accomplish (besides winning!). You need to have a feel for the audience the speech will be directed at. A sense of humor comes in handy here as well as some passion. You must reach out to the hearts of the audience.

A political speech writer's list is filled with things that must be done and those that need to be avoided. You need to decide whether to tear down the opposing side or spend the time allotted building up your own candidate. Many 'ifs' involved.

You will not get much credit for the speeches you write. Your name is not on the cover of a book or shown as a byline in a newspaper or magazine when you spend your time writing words for others to say. How many names of political speech writers come to mind? We know the speech-giver far better.

I think you must also love this kind of writing for it can be filled with critics who are hoping to tear your work apart. You would have to have a true passion for it to continue under the often-difficult circumstances. You need to be ready to rewrite over and over again when the candidate or his associates veto half of the words you wrote.

The next time you listen to one of these speeches, think about the people who write in this field. Google political speech writers to learn more. I found an article that gave a good overall picture of what credentials you need in this career path, Take a few minutes to read it.

This specialized form of writing doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves.

1 comment:

  1. This constantly amazes me just how blog owners such as your self can find the time as well as the dedication to keep on crafting superb blog posts. Your website is good and one of my personal must read weblogs. I just had to thank you.
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    ReplyDelete

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