We Need A Speech

Pushing Back

2008-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

As hired pens speech writers are always faced with the dilemma of how hard to push back when we think a client is being unreasonable.

I am talking about the CEOs who have given no thought at all to what they want talk about at the one and only meeting you are going to have with them. Or the ones who won't read their drafts out loud at least once before they face their audience. Or those who want to review the draft with you before they have even glanced at it - resulting in a lot of time wasted as he/she edits and re-edits on the fly. Inevitably mudding the waters.

You may want to push back at all this. Resist. The truth is, no matter how inefficient we think their process is, it is their process, and their money and we need to adjust accordingly.

Where push back is more important and where you must take a stand is in the text itself. I have always believed that if the speech in the first instance meets the needs of the audience rather than the needs of the speaker to deliver his favourite message, your client will be very well served indeed. So you have to push back when he/she want to say everything. To talk about process. To talk features over benefits. About internal restructuring. About all those things most audiences have no interest in. When this happens I can pretty well tell you by exactly which paragraph the audience will begin to fall asleep.

So, when it comes to the process of getting from first draft to final product it is their time - billable time at that. So give in to the inevitable.

When it comes to the structure of the speech, the matter of messaging, story telling, and keeping the musical thread consistent, you push back hard if they resist. Push back hard enough to where one of you is going to fire or fire on the other with the aforementioned pistol.

Then you know you have done your job.

Changing The Music

2008-01-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

As writers -- fiction or otherwise -- we tend to fall in love with our words. Then we hate them. And then we love them again. That's when we want to reach for a pistol or at least a good editor.

For speechwriters, the issue becomes really problematic. Even though we know better we too often fall for our exquisite turns of phrase, for words we know are about to leap off the page - proof positive of our verbal eloquence and elegance.

But our job is to write for the ear, and to listen for the rhythm and the music. So now a seed of doubt is sown. Do all those wonderful words add up to anything close to a musical score?

And what if you are writing classical music and your speaker is a country and western sort of guy? You want Beethoven's Fifth and he wants "She Stomped On My Heart But It Keeps on Beating Just For Her".

So when you think of your speaker's voice - it is not just a matter of the words you choose but the notes you don't. And ask yourself if your client is a classical, jazz or country and western or rhythm and blues sort of speaker. And if the rhythm of your wonderful words doesn't match his/her personality you must change the music no matter how much the new score might set your teeth on edge. He has to conduct after all, not you.

And what to do if your guy is tone deaf with no sense of rhythm at all? Reach for the pistol.

10 Dreaded Conversations

2006-07-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

I love my clients I really do...but I often shudder with dread when they start the conversation with one of the following:

1. Let's write up an outline and circulate it to department heads for their comment.

2. I want a funny speech. Could you give me a few jokes to start with.

3. You won't be able to meet the speaker. But here are the Power Point slides he used last time. Could you write a speech around them.

4. We only need three minutes or so; it shouldn't take you very long.

5. You want how much?

6. Could we have it by tomorrow at 9 am?

7. We are not sure what message the speaker wants to give. We are just going to sort of wing it and let him plug that in at the last minute.

8. He/she gives the same speech every year. All you have to do is plug in new data/numbers.

9. We want two speeches. One saying "yes". The other saying "no". Relates to number 7.

10. We are very glad to have you on board but we don't really want anyone in the company/agency to know we are going with an outside contractor. Even though we need you to talk to some of our people to get input, could you sort of keep it quiet you are writing the boss' speech?

Learning Curves - Who Pays?

2006-07-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

For the freelance speechwriter, with every new client, comes a substantial learning curve. You not only have to come up to speed with the sum and substance of what the client does, but just as importantly you have to absorb the corporate and political culture of the enterprise. And do so quickly.
The subject matter is usually the easy part.

Understanding the internal dynamics is a far different matter.

And so it is inevitable that for the first few speeches there is a steep learning curve on a multitude of fronts. The question is - who should pay for that learning curve - you or the client?

I have an easy approach. If I know for a fact this is a one-off - such as a convocation or wedding or funeral speech the client definitely pays the whole shot.

If I am pretty sure it is going to be an ongoing relationship - and there can be some educated guesses here - I eat most of the initial learning curve cost. I don't actually tell the client this but it is pretty obvious and they appreciate it.

Let me give you a small example. I got a first time call from the president/owner of a small tool company. He was giving a speech to a convention of hardware/construction dealers. As is often the case with a new smallish private sector client I gave him a project cost rather than an hourly rate. Told him it would cost him between x and y.

The learning curve was not huge - but not insubstantial either. We liked each other and I was fairly sure even before I started this speech we would do business again.

At completion I gave him an invoice at the less expensive end of the quote. He was very appreciative and paid me the very day he got the invoice and asked me if I would like to pick it up or would I like it couriered over?

Needless to say we have an ongoing relationship.

Undercharging and over-delivering on that first job can pay huge dividends over the long haul. Simple as that.

Do You Confess?

2005-09-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

When I was at the Speechwriter's Conference in Washington DC last year (a highly recommended event by the way – set for February 2006) I was struck by how many speechwriters were able to proclaim loudly and proudly that they were “so-and-so’s” speechwriter. Well not quite so ostentatiously as that perhaps. That might not have been their title on the org chart. But if they were called something else – it was clear that was their function.

Some of the University types had to concede that the speechwriting job was cloaked under other titles like “Executive Assistant”. Not out of any embarrassment that they used speechwriters to help them with their remarks, but rather more for internal political reasons. “What do you mean you spend scarce university dollars on the services of a speechwriter?”- that sort of thing.

Freelancers run into a similar problem. I can’t count the number of times I have been told in slightly hushed tones that when I interview internal staff for research purposes I shouldn't actually say that I was working on the boss’ speech. This is passing strange of course. If I was working on the annual report – or a quarterly report to stockholders – or a Memorandum to Cabinet for that matter – all for the signature for the person in charge – no one would bat an eyelash. But say you are writing their speech and you get the “you mean he doesn’t write his own?” look.

I find this to be the case most especially in the public sector. Private Sector clients seem to have no such hang-ups. Paradoxically perhaps, those who are most articulate, the most engaging on the stage - the ones who don't really need a speechwriter - are the ones most likely to use one. And why wouldn’t they? Speech writing is very labour intensive and their hourly rate is far higher than they would ever have to pay even the priciest of contract writers. So in most cases it makes no sense for them to write their own from scratch.

So we freelancers tend to be the "elephant in the room". Our clients love us, but they don't necessarily want to acknowledge our existence. That gives us a major marketing headache. Although I can say I have written speeches for a particular government agency or a corporate client – in most instances I am constrained from identifying my speakers by name or event. It is an unwritten rule that you don’t “out” your clients. At least it is my unwritten rule.

So how to you sell your services if you can’t share with prospective clients specific speeches you have written or worked on? Well there is good news on two fronts.

First, you can simply ask for permission of an existing client. Notwithstanding my comments above, some are happy for you to do so. One client – private sector of course – urged me to share because he felt it gave his speeches a second life after they were first given.

The other piece of good news is that – except for jobs I am bidding on – I am very rarely asked to produce speech writing samples to prove my bona fides. Potential customers just aren’t interested and they don’t have time to read speeches you have written for others. They have likely checked out your credentials from other sources and you seal the deal (here comes Colin's standard harangue) by letting them know you will make their project your passion for the life of the speech assignment. And of course, get the first one under your belt, and you become the CEO’s path of least resistance for speech work. Why would he/she go anywhere else if they liked what you did for them last time? As a result speechwriters tend to have their clients for the long haul. You tend to lose them only if they die - in the corporate sense - and sometimes in the literal sense!

If there are any freelancers out there who have a different take on marketing their services, I would be glad to hear about it. I have put this article at www. weneedaspeech.blogspot.com and would love to get your take on the issue.

Feelings

2005-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

This Spring I was approached by a corporate executive to assist him in preparing a convocation speech he was to give to a private boys school. He sat on the Board of Directors – his son was an alumnus – and so he was committed to doing a first rate job.

He was a great client to work with. He knew the messages he wanted to deliver and he had some stories to tell. Would that all my clients would make it so easy going in. We worked on some humour – coming out of story of course – and we were very aware that an audience of 18 year olds wasn’t likely to be hanging on his every word. Still the messages of "dreaming big dreams while enjoying the moment" – "giving back" – "acting with integrity" - were all things he felt important to articulate – to the boys in the presence of their parents.

We put the thing together fairly quickly and we were happy with the product. He promised to give me a post-mortem report.

When he did, he told me of a little joke he added at the front end that was inspired by a chat he had had with his son a few days before the speech. At one point in their conversation he said “Dad, relax, the only person who is going to care about what you talk about is “you”. No one else will be paying much attention”.

He led with that little story and of course it got a commensurate laugh and sympathy from the parents who were all too aware of their sons’ short attention spans.

And of course my client’s son was right. The audience had expectations there would be a speech – because it was a convocation after all – but they probably didn’t much care what he said. Although I dare say they hoped it wouldn’t bore them to tears.

His comment also got me to thinking about this scary question. Do most audiences care what their speakers say?

My quick answer is “no.” They really want to have the speaker make them feel better.

If the occasion is commemorative – such as at a funeral at the passing of a great person or a close friend– they want the speaker to confirm the depth of their loss. They want someone to affirm the bond only shared grief among strangers can bring.

If they are angry stockholders they want acknowledgement of the legitimacy of their anger and they want to feel better by hearing the CEO announce a two for one stock split at the AGM.

It they go to listen to a politician – they want to be reassured that someone smarter than them is driving the train.

If they are fearful – think 21st century terrorism – they want to feel made to feel safer.

So yes all the usual rules about speech writing apply. Be clear about your client’s message. Write in a language that is easy on the ear. Tell a story or two. Remember too that the primary purpose of most speeches is not to deliver information but rather establish a level of engagement between the speaker and the audience and in the process have them buy into the messages.

But then think about how your audience might feel about the sum and substance of your words. Try to imagine how you would feel if you were in the audience. And what would make you feel better if you had to sit through one of your speeches.

Second Speech Writing Workshop Slated for August 6th, 2005

2005-07-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

A Second Speech Writing Course Set For August 6, 2005
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Well, you missed a fun workshop on May 21st. Some of you passed because I had inadvertently booked the class over the May long weekend. And asked if I would hold another one this summer.

The answer is yes. Saturday August 6th, 2005. I know we are smack into summer vacations for a lot of you so I am not sure we can get enough interest to make it a go. We will see.

Here are a few comments from participants in the May workshop.

"..... I returned home from the workshop....convinced that speech writing is indeed the field for me to pursue and the work most likely to last me into my old age."
........John Hurst

"...it was a more non-linear approach than I expected. That was nice in a way because your assumption seemed to be that we were all smart and could already do research and spin words and that what we needed from you was the insight to make our speeches resonate....a good speech can be inspiring. So can a good course, and yours was. Thank you."

........Margaret Shaw

"....Thoroughly enjoyed it!"

..........Paul MacDonald

....your emphasis on story and narrative really encouraged me to pursue speech writing to a greater degree. I'm really looking forward to my first chance to take this new found perspective and apply it to writing an engaging speech.

.........Jeff Dewsbury

If your are interested in course details, cost and registration information just go here.

Confessions of a Freelance Speechwriter

2005-07-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

I remember the day I told my professional colleagues that I was quitting my job in government communications. They emailed me back saying how brave I was-which I took as a codeword for how stupid I was. Here I was quitting my good paying, fully pensioned, health-cared job to make money as a flak for hire. I could visualize them rolling their eyes, thinking I had taken leave of my senses. How could I choose the most boring form of writing, I could hear them muttering, reflecting I suppose on all the boring speeches they had heard or written.
I took the other view. I hated all the other stuff. The endless meetings. The bureaucratic rules. Everything that actually got in the way of doing your job. I had written and/or vetted a ton of speeches on the job, so I knew I had the skill set. I had also come across a statistic that said that in the U.S. alone more than 100,000 speeches were given every 24 hours. I also knew that most speakers didn't write their own. Hmm. There might be a market here. And my timing was great because in 1993/4 e-mail was just beginning to become commonplace. That meant I could deliver speeches to potentially any client anywhere rather than being restricted to my home city.

So I flung caution to the winds and dove off the deep end. And never regretted it for a moment.

But before you chuck your good paying, fully pensioned, heath-cared job-let me give you a checklist of the pros and cons of the freelance life.

On the plus side, being a freelance speechwriter can be endlessly fascinating because you never know what you are going to be asked to write about. It could be on anything and everything. Social policy. Health or environmental initiatives. Labor relations and worker compensation. Banking. Corporate social responsibility. International affairs. Finance. Or any other topic under the sun.

The second plus is that we sometimes get to rub shoulders with the rich and semi-famous. With people who perhaps in other circumstances are out of our league. I mean no self-deprecation by this. It's just that under normal circumstances I don't get to hang out with multi-millionaires, or captains of industry, or senior members of government. But when they turn their attention to the words that will come out of their mouths-they want to talk to their speechwriters. And they want to talk to them now! So, we are brought into their professional circle for a short time-a momentary vicarious thrill if you will.

What else? We don't often get roped into office politics or useless meetings. Our clients really like us because we are saving them their most precious of commodity-time. And, oh yes, the pay is pretty good.

But the most satisfying part of freelancing for me is this. As speechwriters we may not make policy, but we sure get to "nuance" it. The first time you hear your words on a 15-second sound bite on the evening news-you suddenly realize that you sometimes get to articulate the first expression of a new policy or service. And if you do a really good job, you might find that articulation becomes an oft- repeated mantra within your client's organization.

The downside: We work like dogs. Because we have clients across time zones we get phone calls at very strange hours. We have to be prepared to work on "emergency" speeches which can mean many lost weekends and late nights. We need to have very understanding families.

The consequences of error are huge. Nobody is going to be doing detailed fact checking of our research. Embarrass clients just once by putting incorrect facts or clumsy syntax in their mouths, and we won't hear from them again. Not ever. Quite right too.

The joy of sharing their passions notwithstanding- once you have agreed to a speech assignment you are pretty much on your own. All communications directors want to know is if you can do the job. If the answer is "yes" they are on to other things. There won't be a lot of hand holding.

Like a news reporter you will have to do a lot of mining for sum and substance-and do it all with a certain finesse so you don't upset any political apple carts. You have to be able to absorb huge amounts of new information, all the while understanding you won't be using 98 percent of it. But you have to inhale the useless stuff so you can exhale the truly useful.

You have to have very finely tuned political antenna. You may be writing a speech for the CEO, but you aren't a senior member of his or her staff. Heck, your clients might not even want to let their people know that they are using freelancers. So you can't go blundering around like a wounded walrus when you go digging for information.

Did I say the pay is pretty good? Well it is. But not nearly what it should be. And as for that rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, for every speech that happens with, you will have 20 others where you never meet the client, many of whom are thousands of miles away.

Your brains can get fried and sometimes you wonder when burnout will come. Or if you can ever have another original thought for a long-term client.

Perhaps I have depressed you right out of quitting your day job. Perhaps that's a good thing. If you want to be a prophet honored in your own time, don't be a freelance speechwriter.

You will be confined to relative anonymity. The best you can hope for is a good reputation in the communications community and perhaps "he wrote good rah-rah" as your epitaph. But it is such fun"rah- rah".

If I had my life as a do-over, I would be a Hollywood script writer writing dialogue. Since I am way too old for that demographic, at least I get to work in the shadows writing monologue. I get to put words in other people's mouths. I get paid to do it. And I never know what the next phone call will bring.

Pretty cool.

Openings & Adrenaline

2005-07-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

They shoot the white girl first" has been recognized by many as one of the great opening lines in late 20th century llterature. It comes from Toni Morrison's grand novel "Paradise." I defy anyone to read that line - and not want to find out how the next paragraphs and pages play out.
As speechwriters we always have to concern iourselves with finding great openings for our clients' events. We want to give them words that will give their audiences reassurance that they aren't just about to waste the next twenty minutes of their lives. Rather, they settle down and wait expectantly for the what your speaker is going to say next.

So where or how do we find great openings? Well you could do worse than looking to great literature as a guide.

Of course, the best openings from our own imaginations - or that of our clients.

Second best come from stories - found, made up, or from real life. People love stories and they are what you should always be trying to cajole out of your clients. Even if you simply started with a speech with the line "I want to tell you a story", you have an automatic buy-in from the audience to pay attention to what comes next.

The minute a client gets my commitment to write a speech - the brain cellss start to twitch as I immediately begin to think of possible openings for the speech - even before I know a thing about message or motive.

No matter how much or how little I know about the topic - I begin to think of exactly that. How much do I know about the topic? It helps if you are a news junkie because if you are - you automatically become at least marginally well-informed about almost any topic under the sun. I do mean marginally, but at least it's a starting point.

Newspapers can give you opening lines. Interesting facts. Anecdotes. News about the competition. News about an industry. About government policy. Public mood. The economy. Science. Lilfe. The stuff of life is in the news. Soak it up like a sponge.

And of course the Internet and Google have become our new best friends for triggering ideas that help us come up with openings that have staying power.

By the way, you want to know the line following "They shoot the white girl first.?" It's

"With the rest they can take their time."

Makes you want to go right out and get the book, doesn't it?

Adrenaline Junkies
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I have come to the conclusion that most freelance writers - and perhaps especially freelance speech writers most of all - are adrenaline junkies. We love the chase of getting work, of having gotten work done, and yes even doing the work.
And we whine and moan about the stress of too many clients and too many competing deadlines.

But just let that phone stop ringing for more than a week or two and we go through a type of withdrawal. Instead of luxuriating in our downtime, we have this nagging sense of unease. It's not usually a worry about money, or that our clients are going to disappear - that's the natural anxiety of all freelancers.

Rather - it's an unifferentiated sense of angst - brought on by actually missing those deadlines we love to curse and complain about. Those deadlines may exhaust us but they energize us as well.

We get hooked on this quite strange ying and yang of a process we love and hate at the same time. Sort of like a drug. Or adrenaline. We miss it when it's gone.

I Still Get A Thrill....

2005-05-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe a thrill overstates the case.

Let's call it a little adrenaline rush, a charge....a pleasing moment.....it happens whenever I hear one of "my" lines quoted back to me in an evening news sound bite - or used at a different event in a different context.

It is a fact of life that freelance speech writers figuratively and metaphorically work in the back rooms of commerce and politics. Unlike their in- house counterparts, they will rarely get public acknowledgement of their efforts, so they better like the work for its own sake.

What's not to like?

You get to put words in other peoples' mouths.

You get to share in their professional passions.

You get to research all sorts of fascinating topics and by the time you are sick of any one subject, the job is over and the next assignment comes along.

And you often get to write the first articulation of public and corporate policy. And in so doing shape it. Now that is a thrill.

Racing to the Bottom....

2005-05-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Racing to the bottom.....
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Those of you who get my Fearless Freelancing newsletter read in the latest issue the comments I made about the dangers for freelance writers if their service can be commodified or commoditized. I have posted those comments on my BlogWrite blog site. The short story is that if your writing can be digitized - it can be outsourced. For the past decade this has worked to the freelancer's advantage. But now that the wired world has become more wired in a broadband sense - can anybody do what we do? (For a fascinating read on this topic I recommend to read Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat: A Short History of the Twenty-First Century.")
I do nothing but write speeches. And there is no doubt that even in a specialty niche like this - speeches can be commoditized. In fact they already have been. You can buy a pre-packaged 5 minute wedding speech on the Internet for $14.95

You can even find pretty good speech writers who will race to the bottom by offering cut rate services on their web sites.

They are quite mad.

If there is one thing speech clients don't appreciate is off-the-rack cheap.

Serious clients want personalized one-of-a-kind speeches that are unique to them. Price isn't their issue. It's time and substance. They want exclusivity and for that they are willing to pay a lot more money.

So make sure your services are so exclusive that no matter what the technology can do, no one can replicate what you offer. Then the digitizers and bottom feeders represent no threat to you at all.

Doing the Dance

2005-05-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Doing the Dance......
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If you are a freelance speech writer you have to market your services. This is a relatively simple task - although not necessarily an easy one. The simplicity lies in the fact that prospective clients usually want to know one thing. They want to know if they can trust you. Can they trust you not to put words in their mouths that will make them look foolish? Can they trust you with their personal secrets? Can they trust you to figure out internal politics without getting ensnared by them? Can they trust you to be absolutely reliable on matters of corporate confidentiality and privacy?
Well, ok - that's more than one thing. But they all involve trust. Clients are - after all - putting their professional lives in your hands.

That's why potential new clients - or their communications staff - rarely ask to see speech samples. Or ask you about your track record. If you have got in the front door, they have already checked out your credentials from other sources. But once they let you in, the real dance begins.

To trust you, they need to see the whites of your eyes. Literally. They want to meet you in person. Then it's a little bit like going on a blind date. You may get 20 minutes to make your pitch but in fact clients make up their minds within the first two minutes. And if you are at all intuitive, you too will know if you have made a connection very quickly. The rest is all after-play.

The irony is - if they hire - you will probably only get one more dance with them. It might be a long one as you discuss message and motive for the speech. But after that, the chances of you meeting with the speaker again until rehearsal - if at all - may be remote.

And when you competitively bid on speech work - as is usually the case when you go after long term contract work - then you will have to get used to the idea of often never getting to meet some of your clients who may be half a world away. For venues you will never see. For voices you may never hear.

It's a very interesting challenge. A subject for another day.

Blogs - Conferences - Classes

2005-03-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

BlogSpeak
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Ok so I am always a dollar short and a day late. I have joined the blogging crowd. It is partially ego driven. Partially procrastination driven. But mostly it is out of a desire to give readers of my web sites and/or newsletters an opportunity to talk back to me. I've got a few items to get the blog rolling.
One post is called Speech Writers on Speech Writing. I have posted my take on the elements of a good speech. How about contributing some of your thoughts? The blog of course allows you to comment. The other Just In Time Speech Writing talks about the dangers of starting on a speech too soon.

You can get to BlogSpeak by clicking on the menu item in the left hand column.

Red States Blue States
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It is impossible to be in Washington DC in the company of a few hundred speech writers from across the U.S. and not have a good time. If you are a political and news junkie and your idea of a star sighting is Dick Gephardt in the hotel restaurant then one of two things is going on - you live a very strange life or you are a speech writer. And if you are the latter your may well be living the former.
Even though there was representation from Red States and Blue states, including some from the current administration, everyone was able to talk politics without getting Political.

Regardless of their personal or professional politics, they all shared a single value - a love for the craft. They were endlessly fascinating people to talk to. Very bright, very committed people who clearly love what they do and really wanted to be at that conference. My only regret was that it didn't go on longer. I have talked to a number of people who go back to the conference again and again.

So if you are really serious about being a speech writer - freelance or otherwise - put the Washington Conference on your "to do" list right now. Remember - February in DC. You'll get hooked. The website reference is www.ragan.com.

On the same site you should check out the Speechwriter's Newsletter put out by the same folks who put on the conference. Just go to the speechwriting link on the left hand side.

And if you want to go to another interesting blog on speech writing, David Murray- the aforementioned newsletter's editor- has a very interesting slant on the craft. I call him a young curmudgeon - a great writer and a very interesting guy. His blog is - The Speechwriters's Slant

Hacks and Flacks
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At the above noted conference an interesting demographic factoid came up. In chatting to many of the participants, it was clear that a remarkable number came from a journalistic background. But then I thought about it. It makes sense. Both professions call for insatiable curiosity. A dogged tenacity to find a new angle on subjects that they have written about a thousand times before. And wanting to tell a story.

So what's not to like? But who has more fun. The hacks or the flacks?

Speech Writing Workshop In Vancouver, BC
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Finally I am getting around to putting on a speech writing workshop - an all day affair - in Vancouver. A final date hasn't been selected yet, but I am looking at sometime in May or June somewhere in Vancouver proper.

At this stage I am looking for expressions of interest. I need at least 15 people and will limit the class to a maximum size of 30. This will be a workshop for non-fiction writers who want to add speech writing to their skill set.

This is not a writing class per se, but will cover the issues you must concern yourself with when a client calls you and says "We Need A Speech." This one day workshop will get you to the point where you can feel confident that you can say "yes" to such a request.

If you think this might be of interest you could you drop me a line by going here and I'll put you in the "very interested" file and of course keep you posted.

2004-12-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

To PowerPoint or Not To PowerPoint....That is the Question ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every time I sit down with a client to discuss an upcoming speech, I dread the phrase "we will need some Power Point slides". Thankfully only about 10% actually go that route. I hate Power Point, and not because it is very trendy to rebel against this very powerful, very robust program. But that is beside the point. For public speaking purposes Power Point is all too often a solution in search of a problem.
Visuals rarely improve a presentation. Most of us have enough trouble getting our speakers to practice their text out loud - let alone learn to speak to slides on a screen. It takes a lot more practice to deliver a presentation when you add bulleted points and convoluted graphs to the mix.

But it goes beyond the matter of bad slides mixed with flawed presentation skills.

Listening to words spoken aloud, like listening to the radio, is a right brain activity to which listeners contribute their own memory and experience. Reading bulleted points on a screen on the other hand tends to invoke logical left brain activity. Asking the audience to listen with their ears and read with their eyes and remain engaged by the speaker is a too muuch to expect. Nine times out of ten your clients will play second fiddle to their slides, and the disconnected audience will be bored to tears.

What about television and movies I hear you objecting. They both engage the eye and ear. True enough. But pictures, moving or otherwise, like words spoken aloud, allow us to fill in the spaces ourselves. So if your speakers insist on Power Point, then encourage them to use a few photographic images. That way they are not a slave to what's going on behind their backs.

The best option, I believe, is not to use PowerPoint at all. Still not convinced? When was the last time you left a presentation saying - "Gosh, wasn't that a great Power Point presentation!"

More on Left Brain...Right Brain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a similar vein I had an accidental eureka moment some time ago. I was editing someone else's speech - a dreadful bit of work that put me to sleep within the first two paragraphs. I immediately identified the problem. I was looking at a text that was meant to be read, not spoken. Not only was it filled with overblown words. There was no rhythm. No passion. No pattern. There was nothing that catered to the imagination.
All of which made me begin to wonder if there existed any written document that has its parallel to the speech. And it suddenly struck me that there was such an animal - the personal letter. Ever receive a long heartfelt letter from a loved one - a father or mother, a spouse, a fiancé, a son or daughter - a letter that spoke to your heart? When you read it - you did so not with your logical left brain, but with your imaginative right brain. You not only heard the voice of the writer as you read the words, you filled in the silence between the notes.

Food for thought.

In Praise of Failure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I sit down with my clients looking for message and motive, I despair when they begin the interview with how they want to tell their audiences about their great new policy, new direction or new product. When they do that, I know I have got a lot of work to do. Not because I don't want to write about the new policy, direction or product. We can get to that. It's just not a very compelling way to start.
So how are you going to get audiences to buy-in to whatever it is your clients are selling? One way to start is having them talk not about their great successes, but about their grand failures. Stories of failure are much more interesting. They tend to speak to our common humanity. They give the speaker the opportunity to talk about how they ultimately triumphed. Audiences bite because they too have made mistakes, and your speakers' confessions make them sound refreshingly human and imperfect. And they want to know how the story ends. This of course is the perfect opening for the messaging your speakers want to get to.

So, get your clients to confess. It's good for the soul.

Speech Writing Workshops and Conferences ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Washington DC The 2005 Speechwriter's Conference from February 9-11, 2005. I am particularly excited about the prospect of going since I will be presenting this year. You can get more information by going to www.speechwritercity.com/speech05

Check Against Delivery

2004-10-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Some idle thoughts about the freelancing trade I ply – speech writing.

• Those of you who write government speeches are familiar with the term "Check Against Delivery" that goes on the title page of speeches. In the pre-Internet days it was a signal to the media that there might be a difference between the written speech handed out at an event, and the one that was actually delivered. It also allowed the speaker some leeway to deviate from the distributed text as the mood or circumstance might dictate. And there was no electronic version of the speech. Just hard copies handed out to reporters who usually dumped them in the waste basket on their way out the door.

Fast forward to 2004 and the common practice of government departments, and private sector corporations to post their speeches on their web sites. Question. Which speech is put up on the site? The speech that was signed off on - the one that cleared all the approvals - the safe speech? Or the one that was really given - where the speaker wandered off to unrelated tangents, told inappropriate jokes, or otherwise went off-message?

Sometimes the matter can be of little consequence. But at the very least it can present administrative headaches for the communication team.

On the other hand, it may be that even the speakers themselves don't want the "as given" speeches up on their web sites. They might have stuck their political feet in their mouths in one fashion or another and in the harsh light of the following day, they might well want the text as-written to go on-line and pray that no one calls them on the difference.

In this digital world, once you release anything into the Internet ether, the anything can end up anywhere. So be careful out there.

• In my earlier days I used to consider going back to school to get a graduate degree. Now that I am in my later days - I don't think would have the intellectual energy to do the mountains of academic work involved. Especially all those research papers. To which my partner replies, "What are you talking about? You're a speech writer. All you do is research and write papers." I denied it all. But on reflection, she has a point. As she usually does.

It sort of hit home with me in an indirect way. Speech writers are incredibly scrupulous in their research. They want to be squeaky clean about not putting incorrect information in their clients' mouths. The consequences of factual error can be enormous. But the academic analogy really hit home when I started to footnote all my sources in both the web site and hard copy versions of my speeches. Just as noted in the article above, the Internet has changed everything.

Not only do you have to be incredibly rigorous in your research and attributions of sources. You have to be seen to be rigorous. Play it smart. Footnote your sources.

• We have all heard the cliché about some people fearing public speaking more than the fear of death. This week CNN did one of their highly dubious online polls asking which people feared more - Height. Germs. Public Speaking. And Death. Fear of heights came first. That I can understand. But fear of death and fear of public speaking tied for second? I remember reading somewhere that "risk taking" behaviour is genetic. Some people think nothing of flinging themselves out of an airplane and all the while having an unshakable faith that their parachutes will open. They think it is fun! Yet they are petrified at the thought of getting up in front of a group of people and saying a few words. They would prefer to die!

I have seen smart articulate people almost melt into a pool of butter when they stand up and address a group of their own staff for heaven's sake. So I guess the perception of risk - like beauty - remains in the eye of the beholder and in our genetic coding.

Finding Work: The Perilous Life Cycle of the Freelance Speech Writer

2004-09-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

OK listen up, fellow speech writers. Especially you freelancers. November 4th is just weeks away. Beginning to sweat a little? If George W. prevails, what will that mean to your bank balance? If the guys with the great hair get in, will that help or hinder your freelance fortunes? You best give it some thought. A national election can have unsettling affects on your personal economy, and you just may have to kiss your heretofore established contacts and contracts good bye. Yikes!

What we should all be asking ourselves - on a regular basis I might add - is this. How do we avoid becoming road kill on the freelance highway every time a government changes - a multi-national collapses - the Dow Jones dives - or the US dollar takes a beating? Since it is unlikely Lou Dobbs will ever bemoan the outsourcing of speech writing work to India I give you a quick marketing 101 refresher.

Our first dilemma is this. We’ve got a ton of writing samples to show the world as we push our wares anew. But if you have been reading the last few issues of SN, you know the case that has been made for speech writer discretion. In return for good pay, we promise good words and good faith. Faith that we won’t “out” our clients, past or present. So, now what?

If you are not sure if you are crossing the line by sharing a speech, Plan ‘A’ is to ask. It's interesting. My best and most confident speakers invariably say “yes”. As long as I am not selling state secrets, they are happy to let me market away to my heart's content. My less secure speakers tend to want to hold to the pretence that they wrote every word delivered. Go figure.

But be warned, if you do ask, and you get a “no”, that's it. You can’t unring the bell. That speech is now dead to you, forever and ever amen.

Plan ‘B ‘ is to invoke a “don't ask, don't tell” policy. If you can reasonably mask the name of the speaker, and the name and date of the event, then you can judiciously share some speech work with a prospective client, especially if the speech is over two years old, or the speaker has long since retired. Time can often render confidentiality a moot point. Sometimes it’s just a matter of cutting off the cover sheet and perhaps the opening identifying paragraphs of the event that will do the trick. Remember, it’s not the content that is confidential, just the client.

There is a category of speeches where client confidentiality is rarely an issue. That is if you are openly bidding on speech work in the public sector. If you write for government officials – elected or otherwise – then providing speech samples is expected. What you can’t do is share speeches you write for politicians in their “vote for me” mode. Unless of course you are prepared to fall on your sword the minute they get turfed from office.

Look, I have landed very few speech contracts on the basis of old speech samples. There is a better way to go about the task of marketing yourself. The cliché about people doing business with people they like and trust is no cliché for the freelance speech writer. When potential clients are considering you, they need to see the whites of your eyes, literally and metaphorically. On more than one occasion – I kid you not - I have flown three thousand miles for a twenty minute coffee interview with a Director of Public Affairs so they could see the cut of my jib first hand. And six months later the phone rings and I am asked if I am available.

That’s the thing about our trade. When they need you, they really need you. Like now! That gives you great leverage and great staying power over the long haul. If they like your first speech, you likely have them for a very long time. You become their path of least resistance. I tell my long term clients that I am so much part of their corporate memory and history that they can't possibly get rid of me. I know where all the old policies are buried.

It helps too to have a little passion for your craft. Unlike sincerity, passion is not something you can fake. I once beat out two screen writers for a job on this very notion. After I started working with the CEO for a while, I asked him why he picked me. He said "You showed you were passionate about what you did. The script writers made me feel that they were taking this "gig" between movie scripts. And they were not going to make my passion, their passion". Show the passion and they will be eating out of your hands.

Here endeth the first lesson.

The Elephant in the Room

2004-08-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

As I listened to the eloquent and elegant words of world leaders in France commemorating the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and to the heart felt eulogies at the passing of President Reagan, I was once again struck by the twilight world that speechwriters live in.

The television pundits waxed poetic on the majesty of the words spoken in tribute – to fallen soldiers and a fallen President. But as is usual, they couldn’t help but make political commentary on how these speeches defined the men or women making them. That’s ok too. But they sometimes talked as if the speakers actually wrote the words themselves. As if they sat down and for hours crafted each turn of phrase, each rhythmic pattern of speech, each uplifting metaphor, and every reference to some time of history past.

Of course that is all stuff and nonsense. There is an elephant in the room of media commentary which is seldom discussed. The CNN crowd and others of their ilk know full well that presidents, prime ministers, kings and cabinet members have neither the time, nor usually the inclination, to write the ringing words that will eventually mark their place in history. Nor should they. That’s the speech writer’s job.

All of which brings me to the views of a speech writing colleague of mine about the growing tendency of speech writers to “out” themselves and their clients. He pointed to the alarming decline in loyalty to organizations and leaders. And how speech writers now want to take fulsome credit for the words they put in the mouths of their clients. To coin a cliché, I am shocked and appalled.

I have been a freelance speech writer for over a decade, with about 2000 speeches under my belt. My clients span the landscape of public and private sector enterprises across North America. I guess I could be labeled a “back room boy” because I never tell anyone that I write speeches for this CEO or that politician. It’s not because I am ashamed of my trade or my words. It’s just that I believe that my clients have an implicit right to privacy. They should rest assured that I won’t run off at the mouth taking credit for the commentary they offer on the public stage.

My colleague noted another reason for loose-lipped speech writers. They can’t stand the anonymity. It goes against a writer's nature. Fair enough. But speech writers get well paid for not having the luxury of a by-line. It’s a pretty good trade-off to the penury most would suffer if they tried to ply their trade as poets or playwrights. So we should all take a pill. If we need to feel all puffed up by the power of “our” words, consider this. As speech writers we may not make policy, but we sure shape its articulation. And for that we can take some considerable pride.

His third point was about transparency. About whether it is disingenuous or somehow deceitful to downplay our involvement in the speech writing process. It's interesting really. If I go to a networking event and say that I am a speechwriter, the response is usually this. They say “oh really!’ This is immediately followed by “And did you write that piece of crap given by so and so?” - and here they put in the name of the politician they hate the most. I reply that even if I did, I wouldn’t tell them. And then I explain a little of the process. Of how writer and speaker sit down together to discuss motive and message. About how speech writing is a collaborative process. And that in the final analysis, no matter who crafts the words and phrases, it is the speaker who, for good or ill, must wear them.

Then there is that old standby that amateurs use to justify the indiscretion of being indiscrete. Everybody else is doing it, they say. Humbug! They risk their reputation at the altar of false adulation.

So let us bask in the surety that our words have engaged countless audiences – and in some small way helped direct the course of public or private policy. Then we can smile the smile of the Cheshire cat, secure in the knowledge that even if we are the invisible elephant in the room, we have made a difference.

The Good News About Freelancing

2004-06-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Last month I received three very similar e-mails. What they had in common was a disheartened and disheartening plea for advice on how to fix their sagging freelance careers.

They were all bright people. They were all more than competent at the services they were offering. Since they had been successful in the past, all had been down the marketing road before and knew the rules. Yet somehow, as their businesses were in a bit of a down period, they were feeling “the fear”. So much so, they were even considering going over to the dark side of corporate employment.

There is not a freelancer alive, yours truly included, who doesn't go through this from time to time. Every once in a while, a recruiter will approach me, dangling the possibility of a fat paycheck and lifetime benefits, and I am tempted by the siren call of security. Then I think of my stomach. Having been there before, I know I would have a knot in it the first day I stepped on the elevator to go to my new job. That snaps me back to reality right quick. So if you have always hated an office environment you should resist too. Listen to your gut….it gives you a very strong signal of who you really are.

When you get discouraged, it is all too easy to look through the wrong end of the telescope where possibilities seem smaller, not larger. Look through the right end, and you will be reassured that if you have developed any sort of track record as a freelancer, you will always have options: freelance or corporate or some combination of the two.

If you absolutely must go to the dark side, you can do so, for however long it might be necessary. But you will always have the skills and choice of going back to freelancing when the timing is right. So you have an advantage over nine-to-fivers who at some time will find themselves outside looking in. But then discover they have none of the skills needed to sell themselves in the market place.

So as you turn your telescope around, the first thing to remember is this. Periods of ebb and flow of confidence and customers don't usually relate to the ups and downs of the economy. In fact, freelancers have the advantage, regardless of how the tide is running. In tough economic times, when corporations and governments downsize, they quickly discover they have foolishly gotten rid of their corporate history, memory and experience. This particularly holds true in the matter of public affairs and communications which are usually the first to feel the axe when the budget cutters come around. The first time a crisis hits, they scramble to find someone in their downsized state to handle internal and external communications. And guess what? They have no one to turn to, so they quickly go outside the company to fill the gap.

Conversely in good economic times they start hiring again, but usually they are then so busy that they still need freelancers to pick up the overload.

So the first good news is that as a freelancer, you need never be unemployed.

Think I am looking through rose-coloured glasses? I have been freelancing for over twenty years. Through very good economic times and bad. And I have always made a living. Most years a very nice one too.

There are other virtues to the freelance life. I don’t have to go to needless, endless, time-wasting meetings. I am not tied up in pointless bureaucratic rules that ham-string my ability to get the job done. There are no office politics. I like my clients, and they like me. And bless their souls they pay their bills on time.

So, that’s the second piece of good news. We can be scared from time to time, but we are never bored.

I know, I know. If it’s a fearful period you are in, it’s a fearful period. It’s easy to sink into a pool of discouragement. So, what to do next you are saying.

The first thing you need to do is to take a few reality checks, by asking and answering three questions. Are you offering a niche service that you can sustain a passion for over the long haul? If you aren’t passionate about what you do, why should your clients be passionate about you? Second. Is there a need for what you do? And third, is there a market for what you offer?

So that is what we are going to talk about next month. Niches, needs and markets.

I am going to conclude this column with a little marketing of my own. For those of you who might be considering adding speech writing to your quiver of services, or who need advice on writing your own speeches, I am giving a speech writing teleseminar on June 24th at 10 am PST. Details at www.weneedaspeech.com/services_telespeech.htm.

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Colin Moorhouse has been offering freelance speech writing services to client across North America over the past decade. His speech writing web site is at www.weneedaspeech.com. You can also find his further musings on the freelance life at www.fearlessfreelancing.com.

Starting Over

2004-05-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Pretend for a moment that you were starting over. That you were setting up your writing or consulting business for the very first time. What would you do differently? It’s a brand new world out there. Or is it?

If you are slightly fossilized like me, then perhaps when you first hung out your shingle, fax machines were so “de rigueur” that you actually charged your clients for each page you faxed to them. Not for the content, but for the cost of toner! You think I'm joking right? Not so. In the mid-80s I worked for a PR firm that did exactly that. Apparently this was quite common "back in the day" - when email and the Internet were virtually non-existent. And a corporate web site was unheard of, well, because it was unheard of.

It’ a little ironic. At one time, not having a fax number would be considered very strange. In the fast-paced world of the 80’s, a fax machine gave you the edge over your competition down the street who depended on courier service. Then everyone got fax machines and the playing field got level again. We still have these anchor weights around, but they act mostly as dust catchers because email and Acrobat have made them almost redundant.

So here we all are in 2004 chained 24/7 to our cell phones. Our Palm Pilots are our diaries of choice, and our Black Berrys are not just a food choice anymore. We get anxious about conversion rates on our web sites, we wonder whether our intranets are worth their high cost of maintenance; and is anyone reading our double opt-in newsletter anyway?

So if you were starting all over, does all this modern technology make the marketing of your services easier or harder? I have come to the conclusion that just like the fax machine of the 80s, modern gadgets might contribute to the loss of work through their absence. But that they do not in and of themselves get you clients, not if you are in the professional service sector.

Let’s face it. Having a web site these days is about as unique as having a listing in the Yellow Pages. Most people still buy mainly products such as books or software over the Internet. And not services.

The old marketing cliché about the service profession – that people do business with people they like and trust – still holds true. So the question is, can they get to like and trust you via the Internet, via email, or many of the other conveniences of 21st century communication? I don't think so.

As a speech writer, my clients really have to know and trust me. They have to see the whites of my eyes, literally and metaphorically, before they will hire me. There is very little chance that my speech writing web site will get me speech writing work. That is not its purpose. That said, it can give me some credibility that I know what I am doing. And some visibility too.

In this regard I commend to you a great book by C. J. Hayden. It is called Get Clients Now! A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals and Consultants (AMACOM 1999). She talks in some detail about which marketing strategies result in you increasing your outreach, your credibility and your visibility. She talks about which tactics flowing out of those strategies are the most effective ones for those in the service game. If I were starting over, I would definitely try to put her program into action.

Marketing is not playing a game. Nor is it about playing someone else. It is always about developing relationships over time. Anything that you can do to initiate an ongoing dialogue is what you are aiming for.

So, get out from behind your technology and go meet people. You know how to do it. You hold back because it takes a certain type of energy to get out there and engage others. But you also know how incredibly energizing to exchange ideas about matters that you are passionate about. You are passionate about your business, aren’t you?

p.s. In late June I held a teleseminar about my passion – speech writing. If you are at all curious about what went on, you can click on the free sound file at