A word’s space

A word has its own territory, and the brighter the word, the more space it requires. This means that if you use a word like for example "eminent", the next time you can use it again will come no sooner than in the next paragraph or even the next chapter.

Words are sometimes behave very similarly to people. Some of them are just feel too important and want more space – a bigger house and a longer car. To draw another analogy, a word can behave like a glamourous lady who cannot stand another woman wearing the same dress at a party.

Some words are more simple-minded and they don’t mind if their identical twin is lounging in the next line. Take the word "known" as an example. You can use it more often than other, more pretentious adjectives like "distinguished" or "renowned".

Or take the simple word "word" that I have used so many times in this short text without hurting its feelings. 

Try ruining a stereotype

“What to write about?”. This is a question that tortures many writers, bloggers, and even professional journalists. 

How to attract an audience’s attention and to satisfy people’s hunger for a fresh idea?

There are plenty of recommendations and guidelines about the issue on the Internet. Experienced publicists say that it’s easier to find news in everyday life. Sometimes it works as great as storytelling, especially if you generously spice your narrative with human emotions. 

I believe that I have found another road to inspiration. If you can’t see a decent topic for a text, try ruining a stereotype. 

For instance, I spent last night in a Siberian village. There was a big local celebration. 

What do people outside of Russia (and even in Russia, by the way) usually think of life in Siberia? They often picture deep snow and hopeless poverty, dark gray landscapes where gloomy and exhausted people are hunting for bear and guzzling vodka. 

To be honest, I myself was really surprised to see happy families with beautiful children, smiling and dancing, and nobody falling over drunk. There was a local rock band playing popular tunes that you can usually hear in Moscow or London. Later a fire-show and fireworks made the party sparkle. 

Would you be surprised to learn that people in Siberia enjoy locally grown watermelons, huge pink tomatoes, apricots and delicious apples? All these fruits were introduced to Southern Siberia in the nineteenth century by Decembrists - dissident noblemen, who were deported from St. Petersburg to Siberia in 1828 by Nicolas I. 

It goes without saying that if you want to ruin a stereotype you’ll need to learn something new about the topic or get first hand experience in it. 

It’s never easy to change people’s minds or replace deeply rooted preconceptions, but you will agree that it is a worthy job for a good writer. 

Why book writers fail

You will never write a book if your objective is just "to write a book".

There are many people who’ve got interesting views and thoughts on this world, ideas worth listening to, even intriguing plots and narratives, but they fail to put them all in a form of a freshly scented book.

- I’m going to write a book

- What do you want to say with it?

- Well, I just want to systematize all my life experiences and…

- It doesn’t work this way, sorry, you’re never going to write a book.

Most people who think they want to write a book just dream about the moment when they are signing a copy for a nice-looking lady or a man or for some object of passion or professional jealousy.

Indeed, some of these dreamers start writing or drawing a structure, or even finish the first chapter, but sooner or later they are stuck in the middle of a page… How come?

They have no real aim, they make no real steps forward. When you have nothing to say, you can say nothing.

Before you start typing a title you need to feel eager to deliver a message. You can only write a good book if your idea and premise are clear and drive your creativity.

- I want to tell older people who live alone how to organize their time better. I know that most of them suffer badly from a lack of purpose.

- Write a book.

- So I shall!

So they shall, because the idea is clear and even the category of potential audience is quite obvious. Now the task remains to put everything on paper. 

We all write

Sometimes I envy surgeons. Because whenever they are having a friendly natter about their work, nobody says: "Oh, I know exactly what you’re talking about, I also do heart surgeries at weekends". 

When your job is writing, many people are eager to give you good advice or at least to undermine your professional confidence with remarks of disagreement about your allegories or style. 

"Oh, you’re a speechwriter! Hello there colleague! You know, I could also be called a speechwriter. Last month I did a text for my boss when he was preparing for a meeting. I think you’re wrong saying that sentences must be cut short. My boss was brilliant with long phrases, composed by yours truly". 

I come across disagreements about capital letters or punctuation. Sometimes I have to listen to critical lecturing about my posts on Facebook because "wouldn’t they be better if… ". 

It’s true that people nowadays text a lot: in social networks, in work and private group chats, emails, official reports, and stuff. If you practice something actively for a long time there comes a feeling of confidence and deep understanding of the issue. Sometimes these feelings become exaggerated, and amateurs fancy themselves pros . But, can people be blamed for such a natural flaw? 

What we can do, however, is mind the difference. The difference between a writer and a regular texter is the following.

A texter simply texts. They write their routine stuff without challenging creative tasks or any emotional impact on the reader.

A writer touches souls, they strive to develop their writing skills from sentence to sentence. They live ‘in written form’, and look a thousand yards deeper into the context of their work.

But when they float back up and find themselves among regular people what they often hear is: "Hey, I’d rather put this phrase another way!"

I should try myself at medicine. 

Smart. Effective. Simple.

“Speaking and Presenting with Impact” had a significant impact on me.
SAPWI is the title of a training that I attended two weeks ago in Manchester. The training by Mr Lee Jackson, one of the best public speaking coaches in the UK, has divided my career of a speechwriter into “before” and “after”. 
How come? Was there any actual magic or a miracle? That was the point: no miracles whatsoever.
Every phrase, every exercise and every tip were simple and natural, but that simplicity was based on massive personal experience and coaching practice.
Eight hours of hard and interactive work had been ideally structured and flavoured with funny examples, exciting tasks, witty slides, and, what is more, with a great opportunity to speak in front of the audience and to then get detailed feedback and personalised guidelines.
Thanks to the Government Events company, the size of the group was optimal - there were only 10 people at the venue.
We all came from different spheres but I could clearly see that every student was getting what they really needed for their self-development and for their work.
It was very empowering to see one of the students who was able to overcome their stage fright and successfully complete their story. It was made possible by Lee’s gentle guidance.
As for me, I’ve got absolutely brilliant tips on storytelling, and how to produce perfect module-structured texts for different sorts of speeches.
I was the only international participant but the fact that English is my second language wasn’t an obstacle for the learning process. Lee was so friendly and so professional in communicating with every attendee, that I was really comfortable at every moment of the session.
I was lucky to have an opportunity to test my new knowledge just two days after the training. I gave a speech at a very prestigious seminar on political speechwriting and leadership and I really enjoyed it. It rarely happens that I mark my own job as well done, because I’m a very cruel critic of myself.
Huge thanks to Lee Jackson! It is inspiring to watch true professionals do their job.

Clients

Sometimes I ask myself if the speechwriting market be compared to the one of massage where you hardly can say to your client: “I’m sorry, your back is too fat for my taste, I won’t touch you”.
It goes without saying, that any service is always a compromise. But, indeed, there is a question of how far you can push yourself to meet your client’s expectations.
Imagine if someone asks you to compose a racist speech for a far-right rally.
“Sorry, your back… erm…  your ideology is not my taste!”
You can’t produce a good text if you don’t believe in what you write. If you hate your speaker, you will never write anything really touching either. Just because your disappointed brain will fail to find those particular words that can hit the spot and touch people's hearts.
We respect masseurs because they help all people without exception. But can we respect a speechwriter who is willing to write any text for any client?

Journalists in speechwriting

Many journalists have tried to work as speechwriters but have failed. Not because their writing skills were considered weak. The point is,  journalists see themselves as Authors with a capital “A”.
They are used to having an internal narrator’s voice that leads their hand in writing. They are used to having an attitude towards everything they write about, and to seeing everything through the prism of their personal experience.
And, indeed, it is not easy to stop being a journalist and to switch one’s mindset and to turn into a speechwriter who has to abandon their values and beliefs during a working day.
A journalist keeps writing their own article but not a speech for another person with different views and specific political purposes.
Does that mean that a speechwriter is a two-faced cynic who has no principles?
Of course not, otherwise we should accept that every playwright is a manipulator only because his characters make controversial remarks.
Yes, a speechwriter is a playwright but for only one actor, and together  they create a one-man-show script on a given topic.
Also, a speechwriter must put themselves in speaker’s shoes and sincerely adopt the proposed position.
That’s what Stanislavsky called to put oneself in the Given Circumstances.
Some journalists are able to do that, but most are not ready for such fundamental professional changes.

Speechwriting-2

The Start is the most difficult part of speechwriting. You might know a lot about the topic, but you could spend an hour watching the blinking cursor on the blank page.
Then one usually begins to write something formal like: “It’s not a secret that economic growth depends on the tax system…” or “today we have invited you to discuss a very important issue…”.
Indeed, both the opening lines can do the job and would be accepted patiently by the audience, but one really important thing that would be missed is the Contact.
A speechwriter must help his client not only to reproduce accurate facts but also, and most importantly, to captivate the audience and to establish an emotional rapport [rapo].
How can this be achieved?
Your mind provides a very useful tool: your imagination. Before I start writing a text, I imagine myself walking onto the stage towards the people who are waiting for me to speak. For example, if there is a meeting with veterans I picture old men and women with grey hair wearing suits with medals holding canes in their wrinkled hands. I am overcome with huge respect and gratitude, and these feelings set my fingers typing.
“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear soldiers of our Motherland,
It is a great honor for me to talk to you today. First of all I would like to say thank you for coming and for everything you have done for my generation and for our children…”.
Then you need to take your emotions under control and return to the contents plan.
Your opening must not be too long and neither should this piece of writing. 

Speechwriting-1

If I were asked about the worst mistake made by Russian regional officials in speaking and presenting, I would say that they usually come up with presentations that are too wordy and disorganized. They simply don’t know how to produce a clear and concise text on a particular topic.
Why is it so?
I’ve personally heard heads of regional local offices give their speeches at Moscow venues. On many occasions they tried to talk about everything at once. It's a mishmash of irrelevant information and half-baked ideas.
It seems like what they were thinking was “Wow! This is my hour of glory! This is my chance to show myself off to the Big Bosses here in the capital! I shall do it in detail!”
No structure, no general idea, no clear message, and no timing. That’s what it very often looks like.
What would my advice be?
First of all, to part with the notion that anyone could be interested in local events and updates unless they present a new approach in management or innovative technologies that could be applied in other regions.
One clear message is all they need as a core of the speech. For example, “I shall now demonstrate to you that I have achieved great results using unconventional management” – that would do. All other parts and elements of the speech are only there to support the message.
“Firstly…, secondly…, finally…” – there have to be well-structured ideas and examples to form a clear and palatable story.
And last but not least, they must not forget about timing. Timing is crucial. A speaker must not make his audience suffer.
And thus I am ending your suffering and my speech.