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.