We Need a Speech…

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October 3rd, 2009
Comments:1 Comment Category: Essential Speechwriter

When a prospective client calls and opens with “we only need a five minute speech”, often the implication behind the “only” is that that I could just bang it off in not much more time than that. And that my invoice would be commensurately small.  Luckily most discerning clients (and to my clients who read this newsletter, you are all discerning!) understand the very tricky matters of short speeches.

I define “short” somewhere in the range of three to five minutes.  Anything shorter, and you truly can’t get into much detail where a lot of raw research work is required.  Anything longer, you are getting much closer to a classical keynote – in terms of research, beginnings, middles and ends, story telling and the like.

They can be maddeningly difficult to write.  It has been my experience that the five-minute speech can be as almost as time challenging as a full-blown 20-minute keynote.

Let’s say you are asked to write a short speech for an awards ceremony for a professional association that is honouring those of its members who have performed with great distinction.  In the audience are not just award winners, but politicians, family members, media, and industry stakeholders.

As an outside speechwriter you have to do a tremendous amount of research, knowing in advance you are going to have to discard 99% of it.  You have to do all your due diligence about learning the sum and substance of the association and its membership.  Is there an annual report to wade through?  What about their publications?  There is no easy answer how much research is enough.  But you have to absorb sufficient material to know what is safe to discard.

In this case the awards ceremony host has to accomplish a lot.  The speech must speak a little to the purpose of the awards, acknowledge the stellar work of the winners and somehow encapsulate their accomplishments.  The trick is in saying enough to cover the territory, leaving no one out, yet keeping within the time frame allotted.

There are other issues to consider. How much do you need to know about the expectations of the members of the association?  Are there any land mines you need to avoid?  Is this an event meant purely for celebration or are there a lot of political messages to be woven into the text.  Depending on what sort of messaging the client wants to deliver to the industry and political stakeholders in the audience a substantial part of the speech might have to deal with the role and goal of the association, and projections for the future.

If indeed there are small “p” political messages to be delivered – and there always are – you must figure out how to thread the needle between saying enough but not too much.  This can be a very dicey business if you are an outsider trying to come up to speed on the political nuances at hand.  Certainly a face-to-face meeting with the speaker is required; in many ways such a meeting is more important than a traditional 20-minute keynote.  I want to tape record the session, because I badly want to hear the phrasing that might speak to the exact type of language the client wants.

And so it goes.  Before you know it, you have burned three days on a simple little 5-minute speech.   So beware the new client who says “we only want a few words.”  Few words maybe, but a substantial amount of time.

February 25th, 2009
Comments:No Comment Category: Dealing with Clients, Essential Speechwriter

Text of the inaugural address of U.S. President Barack Obama, sent in advance of delivery on Jan. 20, 2009:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun, and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater co-operation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men, and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“‘Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive … that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].’”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

January 20th, 2009
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November 6th, 2008
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November 6th, 2008
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This post will be of interest to my Canadian readers, most of whom will now be aware of the fact that last week in the Canadian Parliament, the Prime Minister rose and offered a formal apology for the aboriginal residential school system that had been put in place – ironically enough in the same chambers of parliament over a century ago. The last schools closed down within the lifetime of all those reading this post.

I won’t go into that shameful part of our history and its aftermath because both the speech of the Prime Minister and the reply by Chief Phil Fontaine do a moving job of doing exactly that.

As I talked to you before on many occasions, on the matter of effective and engaging speeches, sometimes it is just the event itself that is so fraught with moment, that it supersedes the words and the oratorical skills of the speaker(s). That said, in the context of this occasion, I believe they rose to the task at hand admirably.

As to the value of such a speech – the value of a public national mea culpa – you just ask those who had been on the receiving end of state sanctioned destruction and inquire if such an apology is of value.

Put yourselves in their shoes for one minute. Some so-called authority figure shows up on your doorstep and tells you they are going to take your children away to educate them “properly”. What you won’t be told is that their language, their culture, and their confidence will be thoroughly destroyed. Well perhaps they won’t tell you that. Nor will they tell you that your children might well be in physical and sexual harm’s way. And as it turns out they were.

We are all implicated.

Now before you protest that’s just liberal guilt talking, that you can’t be faulted by the acts of your ancestors, you might want to have a little reconsider of that particular moral high ground.

My best friend articulated the matter thusly:

“I was glued to my TV during the apology from the House of Commons on Wednesday. I was watching for the nuances, the signs that what was being said was sincere, that the words were clearly attached to a commitment to healing and reconciliation.

It has taken too long for this gesture. There have been other apologies – the former federal government, through the Minister of Indian Affairs, our own church through the words of former Primate Michael Peers.

This time the words of contrition seemed to coincide with a national awareness, an accepting of the horror that took place and the inherited responsibility that comes with it, especially by Euro Canadians such as myself. This is not a popular position to take. Guilt by association – as some would call it – isn’t legitimate, the events had nothing to do with me, I would never have done those things and am therefore blameless in this matter.

Unfortunately life isn’t as simple as that. A heavy mantle lies on our shoulders precisely because it was our ancestors who perpetrated these deeds. One can’t on the one hand take all the glory of our forebears, the nation and community building, the wars fought and won, the faith defended, the jurisprudence and democratic institutions that were planted, the kindliness and caring that was instilled in our nature and national psyche, without also taking responsibility for actions which were repugnant, which evidenced institutional racism and the teaching of bigotry and intolerance in the name of God.

The legacy we have been handed includes much to be proud of and much to be ashamed of. It isn’t enough to merely build on our strengths, we also have to correct past mistakes.

The residential school system and the racial assumptions that flowed from it poisoned not just the generations who had to suffer the abuses directly – people who were never parented and those who were never allowed to parent – but the children of those, and their children too. The sickness continues, handed down from one generation to another as family shame and sickness often are.

People who have never seen a residential school continue to suffer. The sins of the father are visited on the children.

First Nations people have inherited a bad situation and so have the Euro Canadians. We’ll have to work together in order to free us all from this history.

It’s something we have in common, something that needs to be purged from both our consciences. Genuine acceptance of aboriginal peoples as equals by the police, before our courts, in our churches, schools, the housing and employment markets and right across society will evidence true acceptance of our white history and a believable desire to be forgiven for what we have done as a people. Official ceremonies and carefully chosen words are all very well and they are most certainly welcome, coming as they did from the elected representatives of the men and women who make up this country. But much more will be needed. Leaders must speak out strongly in order to encourage and sponsor change, to alter attitudes.

Hopefully this time the words will mark an honest turning point in how First Nations and Euro Canadians could see each other: brothers and sisters under the sun in this fine land, God’s chosen brought together in His love and for His purpose, embraced in heart and spirit, forever linked in a mutual fellowship as we work to honour the planet and its past and to play our own unique part in the creation story.

With hope that we may all overcome this and every barrier that separates us.”

The Speeches

Prime Minister Harper

Part I

Part II

National Chief Phil Fontaine Replies

June 15th, 2008
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