Speech Writing as a Niche Market
In the scheme of things, delivering speeches represents only a very small portion of your clients’ concerns. Yet for those crafting the speech and the CEO delivering it, no other communications product is as fraught with potential danger as this one. A single error of fact, an ill-spoken line, or clumsy syntax can have a speaker stumble. The consequences for you and your client can be irretrievable and irredeemable.
The very moment you say yes to a request for a speech there are a number of questions and answers that you must sort out in partnership with your client. Immediately what should leap to mind are issues of style, story, audience and message.
“We Need A Speech….” is an all day workshop that covers the bases of writing for this demanding oral medium of communication.
Participants will come away with a solid understanding of the rules of engagement including:
- How to find your speaker’s voice
- How to get to the message
- What you must do if you can’t get access to the speaker
- How much research you should do
- The biggest pitfalls in writing speeches for the public sector
- Determining what you can control, and what you can’t
- Why humor is the most challenging and dangerous choice for speech writers
- The politics of Power Point
- How to market yourself as a speechwriter
Other topics include:
- The rules of engagement.
- Speaker needs vs. audience needs. Trouble ahead?
- Effective openings.
- Leaving them asking for more.
How do I know this stuff? I have been writing speeches for clients for over a decade. I also teach the craft at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C. and have given speech writing workshops to the Canadian Public Relations Society, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Society for Technical Communication, Let’s Talk Business in New York and New Jersey, and to Toastmasters. And I do the same for corporations who want their staff to brush up on their skills.
Next Workshop
The Date: To Be Announced.