Beginner's Mind: Diary of a Speechwriter

Where is the rest of this speech?

I am reading the fascinating book "Switch" by Chip and Dan Heath, two wicked smart guys who, along with Malcolm Gladwell, make me think we just might get this meaning of life thing figured out one day after all.

"Switch" is subtitled "How to change things when change is hard." One of the first examples in the book is the story of Donald Berwick, now the U.S. administrator of Medicare and Medicaid. Several years ago, as leader of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Berwick set out to save 100,000 lives in 18 months simply by getting hospitals to follow six specific intervention protocols. He issued this challenge in a speech to a large group of hospital administrators in 2004. His speech ended with this vision of how success would look:

And, we will celebrate. Starting with pizza, and ending with champagne. We will celebrate the importance of what we have undertaken to do, the courage of honesty, the joy of companionship, the cleverness of a field operation, and the results we will achieve. We will celebrate ourselves, because the patients whose lives we save cannot join us, because their names can never be known. Our contribution will be what did not happen to them. And, though they are unknown, we will know that mothers and fathers are at graduations and weddings they would have missed, and that grandchildren will know grandparents they might never have known, and holidays will be taken, and work completed, and books read, and symphonies heard, and gardens tended that, without our work, would have been only beds of weeds.

Anyone know where I can find this speech in its entirety? I've searched online but no luck. I would love to read the rest of it, as I find this closing quite compelling. Apparently the audience did, too.

(Are you wondering if Berwick reached his ambitious goal to save 100,000 lives? Pick up a copy of "Switch" and see for yourself whether a speech can, in fact, change the world.)

Five nasty habits that can make you a (much) better speechwriter

The other day I was beating myself up over some bad habits, until I realized that they actually work in my favor as a speechwriter. Do you share any of these?

I am way too sensitive.
As a kid, I used to get my feelings hurt all the time and barely survived my share of teasing and taunting. Even into adulthood, my thin skin has been pierced many times by comments and actions that weren't even particularly malicious.

How it helps my writing: Instead of engendering bitterness, this experience blossomed into an empathy for almost every person I encounter. It's given me a heightened awareness of my audiences and readers. It's also taught me how to speak carefully to different interests and internalize what their response might be, which helps me solve a lot of problems before they become problems.

I have a hard time forming an opinion about issues.
I can usually see some validity in both sides of a contentious issue. This is why I always hated to debate, because I just didn't feel I could pick one side. I used to think I simply had no opinion, which of course is ridiculous. I just hadn't been sufficiently persuaded to espouse one view or another.

How it helps my writing: While speechwriters are hired to put forth a particular point of view (their speaker's), it is a great gift to be able to see both sides of every issue. This is a skill that never fails to add balance, contrast and complexity to my writing. And in sketching out the other side, I find that it usually circles back around on itself to add weight to the original intent and perspective of the speech.

I am nosy and always want to know what's going on with everybody else.
I'm always asking “who, what, why” till I think people want to throw me out the window.

How it helps my writing: I pay attention to small details and I try to figure out how disparate events and elements can fit together. If I find that a client likes sailing, or I hear that a competitor is launching a new product, or I read an op-ed that really gets me thinking, I'll jot it down in a little notebook, organized by client or theme. I revisit that book regularly and it's amazing how many chances I get to work these gems into a conversation or reinforce a point of view or just sound smart. It pays to pay attention.

I get bored easily.
I have spent many years in creative endeavors - the film and television industry, advertising, marketing - because I love the project-based nature of this work. The launch of a new idea, the tangled, twisting trail to the final product, the sweet, brief denouement before kicking off on the next new challenge. But I have not followed a linear career path and sometimes I've wondered if that's a liability.

How it helps my writing: Being a creative dilettante serves me well as a speechwriter. For example, thanks to my theatrical training I can offer presentation skills coaching to my clients; because I was the Presentation Technology Director at a large agency, I understand the technical elements of presenting as well as the written, vocal and physical ones. All experience can be valuable experience if you take it on with an open mind and make a commitment to incorporate it into the next step on your path.

I'm a worrier and a "what-iffer."
I frequently focus on what other people might think and puzzle over the possible consequences of my words and actions.

How it helps my writing: Obviously this kind of thinking can be paralyzing; but it can also be extremely helpful in anticipating audience response and objections. I can identify areas of weakness or vulnerability in a speech and pump them up before they blow up on their own.

So the next time you start to criticize yourself about a bad habit or lousy character trait, step back and see if you can't make it work to your advantage. After all, you're a speechwriter, right? Use your powers of persuasion to persuade yourself!

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1.03.01

Homework is as homework does... so do it!

I love to write cover letters. (That's where my business name - LetterPerfect - actually came from, and it was one of my first specialties.) They are a seriously overlooked opportunity to make ourselves stand out - whether in job applications, introductions or any other communication. For speechwriters, they are the "pre-speech" on which we are often judged. You know what they say, we only get one chance to make a first impression. That's what our cover letter does.

I recently applied for a high-profile speechwriting position and took particular pleasure from one of my favorite parts of any writing assignment: doing my homework. Like all good speechwriters do, I learned about my audience, what they needed and wanted to hear from me, and why they are really looking for help.

How did I do this?

By studying the company's language, not just on the pages of their website but in corporate videos, the annual report and the CEO's letters - all readily available on their site. I quickly learned (because it was clearly stated) that communications is an area in which they need and want to improve. So, in the penultimate paragraph of my letter, I made sure to let them know I understood their challenges and knew how to help. Throughout the letter, I also judiciously grafted some of their own, very specific language onto my rhetoric to create an impression (I hope) of a successful potential teaming.

About a week after I submitted for this position, an article hit the wire trumpeting the "news" that this organization had a new-and-improved attitude toward communication. But of course I already knew this - and had directly referred to it in my letter more than a week earlier.

Yeah, I was feeling pretty smart that day.

Now, they may call me, they may not. But the reaction that matters most to me is my own feeling of a job well done. This cover letter was a little assignment in and of itself - and I feel I rose to the occasion and delivered the message that this audience needed to hear. What they do with that information is, of course, is their call. You can lead a horse to water, but he can still buck you off on your butt.

C'est la speechwriting vie.

Whether for a cover letter or an actual assignment, background research can be intimidating. Sometimes I think that, since I'm no PhD, I'm destined to sit second chair to others for whom research is the music of their lives. But this experience reminded me that I know good facts when I see them. And being able to collect, sort, repurpose and relay them is one of the most satisfying things about being a speechwriter.

So how can you make yourself stand out in your next cover letter?

Like all good writing, your cover letter has to be a lean, clean communication machine. Every word must be necessary. No word of more than three letters needs to be repeated. Your letter should radiate energy and enthusiasm for the position, without being ridiculous, embarrassing or a total kiss-up.

Read the job description - then complement and augment that. If they ask for someone who shares their passion for philanthropy, for example, talk about your own non-profit board service or involvement. Make it personal and relevant - not just a regurgitation of "I've done this and written that." Turn the 2-D picture that they've begun to limn into a sparkling, three-dimensional vision of how you're going to make them shine.

Most of all, make sure there is some authentic fit between you and this opportunity. It's just like we tell our clients: Find your passion and let it loose. If this assignment doesn't make your heart sing, if you don't have a unique background to contribute, if there's nothing about it that jazzes you at all, maybe the energy you'll spend writing that cover letter would be better spent searching for another job.

Now this is a commencement speech!

Receiving her honorary degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia, on May 15, 2010, (National Center for Science Education) executive director Eugenie C. Scott addressed the graduating class, recommending... "use your brains, but use your heart, too. You'll be a better functioning organism if you use both of them." (Find the transcript of her address at the link below.)

Additionally, at a banquet, she offered a few autobiographical remarks about her career in defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools... (A transcript of these remarks follows the commencement address.)

via ncse.com

Here's an awesome commencement speech: short, funny, relevant and constructed completely around her audience and their needs (as she articulates in her SECOND sentence). Her bio remarks are longer but equally eloquent. Bravo, Dr. Scott! I'm putting this one in my "this is how it's done" file.

How NOT to start a speech

For all lovers of good writing, here are this year's winners of the Bulwer-Lytton contest (aka "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" Contest) run by the English Department of San Jose State University, wherein one writes only the first line of a bad novel.

10.  As a scientist, Throckmorton knew that if he were ever to break wind in the echo chamber, he would never hear the end of it.

9. Just beyond the Narrows, the river widens.

8.  With a curvaceous figure that Venus would have envied, a tanned unblemished oval face framed with lustrous thick brown hair, deep azure-blue eyes fringed with long black lashes, perfect teeth that vied for competition, and a small straight nose, Marilee had a beauty that defied description.

7. Andre, a simple peasant, had only one thing on his mind as he crept along the East wall: "Andre creep... Andre creep... Andre creep."

6.  Stanislaus Smedley, a man always on the cutting edge of narcissism, was about to give his body and soul to a back alley sex-change surgeon to become the woman he loved.

5.  Although Sarah had an abnormal fear of mice, it did not keep her from eking out a living at a local pet store.

4.  Stanley looked quite bored and somewhat detached, but then penguins often do.

3. Like an over-ripe beefsteak tomato rimmed with cottage cheese, the corpulent remains of Santa Claus lay dead on the hotel floor.

2.  Mike Hardware was the kind of private eye who didn't know the meaning of the word "fear"'; a man who could laugh in the face of danger and spit in the eye of death -- in short, a moron with suicidal tendencies.

AND THE WINNER IS...

1.  The sun oozed over the horizon, shoved aside darkness, crept along the greensward, and, with sickly fingers, pushed through the castle window, revealing the pillaged princess, hand at throat, crown asunder, gaping in frenzied horror at the sated, sodden amphibian lying beside her, disbelieving the magnitude of the frog's deception, screaming madly, "You lied!"

Beef Up Your Cultural Literacy: David Brooks' Sidney Award Winners

One of my favorite columnists, David Brooks of the New York Times, has published his list of Sidney Award winners for the best magazine articles of 2009. In Brooks' words, these awards are meant to recognize, "celebrate (and provide online links to) long-form articles that have narrative drive and social impact." (Pace yourself. There are two parts, each with several lengthy essays, all excellent.)

Dig in for some serious nourishment of history, current events, politics and all sorts of other sustenance that will beef up your speechwriting muscle, not to mention making you a more deeply-informed citizen of the world.

Any other resources like these that you find especially valuable in building your repertoire of speechwriting skills?

Round 2: Speechwriter's Workout - Listening

The holidays have dragged me behind schedule! Here's the promised Round 2 of the Speechwriter's Workout, engaging our listening muscles to internalize what makes great speech.

A few of my favorite online resources for speech listening include:

Ten Historical Speeches That Every Student Should Listen To - and since we're all students with our Beginning Minds, this is a great place to visit periodically to remember what speeches can be.

TED - If you've never been, you're missing out. This conference bringing together innovators in Technology, Entertainment and Design always provides fascinating speakers with crazy, cool ideas that you'll remember long after their presentations have ended.

American Rhetoric - one of the best online resources for transcripts, audio and video of many remarkable and memorable speeches.

iTunesU - This site includes not just speeches, but lectures to "help ensure continuity in case of a pandemic or natural disaster." So when the Big One strikes L.A., you can still log on and brush up on your Algebra Basics or Civil War history. One of my favorites on here is Chip Heath's presentation on "What Makes Ideas Stick."

And while you're at it, get a real workout: climb on the bike, stepper or just head out the door and get your body and mind going at the same time.

What are your favorite sources for building your listening muscles?

Next time: Websites with the best professional resources for speechwriters

Round 1: Speechwriter's Workout - Reading

In my last post, I promised to outline my Speechwriter's Workout - exercises that I try to tackle with some regularity, to keep my skills sharp and my internal barometer registering "fairly productive." Today, we'll stretch our reading muscles.

There are some great speechwriting reference books and how-to's out there (although not as many as you might think). Here are just a few of my favorites that focus specifically on the writing of speeches:

How to Write and Give a Speech (Joan Detz)

Joan Detz is a legend in the speechwriting world and quite good at distilling her extensive knowledge into clear and usable advice. Includes a nice section on how to hire and work with speechwriters; good "inside information" for us writers to hear.

The Political Speechwriter's Companion (Robert Lehrman)

Even though political speechwriting is not my specialty, I find this book fascinating and filled with eye-opening wisdom about the vagaries of communicating nuanced messages to multiple audiences. Bob Lehrman's insight into the circus of politics is priceless; his writing style is very crisp, direct and accessible.

So You'd Like to Be a Presidential Speechwriter (Amazon Guide by Leah Kuchinsky)

I never knew Amazon had these Guides; this one sounds like it was written for an actual course but serves us as a valuable compilation of political speechwriting reads as well as speech resources (many with direct links to their audio). A nice companion to Bob Lehrman's book.

The Lost Art of the Great Speech (Richard Dowis)

A comprehensive book on what makes a speech great, and how you can do it too. Check out Appendix A, the Editing Checklist for Speechwriters, for a concise list of must-haves for every speech.

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (William Safire, ed.)

No list of speechwriting resources would be complete (and this one certainly isn't) without reference to this classic book, filled with some of the most memorable speeches of all time and Safire's insightful commentary on what makes them great.

Next week... the best places on the Web to hear brilliant speeches brought to life.

What are your favorite speechwriting books?

A speechwriter's workout

Okay, so I'm jumping the gun a bit on the New Year's resolutions. But as we step into the crazy feeding frenzy that is the holidays, I'm reminded that I need to exercise my speechwriting muscles as much as my speedwalking ones. For me, the best way to do that is with a mix of reading, writing and listening. "Something different every day should keep the writer's block away" (I hope).

In addition to what I consider my "interval training" of blogging, attending conferences and networking, I have set myself the following daily goals:

• Complete one page of the Appendix in "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" (E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Vintage Books [Random House], 1998). This is an excellent resource for us speechwriters to fill in our own "cultural literacy" gaps so we can do our part to enrich conversation and communication on every level.
• Read one chapter in a speechwriting-specific book OR two general magazine articles, to keep up-to-date on both current events and best practices in speechwriting.
• Listen to one speech to keep my ears tuned in to the poetry of writing.

In my next couple of posts, I'll list my top book, magazine and speech resources for each of these exercises. I look forward to hearing about yours as well. Remember, exercise is always more fun and productive when you've got a workout partner.

Here's to our health!

Night time is planting time

Before I go to bed (sometimes at an outrageously late hour, especially considering we have kids who have to catch the school bus at 7:00 am), I always try to plant a writing seed that can grow a little overnight. It might be sending an email that requires someone's response, taking a moment to lay out the projects I want to tackle the next day, or even just opening a few tabs in my browser that will be ready for me to peruse in the morning. I like to leave the day with a sense of uplift - putting me a step ahead on something new for tomorrow.

This is the same reason I always try to clean the kitchen before I head to bed. For me, waking to a kitchen with clean counters and table is very energizing and empowering, helping me to envision a day full of promise and potential. It's almost always worth the drudgery of actually getting it done the night before.

Try planting a seed tonight - either by cleaning your kitchen or getting a head start on something new - and see how you feel in the morning.

Check it out.  There are tons of great ways to educate yourself in all things speech- and presentation-related. One of the best sites I've found for this is TED, the Technology, Entertainment and Design speakers' forum that is an amazing source of information for us all. You can search on speakers, topics, most popular presentations or just click on one that looks good. Try planting this seed tonight.

www.TED.com