What Is Freelance Speech Writing?
Posted on Nov 7, 2008 11:21:46 AM
Freelance speech writing is the champagne of freelance writing; it offers a high degree of creativity, a high-profile clientele, and the chance to have your work heard among elite people. Of course, there are downsides as well: your style is restricted to that of the speaker, and the pool of jobs is substantially smaller than many other forms of freelance writing. But on the whole, the advantages make it very attractive to pursue gigs as a freelance speech writer.
Speech writing is one of the oldest forms of communication. Much of what we consider good rhetorical practice today goes back to the Romans and Cicero. Until the previous century, long rhetorically-polished speeches were a central (and enjoyable) part of serious literature, from the hieratic diatribes of Shakespeare’s Lear to the long burlesque flights of Dickens’s heroes and grotesques. Today, speech writing is mostly confined to large formal parties, serious events, and political careers, but something of the dignity of the art’s long history still adheres to people’s ideas about roaring good speeches. Speech writing is the art of making people appear both persuasive and dignified, of turning ordinary people into sources of entertainment and wisdom. As expected, writing speeches effectively can be difficult to do well.
The key to effective speech writing–as well as the key to effective writing in general–is to know one’s audience. In speech writing, the audience is a literal one: an employee pool, a group of wedding guests, or a rural electorate. The speechwriter should, before setting even one word to paper, find out who the speech is intended for and take this into account when structuring the work.
Once you know your audience, know your speaker. As Bernard Shaw once said, it’s impossible to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear — or at least, people don’t want to believe it’s possible. If the CEO you’re writing for is known as a good ol’ boy, down-to-earth businessman, it won’t ring true if your speech contains a number of high literary allusions and elaborate rhetorical constructions. If you’re writing for a museum curator, opening with an off-color joke and referring to “the folks back home” is not necessarily the best way to go.
You not only have to know about your client’s perceived character, but about his or her actual speech rhythms. Interview your client if possible, or if not possible, try to get access to videos, tapes, or other recordings. This should give you some idea of voice, and some understanding of how best to express your ideas in the “client’s words.” If a speech doesn’t sound natural coming from the client’s mouth, the speech won’t work and you won’t develop a good reputation that leads to more assignments. So put in the time, get a good idea of the client’s voice, and use it exclusively in your work.
Framing your speech around the subject matter can be tricky, but fortunately all the prep work you’ve been doing will make it a much simpler proposition. If you know your audience, your client’s speech style, and your client’s public perception, you’ll have a decent compass for navigating your speech through possible dead areas, out of dark, depressing moments, far to the lee of excessive frivolity, and generally on an even course from the first attention-getting moment to the conclusive point. It’s difficult to know exactly how a speech will play before it’s actually delivered, but you can get a rough idea by reading your drafts to a friendly audience (spouse, friends, children), or by tape-recording yourself delivering the speech into a mirror. A good speech doesn’t have dead moments, doesn’t bore, and reaches a series of short, conclusive points to keep the audience’s attention from wandering over time. If you do plenty of revision work and get a real idea of how your speech sounds when read aloud, you can fine-tune appropriately in order to ensure a successful speech, and a satisfied customer.
Of course, getting customers in the first place can be tricky: the speechwriting market is usually fairly small and fairly exclusive, since only the very wealthy can usually afford to have professional speechwriters work for them. The Catch-22 here is that the very wealthy typically only want established, proven speechwriters, a difficult preference for novice speechwriters to deal with. You can establish yourself and build a reputation, however, by advertising heavily in local papers, club newsletters, and anywhere likely to need a speech writer at some point in time: wedding planners, local organizations, startup corporations in your area. This may not be the best-paying work, but it’s essential to building a proven reputation as a good speechwriter. Once you have some gigs under your belt, start upping your level of advertising to include corporate newsletters and trade journals, and make sure to network at every event where you’ve written a speech. Word gets around, and eventually, if you promote yourself well, it’ll get to the right people.
In any case, it’ll be some time before your speech writing is well-known enough to command high prices, and to allow you to make it the exclusive focus of your freelance writing career. Keep up some other freelance jobs, write speeches whenever you get the opportunity, and keep up the self-promotion among the right circles. If you’re talented and you’re fortunate, you can make the switch to the champagne of freelance writing, and achieve that most satisfying of jobs: you can become a successful freelance speech writer.
The Nightshift
Posted on Oct 31, 2008 04:21:28 PM
Sleepless in Seattle brings on new meaning when staying up all night has nothing to do with another person but rather the shameless addiction of the written word. I would love to be a day person at some point, maybe when I grow up because I do miss that late morning air however, the night dawns so quickly thus my day begins.
Like a ghost I prowl the halls and corners at night searching myself for that next article or some great witty words that will stand out among the thousands. The right word that will make a difference in someone’s life between crossing the line or playing it safe. The article that will either entice the customer to read more or to move on.
Writing at night leads to solitude and serenity which delivers to the hand the thought processes that fills the mind from happenings during the day. Every now and then you have to take a stroll to get the oxygen flowing from the brain. Like a vampire sucking every word that I can pen; writers block is not pretty. As I wake a family member while roaming the badlands they wonder what is wrong with me. As my family watches by day I keep guard over them at night; sounds pretty safe to me.
Writing is not for everyone. You either have it or you don’t. You can train someone who has it to be better however for those that just don’t get it, should not try this at home. You have nights where the words just flow but then you have long sleepless nights trying to figure out what to put down. It has to come natural, like being a musician, you hit the notes or you don’t. You drive your family nuts with what is your first love as they continue to urge you to get some sleep.
What am I going to do in the day that I can’t do at night? Become a part of the early birds, in which society thinks of as “normal.” Yeah I’ve heard all the aphorisms, early bird gets the worm. Can’t soar with the eagles if you hoot with the owls at night. Tell me who says that hooting with owls is a bad thing? Do you ever think I can change from being like a ghost, a vampire, a night watchman or a scribe? Probably not so for now, I’m on the nightshift.