The art of writing political speeches

Curiously, despite Ireland’s literary heritage and the country’s avid interest in all things political, the two sides of the Irish psyche have yet to collide in the form of a culture that produces great political oratory and storytelling. Election time in particular, throws the spotlight on the shortcomings of our leaders in this respect. The recent lacklustre Leaders’ performances in the Election 2016 TV debates being a case in point of uninspiring political communication.

Writing in November 2015, ever pragmatic, Stephen Collins in The Irish Times observed: “A general election campaign is probably not the best time to have an honest debate about the options facing the country as the Irish electorate has in the past shown no inclination to reward politicians who tell the truth”.

Elections speeches to be fair are not easy to get right. They are generally required to do too many things – generate support; attack opponents; attract the undecided and share information. All the while, creating the right tone – arguably the most important element. To quote Frank Luntz’s “It’s not what you say – it’s what people hear”.

Charles Crawford, author and speech-writer, says one basic public speaking principle that politicians forget at their peril is that every speech should respect where the audience are in their lives. A useful insight that can be clearly applied to Fine Gael’s recent message to “Keep the recovery going” which appeared not to resonate outside of major urban centres.

Most importantly, great speeches require a story. Barack Obama and his original speechwriter Jon Favreau disliked the emphasis on sound bites and the “laundry list” style of the modern political speech.

At a recent talk at Duke University in the US, Favreau identified five major lessons he learned during his time as White House speechwriter. The first was that the story is more important than the words: avoid chasing slogans, focus on the overall argument. The second was the importance of humour. Third was to talk like “a normal human being”: leave out shorthand and jargon. Fourth was the need for honesty and authenticity: be personal and be courageous. The last lesson was to maintain idealism.

Favreau himself in an interview with US radio has said: “I think from the very beginning, I learned that speeches are not a collection of applause lines and sound bites. Speeches are a story that you tell. They have a beginning, a middle and an end. They have structure”

Cody Keenan took over from Favreau in 2012 and has been described as a Springsteen to Favreau’s Beethoven. Jon Schuppe of NBC commented that Favreau was known for his ability to capture big, sweeping themes for Obama while Keenan, in contrast, has earned a reputation for a more earthy approach, invoking the daily struggles of ordinary Americans. Keenan memorably claimed inspiration from the tone and language of the famed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, for the 2015 State of the Union address.

Ted Sorensen, JFK’s speechwriter, remains the model. Robert Schlesinger, author of White House Ghosts, says of him; “The best speechwriters are able to capture their boss’ voice and help him elevate his game”.

Away from elections, Ronald Reagan’s speech on the Challenger disaster 30 years ago is another example of the role of speeches within the context of leadership. Reagan was scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address later that night, but cancelled it for a four-minute, much simpler speech focusing on the disaster. The author of the speech was the relatively unknown Peggy Noonan who, according to the Washington Post, was best known for coming late into the White House after reading the newspapers.

Speaking about the speech all these years later, Noonan said when writing she was aware that “the President is going to have to do a speech that is aimed at those who are 8-years-old, and those who are 18, and those who are 80 without patronising anybody.” She also said the quick turnaround time for the speech worked in their favour – “There was no time to ruin it … The staffing process can kill a speech.”

As the dust settles on Election 2016, we can ponder at leisure whether better storytelling would have made a difference to the outgoing Government and more existentially, does it offer a path to better leadership?

Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2008 quoted US Politician Mario Cuomo: “You campaign with poetry, but you govern with prose”.

In Ireland, we can but wish.