the best speech writers in history

the best speech writers in history

Exploring the Art of Speechwriting: Lessons from the Greatest Speechwriters in History

1. Introduction to the Art of Speechwriting

This study presents the secrets of the greatest speechwriters in history. The techniques of this lifelong craft can be passed on, adapted to the requirements of the contemporary world. This essay is the product of a lifelong interest in written and oral literature. Its purpose is to systematise a method for approaching the composition of a speech. The steps are derived from the classical and modern canon of oratorical composition, supplemented with interviews and writings on the methods used by such orator-statesmen as Churchill, Lincoln, William F. Buckley, Benjamin Disraeli, Pericles, and Thucydides.

The art of speechmaking might be the greatest of the literary arts. It has certainly swung the tides of war and peace throughout human history. But the technique of oratorical composition has remained an enigma. Since antiquity, rhetoric books have treated the artifice of the spoken word as something secretive, a mystery to be taught only in oral form to the initiated. Abraham Lincoln kept a portfolio of great speeches and told his cabinet that one day one of them would be the key to understanding the labor of composition that had gone into its construction. Winston Churchill spent most of his youth reading the great speeches of history and memorising the sermons, soliloquies, and battle-cries of the past. But his own system of drafting speeches has remained obscure, a mystery of composition that has eluded detailed analysis.

2. Key Elements of a Powerful Speech

Ambassadors, playwrights, thought leaders, and oracles can agree that a speech structure of presenting the setting, a conflict, and a resolution is pleasing to the ear. Rhetoricians find the structural format of an introduction, argument section, and conclusion to be thoroughly persuasive. There are certain characteristics of the Greek style of building a speech, meaning it is composed of six parts. The parts are an opening introduction, appealing to the audience and setting up the central thesis. The next part of a Greek speech contains the narration of what is being spoken of. The narration creates the foundation for the following two parts of the speech, which are the confirmation and the refutation. The confirmation appeals to logic and reason, using this appeal to embolden the refutation and weaken the argument of the opposition. No speech would be complete without an epilogue. The epilogue concludes and ties up loose ends to leave the crowd satisfied. According to Quintilian, an outlier, speechwriter, and tutor, there are no universal divisions one should reach at an appointed length of the speech. There are no minimum lengths and no maximum lengths of a speech. The most important thing is that the speech logically and eloquently unravels in front of the eyes and ears of the audience. Thoroughly developed, a speech should be contained to one main point, introduced without betraying a thesis, and logically leading to a resolution. These are the five constituents of a word webhook speech according to the opinions of the voices in history.

Expert speechwriters and orators agree on many key components essential to a moving and persuasive speech, revealing fundamental principles that enrich the art form. People who are practicing the art of eloquence, focusing on delivering speeches and crafting messages, agree on this commonality as essential to creating a powerful speech.

3. Historical Overview of Famous Speechwriters

Historically, Greek and Roman cultures have placed a high value on orators; speechwriters have, in the past, been derided as a kind of “intellectual helpmate” and because writing was seen as beneath them, the task of writing for others was viewed as secondary in nature. In today’s digital age, however, the true art of speechwriting is often ignored altogether with the advent of speech-generating computer programs. By contrast, stories of notable speechwriters have revealed elements of a respected and sophisticated profession, transcending time and locales. In more recent years, the inception of oral interpretation in the United States brought about a framework of classical oratory training which paved the way for the emergence of an impressive array of impassioned speechwriters including those that authored speeches for historical presidential broadcasts and other notable orators. These writings have since more than demonstrated the power of charismatic discourse, from stirring involved parties at the time to now teaching invaluable lessons for today’s speechwriters.

A number of famous speechwriters have graced history with their unparalleled oratory skills. For example, ancient Greece has long been lauded as a hotbed for prominent orators and speechwriters, including Lysias. Known for his dedication to speechwriting as a profession, a number of his speeches have transcended time. Mark Antony, a celebrated Roman statesman and general, was yet another famous speechwriter who famously delivered public addresses and private correspondence noted for poignancy and profound stylistic characteristics.

4. Analyzing Iconic Speeches and Their Impact

Thus spake Winston Churchill to the House of Commons, May 13th, 1940. Few speeches have affected history quite so much as the address made by the Prime Minister during the opening months of the Second World War. The narrative may be objective truth – Britain faced the threat of a German invasion, Rome-Berlin empowered short odds, Russia was targeted for a German advance, and the US is battling. However, it was delivered in typically bohemian style and, to the last thirty seconds of Conquest and survival, Churchill’s eerie delivery almost sounded as if it were slipping into the script for The War of the Worlds. The flowery language and unashamed billing of barbarism juxtaposed with Bertram Ramsay’s rapid evacuation of over 338,000 troops from the beaches of Dunkirk and the Luftwaffe’s devastation was playing out on the news, no doubt. Most important, however, was the address’s timing. Humiliated in Norway, Churchill strode up to the dispatch box knowing that his fate was being batted to and fro in the labyrinthine passageway far more readily than his words would echo beyond these walls.

It has already been made apparent how the power of a truly iconic speech can shape and influence tomorrow’s world, but it is the timelessness of these speeches that needs to be understood. A good speech can analyze man’s desire to change and shift perspectives; it can create a world and weave its audience into its narrative. The best speeches – these truly classic, epoch-defining texts – hold up a mirror to a time long gone or set out a desirable prospect for the future.

5. Techniques and Strategies for Effective Speechwriting

The Art of Speechwriting concurs that the task of the modern speechwriter is difficult. This section aims to lay out some of the “tricks of the trade” that the most famous speechwriters in history have employed to transform thoughts into words, and words into actions. Until recently, the art of speechwriting has been largely neglected by professional writers guides. You’ll notice that the opening tips deal with who speaks and how they should speak; the middle section presents techniques for modifying the text; and the third section contains directives for body language and eye contact. Some of the ideas presented here will be familiar to you from other marketing and public speaking texts. The entire package, however, might shed some light on the craft of political persuasion. If nothing else, speechwriting can become fun again. Learning from the masters can teach us that giving a good speech is a deceptively complex but entirely practical action.

Great speeches possess the ability to mobilize people and resources and to change the hearts and minds of their audiences. In this module, speech writing is considered from a knowledge-based perspective in which the effectiveness of the speech is rooted in the principles of cognitive psychology, including audience analysis and empathy, as well as the historical situation, and above all the message to be conveyed. Bearers of knowledge change the persons they speak to simply by virtue of them listening to their speeches. Commenting on the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s brief, elegant remarks stand in notable contrast to the formal oration by Edward Everett, who spoke before Lincoln at the dedication. Reportedly, Everett said somewhat ruefully to Lincoln afterwards, “I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.”