A speech worth delivering, is worth writing well

“The Lost Art of the Great Speech”
By Richard Dowis
AMACOM, 2000


The debate continues. Should a speech be written? Or should it be delivered extemporaneously?

I have friends and associates who work earnestly with their speechwriters for a well-crafted speech. But I also have friends who insist on “speaking from the heart” with the aid of neither cue cards nor manuscript. And both categories of friends are successful executives – because both communicate – and lead – well. So, how is the issue resolved?

I have my own thoughts, but I would rather ask Richard Dowis, president of the 2,000-member Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL), to settle the issue. He is also the author of “The Lost Art of the Great Speech,” sub-titled: “How to Write One. How to Deliver It.”

Dowis speaks: “A well-written speech is a disciplined speech. It doesn’t ramble. It gets to the point. It fits the allotted time. It contains no superfluous detail, but it doesn’t leave out anything important.”

And he continues to extol the process of writing: “Writing – writing anything – is just about the best discipline I know of. Simply stated, writing makes you think… Writing forces you to think in specifics. Just putting your thoughts on paper in a sort of stream of consciousness might be a useful way to get started, but it’s not writing. Writing is the application of discipline to creativity.”

This two-paragraph declaration of a speechwritier, former journalist and senior vice president of Manning Selvage & Lee Public Relations, is the best reminder to public speakers to insist on a well-written speech. After all, writing and delivering it is an art. Thus the title of the book acquires more significance.

And comparing it with another art form – filmmaking – is appropriate. Dowis points out: “Writing a speech is a lot like making a movie. Much of the footage that’s shot ends up on the cutting-room floor. The result is fast-paced, entertaining picture that holds the attention of the audience from beginning to end.”

Dowis aptly closes the debate with this line delivered with authority: “That’s what you want the speech to do.” And the author proceeds to instruct us – present and aspiring speakers as well as speechwriters – on the fundamentals, then the secrets, and the refinements of coming up with a “great speech.”

Executive Read earlier reviewed two books on public speaking – Peggy Noonan’s “Speaking Well,” and Reid Buckley’s “Strictly Speaking.” Ms. Noonan gave valuable insights as speechwriter of Ronald Reagan – but went no further to include other speakers. Mr. Buckley gave tips – some sensible, others outrageous – and most definitely as useful as a menu of choices fit for several occasions.

Dowis, revealing himself in his many anecdotes in the book as speechwriter and counselor to several CEOs, has put together a comprehensive, well-argued and richly organized bible for speechwriters (who must continually hone their rare skills, and public speakers (who must, from now on, require their wordsmiths to read – and take to heart -- Dowis’s book).

All seven chapters are a treasure trove of principles on speech writing. Somehow, you feel that you are being given an interesting and riveting refresher course on the art of writing – using a good beginning, employing figures of speech like metaphors and hyperbole, and bringing a piece to a stirring conclusion.

The difference, however, is that the author has primed us up to have a great speech in mind. And he makes sure we don’t forget that, because, aside from the main body of the book, he treats us to the world’s great speeches and boxed items called “Podium Presence” -- some timely tips to master the stage.

That makes the book a joy to read. Just when you have a surfeit of his lectures, he refreshes you with wisely chosen speeches from well-known pieces from Lincoln, Churchill and Kennedy, to less known but equally great speeches of Adlai Stevenson and Nelson Mandela.

The author also lets us into the inner chambers of speechwriters like Ted Sorensen of Kennedy, citing the productive partnership between writer and speaker.
In a chapter titled “Wisdom of the Ages,” the author reveals that the passage … “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country …” is antedated by lesser known and less eloquently expressed versions from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Warren Harding.

Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death,” a master in antithesis, is compared with Greek poet Aeschylus’s “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.” Compare that to Apostle Paul’s declaration: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The secrets of the pros are revealed by the author in one chapter – bringing you into the workshop of the best wordsmiths -- using anaphora, analogy, surprise, etc.

This book gives us a rare encounter with the world’s great speeches and how they are crafted by the finest wordsmiths. Are great speeches a thing of the past? Katherine Hepburn once sighed upon seeing the late John Wayne, magnificent on horseback: “They ain’t made like him anymore.” Before we say of great speeches, “They ain’t made like them anymore,” learn from this book.