Why Speechwriters are the Ultimate Storytellers
The secret to unforgettable oratory isn’t about the facts—it’s about the feelings.
The nonfiction stories we publish at Narratively are just one form of storytelling, and we really love when storytellers from different fields can learn from each other. Next week at Narratively Academy, Henrietta Williams is teaching “Talk Ain’t Cheap,” a seminar on How to Break Into the Rewarding and Lucrative Field of Speechwriting. Today, we asked Henrietta to share a little about what she thinks makes a great speech really sing.
When was the last time you listened to someone speak? I mean really listened and knew you were never going to forget those words? Were you attending a wedding or a graduation ceremony, a convention speech where your favorite candidate spoke, or a memorial service? What do you remember?
Whatever you remember, I’d be willing to bet it isn’t because of any specific fact or detail the speaker shared. It’s because of how their words made you feel.
Speeches are designed to make an emotional connection to the audience. You remember because of the way their words made you feel. You are drawn in by the story. These stories entertain, inform, inspire, motivate and persuade people using scenes created with words. In that way, writing a speech isn’t so different from writing a screenplay or a novel.
As a speechwriter myself, I’ve written speeches for executive leaders in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and I’ve coached many speakers on the art of telling transformative stories that resonate with audiences. The heart of every speech I write is the story I want to tell. I also study the craft, and I’ve made it a habit to read one new speech a day. There are a few that make such a strong emotional connection that I’ll never forget them. Let me give you two examples:
I recently reread Michelle Obama’s 2016 speech to the Democratic National Convention. The most memorable moments aren’t anything she says about policy or politics, but the parts where she creates a scene through personal narrative—in this case illustrating her feelings of concern about her daughters’ adjustment to life in the White House.
“… I also told you about our daughters, how they are the heart of our hearts, the center of our world. And during our time in the White House, we’ve had the joy of watching them grow from bubbly little girls into poised young women -- a journey that started soon after we arrived in Washington.
When they set off for their first day at their new school, I will never forget that winter morning as I watched our girls, just 7 and 10 years old, pile into those black SUVs with all those big men with guns.
And I saw their little faces pressed up against the window, and the only thing I could think was: What have we done?”
That story stayed with me because I can see the visual, the specific moment, so clearly, and it’s so easy to understand how Michelle Obama felt in that moment.
Now read a snippet from President Ronald Reagan’s address to the nation after the Challenger space shuttle tragically exploded.
“The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.”
That last phrase is magical. “Waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.” It has just the right balance or literary flair and feelings, and it’s these words that ensures the speech reinforced the unforgettable imagery of crew members waving goodbye as they entered the shuttle. The language acknowledges a time of national grief but also uses words that are meant to soothe a listener.
As you can probably tell by now, I love nothing more than listening to a great speech and dissecting what makes it work. In Talk Ain’t Cheap: How to Break into the Rewarding and Lucrative Field of Speechwriting, I’ll teach you rhetorical tools used to produce great speeches, share my strategy for getting a speaker to share their stories, and offer a framework for building stories into speeches.
And if you’re interested in the business of speechwriting, you’ll learn from my journey building my own agency, and how you can too.
Can’t wait to see you there!
