The Curtain Rises on Speechwriting

Speechwriting has long been seen as a behind-the-scenes profession. Like a beltway Wizard of Oz, your average speechwriter was expected to work behind a curtain.

While it’s common knowledge that public figures, politicians, and executives often employ a small army of speechwriters, it is also a given that except on rare occasions, these communications gurus are expected to remain a hidden entity.

Yet this perception of speechwriters has slowly but surely begun to change. It is now not uncommon to see speechwriters on talk shows, news programs, or having written best-selling books. People like Peggy Noonan and Michael Gerson are all part of an emerging class of speechwriters who have sought success outside of their singular communications roles.

According to Joshua Dare, Co-founder of the Hodges Part­ner­ship and for­mer speech writer for both the FBI and National Endow­ment for the Human­i­ties, early on, speechwriters were often reluctant to reveal their pivotal roles for a very simple reason:

“Those people have traditionally, for a long time, operated in the shadows, and really never acknowledged that they existed, because that was part of the whole aura of the speech-giver, that they were the ones who came up with these inspiring words. Largely, there still is that sense that you want to believe that the person making the speech is the one ultimately responsible for it.”

In other words, the contributions of the average speechwriter took a backseat to public perception.

But recently, this concern has receded. In a profession that once demanded anonymity, both speechwriters and speech-givers are no longer as concerned with hiding the fact that most speeches are a team effort.

But what led to this change?

A lot of it has to do with technology. With the advent of the 24-hour news cycle and social media, it’s simply much harder to keep information out of the hands of those seeking it.

But more than that, the “aura” surrounding public figures is not what it once was. For a variety of reasons, we no longer expect perfection from those in the public eye. Among other things, speeches are no longer expected to be the brainchild of the speech-giver.

Given this new reality, it is no surprise that following Barack Obama’s win in 2008, many publications were clamoring to profile Jon Favreau, the president-elect’s 27-year-old speechwriter. Three years later, Favreau and the rest of the president’s team continue to gain attention for the speeches they craft.

That said, there’s a fine line when a speechwriter’s fame can be harmful to his or her boss.  Toward the end of the George W. Bush administration, there were rumors about infighting among the president’s speechwriters over credit for particular phrases in high-profile speeches.  A speechwriter should not hide his or her role in the process, but once memorable lines are attributed to the writer rather than the speaker, this line has been crossed.  It will be interesting to see whether up and coming speechwriters are able to walk this line successfully.

Eric Steigleder is a staff writer for Inkwell Strategies, a Washington, DC-based speechwriting and executive communications firm.