alvarez / E+ Collection / Getty
You notice that Carmen has been making more trips to the cafeteria than
usual for coffee.
“Was it my SPCA deliverables?” you ask.
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Carmen breaks a smile. “Of course not. We just have a bit of a delicate
situation with SPCA that … now that I think of it, I might ask you to handle.
You’re good at diplomacy, right?”
You nod cautiously.
“The president of our SPCA, Pierre Camberton, is scheduled to deliver a
speech to the local rotary club. This is a great opportunity for us to further
the SPCA’s objectives, but Pierre is adamant that the speech be about the
new senior hires. Although this is a newsworthy topic and one we’ve
obviously leveraged to reach some of our publics, it’s not the best hook for a
dynamic face-to-face speaking engagement. We need to convince Pierre to
change direction—after we figure out what the new direction should be—and
then write the speech. We also have to plan for a Q&A and go over some
questions the rotary club members might ask. Q&As can get hot quickly if a
participant throws a curveball and flusters the speaker.”
Carmen takes a sip of coffee. “Before I mix too many metaphors, I’m going
to go ahead and assign you to Pierre for the next couple of weeks. He’s a bit
strategically challenged, but a sweet guy otherwise. Look out for an email
outlining your mission.”
Carmen sprints away, and you soon receive the following.
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Email
FROM: Carmen Amaya, senior account executive
TO: You
SUBJECT: rotary club speech
Click here to open the email.
Thank you for tackling this! Here’s what we’re looking at.
Pierre will make his speech at a catered lunch at the
downtown Marriott Hotel & Conference Center two weeks
from now. The speech is a call to action: We want to inspire
the rotarians to do something that will help fulfill the SPCA’s
goals and objectives.
As this is your first speech, I’ll give you lots of guidance … we
have a few Parabolic podcasts on the topic as well. Here’s
what I need you to do:
Confirm publics, communications objective, and
message(s).
Talk to Pierre. Hear what he has to say, then gently guide
him toward your message or messages.
Once you’ve brought Pierre around, draft a 5–7-minute
speech. Insert some stage directions to help Pierre
deliver it smoothly.
Read the speech aloud with a Parabolic team member to
make sure it sounds good and can be delivered at the
right speed in the timeframe allotted. I’ll pair you with
another junior account executive.
Write and rehearse eight possible Q&A questions and talking points.
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Compose an update to the SPCA blog that we can post
following the speech. This will help us to convey our
message to those outside the rotary club as well as signal
to the rotarians that they’re a valued part of our
community.
Send it all to me to look over, and then we’ll get Pierre
ready for his big day. We have about two weeks, so we
need to act quickly.
As usual, I’ll be in touch. I’ll drop Pierre a note letting him
know you’re his primary contact on the speech. Thanks again
for taking this off my plate!
A Little More Context
So far in your work with the SPCA, you’ve composed products meant to be
read or viewed. Here, you’re writing for the ear. You’re also conveying your
message or messages through another individual, writing in that person’s
voice and negotiating with him when he wants to go off-message. Keeping
Pierre focused on the objective at hand—in this case, inspiring action—will
be a challenge; not every individual you work with will understand the
communications plan and his or her role in its implementation. Convincing
leaders, executives, and other representatives of your client or organization
to promote organizational messages in their speeches and talks, and to tailor
the delivery to target publics, is one of the challenges of the field.
Working with other people to convey a message in real time to fulfill an
outcome objective is a complicated task, but one that can yield significant
benefits to a client or organization. If you discover a love and talent for
speechwriting, note that good speechwriters are a desired commodity.
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Parabolic Radio Episode 202
For one speechwriter’s take on the profession, meet guest speaker Eric
Earnhart, Public Relations Director, Virginia Tech. Find out how he
builds rapport with leadership, how he prepares them for speeches, and
why he thinks writing for the ear is more important than ever.
“You Might Find Yourself Becoming
Very Popular”: Writing Speeches for
Others
0:00 / 26:44
Transcript
In addition, you’ll need to anticipate questions and prepare Pierre to answer
them. You might have seen some eyebrow-raising content in the information
SPCA sent regarding Oliver and Ellie. Biographical red flags are just one
example of the types of details onto which your audience will latch. A recent
news item might have mentioned the SPCA or another animal protection
organization, or there might be a local issue involving animals, such as feral
cats in the business district or dogs breaking into chicken coops. If you fail
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to prepare your speaker to address anything that might come up, you’re
setting up that individual—and the client—to look foolish, uninformed, and
even unethical, which will raise questions in your publics of the capability of
the organization to fulfill its mission.
Ideally, your participation in this event would extend to attending the event.
First, you would want to live-tweet about the event and accurately
represent it on various platforms. Second, you would want to gather
information, including gauging the effectiveness of the speech and assessing
its impact on the audience. This would help you fine-tune some of your
strategies or adapt some of your messaging. Attending the event would also
facilitate follow-up communications. Hearing the questions of the rotarians
would help you develop communications products to meet newly uncovered
needs.
The post-speech blog update in this project will be a way for you to
reinforce your call to action and also to broadcast the message in the speech
to other publics; after all, anyone can access the SPCA’s blog. You’ll find a
hook and use it to create an informal, human interest-inducing post.
Planning Your Work
You have two weeks to produce the speech, Q&A prep sheet, and blog post;
be sure to read through all the steps of the project first so that you can plan
your time wisely. Complete the steps as follows:
Week 5: Steps 1–2
Week 6: Steps 3–6
submission in Step 5
If you have questions at any time, please visit the Ask the Professor
discussion.
*Although local SPCAs are real organizations, this project is a fictional scenario. None of the materials
provided in the steps are products of this organization.
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Competencies
Your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed
below.
1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.
1.8: Create clear oral messages.
2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or
decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and
benchmarks.
4.3: Contribute to team projects, assignments, or
organizational goals as an engaged member of a team.
6.5. Develop targeted messages for diverse publics based
on specific communications objectives.
7.1. Produce appropriate products for communicating
with target publics.
8.1. Apply and/or advise on accepted ethical standards in
strategic communications situations.
Get the President On-Message
Shortly after you review Carmen’s email about the SPCA speech, your phone
rings. This doesn’t happen very often, so you gingerly pick up.
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Phone Call With Pierre
Purestock/Getty
“Parabolic Communications,” you say.
“Hi there!” a cheerful voice enunciates. “I hear you and I are
going to be working together on my speech. I’ve talked to the
rotary club a few times and I’m buddies with a bunch of those
guys. This is going to be fun.”
Before you can assent, Pierre jumps in again.
“I know just what I want to talk about. Those two senior
leaders we hired, they’re going to shake things up, get us
going financially, boost morale. They’re wonderful folks, both
of them.”
“I’m sure—”
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“I can’t wait to tell the gang at the rotary club all about Ellie
and Ollie. If they knew what great leadership we’re going to
have, they’d be all fired up to help us out.”
“I think—”
“I know you’ll write an amazing speech. Let’s get together
soon to go over it. Can’t wait!”
You hang up the phone, a little shaken. Pierre displays no shortage of
enthusiasm, but you agree with Carmen that his proposed topic isn’t one
that will inspire anyone or turn interest into action. You’ll have to convince
Pierre to go in a different direction. Before you can do so, you need to
review the situation.
First, locate the website of your local rotary club (if possible, a rotary club
reasonably close to the SPCA you chose). Browse to find information about
the members, your target publics for the speech. Rotarians tend to be VIPs—
business leaders with influence in the community. Yours will likely be no
exception, but it’s still a good idea to confirm or refine any assumptions you
have.
Although in this case your publics are chosen for you, you will have
opportunities in the future to make this kind of decision yourself as a part of
strategy development. Selecting publics and venues
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/selecting-publics-and-venues.html?
ou=927933)
is a skill; speeches won’t work for every public, but they may
be a highly effective tactic for some. If you’ve determined that a speech is a
good way to reach a particular public, you’ll want to determine where and
how to convey your message. Would a banquet hall be best, or an outdoor
setting? Should the speech be tied to a larger event? How should you
express your core message to fit the publics and the venue?
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As you research your rotary club and its memebers, reflect on the fact that
your publics can become influencers: They have family, friends, colleagues,
acquaintances, and likely social media accounts through which they interact
with even more individuals and groups. Engaging the rotarians through your
speech will help you extend your reach to publics beyond the club.
Depending on how effective your speech is, this reach could be quite far.
Once you’ve researched the rotary club and looked over its mission,
upcoming events, and any other relevant information, take a look at the
communications objectives you drafted in Project 1. You know that the
purpose of this speech is to generate action, so locate the objective that
speaks to this outcome. If you have more than one objective that could fit,
reflect on which is best for this public.
Finally, consider which message or messages will best influence your publics
to further your objective. In Project 2, you got some practice in choosing the
right message
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/choosing-the-right-message.html?
ou=927933) . Which of your messages from Project 1 is optimal for this
context? What is the best way to communicate this message? You know that
Pierre will use the spoken word, but is there anything else he could do—any
actions he could take, any aids he could use—to convey the message? You
might find ideas in a packet Carmen has given you on speech delivery
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/speech-delivery.html?ou=927933) . The
resource Speech and Presentation Aids: Design and Usage in particular
discusses various ways of enhancing a speech, including through slides,
flipcharts, other people, animals, and the speaker him- or herself. You may
decide not to incorporate any aids—and this is fine—but this is an
opportunity for you to consider how to maximize the power of the speech.
Note that you won’t have to create any slides or flipcharts, just consider
whether you would want to use them and, broadly, what they would convey.
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Now that you have a good sense of the whom and the what of the speech,
consider how to approach Pierre. Given what you know of his personality
and communication style, what will best persuade the SPCA president to
change course with the speech? Will he be affected by the bottom line, his
relationship with the rotarians, your expert opinion as a communications
professional, an idea for the speech that you think would capture his
imagination?
Think not only about the content of your communication to Pierre but the
delivery. Will Pierre respond most positively to an email, a chat, a phone call,
a meeting at the coffeeshop? This is the strategy part—the how—of
communications, where you consider the channel as well as the tactic.
Having tough conversations with the client
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/having-tough-conversations-with-theclient.html?ou=927933)
is a vital communications skill, and one you’ll
have to master whether you want to or not. No matter what the stakes, or
how amenable is your client or leadership to your ideas, lobbying for change
is an art. You will find yourself doing this more than once at Parabolic, and
with clients who are less friendly than Pierre.
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Parabolic Radio Episode 203
For one professional’s take on building relationships with the client—
and having the difficult conversations—meet Carrie Schum, Executive
Vice President, Hattaway Communications. Find out how she staves off
legal issues, convinces CEOs to lead from the front, and alerts the client
to a typo.
“In the Trenches Together”: Building
and Maintaining a Relationship With
the Client
0:00 / 39:39
Transcript
To consider how to get Pierre’s buy-in on changing the focus of the speech,
you might want to refer back to your readings on making a convincing
argument (https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc610/learning-topic-list/making-a-convincing-argument.html?
ou=927933)
and persuasive writing in strategic communications
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/umuc/tgs/msc/msc620/2242/projects/draft-a-speech/start-here.print-pages.html?ou=92793…
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msc610/learning-topic-list/persuasive-writing-in-strategiccommunications.html?ou=927933) , particularly the content on appeals.
Even if you use the lightest possible touch, it never hurts to employ the
building blocks of a sound argument. The techniques you review here will
also serve you well when you write the speech.
Write down what you’ll say to Pierre. Depending on how you’ve chosen to
approach him, this can be in the form of talking points, a paragraph that you
would send in an email, or even a dialogue. Not only is this last approach
fun, it can help you anticipate Pierre’s responses and role-play the twists and
turns the conversation could take. Whatever you compose here should be
succinct—a few well-crafted sentences could suffice—and should certainly
be no longer than a page.
Discussion: Convincing Pierre
Visit the Discussions area to share your case to Pierre with
your fellow junior account executives. Post not only what you
wrote, but how you would convey your thoughts to the SPCA
president (phone, email, in-person meeting, etc.).
Now, move on to the next step, where you’ll draft the speech.
Draft the Speech and the Stage
Directions
You’ve reached out to Pierre about the topic of the speech but haven’t heard
anything yet. You don’t have to wait long, though. Your phone rings. This
time, you’re pretty sure who it is.
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Phone Call With Pierre
Purestock/Getty
“Parabolic Communications.”
“Hello there! I thought about what you shared with me and
I’m game. I love your ideas! Thanks for putting so much
thought into this. We want to get everyone at the rotary club
excited, and I know you’ll write a great speech.”
“Thanks, I—”
“I can’t wait to see it. We should get together sometime.
Maybe coffee. You folks at Parabolic have been so helpful.”
“I’m so glad—”
“See you soon, then!”
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You hang up, a little dazed but happy. You text Carmen to let her know the
good news. Carmen writes back immediately.
New Message: Carmen Amaya
Pierre is a character, isn’t he? I got the intern at the SPCA to
send me footage of him speaking at a couple of venues. Let’s
just say that his zest for life is not matched by his skills in
oratory. He flails a bit and doesn’t quite seem master of his
physical person.
To make sure Pierre presents in a polished manner, add some
stage directions to the speech as you’re drafting it. Nothing
fancy, just some guidance to help him make the best use of
the space and any aids he’s using. Keep your notes light;
Pierre seems open to anything, but we don’t want to insult
him.
You concur that the SPCA president could use a few prompts to keep him on
target. You’ll write the speech first, then insert some stage directions.
Speechwriting in strategic communications
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/speechwriting-in-strategiccommunications.html?ou=927933)
is an art, and a talented professional
can make a career specializing in it. When you write a speech, you write for
the ear, in relatively short sentences that can be easily understood. It helps
to read your words aloud or to recruit a friend to listen or even read your
work to you. You may find that something that looks brilliant on paper
sounds odd when spoken aloud. Two consonant sounds might jar with each
other or aurally turn two words into one. For instance, chocolate tea might
register as chocolatey; you might decide to try chocolate infusion instead.
Also be mindful of style conventions that don’t make sense to the ear: if you
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write Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the proper
noun followed by the acronym will sound strange. You’ll want to pick one or
the other.
Be mindful of tonality as well. In Project 2, you developed the ability to write
in the voice of the SPCA. Here, you’ll want to consider not only that voice,
but Pierre’s style of expression, which you know fairly well at this point. Also
look at the rotary club website. How does the club express itself? What
words, phrases, and ideas convey its essence to visitors? You’ll want to keep
all three voices in mind as you write your speech.
Other elements to consider are humor, which can be highly effective, and
the use of appeals. To what will the rotarians best respond in the middle of
their busy week? What will set the SPCA apart from the other organizations
seeking their support? Remember, your audience members will be eating
lunch, so your words need to compete with their gustatory delight.
As you write, consider not only your message, but the use of ethics in
speechwriting
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/ethics-in-speechwriting.html?ou=927933) . It
can be easy when you’re in the throes of authorial inspiration to overstate a
point or exaggerate an organizational accomplishment. You may be tempted
to avoid addressing anything controversial. No matter how much you may
want to omit an inconvenient bit of information, this will backfire. Your
publics need to know that you have enough respect for them to be
transparent even when it hurts. This particular speech need not address
controversial topics, but you’ll consider them in the Q&A.
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Parabolic Radio Episode 204
Speechwriting can be tricky, especially when you’re dealing with
classified information. Three guest speakers discuss honoring ethical
codes and other considerations in serving the needs of a federal
agency. In this interview, meet Randy Lee, Speechwriter, National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); Scott Michaud,
Speechwriter, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); and Jim
Hickel, Management Consultant and Business Professor.
Approved by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for public release, 20-135.
“You’re Seen as a Trusted Advisor”:
Speechwriting in the Public Sector
0:00 / 41:00
Transcript
Pierre’s speech will be 5–7 minutes long. Assume that one minute of
speaking equals around 130 words and that you’ll want to leave room for
any activities or presentations you’ve incorporated into the rotary club
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address. (Note that you don’t have to incorporate activities or
presentations.)
Write the speech, practicing aloud and refining as you go. Use Times New
Roman 16-point font, double-spaced, for readability.
BanksPhotos / E+ Collection / Getty
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Partner Readthrough
Once you’ve finished writing your speech, connect with the Parabolic
team member Carmen assigned to you. Read your speech out loud and
listen to your partner read his or her speech. Or, read your team
member’s speech and have him or her read yours. It can be helpful to
hear what you’ve written in someone else’s voice. Consider not only the
way the words sound and whether the ideas are clearly conveyed, but
the substance of the speech. Is the call to action clear and wellsupported? Is the tonality appropriate for the situation?
Time your reading to make sure you’re within the 5–7-minute range.
Don’t rush the speech to make the time limit: You want to leave time
for pauses and laughter. Pierre will certainly not get the message across
if he sounds as if he’s speed-reading.
If any part of the speech sounds off, work with your team member to
consider alternative phrasing or organization. The partner readthrough
should take no longer than an hour, but it will help you strengthen your
speech quite a bit.
If you and your partner are unable to meet because of a time zone
difference or some other factor, send each other recordings and
communicate via email or discussion. If you encounter any other
hurdles, let Carmen know and she may pair you with someone else.
When you’re finished with your readthrough, jot down three things you
changed about your speech and why. Carmen will want to know how
your session went, so hold on to your notes for the submission in Week
6.
Now that you’ve drafted and perfected your speech, turn your attention
once again to speech delivery
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/umuc/tgs/msc/msc620/2242/projects/draft-a-speech/start-here.print-pages.html?ou=92793…
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msc620/learning-topic-list/speech-delivery.html?ou=927933) . Pierre is
clearly not the Fred Astaire of public address, so you’ll need to help him out
a bit You’ve researched the venue and discovered that there will be a
podium on a small riser with a fixed microphone and 20 round tables with
chairs. The podium is in the back of the room, so you may want to give
Pierre guidance on when to arrive, especially if he has equipment or other
items to set up. Other items to consider include the following:
posture,
hand gestures,
when to pause (after a joke, dramatic statement, etc.),
when to use any presentation aids,
when to flip a chart or click to a slide,
when to bring on any guests,
when to interact with the audience, and
anything else you can think of that might be helpful.
Insert your stage directions into the speech in brackets, highlighting them or
using italicized, bold, or red font.
There is no firm rule on how many stage directions to provide; your speech
may not need more than three or four bracketed notes, or it might need a
few more depending on its complexity.
To keep yourself on track, draft your speech, complete the readthrough, and
enter the stage directions by the end of Week 5.
Next, you’ll work on a Q&A prep sheet to go over with Pierre.
Plan for the Q&A
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PeopleImages / E+ Collection / Getty
You’ve sent Pierre a draft of your speech. Now, you need to prepare for the
Q&A session. Carmen stops by to catch up.
“Pierre just called me raving about the speech, so good work. Now we have
to get him ready for questions. I would count on 10 minutes for the Q&A
and the questions running the gamut. Although these small crowds tend to
be polite, you never know what will be on their mind the day of the speech.
Remember that the rotarians may want to know about anything going on in
the world—or in our community—that touches on SPCA-related topics in
addition to anything covered in the speech itself. As funny as this sounds,
writing and rehearsing Q&As
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218msc620/learning-topic-list/writing-and-rehearsing-q-as.html?
ou=927933)
is good preparation for crisis communications, where you
have to imagine the worst and anticipate all kinds of queries from your
publics.”
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Parabolic Radio Episode 205
To learn about messaging off-the-cuff and facing tough questions from
all kinds of audiences, listen to a lively dialogue between Bob Ludwig,
Assistant Vice President, Media Relations, UMGC and David Reel,
Maryland Director, Quantum Communications.
“Always Be Prepared”: The Art of the
Q&A, With a Side of Media Relations
0:00 / 41:28
Transcript
“For Pierre’s speech,” continues Carmen, “think of a range of questions the
audience might ask, both benign and potentially unsettling, and both
pertaining to the content of the speech and completely unrelated to
anything Pierre will cover. Come up with six questions and prepare a few
talking points
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/msc/2218-
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msc620/learning-topic-list/talking-points.html?ou=927933)
for each
question. This is your chance to help our president respond honestly,
accurately, and gracefully to anything that comes up.”
“As always, remember the context of the speech. This is a group of people as
anxious for dessert as they are for information. Your talking points should
address questions accurately but not be notes for a novel.”
“Once you’ve written your questions, go over them with the other junior
account executives in a discussion topic I set up on the Parabolic discussion
board. After you and your peers have grilled each other, you’ll add two more
questions as well as revising your original six. Have fun and see what you
learn!”
Carmen heads off, leaving you to write your questions and talking points.
Questions should be based on the values and interests of your publics, the
subject of the speech, and topical items of interest. Refer to all your notes,
from the situation analysis and from Project 2, to uncover possible questions
and answers. Review SPCA policies and position statements. Also scour the
news. You would ideally do this the morning of the speech as well as
beforehand to uncover potential bombshells and breaking news.
If some of your questions are not answerable through research, use your
imagination to compose the talking points you think would be appropriate.
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Discussion: Q&A Rehearsal
Once you’ve finished drafting your questions and talking
points, visit the Discussions area to consult with your
colleagues. Choose two of your six questions—one neutral
and one challenging—and enter each question in a separate
post. Do not include your talking points.
Then, choose two questions your peers have posted and write
responses to those questions as if you were Pierre addressing
a live crowd. If possible, choose one neutral question and one
challenging question. Respond to follow-up questions and ask
follow-up questions in the posts you created once you receive
answers from your peers.
This should be a lively session, and it will set you up well to
fine-tune your Q&A prep sheet.
Now that you’ve experienced the bumps and thrills of an almost-live Q&A
session, add two questions to your Q&A prep sheet along with talking points
so that you have eight questions in total. Your Q&A won’t cover every
possible query the rotarians could conjure, but you no doubt thought of a
few additional questions—and answers—while engaged in the discussion
with your colleagues.
Your Q&A prep sheet should now contain eight pertinent questions with
thoughtful, succinct, and well-stated talking points.
Next, you’ll compose an update for the SPCA blog to be posted just after the
speech.
Compose a Blog Update
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Morsa Images / DigitalVision Collection / Getty
You’ve written your speech and Q&A prep sheet. Now, you’ll compose an
update to the SPCA blog to be posted after the event. This kind of
communication serves a few purposes. In this case, it broadcasts your call to
action to a wider audience. Second, it lets your publics know that the SPCA
is active in the community—and transparent about its activity. Third, it
further engages the rotarians, who will be reminded of the call to action and
will experience a thrill in seeing themselves mentioned on the blog. Finally,
the blog itself is a way to signal to all publics that the SPCA is an
organization staffed by regular people—maybe even fun people—who want
to share human interest moments and show a more relatable side of the
nonprofit.
Think about how to best tell the story of the rotary club event on a blog. Do
you want to use text, images, video, links? If you repurpose any statements
from the speech, do you need to massage them for this less formal channel?
Describe or sketch any media you want to use. Text should not exceed 400
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