During his time in the White House, President Barack Obama was lauded for his ability to galvanize constituents into action through his inspiring speeches. A team of dedicated speechwriters helped President Obama to craft these rousing public addresses and today, we’re very pleased to introduce you to one of them: Stephen Krupin, who joins us as Speech Writing Competition guest judge this month.
In our interview with Stephen, who now teaches speech writing at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, he shares invaluable advice on how to craft an engaging speech and to be stellar public speaker. Read on for all of Stephen’s advice for the Write the World community.
Do you remember the first speech you ever wrote? What stood out about the experience, and how has your relationship to the craft of speech writing changed over the years?
I’d written a few speeches for myself growing up—my bar mitzvah, for example, or while running for student government in high school—but the first remarks I wrote as an official speechwriter were for Harry Reid, the former Senate Majority Leader. I remember that the speech had to address many different topics, including the Iraq war, the economic recession, and the upcoming Senate agenda. Frankly, the assignment sounded like a Mad Lib. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the job I did on it, but it was a valuable lesson in two important elements of speechwriting: learning quickly about a lot of different topics, and learning how to connect dots between disparate things to tell a unified story.
Unlike an essay, a speech is ultimately meant to be read aloud. How should students approach speechwriting differently than, for instance, drafting an essay? In addition to awarding a prize for Best Entry, we’re also giving away a prize for Best Delivery of a Speech. What tips do you have for students who’ve never delivered a speech?
Try to write the way that you speak. A fundamental rule of speechwriting is that writing for the ear is a different dialect than writing for the eye. As one of my White House speechwriting colleagues used to say, “If you wouldn’t say something to one person, don’t say it to a whole room of people.” In your delivery, remember that we as your audience won’t have the benefit of bold or italic or even paragraph spacing. You have to convey what’s important with your voice, your body language, and your pauses.
What are you looking for in a strong Speech Writing Competition entry?
Try to say something that only you can say to only that audience at only that moment. In a strong entry, I’m looking for clear, conversational writing that expresses a unique or counterintuitive argument and that tells a story. When I start writing a speech, I always ask myself how I can say something new. When I listen to one, I hope to hear something new, too.
What advice do you have for young writers who hope to have a career as a writer some day?
Read broadly, and not just in the topics related to the field you might want to work in. Write a lot to get better at it and to build a portfolio of samples. And accept that writing is rewriting; first drafts are never final drafts.
Can you tell us a bit about what it was like to be a senior speechwriter for former President Obama?
It was the privilege of a lifetime to be a part of President Obama’s speechwriting team. It’s always fun writing for a writer, and he is a brilliant one. Day to day, we worked hard to show how the administration’s policies and values were felt in citizens’ everyday lives. One of President Obama’s many strengths is storytelling—not just spinning a yarn, but stepping back and seeing broadly and then summoning the words to narrate what it all means. He can connect the experiences of different people and generations along a common thread, and connect his personal history with one that’s bigger than himself. Another strength is his perspective; he never forgot, or let us forget, that our opportunity to serve the country in the White House was designed to be temporary.
In Collaboration with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
We’re proud to collaborate with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for this month’s Speech Writing Competition. Learn more about their organization here.
