RENEWING

POLITICAL
SPEECH AND
SPEECHWRITING

1
Speaking
contents for politics
SPEAKING FOR POLITICS 3 Robust public debate and the freedom to Our project, “The Crisis of Rhetoric: Renewing
make arguments and counterarguments Political Speech and Speechwriting,” brought
RHETORIC, POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY 4-5 are essential for democracy. But debates scholars of Ancient History, Classics, History,
need to be productive and arguments need Linguistics, Media Studies, Philosophy and
to be good ones. Political discussion must Politics together with politicians, speechwriters
A CRISIS OF RHETORICAL CULTURE? 6-7
be more than sectarian assertions and and political journalists. At six workshops,
insults traded like blows in a wrestling involving 120 people, we shared knowledge of
ETHOS: ARGUING ABOUT CHARACTER 8-9 match. Yet, political debate and discussion the challenges and difficulties faced by political
cannot be reduced to the technocratic speakers and speechwriters in the UK today.
PATHOS: ARGUING AND EMOTIONS 10-11 recitation of facts and inevitabilities. We also considered how ancient and modern
Political speeches and arguments must be ideas about rhetoric could contribute to the
LOGOS: BEING REASONABLE 12-13 interesting enough for people to engage quality of political speech and argument today.
with, should give them reasons they can
This booklet presents our findings to
respond to and be motivated by, and must
STYLE AND ELOQUENCE 14-15 affirm our capacity to create the collective
politicians, journalists, speechwriters
and the general public. It also includes
future we choose together.
RHETORIC AND THE MEDIA 16-17 recommendations on how to make rhetoric
compelling while working in the service of our
democracy. We hope that these ideas help
CELEBRATING AND SUPPORTING speechmakers and speechwriters, in the words
SPEECHWRITERS 18-19 of the great Roman rhetoric teacher Quintilian:
docere, delectare, et movere – to prove, to
please and to persuade.
Henriette van der Blom,
University of Birmingham
Alan Finlayson, University of East Anglia

Further Reading:
Crisis of Rhetoric Project Website:
www.birmingham.ac.uk/cor
Network for Oratory and Politics:
www.birmingham.ac.uk/nop

3
“ A public’s essential
“ One of the proud results of our

”
characteristic is its shared free constitution has been the
activity of exchanging opinion. development of Parliamentary
RHETORIC THEORIST, GERARD HAUSER: G. A. HAUSER & T.
oratory, an honour and ornament
W. BENSON (1999): VERNACULAR VOICES: THE RHETORIC to our history, a source of public
OF PUBLICS AND PUBLIC SPHERES, COLUMBIA, P. 64.
enlightenment, and an effective

Rhetoric, politics ”
instrument of popular
government.

and democracy
T. ERSKINE MAY (1861, ORIG. 1844) A TREATISE ON
THE LAW, PRIVILEGES, PROCEEDINGS AND USAGE
OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, P. 480.

Politics is about the complexities of public When we argue we admit that things are
administration, the delicacy of international arguable – that there may be more than one
negotiations and the demands of unexpected answer to a problem. The Romans advocated
events. But there are moments when speech arguing in utramque partem – on both sides
is also part of the action – when the right of a question – an idea at the heart of the
words can direct events, move minds and British Parliament: the government of the day
effect change. presents its answers; then the Opposition gets
Politics needs people who can speak to, to put another side.
and in, such moments; people able to find If rhetoric is no good then a public cannot
the right language, voice and argument, properly share opinions and get to know itself.
exemplifying their ideals and embodying their People will feel told what to do rather than
sentiment. Although modern media have invited to think. And Parliaments will not be
changed the channels through which these able to debate. If rhetoric is in crisis then so
messages are communicated, politicians too is democracy.
today still must use the same rhetorical
appeals, devices and strategies as their
ancient counterparts. Key Concept: Rhetorical Citizenship
How can a people decide on who should The idea of citizenship suggests both one’s
rule or what policies to implement without legal status in a country and also a range
hearing about them first? When we see good of rights and duties that come with it. FURTHER READING:
arguments, on different sides of a question The idea of Rhetorical Citizenship is that United Kingdom Political Studies
and about something we should do or not do, some of those rights and duties are about Association, Specialist Group ‘Rhetoric,
we are also seeing different aspects of our language: the right to speak and be heard Discourse and Politics’: www.psa.ac.uk/
community. In choosing which one will guide by others; the obligation to listen, to find specialist-groups/rhetoric-discourse-
us we are deciding who we will be in out and try to understand what competing and-politics
the future. claims other citizens are making. There is Kock, C. and L. Villadsen (2012)
Rhetoric is not only about beautifully also – perhaps most importantly – the right Rhetorical Citizenship and Public
expressed sentiments. It is the art of giving to be given reasons and to have those who Deliberation, Penn State
people reasons to think or do something. It hold power explain and justify themselves. University Press.
is also about equality. You do not have to give There must be places and times for the
Martin, J. (2013) Politics and
reasons to someone who has no choice but to presentation and exchange of ideas and
Rhetoric: A Critical Introduction,
follow your orders. When we try to persuade citizens should be empowered to listen,
London: Routledge.
someone we acknowledge that we must win judge and reply.
their consent by means of arguments that Toye, R. (2013) Rhetoric: A Very Short
address them directly, and that speak to their Introduction, Oxford: Oxford UP.
knowledge, values and experiences.
4 5
A crisis of Symptoms of crisis?

rhetorical
TRUST FEAR AND LOATHING
Good rhetoric gives audiences good Sometimes politicians seem afraid of

culture?
reasons to trust or listen to a speaker. their own words: fearful of hostages
But when it comes to politicians’ to fortune, and of their words being
performance of this role, something turned against them. That has left an
is not working. A 2017 poll found that empty rhetorical space into which have
just 19% of us trust ministers to tell stepped speakers claiming to say the
the truth.1 A 2018 poll showed that unsayable – people who convert public
only 11% trust politicians to tell the mistrust and boredom into contempt
truth ‘a great deal or a fair amount’.2 for politicians and hostility to politics.
It is easy, but wrong, to imagine a golden A crisis is not a collapse. It is a turning
age when things were perfect, before a point, a change in the condition of things,
Fall into the present. There never was a which might go one way or the other. SLOGANS ARE NOT ARGUMENTS NEW STAGES
time when political debate was always Rhetorical culture is made up of the
eloquent, honest and wise or audiences places where political speech or argument People rarely see or hear a long-form Where we encounter political ideas
wholly attentive and free of cynicism. happens. It includes the stages we make political argument. They see only and argument is changing. The
for it and the technologies which broadcast clips replayed on broadcast media: UK held televised debates during
But it is also a mistake to think that things soundbites and slogans, claims the General Election campaigns
never change and that nothing could be it; our values concerning what makes for
a good, fair or appropriate argument; and without justification, propositions in 2010 and 2015 and during the
better. British Political Rhetoric – where it with no supporting argument. As 2016 referendum. But there is no
happens, who is involved, what it sounds also who we think can or should speak
about politics, and what we expect them one recent study puts it: “…many consensus on their format or over
or feels like – has changed greatly over citizens in the 1940s and 1950s…heard who takes part. In the 2017 General
time. And it is changing again now. to look or sound like. That culture is at
a point of decisive change. [politicians] give long radio speeches. Election campaign, the Prime Minister
They saw them handle rowdy political did not attend. According to research
meetings. By contrast, many citizens by the Hansard Society in 2018,
FURTHER READING: in the early twenty-first century… only 15% of over-55s said they had
see the photo opportunities, hear the watched politically-related videos.
Finlayson, A. (2015) ‘Proving,
sound bites, and note the gaffes”. 3 However, 43% of 18-34s had.4 YouTube
Pleasing and Persuading? Rhetoric
is a big stage for political rhetoric and
in Contemporary British Politics’
for new kinds of rhetorician. People
Political Quarterly, Vol. 85, Issue 4,
are becoming used to finding political
pp. 428-436.
arguments online and through
Martin, J., J. Atkins, A. Finlayson, internet forums.
N. Turnbull (eds) (2014) Rhetoric in
British Politics and Society, London:
Palgrave.
1
Skinner & Clemence, Ipsos MORI Veracity Index 2017, p. 2:
www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/politicians-remain-least-trusted-profession-britain.
2
YouGov Trust Tracker 2018: d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/kvmnzzrlyp
/YG%20trackers%20-%20Trust.pdf.
3
N. Clarke, W. Jennings, J. Moss & G. Stoker (2018) The Good Politician: Folk Theories,
Political Interaction, and the Rise of Anti-Politics, Cambridge, p. 15.
4
Hansard Society, Audit of Political Engagement 16 (2019 report), p. 4:
www.hansardsociety.org.uk/projects/research/audit-of-political-engagement..
6
7
“ [proofs] not only come from
“ A speech which is out of keeping with the speaker is

”
just as bad as one which is out of keeping with the

”
logical demonstration but from
speech that reveals character. subject to which it ought to have been adapted.
QUINTILIAN, THE ORATOR’S EDUCATION 3.8.51
ARISTOTLE, RHETORIC 1.8.(1366A)6

Ethos: arguing “ So let the orator… be, as Cato defines him, ‘a good man skilled in

”
speaking’ but—and Cato put this first, and it is intrinsically more
significant and important—let him at all events be ‘a good man’.

about character QUINTILIAN, THE ORATOR’S EDUCATION 12.1.1

“
In rhetoric, one way to support an
TO MAKE ETHOS WORK BETTER,
All those hours in hotel rooms
argument is to appeal to ethos. That is,
in the first instance, the character of the SPEECHWRITERS AND SPEAKERS working at speeches, drafting,
speaker: what makes them credible or SHOULD THINK ABOUT: re-drafting, polishing, changing
likeable or admirable and so on. 1) the style of language appropriate every word and all you’re doing
to the particular time and topic.
But ethos is not only about this. It is also
Sometimes ‘ordinariness’ is needed. is covering up for what’s really
an argument about the sort of character that
is demanded by a situation and the issues
But that will feel inapt and inauthentic gone wrong. What you know
when thoughtfulness and leadership
being decided upon. Finally, ethos involves
are expected. in your heart. What really
claims about the ethical character of the
community – who we will be when we have ) the character they are playing or
2
happened…You once had the
made and implemented the decision. This writing. When people speak in public – words. Now you don’t… What
is why politicians’ character is so often the at a wedding, a prizegiving, a training can you say? You can’t say

”
subject of debate. event – they play a part in a collective
occasion; they have to be not only anything. Not publicly…
Today ethos is often reduced to ‘authenticity’
themselves but also who the audience
or ‘brand image’. Worried by public mistrust GEORGE JONES IN DAVID HARE’S 1993
need them to be. PLAY THE ABSENCE OF WAR, ACT II, SCENE 9
of politicians, speakers stop using character
to support an argument and instead try ) the part the audience is playing.
3
to prove their character, for example by Political decisions are not only about
showing how caring or ‘in-touch’ they are. what government does to or for
people. They also concern things we FURTHER READING:
They may also try to show how they are ‘the
will do together, for ourselves and
same’ as we, the people. That is very hard Blom, H. van der (2016) Oratory and
each other. To be convinced, people
to do in complex and diverse societies which Political Career in the Late Roman
need to see themselves, their own
have few agreed reference points, common Republic, Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
character, in the argument: who they
narratives or shared archetypes. The result Finlayson, A. (2015) No ethos: the
are now and who they might become.
is that political argument becomes nothing rhetoric of 2015, Open Democracy,
but an argument about character and ) being prepared sometimes to be
4 July; www.opendemocracy.net/en/
identity: goodies vs baddies; them vs us; bold and to take the risk of speaking opendemocracyuk/no-ethos-
distant elites vs the real people. openly about what they think and feel. rhetoric-of-2015/

8 9
“
…persuasion may come through the hearers,
when the speech stirs their emotions. Our “ And I stand here today grateful for the diversity of my
heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two

”
judgements when we are pleased and friendly are precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story
not the same as when we are pained and hostile. is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to

”
ARISTOTLE, RHETORIC 1.2.5 all of those who came before me, and that in no other
country on Earth is my story even possible.
BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECH 2004

AVOIDING RESENTMENT UTILISING PATHOS

Speeches can arouse both positive To make pathos work well,
and negative emotions: love and speechwriters and speakers should
hatred, hope and fear, compassion think about using it to:

Argument
and cruelty. When political speech
swings toward the more negative ) support an argument, not the
1
emotions, it can freeze action ethos of the speaker.

and emotions
as people become consumed by 2) motivate the audience to positive
resentments rather than open to action, doing things because they
common action. believe in them and not just because
they hate others’ beliefs more.
3) engage their listeners in an
CREATING IMPACT exchange of views – creating a
Another way to support an argument Importantly for politics, emotions A powerful way to rouse emotion dialogue between speaker and
is to appeal to pathos. That means motivate people to action. Speeches is through examples, illustrations audience – instead of silencing them.
arousing emotions in an audience. cannot just persuade the audience of the and anecdotes. These can show Great orators speak with, not to,
That may sound like a bad thing, but ‘academic’ validity of a claim. They must the importance of addressing an their audience.
emotions are one of the ways in which also encourage some kind of action. issue, by personifying it and inviting
we ‘know’ a thing: we respond with Pathos goes wrong when speeches compassion. But such examples
emotions to situations, propositions pacify audiences or, worse, make them should be used to prove a proposition
and people and that response tells us bored and when people are so inflamed and not to sustain ethos. There is a
something about them. that their action loses precision and great difference between saying: ‘I
We can feel angry about the lack of becomes merely a reaction. met a homeless person who would be
funding for schools, hopeful about a helped in these ways by this proposed
potential cancer cure, commitment to policy’ and saying: ‘I met a homeless
our community. Every speech has an person’ in a way which implies
emotional tone, it cannot be avoided, and ‘look at how caring I am’. Too often
so speechmakers and speechwriters politicians sound like they are doing
should think carefully about what they the latter.
and their audiences need it to be.

10 11
“
…by inviting them to supply the missing piece of an argument,
enthymeme fosters a bond of intimacy between speaker – or
writer – and audience. An audience that is actively involved in
the creation of a shared message – especially one that reflects

”
their beliefs and prejudices – is much more likely to feel the
rightness of what is being argued than one that isn’t.
MARTIN SHOVEL, SPEECHWRITER AND TRAINER, THE GUARDIAN, 9 APRIL 2015.

Logos: being
reasonable
“
Good rhetoric always has a rational Bad Reasons An orator… can plan a
argument at the core, one that is logical SPEAKERS AND
and based on the facts. But a political Used well enthymemes engage people in SPEECHWRITERS NEED TO: rhetorical or dialectical
speech is not a formal essay or a political reasoning. But they can be used 1) always remember that political argument while sitting at
scientific paper; instead it is action and badly. It is tempting to win favour by adapting speeches are arguments, not
an interaction with an audience. Like conclusions to suit people’s existing beliefs. ‘presentations’ or ‘advertising’.
a desk [but cannot] really
ethos and pathos, logical arguments We can tell people what we think they want complete it… The missing
must connect with them. to hear, pandering to them and affirming ) have a good sense not only of what
2
their prejudices. That solves nothing. People people think (according to opinion materials of rhetorical
Key concept: the enthymeme do not all share one fixed opinion. Instead, polls) but of how we think: the general arguments are the premises
we all think lots of things about the world, ideas, outlooks and values that people
Aristotle says that enthymemes are the society and the people in it. Good rhetoric share and that lie behind the polls and which the audience brings
‘substance’ of rhetorical persuasion, its is ‘deliberative’: it reflects on our stock of focus groups. with it and supplies at the
most effective means. They are ‘quasi-
logical’ forms of argument which connect
common opinions, creates a common view, 3) consider ways of developing proper moment provided
reasons from our beliefs, adapts them if
a particular claim to a general proposition; necessary and invites active ‘rhetorical
arguments over time, across the orator is skilful… the
speeches and not just using them for
one likely already to be accepted by an citizenship’. single occasions; it can take time to successful building of
audience. When we say ‘look at that sky, it
is going to rain’ we do not spell out all the
persuade people of something and arguments depends on
politicians need to make time to do it.
steps in our reasoning. Instead, we rely on Great politicians and great political
cooperative interaction

”
our audience to know that black clouds movements change the common between the practitioner
signify rain and to do that part of the
reasoning for themselves. Enthymemes
beliefs and prejudices of a community and his hearers.
– that is how political history is made.
apply common general understanding to RHETORICAL THEORIST LLOYD BITZER: L. F. BITZER
particular political cases and in doing so (1959) ‘ARISTOTLE’S ENTHYMEME REVISITED’,
involve audiences in reasoning something QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH 45.4, 399-408.

out. In a debate between two sides,

audiences get to choose what part of their
common knowledge, beliefs or values
should be brought to bear on an issue
or problem.

12 13
“ “
… eloqui means to bring out and communicate to an audience the From research based on videotapes of more than 500
thoughts you have formed in your mind. Without this, everything that political speeches, we know that the contrast has lost
has gone before is useless, like a sword that is put up and will not none of its force, and is responsible for prompting a large
come out of its scabbard …this is the accomplishment that no one proportion of the applause enjoyed by politicians. Lines

”
can achieve without art …this is what makes one orator better than that strike such an immediate chord with an audience

”
another, and one style of speaking preferable to another. stand a better chance of surviving beyond the moment of
QUINTILIAN, THE ORATOR’S EDUCATION 8.PR.15-16
delivery than those that are listened to in silence.
MAX ATKINSON (2004): LEND ME YOUR EARS, LONDON, P. 182

Style and eloquence

“ Who then is the man who gives
Political speeches can be beautiful. Metaphors
They can harness ideas and arguments Metaphors create powerful images in the
to specific words, phrases and sounds. minds of an audience. Our language of
people a thrill? Whom do they
Choosing the right style is what election ‘campaigns’ and ‘battle buses’ stare at in amazement when he
separates the mere speaker from
the true orator.
represents politics as warfare; describing speaks? Who is interrupted by
an election result as a ‘landslide’ invites
A key concept here is decorum, which people to think of it as a huge natural applause? Who is thought to be
simply means appropriateness: the event; ‘left’ and ‘right’ make public opinion so to say a God among men? It is
style should fit the situation. One reason seem two-dimensional.
people can dislike political speech is
those whose speeches are clear,
Metaphors are powerful precisely because
because speakers use standard clichés, they connect with and combine ‘frames’ of explicit and full, perspicuous in
boilerplate, not adapted to or suitable for thinking. Characteristics from one set of matter and in language, and who
the particular occasion. things (such as natural events) are applied
There are some devices which experience to another set of things (election results).
in the actual delivery achieve a
shows to work well. Some of the most For that reason metaphors are not simply sort of rhythm and cadence—

”
commonly used are tricolon – threes: stylistic. They can help shape the way we that is, those whose style is
three words, three phrases, three ideas. think about things. Consider the trope of Anecdotes and Examples
Contrasts are also effective in generating paradiastole: this is when we redescribe what I call artistic.
Anecdotes and examples are also a kind
audience reactions: for and against, left something so that what was a virtue of oratorical ornament. They present CICERO, DE ORATORE 3.53
and right, good and bad. becomes seen as a vice (or the other way a seemingly representative case to
It is good for speeches to be beautiful. But around). For example, we might describe illustrate a more general proposition.
politics is not showbusiness. Speeches something as generous or profligate, as They work because often we can more
cannot be concerned solely or primarily thrifty or mean. easily identify with a single case than with FURTHER READING:
with entertaining or pleasing the crowd. an abstract concept or phenomenon. But The Forest of Rhetoric:
If they are truly to convince, then the style the audience need to think and feel that rhetoric.byu.edu
and the eloquence must not override but the case is indeed representative and Charteris-Black, J. (2005) Politicians
work with the appeals to ethos, pathos that it seems genuine in relation to the and Rhetoric: The Persuasive Power
and logos. speaker and themselves. of Metaphor, London: Palgrave.

14 15
“ Now that every word is taken down and that the speaker,
particularly the prominent or Front Bench speaker, knows “ While few of us speak poetry in the day to day, all of us ... speak
prose. We are all persuaders of a sort... Rhetorical criticism is

”
that he is addressing, not a private club, but a gathering that criticism of social life itself... by having lived, talked, and listened for
may embrace the whole nation… he must walk delicately and years, all of us have done the homework necessary to do criticism.

”
measure his paces; he cannot frisk and frolic in the flowery RODERICK HART & SUZANNE DAUGHTON (1990) MODERN RHETORICAL CRITICISM, LONDON, P. 26.
meads of rhetoric; he dare not “let himself go”.
LORD CURZON, THE REDE LECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, 6 NOVEMBER 1913.

LEADERS’ DEBATES RECOMMENDATIONS 

Research consistently shows that More Debates: televising political debates

Rhetoric and
televised election debates reach more often, outside of campaigns, will
people who might otherwise be help make them an expectation and lessen
uninformed about the campaign, and politicians’ anxiety about the risks of taking

the media
that they are a highly-rated source part. More debate also gives people the
of information. This confirms work time and opportunity to refine their idea
in political theory which argues that of what debates are for and how to
spectacle can be an important part of assess them.
democratic culture in which politics Actual Debates: The debate format on
must be seen and not always hidden. British television usually centres on
Today, if people know of a political Today, speeches are often written with this Audiences are not passive. They questions and answers about all sorts
speech at all it will be from second-hand in mind. Unity of argument is sacrificed reflect, judge and respond; they are of things. There is scope for debates
reporting. This has profoundly affected to the inclusion of ‘key messages’ meant in a kind of dialogue with what they on both sides of a single question (in
rhetorical culture. for extraction and circulation. Awareness see. Debates are a chance to exercise utramque partem). These could focus
that speeches will be reported on – words ‘rhetorical citizenship’. But research on particular issues and topics, with
Media can amplify speeches (making sure also shows that subsequent reporting
taken out of context and released into a participants drawn not only from political
they get heard by more people) but they on the debates focuses more on who
hostile environment – can make speakers parties but from other public agencies,
can also be a ‘filter’, communicating only ‘won’ than on what was said - on the
cautious when what is needed is clarity campaign and research groups.
some of what is said. ‘process’ rather than substance. It
and boldness. YouTube: Many people watch speeches
further shows that men and women are
There is sometimes a tension between of all kinds on internet platforms such
treated unequally; the debates were
what makes for good rhetoric and what as YouTube. Millions watch TedTalks,
often portrayed as a ‘masculine’ combat
makes for good television. TV amplifies university lectures and all sorts of
against which women politicians were
the individual personality of speakers political speech. The internet is helping
measured and judged negatively.
and there is strong research evidence the rise of new kinds of ‘oratorical
showing that television has made entrepreneurs’. Politicians and political
political talk more informal and campaign groups need to think about
conversational as well as FURTHER READING: how to use such platforms and how to
more personalised. Finlayson, A. (2019): ‘Rethinking counter assertive and sectarian kinds
Political Communication’, The Political of rhetoric with explanatory and
Quarterly 90, 77-91. persuasive political speech.
Harmer, E., H. Savigny, and O. Ward, Rhetorical Criticism: Film, theatre and
(2017) ‘‘Are you tough enough?’ art criticism are common on broadcast
Performing gender in the UK and print media. What about rhetorical
leadership debates 2015’, Media, criticism? As well as political reporting
Culture & Society, 39, 7, pp. 960-975. and critique, a healthy polity needs a
Sam Leith, ‘The Art of Persuasion’, strong culture of rhetorical analysis
regular column in the Financial Times. and criticism: informed and insightful
public reflection on how political
speech is changing and adapting,
improving or regressing.

16 17
Celebrating
and supporting
speechwriters
Because rhetoric is so important for can do much more than just make things
politics, speechwriters are some of the ‘pretty’ at the end. Their job is to make TO BETTER SUPPORT SPEECHWRITERS
most important people in a political arguments clear and memorable, so that AND ENCOURAGE BETTER POLITICAL
culture. They are not just editors of the rhetorical citizens will fairly judge them. SPEECH, WE RECOMMEND:
words of others, or like decorators giving Training: Today, rhetoric is a scholarly 1) learning from the highly
a text a good ‘finish’. Speechwriters do discipline but with variations in the sophisticated Classical rhetorical
so much more. institutions of rhetoric: universities in system about, for example, the appeals
Using speechwriters well: Today, the USA and some European countries of ethos, logos and pathos and how to
speechwriters are a fundamental part of have departments of rhetoric, while UK craft arguments suited to the situation,
any political office, a campaign team or universities have no such clearly defined the speaker and the audience(s).
an activist group. Practicing an ancient academic community. Rhetoricians 2) enhancing training in speechwriting.
art and a key political skill, they do a very spread out over many disciplines such
3) boosting bottom-up initiatives
special job, quite distinct from general as History, English, Modern Languages,
for rhetorical education in schools
public relations or news management. Linguistics, Classics, Politics, Philosophy
to develop speaking and analytical
In our workshops, we heard of many and Media Studies. Consequently, there
skills in tomorrow’s politicians,
instances where speeches were amended is little tradition of formal training in
speechwriters and rhetorical citizens.
at the last-minute so that a press-friendly speechwriting. This is a void in our
announcement (unrelated to the topic of political culture.
the speech) could be included. That might UK Speechwriter training is mainly ‘on
the job’ and informal. There are some FURTHER READING:
seem like a good idea. But it breaks the
flow of carefully prepared argument and university courses in Speechwriting and European Speechwriters Network:
that will leave audiences unimpressed. many speech coaches offering their www.europeanspeechwriters.org
Ensuring that an audience feels respected, services, but no standard training. This Kjeldsen, J.E., A. Kiewe, M. Lund,
that a speaker was talking with them in means that others have an unclear J. Barnholdt Hansen (2019)
mind, can have long-term benefits. sense of the profession and of what the Speechwriting in Theory and
For politicians and speechwriters to work speechwriter needs in order to perform Practice, London: Palgrave.
well together, they should get to know their important role. However, there is
Resources on Rhetoric from the
each other. That will help the speechwriter a burgeoning sense of a speechwriting
International Society for the History
better represent their speaker’s character community thanks to the work of the UK-
of Rhetoric: ishr-web.org/aws/ISHR/
and give clear voice to the arguments they based European Speechwriter Network.
pt/sp/resources
most believe in. Writers should be involved
before the final stages of a speech. They

18 19
CONTACT DETAILS:
Alan Finlayson
University of East Anglia
[email protected]
Henriette van der Blom
University of Birmingham
[email protected]

Funded by