Why would anyone want to hear from a bunch of speechwriters?

Promptered will feature insights and commentary from speechwriters. Why would anyone want to hear from a bunch of speechwriters? A fair question.

Well… one of the critical attributes that a President of the United States, and other political leaders, must possess is an appreciation of the importance of communication, and the power of their words to educate, inspire and motivate people. The best and most successful leaders have a strong sense of when and how to communicate with the public and how to use the media to help expand the reach and impact of their message. They enlist speechwriters to help craft the words that support their ambitions.

Speechwriters play an integral role in shaping the public perception of our leaders. The words that our leaders use, the speeches they make, the answer they give all matter — and thus, the people who help to craft and prepare those remarks matter as well. And in the hyper-connected, rapidly and constantly changing modern media and political environment, the frequency of speechmaking is only increasing and the number of platforms used to distribute those messages is exploding — and with that, so is the importance of good speechwriting, strategy and delivery.

For the most part, speechwriters remain invisible to the public — they are rarely credited for helping both to craft the words, and prepare candidates, for the statements that they make throughout the campaign. But speechwriters have a unique vantage point at the intersection between strategy and words, giving them a first-hand view of the attitudes that the candidates bring to different issues and opportunities, and how they handle their competing demands.

Their insights into the ability for an elected official, candidate, CEO or aspiring thought leader to use speeches to position their agenda and advance their candidacy is unique valuable — and particularly enjoyable to read. So that’s what we’ll be sharing here, whenever and however it makes sense.