Exploding the Details: Why Speechwriters Need to Pay Attention to Logistics

Murphy’s law

When Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan spoke at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day 2009, he began reading President Obama’s comments. The teleprompter had the wrong speech loaded. Someone screwed up. The speechwriter did not double check with the teleprompter operator beforehand.

Reality was following fiction.

A first season episode of The West Wing opens with speechwriter Sam Seaborn sitting at his desk. He is drafting President Bartlet’s remarks to be delivered later that day at an outdoor location in DC. His boss, Toby, warns that the phrase “As I take in this magnificent view” won’t work if it’s raining and the event is held indoors. Sam swears that he won’t rain. He cuts to the final scene where Bartlet is about to speak inside an auditorium (where there isn’t a great view) since, in fact, it has rained. As the script shows, Sam realizes too late that he hasn’t double-checked everything:

We hear Bartlet inside the auditorium. The staff keeps watch by the door.

BARLET [OS] Thanks. Many thanks. Good to see you. Thanks.

Toby and Sam just realized something.

TOBY Sam?

Sam Damn!

LEO What?

SAM I forgot to do something.

BARLET [OS] As I look at this magnificent view…

Toby looks away in frustration as Sam slams his notebook down.

logistical nightmares

Often it is the logistical minutiae that do irreparable damage to a speech.

I will never forget the time I worked with conference organizers in Spain to secure a speaking space for a senior executive. She pleased me when they agreed that she could give the opening speech at an event in Barcelona where 2,000 attendees were expected. It was only when the executive had flown in from California and was standing on stage in front of 35-40 people that I realized that Friday afternoon was a “soft” opening. Most of the attendees were still traveling and had not registered. The conference really got going the next morning. My reputation with the executive took much longer to recover.

Freelance business writer Michele Hush has learned the hard way that a lot can go wrong with a speech. She is aware that speaking is often an occasional side job for clients, but a full-time one for her. She often finds that she is the person with the responsibility to make sure the logistics are covered. In one case, her client was giving a commencement speech at a major university and planned to use two teleprompters. Michele contacted the student in charge and assured him that there would be no problem with this. Checking in a few days before the speech, she discovered that no one had booked the teleprompters. It’s common for event planners to confuse trust monitors with teleprompters. Because you took the time to recheck, it was still possible to fix the problem.

What steps can speechwriters take to mitigate potential disasters?

Better practices

Peter Faur is a communications consultant who once wrote speeches for Zane Barnes, CEO of Southwestern Bell. Barnes insisted that his speechwriter get up early on the day of a morning speech and check the news to see if anything had happened overnight that might affect the content. This was in the late 1980s, before instant internet news. Nothing major ever happened, but Faur has since incorporated that workout into his regimen.

checklists

Laura Hunter, senior communications manager in the dean’s office at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, has a checklist that she goes through with conference organizers and event people 1) when she’s assigned the task, 2 ) two weeks before the assignment and 3) the day before the assignment. Laura says, “Having this triple check instills confidence in my abilities, so much so that my clients start to trust me in other areas – judgment, guts, whatever – because they know I have the hard facts.”

Michele Hush triple-checks the speaker’s position in the program, room size, sight lines, press presence, lighting, microphones, and audiovisual arrangements, if applicable.

I rely on a standard three page logistics form. This includes data about the place, date and time of the talk. Include the length of the speech, other speakers on the agenda, the size of the audience, and expectations. I also list press and public relations contacts and contact details for the event coordinator and A/V. Having a standard template minimizes the chances of something slipping through.

While you can’t control the weather, remembering to double-check logistical details helps ensure your parade doesn’t rain before the speaker takes the stage.