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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25842
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25842
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I would start by making a distinction between a good speechwriter and a good speaker. Ted Sorensen explains it very well in this essay on Smithsonian.com. [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ted-sorensen-on-abraham-lincoln-a-man-of-his-words-12048177/](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ted-sorensen-on-abraham-lincoln-a-man-of-his-words-12048177/)

> Lincoln was a better speechwriter than speaker. Normally, the success of a speech depends in considerable part on the speaker's voice and presence. The best speeches of John F. Kennedy benefited from his platform presence, his poise, personality, good looks and strong voice. ... Democratic Party leaders not attending the 1896 National Convention at which Bryan delivered his "Cross of Gold" speech, and thus not carried away by the power of his presence, later could not understand his nomination on the basis of what they merely read.

Obama is a case in point. He has a captivating presence at the podium, but for the life of me I can't think of one noble or memorable thing he said.

What I think we see as common features of the great speechwriters -- Lincoln, Kennedy, Churchill -- are:

- Big bold concrete ideas -- send a man to the moon.

- Simple concrete language -- "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract." "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

- A sense of time and place. Churchill's "blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech," or "fight them on the beaches and in the hedgerows" are powerful in a nation facing imminent invasion. They would sound silly if the chief concern of the day were controlling inflation, for instance. 

I think the last is perhaps the most important. We could debate whether great speeches create great moments or if great moments create great speeches, but I think they really come from a great speechwriter recognizing the greatness of the moment as it emerges and responding to it.

Original score: 4