SPEECH WRITING • Before you start writing, please contact the Press Office. See Organisation chart at Annex 1. • Writing for the Minister - please see DEL Intranet - Private Office - 'Guidance for preparing speaking notes for the Minister’. (See Annex 2, for convenience). • "Briefing for Ministerial Engagements All briefing should be side copied to the Special Adviser at the time of submission to Private Office. However, if the Minister is speaking at the event, the Special Adviser wishes to input to the speech material. Hence, draft speeches should be provided to the Special Adviser as soon as available. If it would be helpful, the Special Adviser would be happy to discuss the potential content of a speech before drafting commences." The Special Adviser is Dr Esmond Birnie who is located in Room 503, and may be contacted on 028-9025-7767 (or extension 57767) or [email protected]. • See Annexes 3 and 4 for the presentations used by Aideen McGinley and Lucy Marten during the Speech Writing Seminars of 9 and 16 August 2007. • See Annex 5 for example Speech – written for the Minister at the EGSA Conference 9 October 2007. Structure/Planning – All good speeches have a structure – a beginning, middle and end. Plain English communicates best. • • • • Stick to the tried and tested format of ‘Tell them what you are going to tell them – tell them – and then tell them what you’ve told them’. Use your knowledge of your audience and their expectations as well as the occasion, to help you with, not only speech content, but also the duration and tone. Writers block? Jot down in bullet point form and then arrange in logical sequence, the essential information you want to put out to your audience. Set a few clear goals/objectives before you start writing; What is the purpose of the speech? Think - is your speech intended to eg: educate, • • • • • • • • • motivate, inform or perhaps inspire? What do you want your audience to learn or do? How will your audience benefit from what you have to say? Be aware of organisation/Department sensitivities and established guidelines, key words, themes and messages that may need to be incorporated. Be mindful of any observances that should be made eg: a reference/thank you/toast to a particular audience section or member. Chances are your audience will not be reading your words as you speak; they cannot go back over something for understanding. If you are unclear in what you say/mean they cannot re-listen so it helps to explain what your main point is going to be - your audience will know what to listen for. Use short words and plain English. Avoid jargon. Language should never get in the way of the message. Your speech must always be targeted at your audience. If you are familiar with them then that can be acknowledged and if appropriate built on with eg: the use of individual/group names – this all helps to keep their attention on what you are saying. If they are not known to you then you will need to try all the harder to engage with them from an early stage. Bear in mind, if you are addressing eg: an American audience, that some of our words and terms can differ in meaning. Follow style trends of course but be mindful, (especially if writing for another), of individual style and taste as well as ones standing and role in a community/organisation/Department. Ensure (as appropriate) what you write can be linked back to Departmental policy. Ensure what you write falls in line with Equality laws. Beginning – Use a strong opening, one that grabs your audience’s attention. • • • Say something interesting - put yourself in their shoes – what would grab your attention? a quote? a question? a joke? (of course remember humour is not always appropriate), a line from a poem? a well known phrase or saying? a controversial statement? (careful though if using this option). What do you have in common with the audience – interests? age? business? hobby? Know that once you have their undivided attention you will be able slip quite seamlessly to the ‘middle’ of your speech. Middle – The main part of your speech. From your opening your audience will now be aware of who you are (if not before) and what you want to talk to them about - the subject of your speech. • The best way to formulate this piece is to set out a series of related points, each one falling naturally after and building on the one before. This will • • • • • • • • • help your speech to flow and assist the listener in following what you are saying. Be aware of your organisation/ Departments key words, themes and messages and as appropriate, incorporate these into your script. Repetition of key words is one way of lodging information into the minds of your audience. Try using the ‘List of 3’. You will all recall Tony Blair’s ‘education, education, education’. Avoid overload. Consider the level of detail you need to go into. Note – if you must go into a lot of detail consider whether this could best be delivered by way of a handout which you can then mention and distribute after you have finished speaking. Depending on your subject you may want to consider a handout anyway as a good way of adding value and extra detail. If your speech is long it’s worth reminding your audience of the main points through eg buzz words or key terms. Do not be tempted to repeat whole paragraphs. Repetition of key words should be enough to help your audience absorb the information. If it can be avoided try not to use too many eg legal terms/statistics/ quotations/specialist language, as this may leave your subject overly and unnecessarily complicated. Avoid jargon. Be careful of using catchphrases that soon become stale and out of fashion. Do not use discriminatory language. Listeners may have trouble remembering what eg: ‘it’, ‘they’ or ‘that’ refers to so, where possible, use key nouns instead of unclear pronouns. Delivery method can be dictated by the subject – think about using the rhetorical strategies of ethos (culture, shared traits), pathos (arousing sympathy/feelings of pity) and logical argument to help persuade/influence your audience, (using only the most striking factual material to support your thinking; information that you feel will stick in their minds long after you have finished speaking). Remember 1) be careful of information overload 2) if using statistics do not use too many 3) think about using a handout. Allow your personality to come through. If writing for someone else think of their eg: personality/standing and do not use words that they would not use. Think from the other person’s perspective and write in a way that realistically reflects them. End - on a high note – always bearing in mind what is appropriate, (NB: know your subject and your audience). • Use it to summarise the main points without labouring them to death. • The end should contain some of your strongest material, leaving your audience wanting more and perhaps with some food for thought. • If your speech is a call to action then make sure any action you recommend is realistic, reasonable and specific. Whether you are delivering the speech yourself or writing it for another. • It helps to read it aloud - as if you were reading to your audience. Doing this will help you with the flow; It will allow you to time the speech – you don’t want it to be too long – your audience will likely turn off!! You will ‘hear’ the sentences that are too long - you do need to breathe!! You will also hear all those tongue twisters and trippers that you don’t recognise when you are reading into yourself. • Think – Is this information clear enough? Did I stay within my allotted time? Is that too repetitive? Is that piece a bit boring? What could I do here to ensure I hold my audience’s interest? • Go through your script as you read aloud, marking/underlining/bolding up the words/phrases that you want to put more emphasis on or noting the way you want them to sound. Do you want to be more forceful in a particular area? Do you want to thank some one person/group more than others? Where you particularly want to give cause for thought you could eg: pause for a moment. You can come up with your own markings – a tip though – keep it simple eg: P for pause; underline/highlight/bold-up for emphasis. Some delivery tips. • Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse over again. • If you are comfortable reciting your speech from memory then do so but it’s more likely and quite honestly safer not to. Anyone can have a concentration or memory lapse. It is more usual to either follow the script to the letter or read from prompt notes. Following the script word for word is the least desirable option as you can become so engrossed that you fail to gauge audience reactions/involve them. Most public speakers will work from notes. • If not sorted for you already, arrange a microphone and sound check. • Have your notes/script in your pocket and any props that you intend to use close to hand. • You should already know who is in the audience but ask/check for any changes and make any necessary amendments to your speech. Check that handouts are in place to hand out at the appropriate time. • Speak clearly and so that everyone can hear you. Practice good diction. • Take your time – nerves quite often make you speak much more quickly than you would normally. • Use your markings effectively eg: P - pausing for effect. • Make eye contact if possible with your audience, especially with someone you have perhaps just mentioned. • Use hand gestures appropriately – try not to fidget – do not put your hands in your pockets. Annex 1 Lucy Marten Principal Information Officer Ext :57831 [email protected] Gareth Bannon Senior Information Officer Ext. 57872 [email protected] Peter Hodgett Information Officer Ext. 57515 [email protected] Katy McGuckin - Update Editor Ext: 57796 [email protected] Iain Bruce – Asst Information Officer Ext: 57793 [email protected] Diane Patterson EO2 Ext. 57950 [email protected] Anne Rogers AO Ext 57492 [email protected] Laura Brunty AO Ext: 57469 [email protected] Annex 2 GUIDANCE ON PREPARING SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE MINISTER – June 2007 The Minister’s special adviser (Dr Esmond Birnie) and Principal Information Officer should be consulted at an early stage about the contents of a speech. When drafting a speech or speaking notes, the following key points should be considered: • The nature of the occasion; • The purpose of the speech; • The audience; • The policy context; and • The appropriate language and tone. The Minister prefers a formal style of speaking – you should avoid using overly ‘familiar’ language in your speech. In addition you should bear in mind that while some speeches would make excellent written articles, they can, on occasion, be a bit ‘wordy’ for verbal delivery. Sentences should be short (2-3 lines max) and should avoid seeking to clarify or qualify the statement to any great degree within the same sentence. On most occasions, the following should be included: • Thanks to those who have to be thanked; • Positive points about the organisation hosting the event; • The purpose of the speech; • An outline and explanation of the relevant policy or policies; and • The relationship of the organisation/audience to the relevant policy or policies. The following should be avoided: • An over-relaxed or patronising tone; • Injudicious or colloquial language; • Long sentences with several qualifying clauses; and • Material which takes more time than is necessary or available. Annex 3 Speech Writing Presented By Aideen McGinley Speech Writing Annex 4 Bienvenue à cette conférence d’écriture de la parole Lucy Marten Principal Information Officer Department for Employment and Learning Speech Writing New Kids On the Block Speech Writing Sir Reg Empey Speech Writing BEFORE YOU START h Contact the Press Office immediately. h Ask yourself the following questions: - Who are you writing for? The Minister? The Permanent Secretary? - What is the event? A conference? A graduation? - Who will be in the audience? Business people? Students? h Set a few clear goals before you start writing. h See the intranet for guidance on speech writing and guidance on how to contact Dr Birnie, the Minister’s Special Advisor. Speech Writing THE GOOD NEWS! h The Minister may not always require a full speech. Bullet points on the subject matter may suffice. h Example: A graduation event may not require a full speech, rather simple bullet points. While a full speech may be requested around a policy event. h Check with the Press Office before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard! Speech Writing STRUCTURE / PLANNING h All good speeches have a structure – a beginning, middle and end. h Writer’s block? h Be aware of organisation/Department sensitivities and established guidelines, key words, themes and messages that may need to be incorporated. h Target your speech at your audience. h Plain English communicates best. Speech Writing THE BEGINNING h Use a strong opening, one that grabs the audience’s attention. h What does the speaker have in common with the audience? h Once the speaker has the audience’s undivided attention he/she will be able slip quite seamlessly to the ‘middle’ of the speech. Speech Writing THE MIDDLE h Set out a series of related points, each one falling naturally after and building on the one before. h Avoid overload. h Consider using logical argument to help persuade/influence an audience. h The ‘list of three’. h Try to think from the speaker’s perspective. Speech Writing THE END h End on a high note. h Summarise the main points. h The end should contain some of the strongest material. h If the speech is a call to action then make sure any action is realistic, reasonable and specific. Speech Writing Cracked it! Speech Writing FINALLY h Think – is this information clear enough? Is it a bit boring / repetitive. Does it need a bit of ‘lift’? h Press Office intranet site. h Read the draft aloud as if you were reading to the audience. h Please contact the Press Office right away. We are very happy to help. h When writing for the Minister do speak with Dr Birnie. h Happy scripting and remember you may not need to speech write every time. Annex 5 Welcome • Good morning and welcome to this special conference celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Educational Guidance Service for Adults. Theme • The theme of this years’ conference is “Guidance Force for Change” and there has certainly been enormous change since EGSA was established in 1967. Key events in 1967 • BBC Radio 1, 2 3 and 4 were born and colour television was introduced at the end of that year. • Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision song contest with Puppet on a String and the Beatles released their Sergeant Pepper album. • Films of the year were, the Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde and the Jungle Book. • The UK applied for membership of the EEC and Charles de Gaulle said Non! • The pound was devalued with the exchange rate moving from 2.80 US dollars to 2.40 US dollars. • Some of the headlines were sadly familiar – we had the Vietnam War and the Arab Israeli six day war. Foot and mouth disease was also in the news. • But on the bright side EGSA was born. Congratulations to EGSA • Over the past 40 years EGSA has shaped the lives of many individuals and helped them to consider their educational options. • They have introduced many people to the concept and the habit of learning. • They have made a valuable contribution to the development and implementation of our Essential Skills policy. • EGSA has demonstrated that Guidance is indeed a force for change • Congratulations on reaching this 40th anniversary. Economic and social challenges • In Northern Ireland we have seen many changes in the past 40 years. • Now have opportunity to move forward and to shape our future. • Face many challenges, both economic and social development of Skills has a key part to play in addressing these challenges. • Access to impartial advice and guidance underpins the skills agenda and helps individuals to chose appropriate educational and career paths. • This helps to maximise individual potential, develop the workforce and impact on the economy. • Face unprecedented economic challenges, particularly from India and China and we need to be as flexible, innovative and forward-looking as they are in order to compete. • Need to modernise our businesses and also to create a highly-skilled, well-educated workforce. Leitch Report • In 2004, Lord Leitch was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and the Treasury to undertake a major review of skills in the UK. • He sets out a compelling vision and challenge for the UK to be a world leader in skills by 2020. This is a massive undertaking and will require a doubling in the number of qualifications that the population currently holds. • Key Leitch recommendations - by 2020: • 95% of working age adults to achieve functional literacy and numeracy; • 90% of workforce adults to be qualified to at least Level 2; • shift the balance of intermediate skills from Level 2 to Level 3; • accelerate the increase of people with high skills – Level 4 and above. • Realisation of these objectives is estimated to achieve: additional £80bn to the UK economy over 30 years, and a more prosperous and fairer society. • Important to note that 70% of those contributing to these targets are already in employment. • Achievement of these targets will be very challenging. Large investment will be required from Government, employers and individuals. The report recommends that Government should pay for training in relation to essential skills, literacy, numeracy and ICT and that individuals and employers should pay for higher level skills. • My Department recognises the importance to the Northern Ireland economy of creating a step change in the level of skills. I will be issuing a statement on skills in the near future. Employment and Education Challenges • Dramatic change in the Northern Ireland economy over the past 40 years with the most significant changes taking place in the past 10 years. • Northern Ireland has been the most successful region of the UK in terms of generating jobs. Unemployment is currently 3.4%, the lowest of all the UK regions • Underlying issues of disproportionately high levels of economic inactivity in the economy and one of the lowest productivity levels in the UK. • High levels of achievement at GCSE and A level but also a legacy of under achievement in key areas. Almost 1 in 4 adults have deficiencies in literacy and numeracy and the skills levels in the working age population are lower than the rest of the UK. Success Through Skills • Social inclusion and economic success are at the heart of Success through Skills - The Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland • The Strategy focuses on 4 key themes: understanding the demand for skills; improving the skills levels of the workforce; improving the quality and relevance of education and training; and tackling the skills barriers to employment and employability. • We are making good progress under all four themes. The Careers Strategy • In order to improve the skills levels of the workforce, DEL is working with the Department of Education to develop an all age Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance strategy. • This underlines the vital importance of this area of work in supporting the skills agenda. • Strategy has been developed in response to issues raised by stakeholders; to the Department of Education’s Entitled to Succeed Programme; and the Success Through Skills Strategy. • Aim of the strategy is to develop effective career decision makers leading to increased participation in education, training and employment. • Overall aspiration - young people and adults develop the skills and confidence to make the most of their life choices and follow the career path which suits them best. • Our vision is that by 2015 young people and adults will have access to: good quality careers education provision, up to date labour market information; and impartial careers information, advice and guidance. • They will have developed information handling skills and the skills to make effective career decisions based on self awareness and up to date labour market information. • They will be life long learners and will be motivated to pursue continuous professional development to achieve their own potential, to become effective employees and to make a valuable contribution to the local economy. • The proposed strategy will provide a clear framework and will have a priority focus on young people and adults vulnerable to social exclusion. • Key elements will include: access to impartial information, advice and guidance which is of good quality and relevant to the individual; the development of up to date labour market information; the development of a careers information hub; the introduction of a robust quality assurance process; and the development of a qualifications framework and continuous professional development for all staff involved in careers education and guidance. • The strategy will issue for public consultation shortly. Conclusion • It is important that Northern Ireland is prepared for future employment opportunities by having a highly skilled workforce to compete in the global economy. • The Department is focused on raising the skills of the workforce and on improving the employability of the workforce of tomorrow. This will bring benefits for the individual, the economy and society as a whole. • Guidance has a key role to play in this agenda in assisting individuals to make appropriate choices and is, indeed, a force for change.