Write a Speech for Someone Else

Writing a speech for someone else can be a stimulating task to take on. It can also be challenging to write a speech for another person with a different voice than your own. As a ghostwriter, you write secretly, with little-to-no acknowledgment of your work. Whether you ghostwrite for a professional career or choose to help a friend with a wedding toast, learning how to write a speech for someone else can be a satisfying experience. To write a speech for someone else, learn about ghostwriting, prepare to write the speech, and finally, write the speech.

Steps

Getting Ready to Write

1. Get to know the person for whom you are writing. If this is a close friend, you should already have a good feel for their personality, values, and beliefs. If not, interview the person to learn more about them and to research and detect their speech patterns. You don’t have to become close with the client, but knowing the basics about them will help you write a quality speech.
2. Ask some personal questions. This information will probably not end up in the speech, but it helps you understand what stirs the speaker's heart and what made them who they are today. Ask about where they grew up, what led them to the position they are in today, and what they are passionate about. You will probably not use most of this information in the speech, but it will help make the voice stronger.
3. Listen to them talk. Note specific phrases or words they use, as well as where they place the emphasis in sentences. You will want to mimic these things when you ghostwrite the speech. Ask for their permission to make a recording of their voice so that you can use it during the writing process.
   • Note words and phrases that are repeated as they speak.
4. Determine how much work you will be responsible for. Decide what you will do on your own, versus working with your friend or client. Some ghostwriters start with drafts written by the speaker. Other ghostwriters write the entire speech.
   • Make sure the speaker is aware of how much work they are responsible for.
5. Learn about the audience. See if the speaker has a personal relationship with the group they will be addressing, or if this is a group of strangers. Identify their backgrounds, values, family situations, and anything else that will help you tailor the speech to this particular group. Presenting a speech to a small group of colleagues is different than giving a speech to a large auditorium full of people. It affects how fast the speaker can talk, the volume at which he must talk, if he needs to hold a microphone or not, and how much lighting will be available.
6. Ask the person what they want to communicate. This provides the basic material for the speech. It’s important that you know their viewpoint and beliefs about the situation. During the conversation, identify the goal of the speech. Know what the speaker hopes to accomplish.
   File:Write a Speech for Someone Else Step 4.jpg
   • Big ideas and main points provide the basic structure of the speech. Understand exactly what the speaker wants to communicate so you can make these points clear.

Writing the Speech

1. Get details about the speech. Find out how long it needs to be, where it will be given, who the speaker will be addressing, and any other relevant details. As you ghostwrite, keep these details in mind. Straying from the necessary components of the speech can make the client unhappy with the turnout of your work.
2. Ask for personal stories that you can use in the speech. Examples or stories will help flesh out the main points. Ask for personal stories or examples the speaker would be willing to share with an audience. Also try to identify examples with which the audience would connect.
   • For example, if it is a commencement speech, ask the speaker about their experience in school and getting out into the “real” world for the first time.
   • Make sure the stories connect well with the subject and main point of the speech.
3. Research the facts. For some speeches, you will need to learn more about the topic. Take the time to research it, to learn the language associated with it, and understand the facts. Not everything you read will make it into the speech, but it creates a solid foundation for you to build on. You don’t have to become an expert on the subject, but having a basic understanding will help you write a more convincing speech.
4. Write the speech. Practice basic speech presentation skills as you ghostwrite. The speech should be memorable and easy to follow along. Most importantly, it needs to be a reflection of the speaker, not you. Some points to remember while writing the speech are:
   • Get the audience's attention quickly. This can be done by stating a surprising fact or starting out with a humorous or interesting story.
   • Keep the speech organized. Use transitions and guiding words like "first," "second," and "finally."
   • Use rhetorical devices, like examples, alliteration, imagery, and questions. Balance facts with examples.
   • Reflect the person's speaking style. Never fall into your voice during the writing process. Mimic their language, phrasing, and emphasis.
5. Maintain a strong focus on the big ideas. It is good to use stories and facts in the speech, but make sure they support the main idea. The speech should not stray so far from the main idea that the audience forgets what the speech is about. Use repetition to instill the main points you want your audience to remember into their minds.
6. Keep it brief. Stay well within the time limit that the speaker gave you. The speech should not be much longer or shorter than it is supposed to be. Consider how fast the speaker will be talking, and practice the speech aloud to test the time.
   • Limit the amount of information you include. The audience will only remember so much information.
7. Ask the speaker to approve the speech. The person giving the speech needs to be on board with what you wrote. If there is anything they do not agree with or that does not seem natural for them, work with them to make it right. Don’t be discouraged if it does not get approved the first or second time. It is normal for the speech to go through a few drafts before it is finalized.

Understanding the Challenges of Ghostwriting

1. Learn what ghostwriting is. Ghostwriting involves hiring a writer to write material for another person. The ghostwriter gets no or partial credit, and the person who performs the ghostwritten speech gets the main credit. The point of using a ghostwriter is to help someone communicate clearly and effectively who otherwise doesn't have the time to write his own speech. Another reason for ghostwriting is a person may not be as skilled or talented at writing a speech as the writer they contract to help them is.
   • You can learn more about ghostwriting by looking up books on ghostwriting in your local library, researching articles about ghostwriting online, and by looking for famous examples of ghostwriting.
   • A few examples of famously ghostwritten speeches are John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech, Reagan’s “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” speech, and drafts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech “I Have a Dream.”
2. Decide what is and is not ethical for you. People who write a speech for someone else must determine where the boundaries are. Some people feel that ghostwriting is entirely unethical and should not be done. Decide what ghostwriting you will or will not do for a friend or client. Also identify situations where you believe people should write their own speech, or when you believe it's a viable reason to have someone else write it.
   • Knowing where you stand on the ethics of speech writing will make it easier to accept or decline requests for your writing services.
   • Ghostwriting in the academic arena is often viewed as plagiarism. Others feel that it is okay under certain circumstances, like when politicians, business leaders, or celebrities must present multiple speeches a day, on top of their other responsibilities.
3. Form a partnership with the client. There should be a partnership between the writer and speaker. When you write a speech for someone else, there is usually a strong partnership with the speaker. The speaker often provides the topic and main points for the speech, then the two must work together to create a strong speech.
   • Writing a speech for someone you find difficult to get along with is most likely not a good idea. You can write a speech for a person that has different ideas than you, as long as you find it possible to keep your ideas to yourself.
4. Ask for the speaker’s approval. The speaker must approve the speech. The speaker approves the speech before presenting it. Several rewrites may be necessary before an agreement is made for a completed speech. The speaker works with the speech writer to make sure it is written in a way that is natural for them.
   • The ghostwriter must learn to adopt a range of voices outside of their own.

Sample Speeches

Doc:Political Speech,High School President Speech,Class Speech,Encouraging Speech,Orientation Speech,Informative Speech

Tips

• Take notes when you are observing the way the person speaks and acts.
• Work with the other person throughout the writing process. It will be easier to rewrite sections that need to be changed rather than the entire, completed speech being rejected.

Warnings

• Make sure not to plagiarize from parts of other speeches.
• Feelings can get hurt and disagreements can arise during the writing process. Neither party should take the challenging of ideas or decisions personally. Remember, you are writing a speech for someone else to take credit for.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Write a Keynote Speech
• Write a Rhetorical Analysis
• Write a Speech About Yourself
• Narrate
• Write a Persuasive Speech
• Make a Good Speech for School
• Write a Eulogy
• Write an Original Oratory
• Select a Topic for a Speech
• Write a Thank You Speech

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