speechwriter for politicians

What It's Really Like To Be a Political Speechwriter

Spoiler alert: it's nothing like The West Wing .

Few political staffers are lionized as much as the political speechwriter. You know the caricature: the rumpled hair, desk strewn with empty coffee cups, peering at a laptop screen searching for the perfect turn of phrase. Their struggle is real, but their gallant prose can bring a nation to its feet.

In reality, few speechwriters look like Sam Seaborn, or even his rubber-ball-throwing counterpart, Toby Ziegler . Rather than tortured wordsmiths who can afford to belabor every syllable, speechwriters have to deal with the same time constraints, bureaucracy, and petty office politics as any other drone in a political office.

Barton Swaim occupied that space for nearly four years as a speechwriter for Rep. Mark Sanford during his time as governor of South Carolina. When Swaim started working in Sanford's office, he knew he wanted to write a book about the political life — something funny, maybe a novel. Then the Appalachian Trail happened. Swaim's new book, The Speechwriter , chronicles his time in Sanford's office before and after the revelation that Sanford was having an affair with a woman in Argentina when he told his staff he was hiking.

When he first came to Sanford's office, Swaim, who has a Ph. D. in English, quickly learned that his writing was not up to the governor's snuff. One of Swaim's duties was transcribing Sanford's dictated letters to constituents, and he picked up the quirks of the governor's speech that way.

"I copied down a lot of his phrases and weird expressions, and I would just sprinkle everything I wrote with those expressions, whether they were appropriate or not," Swaim said.

Some of those phrases: "speaks volumes," "a whole host of," "in large measure," "pearls of wisdom," "unique," "fabulous," and especially "given the fact that." When giving a speech or discussing policy, Sanford would demand the writers give him three points, never two.

Sanford preferred to write his own speeches when he had the time, so Swaim was consigned to writing speeches for less-than-momentous occasions — the ground-breaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies that take up much of a governor's face time with the public.

"I thought I was going to be this great speechwriter, stringing grand phrases together and soaring oratory and all this," Swaim said. "I was basically just coming up with cute things that you could say at a gathering of the National Square Dancing Society, or a grand opening at the Heinz factory. So, coming up with stories about ketchup."

Matt Latimer can sympathize. He became a speechwriter for then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2004. He recalls receiving a "snowflake," one of Rumsfeld's infamous brief one-page notes, from the secretary on his writing preferences.

"One of my favorite snowflakes he sent me was, 'I never use the word "very." It is a very weak word,' " Latimer said.

In 2007, Latimer moved from the Pentagon to the White House to write speeches for President George W. Bush. This was in the late stages of Bush's presidency, when the Iraq War was going sideways and the economy was collapsing in on itself.

"It was less like Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and more like The Office ," Latimer wrote in his 2009 book Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor .

Like Swaim, Latimer often found himself frustrated with the layers of bureaucracy involved in writing more high-profile speeches, so he gravitated toward ceremonial speeches. One of the speeches Latimer is most proud of writing was when Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Here's an excerpt of that speech:

"I'm interested in a story about a young man who was so worried that the Army might change its mind about allowing him to fly that he drove immediately to the train station; he left his car as well as $1,000 worth of photography equipment. He never saw his car. He never saw his camera. But he became a flyer. These men in our presence felt a special sense of urgency. They were fighting two wars: one was in Europe, and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens. That's why we're here."

It's a near-perfect blend of prose, research, anecdote, and commitment to the greater purpose of our country. And even Latimer, who by that point already felt some disenchantment toward his job, still recognized the importance of delivering all those elements — that Bush's audience deserved to hear something good.

Being a speechwriter is like being a novelist, only with more behind-the-scenes power and fewer accolades. The one thing being a speechwriter does not provide is fame — that is, until you leave your job and write a tell-all book about your old boss.

Swaim and Latimer are just two in a long tradition of political speechwriters turning toward more creative expressions of their craft. Peggy Noonan's book, What I Saw at the Revolution , chronicles her work as a speechwriter for President Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush. And Mark Salter, who wrote speeches for Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential run, was revealed as the anonymous author of O: A Presidential Novel in 2011.

When asked if he would ever want to work as a speechwriter again, Swaim — who now works as the communications director for the South Carolina Policy Council — chuckled. "Who would hire me?"

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of a speechwriter for Sen. McCain's 2008 campaign. His name is Mark Salter.

How to Become a Political Speech Writer

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Many politicians don't write their own speeches, preferring to delegate the task to a dedicated speech writer. Big politicians might even have teams of them. Speech writing in politics is a difficult art, and it's not for everyone. A good speech has to optimistically appeal to all the right constituencies, avoid unintended controversy, yet be provocative and eloquent enough to make the news, all while catering to a middle school reading level. Since the job is also very competitive, it isn't enough simply to be good at it. You also need to make friends and work your way in.

Political Speech Writer Jobs: Education

Zippia reports that these days, a bachelor's degree is all but mandatory to get into the world of speech writing. Having a degree suggests that you're serious, disciplined and capable of following through on a commitment. The type of degree doesn't really matter, though some politicians and their staffs prefer a related degree, like political science or English. Don't quit college while you're there, either. Your speech-writing job will eventually end, but the degree will stay with you for a lifetime.

Speech Writers and Political Involvement

Political speech writing is a niche industry. According to Indeed , in order to make it as a speech writer, you have to get politically involved. This means doing a whole lot of volunteering at first. Register with your local political party chapter and help out. Join political campaigns and volunteer with them too. Assist with elections. Get involved in the later stages of elections, such as caucuses and conventions. Overall, aim to attach yourself to a specific politician in hopes of eventually getting a paid staff job.

Speech Writers and Social Involvement

A complement to volunteering at political activities is to join a political nonprofit or activist organization that works on issues you care about. These groups have frequent contact with the politicians who represent them as well as with ideologically friendly politicians, which can provide a means for you to work with those politicians' staffs. Many people eventually parlay that personal familiarity into a paid political job.

Political Speech Writers and Audience

Politicians are much likelier to hire a writer with an extensive body of political writing publicly available to scrutinize, such as on a blog or website. Long before you try to get a political speech-writing job, hone your writing and work on building an audience. If you can show that your writing resonates with people, that makes you much likelier to eventually get a speech-writing job.

• Indeed: How To Become a Political Speech Writer
• Zippia: Speech Writer Education Requirements and Degrees

Josh Fredman is a freelance pen-for-hire and Web developer living in Seattle. He attended the University of Washington, studying engineering, and worked in logistics, health care and newspapers before deciding to go to work for himself.

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Career Research

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Political speechwriter career.

Political speechwriters prepare speeches for individuals in the political arena. They write for politicians in all branches of government, from the local and state level to the national level, including the president of the United States.

Political Speechwriter Career History

Political Speechwriter Job Description

Political speechwriters write speeches for politicians, or they may assist the politician in composing a speech. A politician may need speechwriters for several reasons.

Many politicians are extremely busy and simply do not have the time to write the many speeches they need to give. Others may not feel comfortable writing their own speeches and require the presence of a speechwriter to help them make sense of what they want to say, and how they want to convey that message in a speech. Still other politicians may have excellent ideas for their speeches but need help communicating their vision to others.

A political speechwriter usually begins writing a speech once a topic is selected. They may have a topic assigned to them, or they may have to determine the topic of the speech themselves. To do this, a speechwriter may meet with the politician for whom they are writ­ing to receive his or her input. A speechwriter might also meet with representatives of the group to which the politician will be speaking, in order to discover their con­cerns and ensure that they are addressed in the speech. Next, the speechwriter will typically research the topic to be mentioned in the speech. To do this, they may uti­lize the resources of libraries, the Internet, or interview knowledgeable authorities in the field.

Once a speechwriter has gathered enough initial information, they begin to write the speech. Speechwriters must keep several things in mind while writing the speech. They need to ensure that the speech sounds like it was written by the politician who will ultimately be delivering it. They also need to keep in mind who will be hearing the speech, making sure that the speech is written so that it will be not only be understood by the intended audience, but that it will also be persuasive and effective in delivering the politician’s message. The speechwriter is also concerned with the mechanics of good speechwriting: allowing the speaker to engage the audience; providing clear, key points of the speech that can be easily recognized and digested by the audience; and ensuring that the audience identifies positively with the speaker by the end of the speech. They also have to be concerned with more mundane issues, such as making sure the speech does not exceed any time limits.

After the speechwriter finishes a rough draft of a speech, it will need to be approved by the politician deliv­ering it. Depending on the individual, he or she may or may not have had any interaction with the speech-writer until this stage. The politician, as well as his or her advisers, may revise the speech and send it back to the speechwriter for additional work, changing anything the politician or advisers are not satisfied or comfortable with. At this point, the speech may be shuffled back and forth several more times before it is finally approved.

After the speech is approved, the speechwriter may be responsible for producing the speech in its final form, which varies across different situations. The speech may need to be typed on easily readable note cards for a politi­cian speaking in a small auditorium, or the speech might need to be on a computer disk that can be input into a Teleprompter and displayed on a monitor for the politi­cian to read at a large rally or televised event.

Political Speechwriter Requirements

High school.

Since speechwriters need to be strong communicators, you should take as many English, speech, and communications courses as you can. Take courses in civics, history, and gov­ernment as well. If possible, join a speech or debate team to gain experience researching current events, analyzing data, and presenting information to others.

Postsecondary Training

You will need a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a field related to communications or political science, to become a political speechwriter. In addition to taking as many writing, speech, and communications classes as you can, you should pursue a well-rounded education, taking courses in history and politics.

Other Requirements

To be a successful speechwriter, you must stay up-to-date with current events and daily news. You must be flex­ible and able to integrate late-breaking news items into speeches you have written. You must also be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines. Because speechwriters need to interact with others, you should have good people skills.

Exploring Political Speechwriter Career

The best way to find out if speechwriting is something you wish to pursue is to write as often as possible. The more you write, the more you will improve your skills. You can practice writing speeches on your own, or you can partici­pate with your school’s speech or debate teams. Join local groups to learn the basics of effective public speaking so you can write more successful speeches. Reading famous speeches will also help you to understand the components of a successful speech. You can also join nonprofit or polit­ical organizations and offer to assist with public speaking events. This will give you the opportunity to make con­tacts, observe their operations, and you might even get an opportunity to assist a speechwriter with research.

Most political speechwriters work for politicians or political consulting groups. Many jobs are in Washing­ton, D.C., but there are opportunities available across the nation at the state and local government levels. One thing to keep in mind: It can be very difficult to write speeches supporting issues that go against you own views or mor­als. If you find employment with a politician who is closely aligned with your own opinions on issues that are important to you, your job will be easier and have the potential to be very rewarding.

Starting Out

One of the most important and effective ways of getting started as a political speechwriter is to make connections with people involved in politics. Volunteer for political campaigns and be an advocate of public policy issues that interest you. You can make good connections and gain valuable experience, work­ing or interning in the offices of your state capital. You might also try for an internship with one of your state’s members of Congress; contact their offices in Washington, D.C. for internship applications.

Some people pursue a career as a political speechwriter directly by working in the press offices of political candidates, starting out as assistants to speechwriters or press secretaries, advancing as they are able to demonstrate their ability and as opportunities arise. Others make the jump to speechwriting after having worked in the political arena as lawyers, lobbyists, or journalists.

Advancement

Political speechwriters have many advancement options. Entry-level speechwriters may progress from doing mostly research, to writing some low-profile speeches, to writing more important speeches. They may also start by working with politicians at the local level and move on to work with more prestigious politicians at the state or national levels. Or they may find themselves promoted to speechwriting positions that have more supervisory and organizational responsibilities, such as managing a team of speechwriters.

Some political speechwriters advance to non-speech-writing positions within public administration; for exam­ple, they may become politicians or political consultants. They may also make the transition to a career in media, finding employment as a writer, journalist, or a career in public relations.

Salaries for speechwriters (including political speechwrit­ers) range from $53,000 to $68,000, with a median salary of $60,500. Entry-level speechwriters typically earn much less, sometimes starting around $20,000, and experienced speechwriters who work with high-profile politicians may make considerably more, earning salaries of $100,000 or more. Salaries also depend on geographical location and the level of government for which the speechwriter writes.

Work Environment

The work environment of political speechwriters can vary. At times, they may find themselves working in a relatively quiet office. They may also find themselves traveling on a crowded bus, train, or plane with the politician for whom they are writing, trying to craft a speech that needs to be finished by the time they arrive at their next destination. Work hours in this profession can be long and very irregu­lar. This is especially the case when a speechwriter is work­ing for a major political candidate on the campaign trail.

The work environment, whether it is on the road or in the office, has the potential to be frantic, noisy, and stressful. Politicians, political advisers, and speechwriters may have opposing views of what needs to be included in a speech, leading to heated exchanges. Speechwriters may have to make last-minute changes to a speech based on the day’s news events, all with the stress of deadlines looming. That said, not all speechwriters are employed in these high-pressured settings. Depending on their employer, a speechwriter may also work in a typical office environment, with fairly regular work hours.

Political Speechwriter Career Outlook

The U.S. Department of Labor does not provide employ­ment outlook information for the career of political speechwriter. It is safe to say, though, given the prevalence of politics and the importance of effective communication in the world today, that political speechwriters will have steady employment opportunities for the next decade.

For More Information:

• American Association of Political Consultants
• U.S. House of Representatives
• United States Senate

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Lend me your ears! The art of political speechwriting

The politicians deliver the words but who writes them? We talk to the experts whose job is to come up with the memorable phrases

E ven her fiercest supporters would acknowledge that one aspect of the new prime minister Liz Truss’s political skillset that requires urgent improvement is that of communication. She wasn’t called upon to put it to the test in winning the Conservative leadership contest, where she only had to demonstrate that she was not Rishi Sunak and avoid any challenging media interviews. But from now on she has to speak for, and most importantly to, the nation at large.

One way that politicians attempt to look as if they know what they’re talking about is by delivering a set-piece speech. If her speeches on the leadership hustings are anything to go by, Truss, who came across as if she was running for the sixth-form prefect’s office, is no Winston Churchill. She’s not even her idol, Margaret Thatcher , or indeed David Cameron, who famously won the Conservative party leadership on the strength of a speech.

As the party conference season heaves into view, it’s worth remembering that most speeches tend to be concerned with the announcement of a new tax rebate system or the like, and all but a tiny fraction are forgotten as soon they have been delivered, if not before. But if only a handful of speeches achieve a kind of immortality, countless numbers are written with the hope that they’ll capture the public’s imagination, even if the public constitutes only those gathered at the opening of a provincial bypass. To this end, a semi-hidden profession has mushroomed to produce these aspiring works of political glory – that of the speechwriter. Unlike most other forms of writing, it doesn’t offer a credit or a byline. In this country it’s a behind-the-scenes sort of occupation, unsung and uncelebrated.

Jess Cunniffe was a local newspaper reporter working in Luton and Leighton Buzzard when she covered a 2010 election event at which then Tory leader Cameron gave a speech. “It was a really good speech,” recalls Cunniffe, who describes herself as a “ Cameroon Conservative ”. “And I thought: ‘Rather than reporting on speeches, I’d quite like to be writing them.’” But it seemed a fanciful idea to her, akin to joining the MCC or MI5, until she read a profile of Clare Foges , who was working as a Conservative speechwriter. “And I thought: ‘She’s not Oxbridge, she didn’t go to private school, she’s not male and old. She’s a bit like me and maybe this is a career option.’”

So she quit journalism and started working for Tory MP Mark Lancaster, got some experience writing speeches and applied for a job at Conservative central office. Cunniffe became Sayeeda Warsi’s special adviser, or spad – a political appointee with the status of a temporary civil servant – before landing a job as a speechwriter at No 10 with the man who originally inspired her. She says that Cameron, who had a background as a speechwriter himself, was unusual among senior politicians in being quick to acknowledge their input: “He would introduce me as his speechwriter and want people to meet me and know that I’d help write his speeches.”

As Tony Blair’s former speechwriter Philip Collins notes in his book on the subject, When They Go Low, We Go High , in the 19th century, politicians such as William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli would only make three polished speeches a year. Nowadays their equivalents can get through that number in a week. It’s not feasible, or at least not sensible, to be in high office and spend half your time honing fine rhetorical phrases.

Yet perhaps as a hangover from the 19th- and early 20th-century idea of politicians as orators, they can risk being seen as inauthentic – a mere actor reading a script – if it’s known that the words they speak are someone else’s. So with one or two exceptions, speechwriters tend to maintain a low profile and keep shtum about their efforts. “Some of the biggest things I’ve worked on I can’t talk about,” says Daniel Finkelstein, Times columnist, Conservative peer and one-time speechwriter for William Hague, among others. “Some of my best lines I can’t boast about. That’s just the way it is in this country.”

Philip Collins, who has broken cover, now runs a speechwriting website called the Draft and has arguably done more than anyone else to shed light on the shadowy business of writing for politicians. “Speechwriting is a bit like comedy writing,” he says. “The British do it alone while the Americans employ a whole battalion. So, as a writer, you are the only one, but that is not to say that plenty of people are not involved.” If it’s a big set-piece speech, such as the leader’s speech at a party conference, preparations can start months beforehand and the number of people who want an input can grow to an unruly amount. But it usually starts off in a room with several people shooting ideas around.

“You will be the one holding the pen,” says Michael Lea, a former speechwriter for Gordon Brown. And the first task, he says, is to get down all the information and chatter that’s going on in the room and then try to establish a general overarching theme. But once that’s established, the other voices don’t suddenly fade away. During the drafting process, various ministers and interested parties will want to share their thoughts and try to get their particular concerns included in the final document.

“It is a curiosity of the job,” Collins has written, “that people seem to believe that if they send in a few lines with no context then the speech can be assembled from all these bits, like flat-pack furniture comprised of the parts from different chairs.” There will, at least, be plenty of opportunities for revision. “You’re talking 20-plus drafts, possibly,” says Lea. “Obviously some are major rewrites and some are minor tweaks. It depends on how your principal likes to work.”

Some of the principals are talented speechwriters themselves. Finkelstein says that George Osborne used to call writing speeches for Hague “taking free kicks for Beckham”. But using that analogy, not all free kicks are 30-yard scorchers into the top corner of the goal. It’s no good seeking an epic register if your audience are wanting something more down to earth. As Collins has noted, Churchill spent most of his political career making speeches that were far too grand for their context. It took a world war to transform his sumptuously turned sentences into spirit-rousing classics guaranteed a place in collections of great speeches.

For students of speechwriting such as Finkelstein, there is an ever-present danger, he acknowledges, of going too large. “William Hague once expressed the problem to me. He said: ‘Your speech will often read as if it’s meant to be delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, when I’m actually giving it at the Durham Conservative party Christmas dinner.’” Hague had two golden rules of speechmaking, says Finkelstein. “First of all, every half-sentence has got to be useful. And second, never use a joke unless you’re absolutely certain that it’s funny.”

Finkelstein has a reputation for being something of a joke-meister. Sometimes politicians have come to him just to insert a little humour into their rather dry proclamations. But the only test for whether a joke is funny, he says, is if someone laughs. So he says it’s vital to tell it to someone beforehand and see what the response is. “If they don’t laugh,” he notes, “there’s no point arguing that it’s funny.” Jokes are valued because they help break the tension in the audience, but also show politicians as more “human” – a quality they all want to be seen to possess but most often struggle to convey. It should go without saying that laughter is dependent not just on the funniness of the joke but also the manner in which it is delivered. Former prime minister Theresa May, for example, was never going to enjoy a second career as a standup. Finkelstein has written jokes for her but says they work best if they are kept simple with an immediate punchline, whereas with Hague he could allow for a more nuanced build-up.

Brown is another politician who no one has ever looked to for belly laughs. Much more at home with the “post neo-classical endogenous growth theory” of economics than comic banter, he tended to come across on the podium as an austerely serious man. So Lea is rightly proud of once persuading him, against the then prime minister’s better judgment, to tell a joke playing on some snowstorms that had hindered travel, but whose subtext referred to the rumours circulating of a plot to overthrow him as Labour leader. What it amounted to was Brown opening a speech by saying that he had thought he wasn’t going to be there that day. But it brought the house down and was positively referred to in the news coverage. “It’s small victories,” Lea says. “Perhaps no one else remembers it but there is no greater feeling than seeing something you’ve written read out by someone really important on TV, and even more so if you’re there.”

At this current anxious juncture of history, any speechwriter who could come up with a joke that the perennially stiff Truss was able to deliver and was actually funny would certainly command the respect, not to say amazement, of his or her fellow professionals.

W hat every speechwriter dreams of, though, is writing something that enters the history books and becomes part of common language. Such an outcome, as Collins has argued, depends largely on external factors and how much the speech matters. “We shall fight on the beaches … We shall never surrender” was a momentous peroration by any reckoning, but that’s in no small part because Britain was under threat of a Nazi invasion in June 1940 when Churchill uttered those deathless words.

In When They Go Low, We Go High, Collins picks out Neil Kinnock’s 1987 Welsh Labour party conference speech as an example of a great speech made in peacetime. “Why,” Kinnock famously asked, “am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?” The answer could be that the oldest British university is only a little over a thousand years old, so it’s only about 30 generations of Kinnocks who were shortchanged on their education. But he was using a rhetorical device that proved successfully emotive. So much so, indeed, that later in 1987, during his first run for the US presidency, Joe Biden borrowed heavily from Kinnock’s speech and was forced to withdraw from the race having been accused of plagiarism. What made Biden’s mistake particularly hard to understand is that he would have been surrounded by a small army of speechwriters, who either sourced the original material or failed to stop him from using it without attribution.

Ever since Ted Sorensen became known for helping to craft John F Kennedy’s inaugural address – “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” – the role of speechwriter in US politics has grown steadily more important. The White House has its own director of speechwriting and a team of about seven or eight writers. Barack Obama’s first director of speechwriting, Jon Favreau , has gone on to become a media star with his own podcast, Pod Save America .

Clare Foges was in No 10 when Obama’s entourage, including several speechwriters, were part of a state visit in 2011. “They were very nice,” she recalls. “But they took what they did so incredibly seriously, to the point where one of them stood in our offices and started declaiming one of his speeches, you know, ‘From the plains of Ohio to the canyons of New Mexico’ sort of thing. And we were all looking at each other trying not to laugh. Obviously, Britain doesn’t have the same canvas on which to paint words. You can’t really say: ‘From the Peak District to Salisbury Plain.’ So you can be a bit grander as an American speechwriter, and they are grander.”

Foges started out working for Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London, before graduating to No 10 and Cameron. What were the differences in writing speeches for them? “Boris would be full of praise: ‘This is appallingly good!’ And then never use a word of what I’d written. Whereas Cameron was not so effusive, more exacting, but he would actually use it and, I felt, consider my opinion, which was better for the professional self-esteem, ultimately.”

If speechwriters are to an extent off-stage ventriloquists, they have to adapt their voice to that of the speechmaker. “You have to vary your tone and pace,” says Finkelstein and failure to do so can lead to formulaic or confused speeches. But what about your politics – can they be adapted to suit the speaker? Cunniffe says she couldn’t write for a Labour politician such as Keir Starmer, although she noted that he had been looking for a speechwriter.

“You can’t stretch it too far,” agrees Collins. “You need to be comfortable making the case. There were occasions I wrote speeches I disagreed with – the case for ID cards, for example – but that turned out to be one of the best things I ever wrote, probably because I was so acutely aware of the arguments against.”

Collins has brilliantly dissected many political speeches for the Times , a task, one speechwriter told me, that “breaks the speechwriters’ code of honour”. Collins dismisses that accusation, saying that he has merely made “the art of speechwriting in Britain a tiny bit more prominent, and I would stress the word ‘tiny’”. In any case, he has some advice for speechwriters, which they may care to take note of as the conference season nears. “I found the attention of the press office helpful in the sense that they imposed the discipline of the headline: ‘What do you want to say, in a nutshell?’ is a good question to ask of a writer, and the press office is condemned to ask it.”

Which raises the question: if a speech can be condensed into a nutshell, why does it require half an hour? Perhaps because, in spite of our supposed soundbite culture, the limited characters of Twitter and our allegedly ever-shrinking span of attention, there remains something quite impressive about a politician holding and rousing an audience over an extended period of time. There is the belief that if they can take a room with them, perhaps they can inspire the country too. It’s a belief that unfortunately is repeatedly punctured by experience, but that shouldn’t deter the ranks of unheralded speechwriters when they sit down in front of an empty screen and prepare to make rhetorical history.

• The Observer
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• Conservatives
• Neil Kinnock

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The art of political speechwriting—from a former White House speechwriter

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The West Wing portrays speechwriting as a distinctive skill that requires Herculean efforts at breakneck speed. But, as the television show suggests, the position can also be particularly rewarding, affording the writer a front-row seat to history.

Alan Stone, who worked on President Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992 and then in the White House as a speechwriter from 1993 to 1995, says the real-world experience is pretty similar. “Being part of memorable moments is fairly commonplace for a White House speechwriter, if for no other reason than your physical proximity to the moments that will live in history” noted Stone. “While you are aware of what is going on you are also extremely busy, so it is not often until much later that you realize the weight of the events you are part of.”

Stone, who is currently senior consultant for Northeastern University, wrote speeches on topics ranging from economics to social justice. He even got a line in Clinton’s first inaugural address.

[Watch Stone tell this story on our Facebook page .]

How did you get a job working as a speechwriter in the White House?

I was chief speechwriter for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin during his run for the Democratic nomination in the 1992 presidential election. After Harkin lost and Clinton got the nomination, someone from Clinton’s team called Harkin and said “We are staffing up. Can you recommend some of your senior people?”

I guess my name came up. And people kept saying to me “I hear the Clinton people are going to hire you.” There was even a mention of it in a local gossip column. But I hadn’t heard anything from the Clinton campaign.

I was in Los Angeles at the time and I did something very uncharacteristic; I called the Clinton campaign, asked for David Kusnet, Clinton’s head speechwriter, and asked him what was going on. He said, “I was just about to call you, I swear. When can you get here?”

I told him I didn’t really expect a job offer right then and I’d need to think about it. He responded, “We need you here in 24 hours.” So I packed up my Puegeot 504, with my old Mac, and some clothes, got on the road, and didn’t sleep until I arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas.

[ Hear Stone tell the story of his first encounter with Clinton on our Instagram page.]

What is speechwriting on a campaign like?

The stump speech is the pack mule of every campaign. It’s mostly low art with a bit of high art thrown in. I say low art because it gets repeated in basically the same form hundreds of times in any presidential race. It contains the core message and themes of the campaign as well as proven applause lines and critiques of your opponent. That framework gets adjusted for locale and issues. So, for example, you’d mention ethanol and price supports if the speech is given to a rural group. You always acknowledge local leaders. You try hard to add some local color and humor. But the scaffolding remains the same and these make up the bulk of campaign speechifying.

Be passionate about the issues. It will really help. Leave your ego at the door—your words are meant to be read by someone else. — Alan Stone

What, then, is the “high art” version of a campaign speech?

It’s a campaign speech of significant political consequence given to a critical audience. It requires much more work and craft than a stump speech.

Bill Clinton gave such a speech at the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 11, 1992. Just as is the case today, abortion was a hot-button issue at the time. And this was the first major speech Clinton gave after he was harshly attacked on “family values” by Pat Buchanan and others at the Republican National Convention.

Clinton spoke about the influence the Catholic social mission had had on him and how deeply his plans reflected those values. He talked about how the “religious war” Buchanan sought was antithetical to the values rooted in faith that most Americans have.

The audience was very tough on him that day. There were lots of catcalls and attempts to shout him down. But he stuck to his guns and met his goals, which were to connect to this traditional Democratic constituency, to frame his opponents as not in the mainstream of traditional values, and conversely to identify core Catholic values as those animating his proposals. This speech was beautifully drafted by Kusnet.

Do you think writing in a presidential campaign has changed?

Of course. All presidential campaigning is changing and communications is no exception. While stump speeches and more major speeches are obviously still important to campaigns, and free media is still coveted, and third-party or earned media is still the gold standard, social media is now playing an enormous and growing role in every campaign.

This is not my field of expertise, but I imagine at a minimum if a campaign is not great at using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to its advantage, it is in big trouble. Likewise, if a campaign is not good at assessing its engagement, sharing and networking, and making changes on the fly, it will be at a big disadvantage.

Do you have any advice for people who are interested in political speechwriting?

Be passionate about the issues. It will really help. Leave your ego at the door—your words are meant to be read by someone else. When you hear something you like, go back and study what worked for you. And steal the good stuff—the ideas not the words—because someone else has almost certainly stolen it before you.

As I’ve said, being part of memorable moments is oddly fairly commonplace for a White House speechwriter. For example, when the Oslo Accords were signed, in 1993, I was literally working only steps away. So the most memorable moments for me were ones that stood out for more personal reasons. The night we won, sitting at a pub in Little Rock feeling overcome with equal parts pride and exhaustion; meeting Rosa Parks at a speech in Los Angeles; flying back to Washington, D.C., on my last trip on Air Force One before beginning my new career, thinking about how overwhelming the experience had been and hoping time and reflection would help me understand it more. And it has.

What is it really like working in the White House? What happens behind the scenes?

It was the hardest work I have ever done, by far. The speeches need to be perfect, yet the process that went into them was often chaotic, with changing topics, delayed prep sessions, etc. The deadlines, however—they never moved. And the volume was relentless.

Was there a specific approach you took to writing speeches? A formula? Or was every one new and different?

You have to know the themes and messages of the moment—the stump. You need to know the audience and the goals of the speech. After that, I always tried to tell a story with a spine; I always looked for new data or a new anecdote to make my point; and I always tried to be positive in the sense of forward movement and looking toward the future. Finally, I always tried to end big. That’s about it. I hope I hit my goal more than I missed it, but that is a judgment for history.

Alan J. Stone, an attorney and writer, is president of Alan J. Stone Consulting, LLC. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Speechwriter

Overview of speechwriting and public relations.

Speechwriting and public relations are both integral parts of any political or public-facing job. In regards to public relations, it involves creating and maintaining positive relationships between an organization or individual and their external stakeholders, such as the media, clients, and investors. Speechwriting entails crafting speeches and talking points for high-ranking executives, politicians, and public figures. This sets the stage for those individuals to clearly convey their message and communicate effectively with their audience. Both fields require strong communication and writing skills, as well as a deep understanding of their respective industry. Professionals in these fields can work in a variety of settings such as the private sectors, nonprofit organizations, or the federal government, with an annual salary ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 based on the level of experience.

Role of Political Speechwriters

Political speechwriters play a critical role in helping politicians communicate with the public at large. Crafting messages that address issues of public policy and economics for a general audience is key to building support, raising awareness, and driving action. A successful speech can help sway public opinion, shape the political discourse, and drive change.

Speechwriters are involved in not only writing speeches but also crafting social and digital media communications. Social media offers a powerful platform for politicians to interact with their constituents and shape the public discourse. Speechwriters often create social media posts and digital content to help their political clients communicate with the public more effectively.

Being a political speechwriter requires excellent writing skills, a background in communications, and knowledge of public policy and economics. A degree in communications or a related field is often required. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for speechwriters is $62,170. Speechwriters may work for politicians, political parties, nonprofit organizations, or at the federal government or international level.

In summary, political speechwriters play an important role in crafting messages that address public policy and economics for a general audience. They also help their political clients communicate on social and digital media platforms. Working as a political speechwriter requires a strong background in writing and communication, along with expertise in public policy and economics.

Job Description & Responsibilities

As a speechwriter, one’s main task is to craft speeches that resonate with audiences and convey specific messages. However, this role extends beyond simply writing speeches, as speechwriters are also responsible for developing and executing communication strategies. They work closely with their clients to understand their goals and priorities, and then write speeches and other communication materials that help achieve those goals. Speechwriters must also be familiar with public policy and economics, as this knowledge often informs the messages they are tasked with crafting. Speechwriters may work in various sectors, including politics, nonprofits, and the private sector, and often collaborate with communications teams to ensure consistency and cohesion in messaging. Ultimately, a successful speechwriter is able to use their writing skills to captivate audiences and help their clients communicate effectively.

Primary Responsibilities of a Speechwriter

A speechwriter is a crucial member of the communications team in political jobs. Primary responsibilities of a speechwriter include researching and writing various forms of communication, such as policy briefs, white papers, press releases, and articles. In addition to creating effective and impactful speeches, a speechwriter must also ensure that the speaker is well-prepared before giving the speech.

The speechwriter should be capable of researching information relevant to the speech and must be familiar with the political language and key terms to craft an engaging and compelling message. As a ghost author, the speechwriter should be willing to set aside any personal biases and convey the speaker’s message accurately and effectively.

Before delivering the speech, the speechwriter must also ensure that the speaker is adequately prepared. This may involve providing coaching on body language, tone of voice, and various speech delivery techniques.

Ultimately, a successful speech is the goal of every speechwriter, and they receive a great deal of satisfaction from knowing that their hard work has resulted in delivering a message that resonates with their audience. With a keen attention to detail and a dedication to each task, a speechwriter can make a significant contribution to political jobs.

Typical Tasks for a Speechwriter

A speechwriter is tasked with crafting speeches that communicate ideas, inform, and persuade the intended audience. One of the primary tasks of a speechwriter is researching information that is relevant to a specific event, topic, or audience. This requires a deep understanding of the topic and target audience expectations from the speech. The speechwriter should be able to identify persuasive or information-containing material that will contribute to the speech’s main message.

After collecting relevant information, a speechwriter is expected to create an outline, drafting, and editing the speech. This includes deciding on the appropriate language, tone, and dictation that will deliver the desired message effectively. The speechwriter must also proofread the written document to check for grammatical errors, inappropriate vocabulary, or sentence structure mistakes.

Once the first draft is completed, it is the responsibility of the speechwriter to integrate feedback from the speaker, evaluate the speech’s reception, and make the necessary adjustments. In summary, the primary responsibilities of a speechwriter include researching, creating an outline, drafting, editing, proofreading, accepting feedback, and achieving the desired impact.

Writing Skills & Qualifications Required for the Position

The role of a speechwriter entails creating speeches for various high-level individuals, including politicians, executives, and other public figures. To become a successful speechwriter, one should possess several critical writing skills and qualifications.

A communication degree or an educational experience in a related field is necessary for this job. Strong writing skills and a background in communications are also essential. Persuasive writing techniques are crucial in creating speeches that captivate audiences and deliver the desired message effectively. In addition, speechwriters must have excellent organizational skills that enable them to manage their time effectively and meet tight deadlines.

Interpersonal skills are vital for a speechwriter, as this job involves working closely with clients and understanding their individual needs. Speechwriters must be able to adapt to a client’s speech delivery style and tone.

Lastly, editing skills are essential since a speech must be checked and revised multiple times before it is delivered. Speechwriters should also possess sound knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Overall, a successful speechwriter must be a competent writer with outstanding communication skills and the ability to create impactful speeches that resonate with various audiences.

Additional Expertise & Experience Needed for the Job

In addition to having a degree in communications, experience in public relations or political science, and excellent writing skills, a speechwriter also needs certain expertise and experience to excel in their position.

One critical skill is strategic planning, as speechwriters must craft messages that align with their client’s communication strategy and goals. Crisis management is also important, as speechwriters may need to quickly respond to unforeseen events or issues.

Team management is another significant aspect of the job, as speechwriters often work with other writers and communications teams to ensure cohesive messaging. Knowledge of digital media is also essential, as many speeches are now delivered online and require specific digital media skills.

The ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences is vital in a speechwriter’s role. They must cater to the needs of their clients, including government officials, investors, and clients, and tailor their writing to engage these specific audiences.

Overall, to be an effective speechwriter, one must possess a combination of strong writing skills, strategic planning abilities, crisis management skills, digital media knowledge, and effective communication skills.

Working Conditions & Environment

As a political speechwriter at Booz Allen Hamilton, the working conditions and environment can vary depending on the project and client needs. The job may be done remotely or on-site at the client’s office, providing flexibility and convenience for the writer.

The job may require domestic or international travel up to 25% of the time, which can be exciting for those who enjoy exploring new places and cultures. However, travel can also be tiring and require flexibility with working hours.

The work environment is typically high-pressure and fast-paced, requiring the writer to think quickly and creatively to meet tight deadlines. Collaboration with other writers and communication teams is critical, making interpersonal and team management skills essential for success in this role.

Overall, a political speechwriter at Booz Allen Hamilton can expect a dynamic working environment with opportunities for remote work and travel to exciting locations. However, the role also demands adaptability and strong communication skills to navigate the demands of the job.

Career Opportunities in Political Speechwriting

Political speechwriting is an exciting and challenging career path for writers who enjoy the intersection of politics and creative expression. Speeches are critical components of political campaigns, public policy, and international relations. Speechwriters in the political sphere have to communicate complex ideas to a wide variety of audiences while working closely with executives, elected officials, external stakeholders and other speechwriters. As a result, speechwriters like to have a sharp eye for detail, excellent interpersonal and organizational skills, and political savvy. Political speechwriting positions are offered at all levels of government, including the Federal Government, nonprofit organizations, and private sectors. The job usually requires a high level of creativity, strong writing skills and the ability to work under tight deadlines. In terms of career opportunities, political speechwriters can advance to senior staff, executive communications, or public relations positions with annual salaries on the rise.

Types of Organizations Offering Positions in Political Speechwriting

There are various types of organizations that offer positions in political speechwriting, including government agencies, non-profit organizations, private corporations, political campaigns, and independent contractors.

Government agencies that deal with public communication often require speechwriters to help craft speeches for heads of state, departmental heads, and other high-ranking officials. Non-profit organizations, especially those focused on advocacy, often hire speechwriters to create compelling messages for their campaigns and events. Private corporations, particularly those in regulated industries, may also need speechwriters to help craft speeches for executives, shareholders, or stakeholders.

Political campaigns are another common source of speechwriting jobs, where speechwriters are responsible for crafting stirring and persuasive messages for their candidate. Finally, independent contractors may also work in speechwriting, offering their services to a variety of clients across industries.

Overall, speechwriting jobs can be found in a wide variety of organizations, from government entities to corporations to advocacy groups and beyond. Regardless of the specific field, strong writing skills and an ability to create compelling messages are key attributes for success in the speechwriting role.

What does a speechwriter do?

Would you make a good speechwriter? Take our career test and find your match with over 800 careers.

What is a Speechwriter?

A speechwriter specializes in creating speeches for clients, usually for politicians, executives, or public figures. The primary responsibility of a speechwriter is to craft a compelling message that effectively communicates the speaker's ideas, values, and objectives to the audience. This requires not only exceptional writing skills but also the ability to understand the speaker's personality, voice, and audience's expectations, as well as the context of the speech.

Speechwriters typically work closely with their clients to understand their goals, message, and audience. They research the topic, gather data and information, and write a draft speech, which they then edit and refine until it meets the speaker's needs. This involves creating an outline, selecting the right words, tone, and structure, and ensuring the speech is well-organized and coherent. In some cases, speechwriters may also assist in rehearsing and delivering the speech, providing feedback and guidance to the speaker to ensure they deliver the message effectively.

What does a Speechwriter do?

Speechwriters are valuable assets in any organization or public figure's communication team because they possess the expertise to craft well-written, impactful speeches that can inspire, persuade, and inform the audience. They can help ensure that the message is communicated clearly and effectively, and that the tone and style of the speech match the speaker's personality and objectives.

Speechwriters also have the ability to research and understand the audience, tailoring the content to their specific needs and interests. In addition, they can help their clients save time and reduce stress by taking on the task of writing and editing the speech, allowing the speaker to focus on delivering it with confidence and passion.

Duties and Responsibilities The following are some of the key duties and responsibilities of a speech writer:

• Research: Before writing a speech, a speech writer must conduct research on the topic to ensure that they have a deep understanding of the subject matter. This may involve reading relevant articles, books, and reports, as well as conducting interviews with subject matter experts. The speech writer must also research the audience to ensure that the speech is tailored to their interests, knowledge level, and cultural background. In addition, they may research the occasion or event to ensure that the speech is appropriate for the setting and tone.
• Writing: After completing the research, the speech writer must craft the speech in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. They must use language and tone that is appropriate for the audience and occasion, and convey the message in a compelling way. The speech writer must also consider the length of the speech, as well as any visual aids or other materials that may be used during the presentation.
• Editing: Once the speech is written, the speech writer must proofread and edit it for clarity, grammar, and tone. They may also seek feedback from others, such as the speaker or a trusted colleague, to ensure that the speech is effective and persuasive.
• Collaboration: Throughout the process, the speech writer must work closely with the speaker or client to ensure that the speech aligns with their vision and goals. This may involve multiple rounds of revisions and feedback, as well as ongoing communication to ensure that the speech is on track.
• Delivery: In some cases, the speech writer may be responsible for coaching the speaker on delivery techniques. This may include providing guidance on pacing, inflection, and body language to ensure that the speech is delivered in a confident and engaging manner.
• Feedback: Finally, the speech writer may be asked to solicit feedback from the audience or client to help improve future speeches. This may involve collecting surveys, conducting interviews, or analyzing social media and other feedback channels to identify areas for improvement.

Types of Speechwriters Here are some common types of speechwriters and what they do:

• Political Speechwriters: These speechwriters work for political leaders such as presidents, governors, and senators. They are responsible for creating speeches that communicate the leader's vision, policy proposals, and political platform.
• Corporate Speechwriters: These speechwriters work for companies and executives, crafting speeches that address stakeholders, shareholders, and employees. They may write speeches for product launches, shareholder meetings, and corporate events.
• Non-profit Speechwriters: These speechwriters work for non-profit organizations and charities, creating speeches that communicate the organization's mission, goals, and accomplishments.
• Freelance Speechwriters: These speechwriters work independently and are hired by individuals, businesses, and organizations to write speeches for specific events or occasions.

What is the workplace of a Speechwriter like?

The workplace of a speechwriter can vary depending on the organization they work for and the nature of their job. Generally, a speechwriter is responsible for crafting speeches and presentations that will be delivered by high-profile individuals, such as politicians, CEOs, or public figures. This can be a challenging and high-pressure role, as the quality of their work can have a significant impact on the reputation and success of the speaker.

In some cases, speechwriters may work directly for the individual they are writing for, such as a politician or CEO. In these situations, the workplace of the speechwriter may be within the same office or building as their client. They may attend meetings, events, and speeches with their client to gather information and ensure their writing is aligned with the speaker's messaging and tone.

In other cases, speechwriters may work for an agency or consulting firm, where they may have multiple clients across various industries. These speechwriters may work remotely or in a traditional office setting, collaborating with colleagues and clients through email, phone calls, and video conferencing. They may have a more flexible schedule than those working directly for an individual, but may also have to balance multiple projects and deadlines.

Regardless of the specific workplace, speechwriters typically work closely with their clients to understand their goals, audience, and messaging. They conduct research and gather information to inform their writing, and may collaborate with other team members, such as researchers or communication specialists, to ensure their work is accurate and effective. Depending on the organization, speechwriters may also be involved in other communication and marketing initiatives, such as developing social media content or creating press releases.

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What makes a speech persuasive and memorable – and how do you write one? How can storytelling help political, corporate, nonprofit, and community leaders achieve their goals? What is the role of the speech in our politics, policymaking, and international relations? This course will explore the techniques speechwriters and speakers use, from research to rhetoric, to shape messages that move people and change the world.

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What's it really like being a government speechwriter?

By James Doughty

18 Feb 2017

Words don’t come easily to everyone, but speechwriters have a head start. Department for Work and Pensions wordsmith James Doughty shares some trade secrets

Speechwriting is a job quite unlike any other in the civil service. It’s a job of contradictions. You work alone and with everyone, you’re a specialist but also a generalist, you’re creative and constrained, you’re in the thick of it and standing back.

It’s a straight-talking job title. Yet, the lid on the speechwriter’s world is very rarely lifted. For speechwriters, like spies, anonymity is the name of the game. Spies work in the shadows. Speechwriters, more specifically, work in the shadow of their master. Their words are often in the spotlight, but they are not. 

Here are five insights into the world of a speechwriter and the speechwriting profession and how they add value to organisations and the wider civil service.

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What is speechwriting anyway? When many people think speechwriter, they think Sam Seaborn from The West Wing. The reality is somewhat different. Think less fast-paced corridor walking and talking, more painstaking research and midnight-oil-burning writing and rewriting.

In essence, a government speechwriter helps ministers communicate their vision, policies and objectives. In a world of short-burst social media, delivering a single speech from a lectern to a room full of real people is still the vehicle of choice to do this. A speech affords the space and time to develop his or her ideas, to take the audience on a journey, to tell a story – something you simply can’t do in 140 characters.

What goes into writing a speech? It often starts with an initial meeting with the minister to get a broad understanding of the main points they want to make. Then, it’s about having detailed conversations with policy teams – often multiple teams, analysts, political special advisers and press officers. During this process, the speechwriter is the conduit through which the ideas flow. They are the lightning rod, capturing every thought, every angle and every idea offered up. It is through the speechwriter that those ideas are then distilled, ordered, reordered, refined and woven into a narrative that makes sense and fits together. 

To do that, a speechwriter needs to be able to convey complex information simply and compellingly. They need to bring it all together into a coherent whole that, like a piece of music, ebbs and flows to hold interest and create contrasts – quiet bits and loud bits, long flowing passages and short staccato points, poetry and policy prose. After the extensive collaboration, this is the part where the speechwriter needs quiet solitude, which can be in short supply in a government department. I hear one department has plans for a “speech bubble” – a pod dedicated for speechwriters.

How do you keep hold of the pen and your nerve? For any one speech, there will have been an army of people involved in some way, from fact-checking to policy advice to analytical input, No. 10 steers and engaging those who have a powerful story to tell that will bring a speech alive. The speechwriter has to manage all of these different actors and ensure they are all happy and the speech beats with a single pulse and purpose.

 "A speechwriter can often find themselves at the centre of a kind of frenzied scrum"

In doing this, a speechwriter can often find themselves at the centre of a kind of frenzied scrum, particularly as the date of the speech approaches. This can, ironically, be one of the loneliest, most difficult and skilful parts of being a speechwriter – keeping a tight hold of the pen whilst surrounded by persuasive and often quite senior officials making their case for a line to be included – or more often than not – excluded.

It’s an interesting place to be and a test of nerve. I think it’s always important to remember whose speech it is: it’s the boss’s speech – the person who actually has to stand up and deliver it, whose mouth the words will come out of and the person whose name and reputation hangs on them. They are always the best speechwriter, we just play a supporting role. 

Because they are the boss, it can feel like a brutal and bruising profession at times. You need to be prepared for your carefully crafted lines to be crossed out or rewritten. That’s a healthy part of the process, if a little hair-depleting. A speechwriter colleague of mine had all but two words taken out of an initial draft of a speech. The two surviving words came at the end: “Thank you”. 

Some are based within the press office, some work from home, many work within the ministerial private office – from where you actually get much better access to ministers. Some are brought in because they have a history of working with a minister. Others have worked in the same department for successive ministers. Some are career civil servants who occupy the role for a period of time before moving on. Some have come from outside the civil service, mainly journalism. Whatever their background, many become career speechwriters, choosing to specialise in speechwriting as a vocation.

The numbers between departments also vary. Some have one, others have whole teams. Some double up the speechwriting role with being a private secretary to a minister. Others have experimented with relatively new approaches that merge functions together. For example, in the Department for Work and Pensions, alongside my speechwriting duties, I also head up a team of communication officers who provide dedicated support to ministers on briefing and communications.

Increasingly, speechwriters are diversifying and becoming generalist copywriters too, alongside writing speeches. They are turning their hand to writing and editing key departmental products that require strong, compelling prose, such as green papers or annual reports. In the past, I have known of departments commissioning external copywriters to do this. Departments are increasingly looking in-house to the existing talent of their speechwriters.

I like the sound of this. How do I become a speechwriter? No formal qualifications are required. A flair for writing, an interest in politics and public affairs are important, as is emotional intelligence and the ability to completely absorb the language and tone of another person. I have acted in the past, so being able to become someone else is a real advantage! Resilience and a thick skin are also needed to withstand the never-ending deadlines and pressure that are brought to bear on a speechwriter.

In terms of training, there are some excellent short courses out there for aspiring speechwriters. One of the best is a course run out of the Groucho Club in Soho by ex-Whitehall speechwriter Simon Lancaster, who now writes speeches for some of the world’s top CEOs. Simon has also written a book on writing speeches, Speechwriting: The Expert Guide. It is my bible. Whilst it is hard to teach someone how to write well (in my view it is something innate that comes from deep within), there are rules and recipes you can follow to ensure a speech is as good as it can be. I’d recommend it as a good read for anyone wanting to make their writing have more impact.

Speechwriting jobs are like gold dust, but it’s worth sounding out departments about any future positions in the offing and to register your interest. I also run a Whitehall Speechwriters’ Network and we are always happy to talk to budding speechwriters about opportunities. Many of the big companies now count a speechwriter as an essential part of their corporate entourage, so it’s worth looking into those too.

A final word Speechwriters add enormous value to an organisation. They write with a birds-eye view of the organisation and the wider horizon. They bring perspective, clarity and purpose, cutting through the complexity of policy and making it resonate with the outside world. 

Speechwriting is a job of contradictions, but that’s what makes it one of the most interesting, challenging and rewarding jobs in the civil service.

The New York Times

Opinionator | the political speechwriter’s life.

The Political Speechwriter’s Life

Draft is a series about the art and craft of writing.

Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that “only nut cases want to be president.” But he helped me become a White House speechwriter. In 1965, Vonnegut was my adviser at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where I was studying fiction. One day, he said he could get me an assistantship, but I’d have to teach speech.

“I know nothing about speech,” I said.

He said something like: “Learn. It’s 1,800 bucks.”

In class, Kurt had annoyed some students by boiling all fiction down to a diagram: “Get someone in trouble. Get them out!” he would say. “Man-in-the-hole!”

Right, Kurt. But I was in a hole. $1,800 would help.

Next fall, as the Vietnam War was heating up, I stayed one chapter ahead of my students. When I decided that politics mattered to me just as much as writing novels, I’d learned enough to become a speechwriter. But wait! Isn’t speechwriting the sewage-filled, dumbed-down tributary of writing, designed to deceive and make inarticulate politicians seem smart?

No, because those charges fall far below even a half-truth. Political speechwriters trade the pleasure of writing under our own names for the power to help achieve policies we’re passionate about and, of course, help elect people who favor them. Democratic and Republican speechwriters may differ on the content of the speeches, but we agree on the value of the writing. This is why at midnight, in any political office, you find writers adding detail to a paragraph, compressing a sentence and trying to create the runs of antithesis that bring crowds to their feet.

When I write speeches, I’m influenced by novels. I use story to move listeners. I also plant something in the opening and bring it back at the end, the way Anton Chekhov advised (“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall…”), and I search for illuminating details, as Joseph Conrad urged (“My task is to make you hear, to make you feel, and, above all, to make you see”). But this hectic, collaborative life is nothing like the novelist’s, especially when it comes to the nerve-jangling pressure to meet impossible deadlines.

Once, back in the ’90s, when I wrote for Representative David E. Bonior of Michigan, the Democratic House majority whip, he said he wanted to do a one-minute speech. Something about the economy, he said. It was 11:50. “When do you speak?” I asked. “12:02.”

I wrote a 150-word speech, called my mother to tell her if she turned on C-Span she’d see me on the House floor, ran up three flights and handed it to Mr. Bonior just as he was walking to the well.

It’s tough to do great work when your first draft is often your last. It also can be difficult to make someone sound like Moses addressing the Israelites when you announce a three-point plan for reducing the deficit. And it’s an art to write for a general American audience, which averages a seventh-grade reading level . It genuinely distresses some academics that politicians today speak many school grades below George Washington’s Farewell Address. But a few years back researchers gave us a sense of what that seventh-grade level means. They tested adult, English-speaking hospital patients on some common directions about health, like the idiomatic sentence “Do not take this medicine on an empty stomach.” Did patients understand it? More than 40 percent didn’t.

To speechwriters that means, don’t write sentences even that complex. You can’t hand your boss a speech saying, “It’s got all your ideas. But 40 percent of your audience won’t know what you’re talking about.” Luckily, English is a rich language. Without losing nuance you can say a lot with simple words — use, not utilize; now, not currently — and simple sentences.

Speechwriters must help maintain what Aristotle called ethos , or character. Voters cast ballots not just for candidates they agree with, but for those they like. Are they compassionate? Humble? Optimistic?

To convey likability, politicians can’t just point to problems. They need to propose solutions. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, the five-step structure most popular in political speech, has problem solving at its core. The most meaningful part of writing in politics is the attempt to make terrible problems real to listeners. But once we do that it’s hard to convince people of our sometimes puny solutions.

Even if we do all of that well, we won’t please everyone. If a president announces that the United States will invade Iraq or that he favors same-sex marriage, you can’t expect those on the other side to appreciate your graceful turn of phrase.

In 1989 I wrote Senator Lloyd Bentsen’s Democratic response to President George Bush’s address to Congress. It’s impossible for someone sitting alone in a room facing a single camera to match the glitzy presence of a president in a packed House chamber. The next morning I complained to my wife: 39 million people had watched Mr. Bush, but as soon as Mr. Bentsen started, 11 million turned off the television. Well, she said, gently, 28 million listeners were about 300 times as many people as had read all my novels.

Much of what lures speechwriters is the prospect of reaching so many people about ideas we think so important — as Peggy Noonan did for Mr. Bush in 1989 (“thousand points of light”) ; Bob Shrum did for Edward M. Kennedy in 1980 (“the dream shall never die”); and Matt Scully did for Sarah Palin in 2008 (“If character is the measure in this election …”).

I have passed no bill, stopped no war, created no policy that would bring health insurance to a single person. But if we expect to see such results solely from our work, that dooms many to disappointment. There’s plenty to celebrate about being part of the team.

As a speechwriter in the House, Senate and White House, I wrote about 25,000 words a month — as much as three books each year. I cherish the four novels I wrote. But I am also proud that when Al Gore spoke at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration, he read my words. I’ve written a eulogy for Rosa Parks, speeches against a war I hated and for presidential candidates I loved. I’ve written about ways to educate children in the United States and to save the lives of children in Africa. At a Rose Garden event where Mr. Gore introduced President Bill Clinton, a photographer snapped a picture of Gore whispering to my son, “He wrote the president’s speech, too.”

So it would have been nice to tell Kurt how much more than 1,800 bucks I got out of his idea. He probably would have thought I put way too much faith in politics, though he would have been too nice to say it. If he picked up one of my speeches, would he have heard echoes of Conrad and Chekhov? Not likely.

But when he read through my problem-solution section he might have said what I now know is true of stories, speeches, speechwriting and, come to think of it, much of life. “Man-in-the-hole!!”

Robert Lehrman, who was the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, is the author of four novels and “The Political Speechwriter’s Companion” and teaches speechwriting at American University.

What's Next

How Speechwriters Delve Into a President's Mind: Lots of Listening, Studying and Becoming a Mirror

There are few times in a American presidency that the art of speechwriting is more on display than during a State of the Union

How Speechwriters Delve Into a President's Mind: Lots of Listening, Studying and Becoming a Mirror

Patrick Semansky

FILE - President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. It’s an annual process that former presidential speechwriters say take months. Speechwriters have the uneviable task of taking dozens of ideas and stitching into a cohesive narrative of a president’s vision for the year. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speechwriting, in one sense, is essentially being someone else’s mirror.

“You can try to find the right words,” said Dan Cluchey, a former speechwriter for President Joe Biden . “But ultimately, your job is to ensure that when the speech is done, that it has a reflection of the speaker.”

That concept is infinitely magnified in the role of the presidential speechwriter. Over the course of U.S. history, those aides have absorbed the personalities, the quirks, the speech cadences of the most powerful leader on the globe, capturing his thoughts for all manner of public remarks, from the mundane to the historic and most consequential.

There are few times in a presidency that the art — and the rigorous, often painful process — of speechwriting is more on display than during a State of the Union , when the vast array of a president’s policy aspirations and political messages come together in one, hour-plus carefully choreographed address at the Capitol. Biden will deliver the annual address on Thursday .

It’s a process that former White House speechwriters say take months, with untold lobbying and input from various federal agencies and others outside the president’s inner circle who are all working to ensure their favored proposals merit a mention. Speechwriters have the unenviable task of taking dozens of ideas and stitching them into a cohesive narrative of a president’s vision for the year.

It’s less elegant prose, more laundry list of policy ideas.

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Amid all those formalities and constraints of a State of the Union address, there is also how a president executes the speech.

Biden’s biggest political liability remains his age (81) and voters’ questions about whether he is still up to the job (his doctor this past week declared him fit to serve ). His every word is watched by Republican operatives eager to capture any misspeak to plant doubt about Biden’s fitness among the public.

“This year, of course, is an election year. It also comes as there’s much more chatter about his age,” said Michael Waldman, who served as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. “People are really going to be scrutinizing him for how he delivers the speech, as much as what he says.”

Biden will remain at Camp David through Tuesday and is expected to spend much of that time preparing for the State of the Union. Bruce Reed, the White House deputy chief of staff, accompanied Biden to the presidential retreat outside Washington on Friday evening.

The White House has said lowering costs, shoring up democracy and protecting women’s reproductive care will be among the topics that Biden will address on Thursday night.

Biden likely won’t top the list of the most talented presidential orators. He has thrived the most during small chance encounters with Americans, where interactions can be more off the cuff and intimate.

The plain-spoken Biden is known to hate Washington jargon and the alphabet soup of government acronyms, and he has challenged aides, when writing his remarks, to cut through the clutter and to get to the point with speed. Cluchey, who worked for Biden from 2018 to 2022, said the president was very engaged in the speech drafting process, all the way down to individual lines and words.

Biden can also come across as stiff at times when standing and reading from a teleprompter, but immediately loosens up and appears more comfortable when he switches to a hand-held microphone mid-remark. Biden has also learned to navigate a childhood stutter that he says helped him develop empathy for others facing similar challenges.

To become engrossed in another person’s voice, past presidential speechwriters list things that are critical. One is just doing a lot of listening to the principal, to get a sense of his rhythms and how he uses language.

Lots of direct conversation with the president is key, to try and get inside the commander in chief's thinking and how that leader frames arguments and make their case.

“This is not an act of impression, where you’re simply just trying to get the accent down,” said Jeff Shesol, another former Clinton speechwriter. “What you really are learning to do and need to learn to do -– this is true of speechwriters in any role, but particularly for a president –- is to understand not just how he sounds, but how he thinks.”

Shesol added: “You’re absorbing not just the rhythms and cadences of speech, but you’re absorbing a worldview.”

Then there is always the matter of the speech-giver going rogue.

Biden is often candid, and White House aides are sometimes left to clean up and clarify what he said in unvarnished moments. But other times when he deviates from the script, it ends up being an improvement on what his aides had scripted.

Take last year’s State of the Union . Biden had launched into an attack prepared in advance against some Republicans who were insisting on requiring renewal votes on popular programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which would effectively threaten their fate every five years.

That prompted heckling from Republicans and shouts of “Liar!” from the audience.

Biden immediately pivoted, egging on the Republicans to contact his office for a copy of the proposal and joking that he was enjoying their “conversion.”

“Folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the — off the books now, right? They’re not to be touched?” Biden continued. The crowd of lawmakers applauded. “All right. All right. We got unanimity!"

Speechwriters do try and prepare for such moments, particularly if a president is known to speak extemporaneously.

Shesol recalled that Clinton's speechwriters would draft remarks that were relatively spare, to account for him veering off on his own. The writers would write a clear structure into the speech that would allow Clinton to easily return to his prepared remarks once his riff was over.

“Clinton used to liken it to playing a jazz solo and then he’s going back to the score,” Waldman added.

Cluchey, when asked for his reaction when his former boss would go off-script, described it as a “ballet with several movements of, you know, panic, to ‘Wait a minute, this is actually very good,’ and then ‘Oh man, he really nailed it.’”

Biden is “at his best when he’s most authentically, most loosely, just speaking the plain truth,” Cluchey said. “The speechwriting process even at its best has strictures around it.”

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The Political Speechwriter's Companion A Guide for Writers and Speakers

• Robert A. Lehrman - American University, USA
• Eric Schnure - American University, USA
• Description

Can you really learn to write speeches? The Political Speechwriter's Companion guides students through a systematic “LAWS” approach (language, anecdote, wit, and support) that politicians can use to persuade their audiences into taking action. In the highly anticipated Second Edition, esteemed speechwriter and author Robert A. Lehrman has teamed up with one of the "go-to-guys" for political humor, Eric Schnure, to offer students an entertaining yet practical introduction to political speechwriting. This how-to guide explains how speakers can deliver: 

• language the audience will understand and remember, 
• anecdotes that make listeners laugh and cry, 
• wit that pokes fun at opponents but also shows their own lighter side, and
• support in the way of statistics, examples, and testimony. 

Packed with annotated speeches from the most recent elections, technology tips, and interviews from speechwriting luminaries, this edition offers the most practical advice and strategies for a career in political communication.  

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

For assistance with your order: Please email us at [email protected] or connect with your SAGE representative.

SAGE 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 www.sagepub.com

“All of us who write and speak and try to help others do so should be grateful. "

"A classic for anyone who cares about speech, or covers it."

 " By far the best book on speechwriting I have ever read: "

"This solid guide for speechwriters and speechgivers, written by a pair of the top practitioners of the art, makes both the philosophical case of why speechwriting matters and the very practical one of precisely how to make a speech work ."

" The Political Speechwriter's Companion is the first book on speechwriting I ever read, and it's the first one I recommend to anyone seriously interested in speechwriting as a craft. If you work in political communications (or really any type of communications) this belongs in your office." 

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• A foreword by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)  offers a rare view of the speechwriting process drawing from his four decades as a national figure.
• An expanded discussion of ethics clarifies for students the definition of an unethical speech and provides examples of recent speeches that were plagiarized or misleading. 
• New content on technology provides students with new websites and avenues to communicate—making it easier for students to their conduct research and expand their reach.
• Influences from political life are integrated throughout each chapter to help students understand the motivation for speeches and the true stories that have influenced the language. 
• New co-author Eric Schnure draws from years of speechwriting experience to help students develop good speechwriting skills. Called by one reporter the "go-to-guys" for political humor in Washington, he also provides insights into the roasts that are part of Washington life. 
• An expanded discussion on persuasion provides students with a critical assessment of the elements of persuasion, as well as the reasons why persuasive speech has dominated the field. 
• A new interview with Dr. Elvin Lim, author of The Anti-Intellectual Presidency, enables students to develop a more nuanced view about issues discussed in the book by examining the views of someone whose ideas are opposite of the authors. 

KEY FEATURES:

• Annotated Speeches provide students with important notes and help clarify the variety of techniques used in speechwriting. 
• Interviews with some of the best speechwriters in the country offer students helpful tips for crafting a successful speech. 
• “Behind the Scenes” insights from historic speeches give students a glimpse into the work that it takes to pull off an effective speech. 
• Multiple exercises throughout the book enable students to practice and build their speechwriting skills. 
• A “Speechwriter’s Checklist” at the end of every chapter reminds students of the most important things they will need to remember when drafting a speech. 
• “As Delivered” boxes point students to a series of web links where they can watch the speeches being discussed in the book.  

Preview this book

Sample materials & chapters.

Chapter 1: The Political Speech

Chapter 4: Research

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Doris Kearns Goodwin and husband Dick Goodwin lived, observed, created and chronicled the 1960s

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Book Review

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s

By Doris Kearns Goodwin Simon & Schuster: 480 pages, $35 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores.

“An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s” isn’t precisely the book that presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin set out to write.

Dominating this often fascinating volume is both the colossal presence and the sudden absence of Richard “Dick” Goodwin, Doris’ late husband, whose speechwriting talents defined some of the most memorable moments of the 1960s. The couple’s aim was to co-write a book based on his extraordinary archive — 300 boxes! — of personal papers and curios, from voluminous speech drafts to a shattered police club from the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.

Husband and wife spent years perusing and discussing those treasures, an effort short-circuited by his death in 2018, at 86, of cancer. Amid her grief and a move from their rambling home in Concord, Mass., to a Boston condo, Goodwin took up the project on her own.

She describes the result as a hybrid of history, biography and memoir. At its most poignant, “An Unfinished Love Story” is, as the title indicates, an account of personal loss. It also turns out to be a reflection on the process of constructing history, suggesting how time, perspective and stories left unwritten can shape our view of the past.

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Goodwin, the author of award-winning biographies of Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and others, has a nice touch as a storyteller. Here she successfully navigates the awkward feat of weaving together the couple’s gently probing conversations, her husband’s archival documentation, other historical sources and her own reporting.

“An Unfinished Love Story” offers a bird’s-eye view of familiar events, and of a decade marked by both idealism and political violence. “Too often,” Goodwin writes, with her characteristic optimism, “memories of assassination, violence, and social turmoil have obscured the greatest illumination of the Sixties, the spark of communal idealism and belief that kindled social justice and love for a more inclusive vision of America.”

While arguing for this rosier perspective, the book provides nuance and detail on matters such as the origins of the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress, Robert F. Kennedy’s private agonies over whether to challenge LBJ for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968, and Jackie Kennedy’s emotional struggles after her husband’s 1963 assassination. In a 1966 letter from Hawaii, Jackie addresses Dick Goodwin, her close friend, as a fellow “lost soul” and complains of “memories that drag you down into a life that can never be the same.” That is a sentiment that Doris Kearns Goodwin understands.

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She and the then-married Goodwin — with his “curly, disheveled black hair,” “thick, unruly eyebrows” and “pockmarked face” — met at Harvard in 1972, where she taught a popular course on the American presidency. He had left the Johnson administration in 1965, three years before she joined it, and had become disillusioned with the Vietnam War. Despite having penned her own antiwar piece for the New Republic, she would become an LBJ confidante, an aide on his presidential memoirs and a lifelong admirer.

Not just a speechwriter but a policy advisor and political strategist, Dick Goodwin enjoyed a Zelig-like march through 20th century American history. President of the Harvard Law Review and law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Goodwin worked for two presidents, John F. Kennedy and Johnson, and several would-be presidents, including Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy. He later wrote the concession speech that Al Gore delivered after the Supreme Court stopped the recount of the 2000 presidential election vote in Florida.

According to his widow, Goodwin idolized the coolly self-possessed JFK, fused with LBJ, regarded McCarthy as “the most original mind” he’d encountered in politics and adored RFK, his best friend of the bunch. (No mention is made here of the seamier side of these politicians’ lives, or how their sexual indiscretions bear on their legacies.)

Nearly every Democratic leader seems to have sought the services of the brilliant, cigar-smoking, workaholic Goodwin. But, as “An Unfinished Love Story” makes clear, he was more than a pen for hire. Goodwin had passionately held views about civil rights, the alleviation of poverty and other issues. As Johnson’s principal speechwriter, he helped fashion both the title and the programs of the Great Society. He was responsible for LBJ’s single most powerful speech, on behalf of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which coopted the anthem of the civil rights movement: “We Shall Overcome.”

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Goodwin left the Johnson administration, against the president’s wishes, to pursue a solo writing career. Over time, his public stance against American involvement in Vietnam pitted him against his former boss. “It’s like being bitten by your own dog,” Johnson said of Goodwin’s defection.

Goodwin was, at heart, deeply loyal, his widow suggests, even if he sometimes chose loyalty to principles over personal attachments. On the other hand, when a previously hesitant Bobby Kennedy entered the 1968 Democratic primary race against McCarthy, friendship prevailed, and Goodwin switched sides, as he had earlier warned McCarthy he would. The RFK assassination, following victory in the California Democratic primary (and Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder earlier that year), was shattering for Goodwin, as for so many others.

“An Unfinished Love Story” is at its most moving when it touches on the Goodwins’ long, happy, occasionally contentious marriage; its bumpy origins (after becoming a widower, he wasn’t as ready to commit as she was); and his emotional farewell. Always attuned to relationships, Goodwin is an astute chronicler of her own.

Beyond underlining the brighter side of the 1960s, the archive and the conversations it prompted changed the couple’s views of the two presidents they served. She gained a deeper appreciation of the impact of Kennedy’s idealism, she writes, while her husband moderated his long-standing bitterness toward Johnson. Embedded in that rapprochement is an unstated hope: that more knowledge and informed debate might somehow ease our country’s current political polarization as well.

Julia M. Klein is a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia.

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Political Speechwriters

• Requirements
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Employment Prospects

Most political speechwriters work for politicians or political consulting groups. Many jobs are in Washington, D.C., but there are opportunities available across the nation at the state and local government levels. One thing to keep in mind: It can be very difficult to write speeches supporting issues that go against you own views or morals. If you find employment with a politician who is closely aligned with your own opinions on issues that are important to you, your job will be easier and have the potential to be very rewarding.

Starting Out

One of the most important and effective ways of getting started as a political speechwriter is to make connections with people involved in politics. Volunteer for political campaigns and be an advocate of public policy issues that interest you. You can make good connections and gain valuable experience by working or interning in the offices of your state capital. You might also try for an internship with one of your state's members of Congress; contact their offices in Washington, D.C., for internship applications.

Some people pursue a career as a political speechwriter directly by working in the press offices of political candidates, starting out as assistants to speechwriters or press secretaries, advancing as they are able to demonstrate their ability and as opportunities arise. Others make the jump to speechwriting after having worked in the political arena as lawyers, lobbyists, or journalists.

Advancement Prospects

Political speechwriters have many advancement options. Entry-level speechwriters may progress from doing mostly research, to writing some low-profile speeches, to writing more important speeches. They may also start by working with politicians at the local level and move on to work with more prestigious politicians at the state or national levels. Or they may find themselves promoted to speechwriting positions that have more supervisory and organizational responsibilities, such as managing a team of speechwriters.

Some political speechwriters advance to non-speechwriting positions within public administration; for example, they may become politicians or political consultants. They may also make the transition to a career in media, finding employment as a writer, journalist, or a career in public relations.

Tips for Entry

Read or listen to the speeches of famous speechwriters such as Jon Favreau, who wrote for President Barack Obama, and Marc Thiessen, who wrote for George W. Bush.

Read The Political Speechwriter's Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers by Robert Lehrman.

Develop a sense of humor; all successful speechwriters learn not to take things too seriously.

Join an association of communicators like the National Association of Government Communicators and the International Association of Business Communicators; volunteer to meet everyone. If you are freelancing, network and hand out your business card. Writing speeches in any capacity will improve your chances of being a political speechwriter.

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Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson Lead ‘D.C.-Palooza’

In Washington, celebrities mixed with journalists and government officials at glittery parties before the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

By Callie Holtermann

Reporting from Washington, D.C.

The early arrivals at a party thrown by the Hollywood powerhouse Creative Artists Agency on Friday night seemed to be weighing the same question: Just how much could they expect to let loose during this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner weekend?

Their game of chicken did not go on long. By 8 p.m., guests at the talent agency’s event, held at La Grande Boucherie in Washington, were applying temporary tattoos to one another’s necks and trying to prevent their drinks from sloshing onto a baby grand piano.

The weekend’s main event, known as “nerd prom,” is a Saturday night banquet at the Washington Hilton Hotel. There, Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live” plans to gently roast President Biden, who is expected to take the dais and attempt some zingers of his own.

In addition to the annual dinner, the intertwined media and political classes celebrate themselves at a succession of receptions and parties that have made April a bustling month for the D.C. social set.

Despite wars, campus unrest and the criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump, plenty of journalists and power brokers appeared determined to make the most of this year’s schmoozefest.

“It’s really exciting to be able to just put politics aside, for one beautiful weekend,” said Desi Lydic, a senior correspondent for “The Daily Show.” “As well as our ethics.”

The CAA party was held in honor of Mr. Jost, who made the rounds with his wife, Scarlett Johansson. Mr. Jost’s boss, the “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels , marched straight to the food table upon his arrival. When he was asked what looked good, he replied, “The vegetables.”

Other guests included the second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the newscaster Andrea Mitchell. Hollywood was represented by the actors Rosario Dawson, Chris Pine and Kyle MacLachlan, whose political résumé includes his role as a fictional mayor in “Portlandia.” The CAA contingent was led by the company’s chief executive, Bryan Lourd, and the agents Rachel Adler and Joe Machota.

Located in a former bank on 14th Street, La Grand Boucherie is a stately two-story restaurant trimmed with stained glass and a gilded ceiling. Unlike those married couples who split up at parties to work the room separately, Mr. Jost and Ms. Johansson, both CAA clients, went around in tandem. At one point, as they maneuvered around a demiclad statue, Mr. Jost did his best to fend off questions about his role as the host of this year’s dinner.

“I’m too nervous right now,” he said.

Upstairs, Naomi Biden , the eldest of the president’s grandchildren, said that no celebrity sighting would excite her as much as her run-in with Ariana Madix of “Vanderpump Rules” during last April’s festivities. “I was like, ‘I feel like I’m the only one who appreciates that you’re here,’” Ms. Biden recalled.

But only so many cheese boards could stave off conversations about the media industry’s challenges: layoffs in newsrooms, the threat of artificial intelligence and the jailing of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia more than a year ago.

“The underlying tone of this weekend is, What do we do about Evan Gershkovich?” said Sara Fischer, the senior media reporter at Axios. “Behind every glass of champagne is an editor talking about him right now.”

The social agenda had begun on Thursday evening, when Politico hosted a kickoff reception at the British ambassador’s residence on Embassy Row.

The 17,000-square-foot manse, designed in the 1920s by the architect Sir Edward Lutyens , is an ever so slightly scaled down version of an English country estate. A sign bearing the royal coat of arms shooed certain guests away from a room full of chairs upholstered in white fabric: “No red wine in our drawing room please.”

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland held court in the garden, where fragrant peonies were in springtime bloom. Nearby, standing close to a tower of whoopie pies , Goli Sheikholeslami , the chief executive of Politico, was deep in conversation with David Risher, the chief executive of Lyft.

It is rare these days for a marquee fete to go without a sponsorship or some sort of brand presence, and the party at the embassy was no exception. An amiable server, cigar clipper in hand, offered an assortment of Diamond Crown Cigars. One guest was observed having a contemplative smoke on a bench in the garden.

“This weekend has become the highlight of the Washington social calendar,” Ms. Sheikholeslami told the crowd. “What started out as the ‘nerd prom’ has become somewhat of D.C.-palooza.”

But even amid the merriment and peacocking, outside events could not help but crash the party. Dame Karen Pierce, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, who hosted the event with Ms. Sheikholeslami, said she had attended a memorial that morning for seven aid workers killed in Gaza while delivering food for World Central Kitchen.

“A very difficult time in the world,” she said.

Some of the most coveted invitations came from the new class of digital news start-ups . John Boehner, the former speaker of the House, was among the guests who rode elevators to the top floor of Riggs Washington D.C., a luxury hotel in the Penn Quarter where Puck was hosting a party with the talent agency William Morris Endeavor .

The screenwriter and playwright Aaron Sorkin sat for an interview with the Puck writers Matthew Belloni and Peter Hamby that was recorded for Mr. Belloni’s podcast, “The Town.” Mr. Sorkin offered his takes on TikTok and artificial intelligence before the presidential campaign came up.

“Can I get an Aaron Sorkin anxiety check on Joe Biden and his re-election chances?” Mr. Hamby asked.

“I’m as worried as can be,” Mr. Sorkin responded.

As Mr. Sorkin delivered a monologue about Meta’s handling of misinformation during the 2020 election, guests who were not in the mood for wonky conversation posed for selfies at kiosks provided by Snap, formerly Snapchat, in the other room.

Joanna Coles, the onetime Hearst Magazines executive who was recently named the content chief of The Daily Beast, navigated podcasters sipping espresso martinis. Areas of interest for The Beast under her leadership? “Money, ambition, power, revenge and betrayal,” she said. “And, of course, we’re captivated by Lauren Sanchez.”

Nearby, Jon Favreau, the Obama speechwriter turned “Pod Save America” host, observed that the weekend’s social scene seemed to have rallied since its Covid-era lull. “It’s a lot of people like, ‘We’re out, we’re back, we’re partying,’” he said. “It’s like a high school reunion with grown-ups.”

The next night the social whirl moved to the Kalorama neighborhood, where a party for the digital news outlet Semafor took place under the watch of Secret Service agents in a private home not far from the Obamas’ residence.

The house belonged to Justin Smith, the former chief executive of Bloomberg Media who, in 2022, joined forces with Ben Smith, the former top editor of BuzzFeed News, to start Semafor.

Standing in his kitchen, Justin Smith said that his teenage son was upstairs playing video games and his Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Teddy, was in the basement. He lamented that the dog did not have a more distinctive name; a mistake he did not repeat when naming Semafor.

Ben Smith, who put in a roughly two-year stint as the media columnist for The New York Times, was seen joking around with the White House communications director Ben LaBolt. Other guests included Jim Bankoff, the chief executive of Vox Media, and Kasie Hunt, the CNN This Morning host.

Although he seemed bullish about his own operation, Justin Smith said he was stressed about how the news media would handle the upcoming presidential election. “It’s sort of unprecedented, the amount of misinformation, the amount of polarization, the amount of bias,” he said.

He continued: “Can everyone appeal to their better angels and somehow rise above a lot of this stuff and really look at things objectively and factually and independently?”

In a backyard lit by magenta floodlights, a photo backdrop with Semafor branding was set up next to a basketball hoop. The D.J. Lance Reynolds played relaxed music from the patio, where guests sipped rum punch with their backs to the pool. Everyone appeared a little wary of dancing — it seemed all too easy to fall in.

Callie Holtermann reports on style and pop culture for The Times. More about Callie Holtermann

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