As you know, I have sent off the first more or less full draft of my e-book Speechwriting for Leaders.

There is much fruity stuff in this, if I say so myself. One of the points I make is that before writing a word the smart speechwriter needs to think hard about what is going to happen on the day:

Begin right at the very beginning of the speech–production process: the actual invitation sent to the leader, the letter or e–mail asking the leader to address the audience concerned. Then look at the end of then process: what will happen on the day itself and what is the speaker’s role in it? Don’t start drafting a speech until you know what you’re dealing with.

What is the event about? What tone makes sense?

All of which duly considered and used when drafting the speech, the fact is that on the day the leader is all alone out there in front of a crowd doing his/her best with the material provided.

And once the leader strides out to speak, what happens next is not under anyone’s control.

See for example this amazing speech by Vladimir Putin. A case can be made that he is now the best public speaker on the planet. Not because he is a great Obama-istic orator – he isn’t. Rather his pronouncements have a steely energy and intellectual engagement that is second to none.

Yet even President Putin can not control everything that happens. Just as he gets to his passage talking about learning lessons from the past – notably using force to meet force – something noteworthy and unexpected happens…

A metaphor?