WINSTON CHURCHILL
Written to be Spoken
Winston Churchill cared most about how his speeches would sound, not what they looked like on the page.When visiting the cabinet war room in London a few years ago, I learned that Churchill had his speeches typed like blank verse poetry, not in the usual rectangular paragraph chunks. On the photo to the left, you can see how the writing visually would have matched the cadences of Churchill’s speaking rhythms. Click to enlarge.
It is not wise for most people to attempt a speaking style like Churchill’s because he was so distinct and so memorable.
Develop a Speaking Style
Anyone attempting to succeed at speechmaking should work hard, as Churchill did, to develop his or her own speaking style. The style should always reflect the personality and character of the speaker but distinctive and appropriate speaking rhythms and cadences do need to be developed and practiced. Churchill himself rehearsed his great speeches. So should you.Ry always attempts to match his written words with the speaking styles of his clients and will work with you to help develop a distinctive speaking style.
Bill Good’s Advice
Ry learned most about writing for the spoken word from TV anchorman Bill Good, while working as a Senior Writer at the CBC TV Newscentre in Vancouver."Don't hand me any copy," Bill said, "until you've read it out loud to yourself and know that it works."
That was before Ry learned about Churchill's method but it amounted to about the same thing. And Ry only became a really good writer for Bill when he could hear Bill’s voice in his own head while reading the words out loud that Bill would speak on air a few minutes later.
It is interesting to note that we have not left the age of oration behind. At a time when this ancient skill seemed finally to have been overtaken by the glib clichés of modern media, Barrack Obama came along. And the rest, as they say, is history.