How do you keep your speechwriting skills sharp and current?

Great speeches have rhythm. Listening to songs, poems, plays are all ways to learn how to make words rhythmic. Repetition and rhyme help to connect with an audience. Always remember than an audience is listening to a speech, not reading it. How a speech sounds is more important than how it reads.

Know your audience. Know the words that will provoke a response from them and will give you the reaction you want from your speech. I would relate to their needs, their concerns and use words to give them a sense of hope or give them the motivation they need to move ahead in their perspective fields. Your voice has to be clear, loud and effective enough to stir your audience into action.

One of the ways I continue to grow in developing speeches is by investing in speaker training. Currently, I am taking a course from Les Brown. It's necessary to push outside of your comfort zone and continue to learn. Additionally, another valuable resource is Toastmasters.

Exposure to a wide range of current and past speeches enables me to keep my speechwriting skills sharp and current. Although the question mentions reading, listening and watching speeches, both live and recorded, provides a broader perspective. Also, drawing on the best techniques from the past boosts my effectiveness as a speechwriter. For example, persuasive figures of speech have been used in speeches since ancient times. They remain a powerful tool for speechwriters. I have been studying figures of speech and using them in my speeches for over 20 years. I teach 40 of them to copywriters and speechwriters to help them increase their persuasive powers. The act of teaching figures of speech has made me more effective at using them.

To this day I still find it difficult to practice in front of others, but it does pay off. Now I ask the listener to play devils advocate, and empower them to tear it apart and suggest what went wrong....better to fail and learn in front of a trusted listener than a general audience

An example I have seen is with people in politics, most do not really do much research and simply read what’s written without having a personal input on the subject. Makes it boring to follow at times

Creating a procedure for daily global event-scanning will broaden the speech writer's knowledge base and keep her aware of emerging issues, achievements, cultural developments, and other tidbits of information that are important to writing a textured and interesting speech. Such a procedure could include a set of five or six news outlets, podcast summaries, and even gossip sites. It is important to enter into the ongoing research with as objective a mindset as possible to avoid bias and constricted understanding of situations. The more broad the speech writer's knowledge base and the more objective her point of view, the more easily the audience will be engaged and maintained.

I'm reading all the time, so it's not difficult to have something current to mention, but in today's world this can lead to confrontation and distraction. I like to references something that occurred many generations ago and use that to related to current events

So true. Don’t always have to have an A4 document you can just TALK to your audience. The traditional way of reading speeches should strongly evolve. You can even act it out hahah

It is all about the delivery. If you appear on a stage, people will look more on how you dress, move, how you use your voice, making pauses. The questions the audience asks themselves is "do I believe this guy/girl", "is he/she credible" and "do I like him/her"? So put at least as much effort in practice posture, gesture, use of voice, how to dress, where to stand on stage. The best speech can lose a lot on bad performance. Not so much on the contrary. A bad speech is a bad speech.

I found that volunteering to speak is a great way to keep in shape when it comes to delivering great speeches. It doesn't have to be long winded....in fact just look for opportunities to publicly recognize your team members at work....a few sentences of praise works wonders and keeps you in practice to deliver concise and meaningful information

Stories are powerful. Include them -- when you have the capacity to do so and they are authentic for the speaker. Consider whether the speech needs to have ad-libs built in. Consider too whether the speech-seeker is better served with speaking bullets to reference and or formal remarks. Insert pauses for the speaker. Bold key words and phrases - to highlight they are to be emphasized. Offer pronunciation guides for your speaker(s.) Avoid having sentences/bullets starting on one page and ending on another. Try to obtain and review recordings and or edited versions of your speeches to see how your efforts were received and delivered by the speaker.

The key to good writing is re-writing. The key to good speech writing is re-writing and testing. When writing for someone else it is important to write in their voice. Before starting, read as much of their original material as possible. Speeches (like most communication) is telling a story with theme or objective. Stories are stronger when you include facts & data (rational) combined with anecdotes (emotional). Wrap it up with a strong ending. Testing doesn't have to mean focus groups - record yourself reading the speech and listen back multiple times. Check for time, flow, impact... note appropriate areas for pauses. Then do more research and rewrite. I generally rewrite at least 3 times.

There's an old speaking technique my father taught me years ago (I've seen it again over time in different formats, but means the same thing): 1. Tell them what you're going to tell them 2. Tell them 3. Tell them what you've told them And use stories - personal or first hand accounts. I always try to be honest, clear, and to explain exactly why I'm saying what I'm saying. What the steps were that led me to the statement. I also try to break up how I deliver the information - especially if it's an actionable item. First I tell 'why', and then I tell 'how'. (Stories are invaluable here) When I ask for questions and there aren't any, I say 'either everyone completely understood what I just said, or nobody did' - it adds a sense of levity.