How To Be a Great Speechwriter,

Dr. Lindsay Hayes

Dr. Lindsay Hayes shares some insight and tips on political speech writing

By: Jeremy Steinman Issue,  Date  

The  dreaded  blank  white  screen  can  be  

difficult  to  overcome  for  the  common  writer.  Dr.  

Lindsay  Hayes’  solution  is  simple:  take  a  shower.  

Hayes,  who  has  been  involved  in  speech  

writing  for  multiple  presidential  and  vice  

presidential  campaigns,  recently  shared  some  

insight  with  students  at  the  University  of  

Maryland  on  her  process  and  tips  she  uses  to  

write  a  great  speech.  What  she  shared  may  

surprise  the  common  writer.    

Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes,  above,  speaks  at  the  first  NCA  undergraduate  honors  conference  in  May  of  2013  (Photo  Credit:  NCA)  

 

Who  is  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes?  

  Hayes  first  experience  in  speech  

writing  was  with  the  White  House’s  office  of  

Speech  writing  in  2002.  While  there,  Hayes  

would  use  the  opportunity  to  gain  

experience  with  the  inner  workings  of  

politics  and  speech  writing.    

Hayes’  time  at  the  White  House  

proved  to  be  worthwhile.  The  jobs  that  

followed  included  writing  for  the  

Republican  National  Convention  in  2008,  

working  with  the  late,  Sen.  Ted  Stevens,    

     Republican  vice  presidential   candidate,  Alaska  Gov.   Sarah  Palin,  speaks   during   the   Republican   National   Convention   in   St.   Paul,  Minn.  in  September  of  2008    (Photo  Credit:  Associated  Press)  

-­‐-­‐-­‐  more  -­‐-­‐-­‐  

 

-­‐-­‐  and  working  as  a  part  of  Sarah  Palin’s  speech  

writing  team  during  her  2008  vice  presidential  

campaign.  Hayes  was  apart  of  the  team  who  

helped  write  Palin’s  famous  “Lost  Speech.”  In  

2012  she  served  as  director  of  speech  writing  for  

Mitt  Romney’s  presidential  campaign.  

  Hayes  normally  denies  interview  requests,  

but  was  willing  to  take  the  time  to  talk  to  students  

at  the  University  of  Maryland  due  to  her  

relationship  with  the  university.  Hayes  received  

her  Ph.D  in  rhetoric  and  political  culture,  taught  

speech  writing  classes  at  the  university  and  she  

 -­‐Elizabeth  King,  recent  University  of  Maryland  graduate  

The  family  of  Elizabeth  King,  a  

communications  major  who  graduated  in  May,  was  

extremely  impressed  with  Hayes’  commencement  speech.  “Out  of  the  three  graduations  and  

countless  commencement  speeches  my  family  has  attended,  Ms.  Hayes  was  by  far  the  best  

speaker  they’ve  listened  to.”  King  said.  “She  was  engaged,  considerate  and  delivered  a  well  

focused  and  creative  speech.  It  was  truly  an  honor  to  listen  to  her.”  

Hayes  describes  her  ultimate  goal  of  writing  a  great  speech,  as  trying  to  determine  the  

best  way  to  capture  the  client’s  voice.  In  order  to  achieve  that  goal,  Hayes’  goes  through  what  

she  calls  a  “messy  process.”  

 

Mitt  Romney,  above,  speaks  to  the  media  during  his  presidential  campaign  in  2012.  (Photo  Credit:  Win  McNamee/Getty  Images)  

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Sarah  Palin’s  Lost  Speech  Win  or  Lose  Sarah  Palin  had  a  speech  prepared  to  

deliver  in  2008.  She  never  gave  that  speech.    

With  the  help  of  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes,  Sarah  Palin  had  prepared  a  concession  speech  to  deliver  she  won  or  lost  on  Election  Day  in  2008.  Palin  lost  the  election,  but  was  barred  from  delivering  the  speech  by  Senator  John  McCain  who  was  fearful  for  the  repercussions  of  delivering  such  a  speech.  This  speech  is  now  known  as  Sarah  Palin’s  “Lost  speech.”  

Here  are  some  of  its  best  experts:    

• “If  [Obama]  governs  America  with  the  skill  and  grace  we  have  often  seen  in  him,  and  the  greatness  of  which  he  is  capable,  we’re  gonna  be  just  fine.”    

• “Now  it  is  time  for  us  go  our  way,  neither  bitter  nor  vanquished,  but  instead  confident  in  the  knowledge  that  there  will  be  another  day.”  

   

• “It  would  be  a  happier  night  if  elections  were  a  test  of  valor  and  merit  alone,  but  that  is  not  for  us  to  question  now.”    

• “I  told  my  husband  Todd  to  look  at  the  upside:  Now,  at  least,  he  can  clear  his  schedule,  and  get  ready  for  championship  title  number  five  in  the  Iron  Dog  snow  machine  race!”  

 

For  more  information,  check  out  the  link  at  the  end  of  the  article.    

 

Research  Stage  

  Hayes  goes  through  an  extensive  

research  and  planning  phase  to  ensure  she  

effectively  captures  her  client’s  voice.  As  a  part  of  

her  research  stage,  Hayes’  takes  time  to  

familiarize  herself  with  the  client.  She  researches  

their  family  background,  political  beliefs  and  any  

past  speeches  they  may  have  given.    

Before  Hayes  even  takes  the  time  to  sit  

down  with  her  client,  she  will  have  conducted  

thorough  research  and  will  already  know  a  great  

deal  about  the  client’s  personality  and  

tendencies.  Based  on  her  research,  when  Hayes  

does  meet  with  her  client  face-­‐to-­‐face,  she  will  

have  a  general  idea  for  the  best  style  and  

message  for  her  client’s  speech.  

  “So  much  of  what  she  does  is  based  on  not  

writing  the  words,  but  it's  getting  a  feel  for  

somebody  and  what  they  want  to  say  and  how  

they  want  to  get  there,"  said  former  Hayes  

colleague  Andy  Davis.  

-­‐-­‐-­‐  more  -­‐-­‐-­‐  

Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes,  above,  is  working  on  a  speech  with  her  team  of  speechwriters  near  by.  (Photo  credit:  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes)  

When  working  with  Sarah  Palin,  Hayes  

knew  that  Palin  had  a  unique  style.  “Palin  was  

hip,  knew  a  lot  about  pop  culture  and  was  

willing  to  take  risks.”  Hayes  said.  “I  realized  the  

best  style  for  Palin’s  speeches  would  be  to  use  

many  short  one-­‐liners  with  a  punch.  “  

Hayes  deems  the  research  process  as  one  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  speech  

writing,  as  well  as  a  problem  area  for  college  students  and  common  writers.  A  problem  Hayes  

addresses  specifically  is  the  credibility  of  the  wide  range  of  sources  available  on  the  Internet.

  “You  have  to  be  really  careful  about  where  you  get  your  research  from,”  said  Hayes.  

“When  a  fact  is  wrong  it  detracts  from  the  whole  message  of  the  speech.  If  you  don’t  have  

good  research  and  fact  checking  skills,  you  wont  make  it  in  speech  writing.”  

To  avoid  this  problem,  Hayes  emphasizes  the  need  to  double  and  triple  checks  the  

facts.  “It  doesn’t  matter  how  beautiful  the  writing  is,  if  you  get  dinged  on  something  stupid,  

that’s  it  forever.”  Hayes  said.  

The  time  and  effort  Hayes  puts  into  her  

research  is  a  main  reason  she  is  so  successful.  

Despite  her  thorough  research  process,  she  

struggles  to  put  the  pen  to  paper  just  like  so  

many  writers.  What  separates  Hayes  from  

everyone  else  is  her  ability  to  be  effective  during  

this  period  of  struggle.  

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Writing  Stage    

    “The  first  thing  I  do  is  eat,  then  I  do  the  laundry,  then  I  vacuum  and  then  I  do  whatever  

else  I  can  do  to  put  it  off.”  said  Hayes  on  step  one  of  her  writing  process.  

  Hayes  used  to  believe  she  was  a  procrastinator,  but  she  later  figured  out  that  this  “white  

space”  as  she  calls  it,  is  essential  to  determining  the  best  plan  of  attack.  Although  she  may  not  

have  written  anything  just  yet,  this  time  period  of  “white  space”  allows  her  to  brainstorm  

new  ways  to  capture  her  client’s  voice.  Hayes  likes  to  brainstorm  while  she  does  her  errands  

and  chores  around  the  

house,  but  her  most  effective  

brainstorming  is  done  in  the  

shower.      

After  drying  off,  Hayes  finds  her  nearest  notebook  and  jots  down  all  of  her  thoughts.  

“This  way,  when  I  begin  to  write  the  white  space  is  not  paralyzing  because  it’s  not  a  blank  page,  

I  already  have  thoughts.”  said  Hayes.    

Hayes,  who  taught  speech  writing  to  college  students  once,  identifies  a  college  student’s  

tendency  to  wait  to  begin  writing  until  the  night  before  an  assignment  is  due  as  a  key  deterrent  

to  a  successful  speech.  Hayes  finds  that  when  a  writer  begins  their  writing  process  well  in  

advance  of  a  due  date,  whether  it  be  just  jotting  down  notes  or  thinking  in  the  shower,  is  critical  

to  successful  writing.    

Hayes’  ability  to  transition  from  the  blank  page  to  writing  is  because  of  the  preparation  

she  does  prior  to  her  due  date.  The  brainstorming  and  research  Hayes  conducts  allows  her  to  -­‐-­‐  

“The  first  thing  I  do  is  eat,  then  I  do  the  laundry,  then  I  

vacuum  and  then  I  do  whatever  else  I  can  do  to  put  it  

off.”  -­‐  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes  

-­‐-­‐-­‐  more  -­‐-­‐-­‐  

 

-­‐-­‐  create  a  general  structure  for  her  writing.  

She  acknowledges  that  there  will  be  gaps  in  

this  structure,  but  at  least  she  will  have  a  

general  idea  of  a  sense  of  flow.    

Once  Hayes  determines  her  structure  

and  sense  of  flow,  she  begins  filling  in  her  

gaps  until  she  has  a  complete  first  draft  

written.  Her  path  to  perfection  includes  

reading  the  speech  aloud  for  her  husband  

over  and  over  again.    

“In  order  to  write  a  good  speech,  you  

must  read  it  aloud.”  Hayes  said.  “Something  

may  seem  genius  on  paper,  but  then  you  read  

it  out  loud  and  your  like  ‘wow,  this  so  

boring.’”    

Editing  Stage  

When  it  comes  to  editing,  “You  have  to  

be  ruthless,”  Hayes  said.  “You  must  be  your  

own  biggest  critic.  Cut  stuff  out,  throw  it  on  

the  floor  and  move  on.”  This  is  an  issue  for  

the  college  students  and  most  writers,  

according  to  Hayes.  

 

Hayes  will  read  her  speech  to  her  

husband,  members  of  her  speech  writing  

team,  and  her  client  to  get  different  

perspectives.    Hayes  often  will  receive  

criticism  on  her  work,  but  emphasizes  that  

the  need  to  be  able  to  handle  this  feedback  is  

crucial  to  the  editing  process  and  successful  

writing.  

“Some  of  my  best  material  comes  from  

other  people.”  Hayes  said.  “This  is  because  so  

often  other  people  can  bring  a  different  

perspective  to  the  table  that  I  may  not  have  

seen.”  

What’s  Next?  

  What’s  next  for  Lindsay?  She  is  

currently  working  on  a  book  that  examines  

women’s  role  in  politics.  Perhaps  we  shall  see  

Lindsay  as  a  part  of  the  upcoming  presidential  

election  campaigns.  In  the  meantime,  it’s  

important  to  remember  if  you’re  struggling  to  

start  writing,  the  solution  is  simple:  take  a  

shower.      -­‐-­‐-­‐  more  -­‐-­‐-­‐  

 

 

LETS  RECAP!  

If  you  want  to  write  a  great  speech…  follow  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes’  

speechwriting  tips!  

1.)  Extensive  Research  and  Planning  

• Conduct  background  research  before  meeting  with  a  client  

• Double  and  Triple  check  your  facts!  

2.)  Make  Proper  Use  of  your  Time  of  “White  Space”  

• Always  brainstorm  about  your  writing  before  you  sit  down  to  write  

• Have  a  notebook  handy  to  write  down  thoughts  while  brainstorming  

• Start  way  in  advance  of  assignments  due  date  

3.)  Read  Your  Speech  Out  Loud  

• Seek  multiple  perspectives  • Don’t  be  afraid  to  take  criticism  • Be  ruthless  in  your  editing  

   

Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes,  above,  needs  a  large  cup  of  coffee  as  she  works  on  a  speech.  (photo  credit:  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes)  

For  More  Information  on  Dr.  Lindsay  Hayes  Check  Out  These  Links!  

• The Woman Behind Romney's Voice http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/the-woman-behind-romneys-voice/

• Sarah Palins Lost Speech http: //www.thedai lybeast.com/art ic les/2009/11/03/sarah-palins- lost-victory -speech.html

• Lindsay Hayes: The Romney Campaign’s Secret Weapon

http://inkwellstrategies.com/lindsay-hayes-the-romney-campaigns-secret-weapon/

• NCA’s First Undergraduate Honors Conference http: //ncablog.org/2013/05/22/ncas-f irst-undergraduate-honors-conference/