Chaith Derek Mooney tréimhsí mar chomhairleoir cumarsáide agus iar-chomhairleoir aireachta rialtais Bertie Ahern agus Brian Cowen. Anseo deineann sé cur síos ar na heilimintí tábhachtacha a dhearbhaíonn dea-óraid polaitiúil.
What makes a good political speech?
Cé go n-aithnímid carachtar President Bartlett Martin Sheen mar réalt na sraithe telefíse The West Wing, nuair a deineadh an pitch ar a son ar dtús bé an scríbhneoir óráide, Sam Seaborn – ról Rob Lowe - a bhí beartaithe mar laoch.
But even TV fiction must reflect the real world. While we know Ted Sorensen, Peggy Noonan and Jon Favreau as the main speechwriters for US Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Obama (respectively), other members of those large writing teams remain largely unknown.
Is mó gan aithne iad scríbhneoirí óráidí polaitiúla an taobh seo den Atlantaigh. Cód na scríbhneoirí óráide. Is annamh go mbeadh ainm an scríbhneora agat óir go bhfuil siad siúd dírithe chomh maith ar an t-ábhar atá ann, seachas an próiséis taobh thiar de.
Was he good? Sure. Was his speechwriter better? Probably.
But what is that process? What makes a good political speech?
Put simply, it should impact you. At a minimum, it should make you smile. Even laugh.
Is cóir go gcuireadh óráid cumasach ag smaoineamh tú agus ar a laghad miongháire a spreagadh ionat. Nó gáire fiú.
A decent speech should make you think. It should impart information, though not at the cost of becoming a lecture.
The one thing a political speech must not do, is bore you.
A good speech should persuade you. Make you reconsider your thoughts or opinions.
Ba chóir go ngríosfadh ard-óráid ag ceannaire spreagúil chun gnímh tú. Vótá a chaitheamh. Dul i mbun feachtais.
The late Prince Philip's mantra: "what the backside can’t endure, the brain cannot absorb" still holds true. Listening to a political speech should not be a challenge.
Listen to actress Anne Hathaway tell her story, appealing for universal paid parental leave.
Cad iad, mar sin, na scileanna gur gá a bheith ag an scríbhneora óráide?
The first is an understanding of your speaker. You tailor a speech to their voice, style and personality. But while you start out working within their comfort zone, as mutual trust and confidence builds, a good speechwriter gently pushes out the boundaries.
Tá iliomad teicnící agus coinbhinsiúin ann agus tú i mbun óráide a scríobh. Cuid mhaith acu, táid chomh sean le scoileanna óraidíochta agus reitric ársa na Gréige agus na Róimhe.
Whether it’s Aristotle’s Rhetoric (from where we get the rule of three) or Cicero’s five canons, these key elements of the art of persuasion remain relevant. They include:
Short sentences. Add as many full stops as possible. This helps the flow and eases delivery. You are writing a script to be performed, not an op-ed to be read silently.
"Don’t get it right, get it written". The key to good writing is editing. You don’t write a speech in one sitting from beginning to end. You start where you can and work out. As you edit, and re-edit, you strive to delete words (esp adverbs) and say more with less.
Bíodh téama soiléir agat. Scríobh script gur féidir cur síos air go garbh in aon abairt ghairid. Luaigh go minic sa téacs an téama céanna. Feidhmíonn an t-athrá. Mar an gcéanna don insint scéala. Tá ár gcumarsáid bunaithe ar scéalta, bíodh scéal le hinsint agat.
Have a beginning, middle and end. Dale Carnegie explained this as: "Tell the audience what you’re going to say. Say it. Then tell them what you’ve said." It is yet another application of the rule of three.
Dein tomhais ama air. Má tá seal 10 nóiméad agat, bíodh 110-120 focal an nóiméad agat sa script. Tugann sé seo an spás don chainteoir luas agus toinn chainte níos gaire don chomhrá a úsaid. Fágann sé bearna, fiú, don bualadh bos lár-chainte.
This point is crucial as some Irish political leaders succumb to the Late Late Show: something for everyone in the audience approach. A few lines on health, on education, on housing etc. All delivered at such speed that they are meaningless. One party leader recently delivered (or I should say shouted) their Árd Fheis speech at a breath denying rate of 150 words per minute.
An example of one of the most memorable pieces of political oratory of all time, Dr Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech.
Faraor, is beag lucht féachanna a fhaigheann óráidí polaitiúla an lae inniu. Cé go mbíonn óráid ceannairí na bpáirtithe ar an telefís, tá an lucht féachanna baile beag. Ní fheicfidh an chuid is mó againn ach corr shliochtanna.
Speechwriters are effectively crafting a series of one or two sentence clips that can be shown on news broadcasts, posted on social media, or quoted in the next day’s newspapers. Only the loyal party workers in the room get to see the whole thing and cheer and applaud where needed.
Does this herald the end of the long form political speech? I hope not. But that is the reality, and a good speechwriter works within the realities of their situation.
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