Many politicians don’t write their own speeches because professional speech writing is a skill. They may edit speeches, but it’s impractical to assume they have all the facts and figures. In the past, politicians were expected to be strong speakers, but now they are often expected to be business leaders or legal experts. Professional writers with a background in public relations or advertising are often recruited to write speeches.
The short answer is yes, many politicians write their own speeches, but that’s not necessarily a good thing for their audiences. Professional speech writing is a skill, and not every legislator or public servant has the inherent language skills to do it well. Politicians can be much better at other job duties, like drafting new laws or making informed voting decisions. Because an effective speech can take hours or even weeks to prepare, it’s not uncommon for top politicians not to write their own speeches.
A politician may be called upon to speak to a wide variety of voters on a wide variety of topics. It would be impractical to assume that any public official has specific facts and figures about all those topics stored in their mind. Professional speechwriters or staff members with strong research or linguistic skills are often recruited to write specific speeches tailored to specific audiences. Politicians may edit speeches for clarity or time constraints before delivery, but few modern political figures have the time to write their own speeches.
However, that wasn’t always the case. Political figures during the 18th and 19th centuries were generally expected to be strong speakers and statesmen, which meant they had the innate ability to write their own speeches. President Abraham Lincoln, for example, was widely admired for his speechwriting and oratory skills, even for a speech delivered at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg that lasted less than two minutes. Presidents were also expected to write their own State of the Union addresses and other important addresses to the public or to Congress.
Modern politicians, on the other hand, are often expected to be strong business leaders or skilled legal experts, not necessarily strong speakers or statesmen. The job of crafting a memorable speech often falls to professional writers with a background in public relations or advertising. This is mainly to prevent misunderstandings or even international incidents triggered by a bad choice of words. Politicians are always free to participate in the speech writing process, but their ideas may need to be skillfully edited by a professional writing staff in order to create a strong speech peppered with memorable sound bites and intense language.
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