Steps to Becoming a Political Speech Writer

Josh Fredman reports:

"Speech writing in politics is a difficult art, and it's not for everyone. A good speech has to optimistically appeal to all the right constituencies, avoid unintended controversy, yet be provocative and eloquent enough to make the news, all while catering to a middle school reading level. Since the job is also very competitive, it isn't enough simply to be good at it. You also need to make friends and work your way in...Zippia reports that these days, a bachelor's degree is all but mandatory to get into the world of speech writing. Having a degree suggests that you're serious, disciplined and capable of following through on a commitment. The type of degree doesn't really matter, though some politicians and their staffs prefer a related degree, like political science or English. Don't quit college while you're there, either. Your speech-writing job will eventually end, but the degree will stay with you for a lifetime...Political speech writing is a niche industry. According to Indeed, in order to make it as a speech writer, you have to get politically involved. This means doing a whole lot of volunteering at first. Register with your local political party chapter and help out. Join political campaigns and volunteer with them[,] too. Assist with elections. Get involved in the later stages of elections, such as caucuses and conventions. Overall, aim to attach yourself to a specific politician in hopes of eventually getting a paid staff job...A complement to volunteering at political activities is to join a political nonprofit or activist organization that works on issues you care about. These groups have frequent contact with the politicians who represent them as well as with ideologically friendly politicians, which can provide a means for you to work with those politicians' staffs. Many people eventually parlay that personal familiarity into a paid political job...Politicians are much likelier to hire a writer with an extensive body of political writing publicly available to scrutinize, such as on a blog or website. Long before you try to get a political speech-writing job, hone your writing and work on building an audience. If you can show that your writing resonates with people, that makes you much likelier to eventually get a speech-writing job."