The value of a speechwriter is not to provide grandiloquent rhetoric, but to express
a speaker's own personality, passions and perspectives in ways that those who
know him best will say, "Yes, that's him."

In an ideal world, it's best to write your own speech. You'd do the time-consuming research, take more time for quiet reflection, more time to play with concepts, cadence, comic relief and content, and then try several iterations until you produce a speech that truly expresses you and your vision.

In the real world, time is the one resource executives do not have at their disposal.

So as an executive, you attempt to find someone who can wed your mindset with your message while addressing the realities of each venue, and the needs of audience members and news media.

Frankly, it doesn't always work. Few executives find a capable and compatible writer; fewer can afford such an exclusive service; fewer still have P.R. "handlers" who allow an outside speechwriter access to the throne.

Yet when it does come together, when a decisive leader clicks with a reflective collaborator, remarkable speeches appear. There is an ease and sincerity of style, an elegance of presentations, an inevitability of conclusions. These events resound in word-of-mouth and media for weeks and even months.

Of course, etiquette dictates that all speakers are told, "You did well" just as all mothers are told, "Your baby is beautiful." [Difference is mothers seem to know you're just being polite.] Yet with an outstanding speech, anyone can discern the difference between faint praise and fanfare. Applause, sincere congratulations, media coverage, and requests to speak at other venues, all result.

As in business, when your product is right, your customers tell you.

Is it worth the effort? Only you can answer that. Only you can decide whether the podium represents a chore or an opportunity. Either way, audiences will respond accordingly. Either way, it's your speech.