If we called speech openings “leads,” would we write better ones?
May 17, 2011
“Introduction” has no sense of urgency. Neither does “opening.” And neither do most speech introductions or openings.
That’s why I think we should start referring to the things as speech leads.
“Greetings,” said President Obama one recent Sunday night. “Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist whoโs responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.”
Now that, my fine lettered friends, is a speech lead.
Here’s another one, from a May 11 speech by one Lara Giddings, Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania:
Itโs no secret that this week has been a terrible week for me and the Government and Iโm not going to try to gloss over it.
First we lost Lin Thorp. Then David Bartlett informed me that he could no longer continue as a Minister and will resign as a Member of Parliament in the near future. Worse still, in last nightโs Federal Budget we heard that Tasmania had lost a further $343 million in GST revenue.
I must say that of the three events, the one that concerns me most for the long term is the further blow to the Stateโs revenue. Members of Parliament come and go, but the continuing erosion of the Stateโs finances has very real implications for the future of Tasmania and will require ongoing strong budget management and tough decisions ….
That is one Tasmanian devil of a speech lead, is it not?
Speechwriters, go forth and do likewiseโand as always, send us what you do! โDM