A speechwriter liked my column about the impossibility of measuring the impact of a speech, but in an anonymous comment, claimed to have found a reliable, if not quantifiable, measurement method.
“Here’s the secret,” the speechwriter suggests. “Your speaker must be scheduled for a spot on the program immediately before a break. As soon as the speaker wraps up, you (the speechwriter) make a beeline for the nearest restroom. If the buzz about the speech drowns out everything else going on, you win.”
And if not, the speechwriter suggests by implication … you lose.
High bar. —DM