Sarada Peri, speechwriter for President Obama & Vinca LaFleur, speechwriter for President Clinton spoke to the WLP community over Zoom. They are both natural storytellers and they easily situated us in the immediacy of their work and their White House worlds. The conversations were riveting. Below are excerpts from Angela who reflected on Vinca's experiences:
It was so interesting to hear Sarada Peri and Vinca LaFleur talk about their work and especially how they came to speechwriting, which I thought was very empowering because of the winding road they took before they settled as speechwriters. Both Sarada and Vinca faced obstacles before they found their passion in speechwriting, and regardless of those difficulties, they became successful women in their field. Writing speeches for the President is definitely something I cannot imagine, just thinking of the responsibilities there must be; and I am glad that I heard from them because before now I did not know that speechwriting was a career or even a thing!
I personally really appreciate Vinca’s advice of “...start now being the person who stands up in the room and says something - not something off the cuff, but something you've prepared in advance.” I think for writers and non-writers alike, words are a powerful tool, and only with practice its full power will exert. Thus, thinking through words, preparing something in advance, having the opportunity to deliver them, and receiving feedback is a process that exercises our skills of not only speaking but also writing in a form of talking.
For leaders, the ability to speak to an audience is particularly valued, since speaking is a direct way of engagement and brings people together. Though there are leaders who are very capable of speaking on their feet or on the spot in an impromptu fashion, I think the speeches that are the most powerful and effective are the ones that are well thought out beforehand. Speaking off the cuff does not always bring the best result or achieve the expected reaction, which would be a loss of opportunity to deliver a point or make a meaningful remark.
- Angela Wang