The Basic Structure of Executive Speeches Should Never Be Changed
Ghost writing for executives is a unique, high stakes endeavor. High powered executives make important decisions daily that have a material impact on their organizations. So, the words written for them are very important and require a special approach.
That might lead one to believe that certain basic principles of writing might not apply when writing for an executive.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The basic principles and frameworks of writing are doubly applicable to executive speech writing and ghost writing. This is particularly true of the ‘narrative arc’ or ‘story arc’.
The narrative arc itself consists of 5 parts; Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. We’re essentially talking about the trajectory of the story, and much of good writing contains those easily identifiable parts.
All good story telling requires a background upon which the story will be told (exposition), tension that begins to build and conflicts that emerge (rising action), a conflict which reaches a peak (climax), a period thereafter (falling action) in which related issues are tied up, and a recounting or relaying of the main message (resolution) of the story.
Movies, novels, and all good story telling utilize this frame work over and over. Think of your favorite movie or novel and you can quite easily identify those elements.
There’s no reason executive ghost writing shouldn’t adhere to that same frame work. Imagine two executives standing on stage delivering keynote speeches to a room full of attendants. One tells a story that guides the listener along a logical path that holds their attention using those 5 narrative arc elements. The other sort of hits some of the same points but neglects to fully tell a story. Those 2 respective audiences aren’t going to react equally well to each of those presentations. That’s the beauty of the narrative arc: It works because it arises out of the logic by which humans understand story.
Keep that in mind when you’re hiring your next executive ghost writer.