Postgraduate Workshop: 'Speechwriting in Practice'

The Network for Oratory and Politics invites current postgraduate students from Scotland and across the UK to participate in this workshop. The workshop aims to train postgraduate students to prepare their own short speech for delivery. Through three sessions led by current and former professional political speechwriters, the postgraduate students will be led through a series of exercises to compose a speech. Participants may be given material to prepare in advance of the workshop.

The three speechwriters are: Mr Rodger Evans is an award-winning speechwriter in the Scottish Parliament and is preparing speeches for a number of MSPs; before taking up doctoral studies at Columbia University (New York), Mr Rob Goodman was formerly speechwriter for US Representative and House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and former US Senator Chris Dodd; Dr Sara Lodge was speechwriter for the Secretary-General at the United Nations in New York before becoming Senior Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews.

Programme

 9.15 Welcome by Henriette van der Blom/Ernest Schonfield

9.30 Session 1: ‘Preparation’ led by Sara Lodge

10.30 Small group work over coffee/tea

11.00 Session 2: ‘Writing’, led by Rob Goodman

12.00 Lunch

12.15 Small group work with sandwiches

12.45 Session 3: ‘Presentation’, led by Rodger Evans

13.45 Delivery of speeches and concluding thoughts

14.15 Farewell

Bursaries

The Royal Society of Edinburgh is funding the workshop and a small number of bursaries worth £100. If you would like to be considered for a bursary to help with travel costs, please write a paragraph to us setting out why you think you should be considered. Please add if you would like to apply for a part-bursary, indicating your costs related to participating in the workshop.