For some, Open Mic Night at the local bar might conjure up some pretty bad memories - random people yacking about this or that, one minute a guy tells you about the novel ways to trim your hedges into the likes of farm animals, while another talks about his belief that aliens live amongst us. You and your buddies roll your eyes and dash for the door. And this is for good reason! Neither speaker took the time to consider some very important things.
You see, when a speechwriter sets out to draft a winning speech, he not only considers the topic - he thinks about the speaker, audience and purpose of the speech. Why, you ask? He does this mostly to keep the attention and interest of his audience. Let's take a closer look at this.