A good campaign speech has one job: getting your audience to do what you asked them to do because of what you said. In this video, political consultant Jay Townsend breaks down the two things you need to nail before you ever open your mouth — knowing your audience and deciding on your call to action — plus one often-overlooked step that can make or break your delivery.
The definition of a good campaign speech is this: the audience does what you ask them to do as a result of what you said. The first step in getting there is, one, knowing the audience you’re going to speak to, and two, deciding what you’re going to ask them to do.
If you’re in political life, if you’re running for office, you’re going to give dozens of speeches in various settings. No two audiences are exactly the same. Are you speaking to a political party organization? A group of administrators who care about health care in your community? A group of mothers with children in a school? Elderly people in a nursing home? The local PTA? You have to understand something about the audience you’re speaking to in order to know what your call to action is going to be. You can never know too much about the audience you’re going to address, and in a political campaign, you never want to miss the opportunity to fine-tune your remarks to exactly what you think the people in that audience need to hear from you.
The second step is deciding what you want them to do. Do you want them to vote for you? Give you money? Volunteer in your campaign? Are you speaking to a group of angry people at a town hall meeting you need to convince to your point of view? Are you trying to sway an audience filled with people you think support your opponent? Are you trying to advance a cause and get people in your audience excited about advancing that cause by voting for you? Are you speaking to like-minded people about a cause and letting them know they can advance it by supporting you with campaign contributions and boots on the ground? All of this goes into crafting a good campaign speech. The bottom line is you never want to give a speech to an audience you know nothing about, and you never want to give a speech with no purpose.
One other thing that’s really helpful: visit the venue where you’re going to speak a day or two before you speak. Why? Because no two venues are the same. If you’re expecting a podium and get there to find there isn’t one, that changes how you deliver your speech. If you’re expecting 200 people in a room and find out there’s no sound system, that affects your remarks. If you’re expecting to be on a stage at a particular venue and find out you’re on the floor level instead, that affects your performance.
Once you’ve tailored your remarks to a particular audience and decided on your call to action, the final step is being familiar with the venue where you’ll give your address. If it’s a place you’ve already visited, you’ll be familiar with it when you get there, and nothing will catch you off guard or unsettle you right before your speech begins. Those are the things that go into making a good campaign speech.
Q: What’s the definition of a good campaign speech?
A: A good campaign speech is one where the audience does what you asked them to do as a result of what you said. Everything else — knowing your audience, deciding your call to action, visiting the venue — exists to serve that one goal.
Q: Why does it matter who’s in my audience?
A: Because a political party organization, a group of healthcare administrators, mothers with kids in school, elderly residents in a nursing home, and a PTA meeting all need to hear something different from you. You should never give a speech without knowing who’s going to be in the room, because that’s what tells you what your call to action should be.
Q: What kinds of calls to action might a campaign speech need?
A: It depends on the audience and setting — asking for votes, campaign contributions, or volunteers; winning over an angry crowd at a town hall; swaying an audience full of your opponent’s supporters; or energizing like-minded people around a shared cause. Decide this before you write a word of the speech.
Q: Why should I visit the venue before I give a speech?
A: Because no two venues are the same, and surprises change how you perform. If you expect a podium and there isn’t one, if you expect 200 people and there’s no sound system, or if you expect to be on a stage and find out you’re on the floor, all of that affects your delivery. Visiting a day or two ahead means nothing about the room catches you off guard right before you speak.
Q: What’s the fastest way to go from a good speech to a great one?
A: Master the fundamentals in this video first — knowing your audience, deciding your call to action, and getting familiar with your venue. From there, dig into more advanced speechwriting and delivery techniques, since a great speech builds on the same foundation as a good one.
Jay Townsend has spent more than 40 years advising candidates on how to connect with an audience and win with their words. Browse the full resource library at JayTownsend.com or subscribe to Jay’s YouTube channel for new campaign strategy videos every week.
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