"Communicating Something Larger"

A new book on the trials and tribulations of speechwriting recently hit the book stores. Appropriately called "The Speechwriter," author Barton Swaim talks about his time writing speeches and talking points for then-Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford. Sanford, who currently is serving as a member of Congress, gained national recognition - and was the brunt of a lot of late-night talk show jokes - for the time he told everyone, including his staff and family, he was going hiking along the Appalachian Trail when, in fact, he was flying down to Argentina to visit his mistress. It did not end well for him. Swaim was his speech writer when all this happened.


One part of the book that struck me was a particular conversation between Swaim and Sanford when Sanford discussed his desire to "communicate something larger." As someone who has given talks before various audiences as well as written remarks for others to make before an array of people, I can completely relate to Sanford's wish. All of us, I believe, want to say things that are profound, have impact and, ultimately, are remembered. Writers, without question, want to write "large" in the sense that their words will live far beyond the seconds it takes one to read and/or hear them. Such a desire revolves around our own hope of being remembered beyond our time.


The truth, of course, is that this rarely, if ever, happens. How many writers, for instance, have penned something as lasting and memorable as "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."? How many of us have articulated a concept that comes even close to "......to hold these truths self-evident that all men are created equal......"? These are examples of "large" writing. Is such a phenomenon  a fluke? Yes and no. Yes, in the same sense a winning lottery ticket is. But, no, in the sense that for the winning ticket to appear, we first much purchase it. In other words, communicating "large" requires constant effort.