Journalism Tips - How to Cover a Speech

It's not always easy to cover a speech story, fellow writers. Why? Because it's often a tedious task. You need to keep yourself awake during the speech and get past the speaker's jargon and fluff (which may very well make up the majority of the speech.) That often requires hard work and concentration. But it's not impossible and your efforts will be worth it when you see your work in print. Here's how to cover a speech story the professional and responsible way:

Arrive early and find a good seat: If that speech beings at 7 p.m., that doesn't mean mosey on in at 7:02 or even 7. Come 15 to 30 minutes early, perhaps even earlier if the speaker's especially popular and you sense the room will fill up quickly (anytime a major celebrity or politician's scheduled to speak, you can bet the masses will run to see that person.) Sit on the end of the row so you can leave your seat quickly and easily if necessary. You don't have to stay put until the speech begins but mark your seat if you need to get up to take notes about the room or audience, or use the restroom.

Bring the right materials: You'll need a notebook, a pen or pencil, a digital recorder, and a digital camera. Obviously the notebook and writing utensil are for taking notes. Always take notes as if your digital recorder doesn't exist. Because if it breaks, you'll have to rely solely on your memory, which is never a good method because you'll probably end up misquoting somebody or forgetting how to spell someone's name. Take the digital camera even if the magazine or newspaper's assigning you a photographer. You can use your pictures as a form of field notes. Maybe you'll want to capture what the speaker or the audience or the room looks like.

Listen for the take-away moment: Many speeches have a pivotal moment that defines them. Maybe the speaker says something controversial or suggests an unusual plan of action. If the audience has a strong reaction to something the speaker says, chances are that's a take-away moment. Editors don't generally ask you to cover the speech point by point because, quite frankly, most speeches are boring and really only deliver one message, anyway. Focus on what that message is; don't summarize every second of the speech. The reader will want to know what the speaker's most interesting liens were.

Stay after: Don't leave immediately after the speech is over. If there's a reception, head to it and ask audience members for their reactions to the take-away moment. It may be harder to approach the speaker, who may already be gone by this point, but if you can ask him or her a couple of questions, that's great. If you're really lucky, the speaker may continue talking about his/her point at the reception so you can verify that you really understood what s/he was saying.