Professional Development Session 1 PRSSA National Conference

Bob Lehrman, a former speech writer for Al Gore as well as Taylor Griffin, who worked for the Bush campaign, were the first set of speakers at professional development sessions who I had the pleasure of listening to.

Here are some semi-random thoughts and things which I learned in this session:

1) Obviously, the Press Secretary is going to be highly scrutinized for everything that is said. He and the president really do need to spend tons of time together so that all of the information that the two of them put out can be in perfect harmony. The things that are said have to have a certain grace to them. Phrasing something one way could make some people happy, however could endanger our soldiers overseas, or saying that our soldiers overseas aren't doing well could be detrimental in other ways.

2) Unless you have been living under a rock you should know that news cycles have changed greatly. The first source for information in the past was the AP wire, but now any media outlet is putting out news instantly. News output is continuous and stories are updated so frequently that what used to be in the paper one night would be irrelevant by the time it got to you the same morning. Also, now with technology as advanced as it is becoming, average citizens are often the first to report breaking news over their phone internet, picture uploads to the web, etc.

3) This is something that may not strike people as obvious but it makes a whole lot of sense. The president and those who speak for him should never write a speech above an 8th grade reading level. Why? The average American reads at a 7th grade level. Yes ladies and gents, sad but true. So, speech writers really are limited by what the average voters can understand vocabulary wise. You may think that using big words will prove to everyone that you are smart, but really it just loses your audience.

4) Who are the people who you focus on in a race? Since the majority of people do vote on party lines, the people you really need to worry about are the 2-3% who are undecided. This makes a lot of sense when you look at the last presidential election.

5) Advice for those of you who would like to work in politics in D.C.:
-Do a semester/summer in Washington. An internship, though often unpaid, is the best way to get your foot in the door. Visit your home state senator's or representative's office and ask if you can start a position locally.