Your nonprofit’s CEO is the spokesperson of your organization. They take on all kinds of speaking engagements, including at galas and other fundraising events, award ceremonies, advocacy events, and to address staff. 

And you⁠—you communications extraordinaire⁠—may be tasked with writing speaking points for your CEO and other senior staff. 

Speechwriting is a craft in itself. Writing speeches for others has its own set of challenges. I have written countless speeches for CEOs and other staff as a nonprofit communications manager. Here are my top five tips:

KNOW THE PREFERRED FORMAT

I’ve written for a CEO who prefers to read a script word for word, and a CEO who just needed bullet points to make her speech sing. Before you even start, ask what type of speaking points work best for the speaker. Don’t assume! 

Whichever format works best, use a large font, and leave plenty of space between sentences. I tend to bold sentences that make a strong point. 

OUTLINE FIRST

Some speeches will be just three minutes, and some will be much longer. Make a short, high-level outline to ensure you are hitting all the points your CEO needs to make. 

You may be surprised at the direction they have in mind. You will want to clear that up before you begin to write. 

WRITE LIKE YOUR CEO SPEAKS

Yes, it’s not easy to emulate someone else’s voice. The more you write for your CEO, the more you will nail it.

At the very least, use contractions, short sentences, and avoid large and complicated words. 

Read the speech out loud, which will help you pluck out awkward and difficult to understand sentences.

ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME

Your CEO will need time to give several rounds of feedback until it sounds just right. Once the speech is in the final shape, they will need time to practice.

I’ll never forget thinking I gave enough time for edits, and then was scrambling to get all the speaking points on note cards just moments before my CEO was out the door to her event!  

TELL A GOOD STORY

As storytellers know, a good story will stay with an audience far longer than statistics and figures. Work in stories of people and families impacted by your organization. 

I would not overwhelm the speech with numerous stories - choose one or two compelling and applicable stories to bring the point home.  

I’ve found writing for nonprofit CEOs to be a great privilege. It’s a task that nonprofit marketers take on, which reiterates an essential truth about your job: you play a powerful role in telling your organization’s story. 

And stories make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place.