'Political Writing: A Guide to the Essentials'

Submitted by Johanna Martinsson

On Tue, 06/26/2012

Now and then we discuss specific communication techniques on People, Spaces,

Deliberation [1] that are essential to bringing about change, and in particular,
governance reform. CommGAP [2] also produced a series of technical briefs [3] that
demonstrate the theoretical underpinnings of communication concepts and tools,
including topics such as change management [4], negotiation [5], and persuasion
[6]. It was therefore a great pleasure when a newly published book entitled Political
Writing [7] by Adam Garfinkle was brought to our attention. As Garfinkle points out,
political writing is about persuasion. Its about persuading ideas and policies.

Garfinkle is the founding editor of The American Interest [8]and a former speech
writer for two U.S. Secretaries of State, namely, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
His latest book, Political Writing [7], is based on a course he taught to interns
working in politics in Washington, DC. Its a short and practical how-to guide that
introduces the essential skills and rules in how to become a better writer and it
covers different forms of political writing, including: the essay; the review; the oped; speech-writing, letters, toasts and ceremonials; memoranda; commission
reports; and blogs. In addition to rules, each chapter also includes recommended
reading and exercises. The book also covers the fundamentals of rhetoric and
polemic, and gives us a history lesson of persuasion and language, dating back to
the Greek agora. It ends with a philosophy of editing.
Political writing is an art and a technique that can be mastered, but it takes practice,
a lot of practice. Garfinkle talks about the importance of developing ones internal
standards of excellence, i.e. to drive our own writing to perfection. To get there, he
suggests reading a lot of good writing and practicing. The book provides a range of
useful writing tips and how to avoid common pitfalls. In addition to appreciating
good writing, Garfinkle discusses the importance of expanding our vocabulary, and
to read more broadly as well as in-depth on particular topics. Throughout the book
he also emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience and knowing your
purpose.

To me, the heart of the book is Chapter 4, The Essay. The rules in this chapter - 12
to be exact - focus on how to win arguments and win debates. As Garfinkle points
out, Essays can be extremely powerful vehicles of persuasion. Not only can they
convince readers, especially the minions of the uncommitted and still open-minded,
on discrete policy issues, they can frame entire subjects in a way that predisposes a
generation of thought about them. [p. 79] Here, Garfinkle refers to two examples

of influential essays: George Kennas 1947 essay, The Sources of Soviet Conduct
[9], and Francis Fukuyamas 1989 essay, The End of History?" [10]

To give you a flavor of the rules in this chapter, here are a few:

Pay great attention to the agenda of the debate. He who defines the issues and
determines their priority is already well on the way to winning,
Never forget the uncommitted,
When you have a good point to make, keep making it, and
Know your opposition
The rules in the book are based on the authors own experience and counseling of
others. For example, in his very first meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell, he learned that purpose always comes first, and audience second. Heres an
excerpt.

The first time I went to in to see Secretary of State Powell to get his guidance for a
particular speech, I asked him, OK, sir, what do you want me to say? As I asked
this question, I sat with my pen ready for action, my notebook on my lap. He did not
answer. Instead he fixed me eyeball to eyeball, and then slowly shook his head in
dramatically intended disappointment. After a moment or two, he answered. No,
no, no, Adam. Never ask me what I want to say. Ask me what I want to do. Ask me
what I want to achieve with this speech, or any speech. I hired you to figure out how
to say it. [p. 73 74]

There are a lot of insights like this throughout the book that makes it not only highly
entertaining to read, but it also makes it easier to grasp concepts discussed. If you
want to become a better writer, or are seeking to develop your internal standards
of excellence, this is a must read. And you really dont have to be into politics. So
how do we know when we have reached excellence? Well, according to Garfinkle,
When your efforts at rhetoric turn into poetry in the hearts and minds of your
readers, thats when youve made it, and made it big. [p.86]

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Tags:
Writing [12]
Political Writing: A Guide to the Essentials [13]
Political Writing [14]
Persuasion [15]
Communication Techniques [16]
Adam Garfinkle [17]
Source URL (retrieved on 01/23/2015 - 10:47):
http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/political-writing-guide-essentials
Links:
[1] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/
[2] http://www.worldbank.org/commgap
[3]
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTDEVCOMMENG/EXTGOVACC
/0,,contentMDK:21218788~menuPK:3275853~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~
theSitePK:3252001,00.html
[4]
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/ChangeManagementweb.
pdf
[5] http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Negotiationweb.pdf
[6] http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Persuasionweb.pdf
[7] http://www.amazon.com/Political-Writing-Essentials-AdamGarfinkle/dp/0765631237
[8] http://www.the-american-interest.com/index.cfm
[9] http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/23331/x/the-sources-of-soviet-conduct
[10] http://www.scribd.com/doc/12764389/Fukuyama-The-End-of-History
[11] https://twitter.com/PublicSphereWB
[12] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/writing

[13] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/political-writing-guideessentials
[14] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/political-writing
[15] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/persuasion
[16] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/communicationtechniques
[17] http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/category/tags/adam-garfinkle