Becca Lachman is the writer and editor for OU's Division of Student Affairs, where she helps Hall-Jones in the speech writing process.
All eyes were on Jenny Hall-Jones, Ohio University's interim vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, when she gave the commencement speech at Edgewood High School near Ashtabula in May.
That speech she gave at her alma mater had been in the works for months prior to graduation day with the help of Becca Lachman, a speechwriter for Ohio University's Division of Student Affairs.
“We brainstormed about what she wanted to stress to her audience and how she could take all that she wanted to share and carve it down to be a powerful, 20-minute speech,” Lachman said in an email. “I took notes, gave Jenny a few trusty writing prompts to encourage the writing process, and asked open-ended, guiding questions in our meetings.”
Lachman and Hall-Jones sent drafts back and forth to each other until Hall-Jones felt like she was happy with the speech.
Lachman is the writer and editor for Student Affairs, where she helps Hall-Jones in the speech writing process, makes PowerPoints and writes the division's monthly newsletter.
“People think that you can just go talk off the top of your head to people,” Hall-Jones said. “It’s helpful to have somebody like a speechwriter or somebody to even help you sit down and brainstorm.”
The speech writing job Lachman holds requires 20 hours of work a week, but it’s a full-time profession, Hall-Jones said. Lachman's salary is $21 per hour.
“Whatever kind of writing I’m working on, my main job is to help VP Hall-Jones tell her story and the many-layered, ongoing story of Ohio University, including her vision for what she believes it can become,” Lachman said in an email.
Lachman described herself as a writer, poet and writing teacher, and said a job as a speechwriter felt like the "natural progression" for her. She is working for Student Affairs on an interim basis through December.
“Speech writing is only one layer of what I do as a writer/editor for the Division of Student Affairs,” Lachman said.
Writing content for speeches can be very collaborative at times, Lachman said. However, sometimes Hall-Jones has Lachman take on more of the initial writing due to Hall-Jones' schedule.
“In many cases when it comes to speech writing, what I do is give them an encouraging nudge — through a first draft or a list of talking points — and then they run with the material,” Lachman said in an email.
Hall-Jones said Lachman will help look over emails sometimes before she sends them out to Student Affairs.
“Sometimes I look through her past speeches and written materials and make a draft that incorporates what I hope to be the heart of what she wants to communicate, along with being as close to her voice as possible," Lachman said in an email.
However, Lachman said her background as a creative writer can sometimes be a hinderance for her as a speechwriter.
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“For me, the most challenging part about speech writing is backing away from what I’m used to as a creative writer,” Lachman said. “Instead, I usually end up having to strip away descriptions and phrases so that the speech can better reach a broader audience and be concise.”
Although other OU officials have speechwriters, the university can't speak to exactly how many are working on campus.
“It is difficult to tell you how many speechwriters we have on-campus," OU spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said in an email. "Many of the communicators at the university do write speeches or prepare remarks as required, but also have other responsibilities that take up some (or) most of their time."
Part of Lachman’s job is learning how Hall-Jones speaks naturally.
“Everyone has their pet peeves when it comes to things like tone, vocabulary and even punctuation — so I also learn what she tends to avoid,” Lachman said in an email. “Then the draft or talking points go back to the VP's special assistant and Jenny for their edits.”
Sometimes, Hall-Jones and Lachman will go through many drafts in order to make the speech the best it can be, “especially when it’s going to be published for thousands of students, parents, or presented as a speech in front of an audience,” Lachman said in an email.
Lachman has been working at OU for the past decade as an instructor, a writing teacher and part-time administrator. She also worked with Ryan Lombardi when he was vice president for Student Affairs.
“The best part of speech writing is being at an event and seeing how Ryan or Jenny used what I built as a springboard, then added something personal like a story, or switched the order of things to make the content even more their own,” Lachman said in an email.
Alexis Milesky, a junior studying education, said it's good idea for university administrators to have speechwriters.
“Collaboration is always welcome,” she said.
@megankhenry
