These are the questions we are asked most frequently over the phone. FAQ’s are, by definition, not tailored to you or your communication. Please feel free to call us at any time for a more personal service!
What does Great Speech Writing do?
We help people communicate better. Many of our clients contact us initially for help with a speech. However, we specialise in all aspects of the comms spectrum – from article and script writing right through to developing communication strategies and identifying key messages.
How big is your team?
Here we are:
Who are your clients?
We work with individuals commissioning us privately, and with companies around the world. Their backgrounds and subjects range from social events (dinners, parties and weddings) to conferences, fundraisers and political events. As our relationships develop, we are often asked to help provide a wider range of help. For example, a client for whom we have written a conference speech may ask us to come a coach their team on delivery. A business asking for help with some messaging may then ask us to review their entire comms strategy in line with that message.
How quickly can you turn round my project?
Our team is office-based and we plan our weeks on the understanding that clients need help at short notice. We are regularly called-on to write or edit a speech 24 hours before the event. This is clearly not perfect – we always suggest that clients have a chance to adapt and rehearse our draft (with our help) to ensure that it sounds like them at the top of their game. However, we are there when needs must. A month’s notice is ample for any piece of work, ensuring proper time to prepare, write and rehearse. Occasionally it will take longer to book-in training days and projects involving international travel.
Is my secret safe with you?!
Absolutely! We completely understand that many of our clients don’t like to advertise the fact that they have had help from us, particularly when we have written a speech for them. We can sign an NDA, but we have built the business on the assumption of complete discretion. Fortunately for us, many happy clients do share us with their closest friends and colleagues.
Why do you have two websites?
This is to help our clients quickly find the most relevant part of our service. Our ‘social’ site focuses on speech writing for social events and occasions including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, clubs, societies and eulogies. This site focuses on our services for people communicating in a professional capacity. This is a broader service covering speeches, presentations, training, messaging, auditing and outsourcing.
What are your office hours?
Great Speech Writing is rarely closed. Our London office is open every weekday, but we ensure that writers are available almost every evening, weekend and during the holiday season. We reply to urgent enquiries 365 days per year.
Where are you based?
Our head office is in Highgate, London. We have writers based in the North West of England, Oxford and South London. We regularly travel overseas and have clients in Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, India, Africa, the Middle East and across Europe.
How do you charge?
We don’t have a rate card and prefer to understand exactly what a client wants, and then to prepare a bespoke quote for the project. We begin every relationship with a free consultation, be it over the phone, a meeting or reviewing a piece of work and offering observations and recommendations. If you have a budget ceiling, please let us know and we will do whatever we can to work within it in the most effective way for you.
Do you charge VAT?
Yes, all our quotes to clients within the EU include VAT. Our corporate clients tend to fund our service from their marketing and communications budget.
Why are you called ‘Great Speech Writing’?
Our founder, Lawrence Bernstein, spent many years running a brand consultancy in the City. He made a conscious decision over a decade ago to take a break and focus exclusively on the area that he enjoyed most: speech writing for social and corporate events. Over time, the business has grown and Lawrence decided to re-develop the ‘corporate’ side of the business. Although the two websites have remained separate, many clients work with us on ‘social’ and ‘professional’ speeches and communication.
How can I follow you on social media?
We’re on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. We post our latest blog pieces and videos, but you can access them directly here.
Who is your ‘typical’ client?
We are incredibly fortunate to work with people in so many different sectors and places, speaking on such a wide range of subjects. Our skill is transferable across them all. What all our clients have in common is a desire to communicate better. To allow us to help translate what they want to say into communication that will resonate with their audience. Some clients use us once to solve a particular problem. Others ask us to become part of their in-house team, and outsource all their communication to us (saving them a fortune in the process!). Either way, we would love to chat to you, whoever you are, and whatever you need to communicate better.
Apologies if some of these answers sounds a little repetitive. The truth is that no two clients (or speeches) are the same. We adapt what we do to each client (be they an individual or a business). We are always happy to chat – and to share advice without a charge. Please do contact us directly to discuss how we can best help you.