A political speechwriter is a professional who researches, writes, edits, and refines speeches delivered by political leaders, candidates, elected officials, ministers, and other public figures. The writer converts policy positions, political priorities, personal values, facts, and campaign messages into spoken language that sounds natural in the speaker’s voice and makes sense to the intended audience. Political speechwriting also involves research, audience analysis, repeated revision, coordination with advisers, and attention to how the final words will sound when delivered aloud.
Political speechwriting sits at the intersection of writing, politics, research, public communication, and performance. A successful speech cannot simply contain accurate information. It has to communicate a clear central idea, fit the occasion, reflect the speaker’s personality, and remain understandable when people hear it only once.
The work is often performed under tight deadlines. Political events change, new policy details appear, advisers request revisions, and breaking developments can force writers to rewrite important sections shortly before delivery. Sources describing professional speechwriting also show that major speeches can pass through many drafts as political staff, communication teams, policy specialists, and the speaker refine the message.
The speechwriter rarely becomes the public face of the speech. The words are written for another person to deliver, and professional speechwriters commonly accept limited public credit for their work. This makes political speechwriting different from journalism, opinion writing, or personal commentary, where the writer’s own voice and authorship are usually visible.
What a Political Speechwriter Does
A political speechwriter turns a political leader’s ideas, objectives, beliefs, policy positions, and communication priorities into speeches designed for specific audiences and occasions. The job includes far more than producing polished sentences.
The process often begins with conversations involving the politician and senior staff. The writer gathers the main points the leader wants to communicate, studies the purpose of the event, identifies the intended audience, and reviews policy material connected with the subject.
The speechwriter then decides how to organize those ideas so listeners can follow them easily. A technical policy announcement, election rally, parliamentary address, memorial speech, community meeting, victory speech, international address, and party conference speech all require different structures and levels of formality.
Political speechwriters can also prepare talking points, short remarks, ceremonial messages, media statements, introductions, keynote addresses, event scripts, and briefing material. The exact responsibilities depend on the politician, campaign, office, communication team, and event schedule.
A strong political speechwriter therefore works as both a writer and communication adviser. The writer has to understand what the speaker wants to say, what the audience needs to hear, and how those two requirements can be connected through clear spoken language.
Political Speechwriting Starts With the Speaker’s Intent
The speaker’s intent determines what the speech must accomplish, so the speechwriter needs a clear understanding of the leader’s purpose before drafting begins.
A speech announcing a policy requires clarity and factual precision. A campaign speech requires a clear political argument and memorable priorities. A crisis address requires control, accuracy, and restraint. A ceremonial speech requires respect for the occasion. A victory speech requires gratitude, direction, and a sense of what comes next.
Writers normally gather this direction from discussions with the politician and relevant staff. Sources describing professional political speechwriting identify meetings with politicians, discussions of values and intentions, and consultation with senior teams as central parts of the work.
The speechwriter then converts broad instructions into a defined communication objective.
For example, a leader may provide ten policy points. The writer cannot simply place all ten into paragraphs and call the result a speech. The material has to be organized around one central purpose so every section contributes to the same message.
Clear intent also makes revision easier because writers and advisers have a shared standard for deciding which ideas belong in the final version.
Writing in the Political Leader’s Voice
Writing in the speaker’s voice means producing language that sounds believable when that particular leader says it aloud. Political speechwriting succeeds when listeners hear the politician rather than noticing the person who prepared the draft.
Different political leaders use different sentence lengths, vocabulary, levels of formality, emotional styles, humor, repetition, local references, and speaking rhythms. A speechwriter needs to study these habits before trying to reproduce them.
Professional accounts of speechwriting stress the need to vary tone and pace according to the person delivering the speech. They also show that speechwriters often remain publicly invisible because the finished speech is expected to belong to the speaker’s public voice.
Voice matching becomes easier when the writer studies previous speeches, interviews, public appearances, debates, press conferences, informal remarks, and recurring expressions used by the politician.
The writer should also identify language the politician rarely uses. A beautifully written sentence can still fail if it sounds unnatural coming from the speaker.
Political speechwriting therefore requires restraint. The writer’s personal writing style should never overpower the politician’s established speaking style.
Understanding the Audience
Audience analysis helps a political speechwriter determine which information, examples, tone, terminology, and level of detail will work for the people hearing the speech.
A town hall audience may expect direct references to local problems. Party workers may respond to organizational priorities and political direction. Business leaders may expect economic details. Young voters may need clearer explanations of how policy affects education, employment, technology, housing, or everyday costs.
Sources describing the speechwriting process specifically identify audience consideration as a core drafting step because the same political message cannot be delivered in the same way to every group.
Good audience analysis considers location, occasion, political context, existing knowledge, public concerns, language preferences, and the relationship between the speaker and the people in the room.
It also helps control the level of detail. Technical terminology can weaken a public speech when listeners do not have the background needed to interpret it.
The speechwriter’s task is to preserve accuracy while making the subject understandable on first hearing.
Research and Fact Checking
Research gives a political speechwriter the factual material needed to turn broad political ideas into credible public communication. Writers frequently review policy documents, government records, historical information, statistics, previous speeches, news reports, biographies, local information, and briefing notes.
Research is listed as a central professional skill because speechwriters often have to explain economic, social, administrative, or policy subjects clearly to general audiences.
Every factual statement should be checked before it reaches the final script.
Names, dates, locations, policy figures, budget numbers, program details, quotations, historical references, and legal terminology deserve particular attention. Political speeches are closely examined by journalists, opponents, researchers, citizens, and online audiences. A small factual error can distract from the entire message.
Research also supplies useful human detail. Local stories, historical context, short anecdotes, community examples, and specific observations can make a policy explanation easier to understand.
The writer should keep clear source notes during drafting so important facts can be verified quickly when editors or advisers review the speech.
Turning Complex Policy Into Clear Language
A political speechwriter makes complex policy understandable without removing the accuracy or meaning that the policy requires.
Political material often arrives in technical form. Briefing documents can contain legal language, administrative terminology, abbreviations, budget classifications, program rules, or economic concepts that are difficult to process when heard aloud.
Professional descriptions of speechwriting note that writers often act as generalists who translate complex economic and policy material into messages the public can understand.
The writer should identify the main public consequence before introducing technical detail.
A long explanation of a government program becomes easier to follow when listeners first understand who it affects, what problem it addresses, how it operates, and what changes for citizens.
Shorter sentences also help.
Written policy documents allow readers to stop, reread, and check definitions. Speech audiences usually do not have that option. The words have to make sense as they are spoken.
Clear political language is not simplistic language. It is precise language arranged so listeners can understand the subject without needing specialist knowledge.
Building the Central Message
The central message is the single idea that gives the speech direction and helps the audience understand what the speaker wants them to remember.
Large political speeches often involve contributions from many people. Policy advisers want their priorities included. Communication teams want media-ready lines. Political strategists want campaign themes reinforced. Regional representatives want local concerns mentioned.
Professional speechwriters describe the difficulty of combining these contributions while maintaining one coherent speech. Large set-piece speeches can involve extensive preparation and many rounds of revision.
The speechwriter has to identify the main message before expanding the draft.
Every section should support that message through facts, explanation, examples, contrast, personal experience, or a clear next step.
A speech containing twenty unrelated points can leave listeners remembering none of them.
A well-organized speech creates hierarchy. One primary message leads the speech. Several supporting ideas explain it. Details strengthen those supporting ideas.
This structure also helps political communication teams summarize the speech for media coverage, digital posts, interviews, and follow-up communication.
Structuring a Political Speech
A political speech needs a structure that carries the listener from the opening idea through the main argument to a clear ending.
Most political speeches benefit from an opening that establishes purpose quickly. The middle sections provide context, explain the issue, present priorities, develop arguments, acknowledge relevant concerns, and connect those points with the audience’s experience.
The ending should reinforce the central message and make the direction of the speech clear.
The structure depends on the event.
A policy speech can move from problem to policy response to public impact.
A campaign speech can move from current concerns to political choice to priorities and participation.
A commemorative speech can move from remembrance to meaning to continued responsibility.
A crisis address can move from verified facts to immediate action to reassurance and next steps.
The structure should remain easy to follow when spoken aloud. Long detours, excessive background information, and unrelated policy points make it harder for listeners to understand where the speech is going.
Writing for the Ear
Writing for the ear means creating sentences that are easy to understand when spoken once, without requiring the listener to reread them.
Speechwriting differs from article writing because delivery changes how language is experienced. Pauses, emphasis, speed, pronunciation, sentence length, and repetition all affect meaning.
Professional accounts of speechwriting emphasize that delivery is part of the writing challenge. They also note that a speechwriter has to consider how the politician will communicate the written material to a large audience.
Writers should read drafts aloud during revision.
This exposes sentences that look polished on a screen but feel awkward when spoken. It also reveals difficult transitions, excessive clauses, repeated sounds, overly long paragraphs, and words that do not fit the speaker’s natural vocabulary.
Formatting can support delivery too. Paragraph breaks, spacing, emphasis markers, pronunciation notes, and clearly separated sections help the politician move through the text comfortably.
A speech is finished only when it works as spoken language.
Using Stories and Anecdotes Carefully
Stories and anecdotes give political speeches specific human context when they directly support the speaker’s message.
Research during the speechwriting process often includes collecting anecdotes and examples that can develop the broad framework provided by the leader and senior staff.
A useful story should have a clear purpose.
A resident’s experience can illustrate how a policy affects everyday life. A historical reference can explain why an occasion matters. A short personal memory can reveal something about the speaker’s connection with an issue.
These details work best when they are accurate, brief, relevant, and respectful.
Political speechwriters should verify stories before using them. Names, personal circumstances, dates, locations, and quotations require checking, especially when a private citizen is involved.
The writer should also avoid adding emotional material merely because it sounds dramatic. A story earns its place when it helps the audience understand the subject or the speaker’s position more clearly.
Using Rhetorical Techniques Without Overwriting
Rhetorical techniques help listeners follow and remember ideas, but they work best when they support meaning rather than draw attention to the writer.
Repetition can reinforce a key point. Contrast can clarify a political choice. Parallel sentence structures can improve rhythm. Groups of three can make related priorities easier to remember. Short sentences can add emphasis after a longer explanation.
The context of the event should determine how strongly these techniques are used.
Professional speechwriters have warned against making every speech sound grander than the occasion requires. A local dinner, community meeting, policy briefing, parliamentary response, and major national address require different levels of rhetorical intensity.
The safest approach is to begin with meaning.
The writer should know exactly what the leader wants to communicate before adding memorable phrasing. Strong rhetoric cannot repair an unclear argument.
Simple language often produces stronger political communication because listeners can understand it immediately.
Humor in Political Speeches
Humor can make a political speaker sound more natural and approachable, but it needs careful testing because delivery, audience expectations, timing, and political context affect whether a joke works.
Professional speechwriters describe humor as highly dependent on the politician delivering it. Material that fits one speaker can sound forced when delivered by another. Experienced writers also test jokes before speeches because written humor does not guarantee an audience response.
Political humor should normally be short and easy to deliver.
Complicated setups increase the chance that the audience misses the point. Humor that depends on specialist knowledge can exclude parts of the audience. Personal attacks can shift attention away from the speaker’s main message.
Timing matters as much as wording.
Some leaders naturally handle pauses and comic timing. Others sound stronger with straightforward remarks.
The speechwriter should therefore write humor for the politician’s actual speaking ability rather than for the writer’s preferred style.
Collaboration With Political and Communication Teams
Political speechwriting is collaborative because speeches often contain material from the leader, policy advisers, researchers, communication staff, legal teams, campaign strategists, and event organizers.
Career descriptions of political speechwriters list collaboration and communication among the core skills required for the role.
The writer often becomes the person responsible for converting many separate contributions into one readable draft.
This requires judgment.
Not every suggested paragraph deserves space. Not every policy detail needs to appear. Not every stakeholder request supports the central message.
The speechwriter has to preserve coherence while respecting the people responsible for factual, political, and communication review.
A clear drafting process helps.
One working document, reliable version control, visible fact checks, clear deadlines, and defined approval responsibility can prevent confusion when many people are editing the same speech.
Collaboration works best when everyone understands that the final speech must sound like one person speaking, not several departments contributing separate paragraphs.
Revision and Multiple Drafts
Revision is a normal part of political speechwriting because the speaker and advisers refine tone, facts, structure, priorities, and wording as the speech develops.
Professional accounts describe major political speeches going through numerous drafts, ranging from small wording changes to complete rewrites.
The first draft should therefore be treated as a working version.
Early revision usually focuses on structure and argument. Later revision can focus on sentence length, transitions, repetition, accuracy, tone, and delivery.
The politician’s feedback deserves special attention because the final text has to sound natural when that person speaks it.
A sentence the writer loves can still be removed if the politician cannot deliver it comfortably.
Late changes are also common in politics. A new announcement, breaking event, updated policy figure, legal review, coalition decision, or change in event format can require substantial edits.
Professional speechwriters need enough discipline to rewrite quickly without damaging the logic of the entire speech.
Speechwriting Under Tight Deadlines
Political speechwriters need to produce accurate, usable work quickly because political communication is often tied to events that cannot be postponed.
Job descriptions for political speechwriters specifically mention tight deadlines, concise parameters, simultaneous assignments, and the need to manage several speeches at once.
A reliable workflow reduces deadline pressure.
The writer can begin by confirming the event, audience, length, delivery time, objective, required policy points, prohibited material, approval process, and final deadline.
Research should then focus first on facts that directly affect the speech.
Drafting the basic structure before polishing individual sentences also saves time. There is little value in perfecting an opening paragraph if the overall argument later changes.
Writers should maintain reusable reference material for recurring policies, biographical information, previous speeches, pronunciation notes, approved terminology, and verified statistics.
Speed matters, but factual accuracy remains essential.
Confidentiality and Invisible Authorship
Political speechwriters frequently work without public recognition because the speech is presented as the politician’s communication to the audience.
Sources on the profession describe anonymity as a normal feature of speechwriting and note that writers often receive little public acknowledgment for lines that become associated with political leaders.
This requires a professional mindset.
The speechwriter’s purpose is not to build a personal public identity through the leader’s speeches. The purpose is to help the politician communicate clearly and authentically.
Confidentiality can also cover drafts, internal discussions, policy information, political strategy, scheduling, and material removed before publication.
Writers should understand what information can be shared, who can review drafts, and how sensitive documents should be handled.
Accepting invisible authorship is one of the distinctive demands of the profession. The audience remembers the speaker. The writer’s success is often measured through the speaker’s ability to make the words feel personally owned.
Political Speechwriting and Authenticity
Authenticity in political speechwriting means making professionally prepared language sound consistent with the politician’s real beliefs, speaking habits, knowledge, and public identity.
Public audiences can react negatively when a speech sounds disconnected from the person delivering it. Professional commentary on political speechwriting has long recognized the tension created when audiences know that another person prepared the words.
The solution is close collaboration between writer and speaker.
The politician should actively review the material, change phrases that feel unnatural, add personal knowledge, and practice the speech aloud.
The speechwriter should treat this feedback as useful information about the speaker’s voice.
Authenticity does not require every sentence to be written personally by the politician. Political leaders depend on teams for policy research, scheduling, communication, and briefing. Speechwriting works in the same team environment.
The key requirement is that the final words accurately represent what the politician is prepared to say and defend publicly.
Preparing the Speech for Delivery
Preparing for delivery means refining the written speech so the politician can speak it clearly, confidently, and comfortably before the intended audience.
Political speechwriters sometimes work directly with speakers on talking points and delivery practice, while professional speech services often combine writing support with presentation preparation.
Reading the speech aloud is one of the most useful final checks.
The writer should listen for breathing points, pronunciation difficulties, sentence length, transitions, repeated words, awkward statistics, and phrases that require unnatural emphasis.
Long numbers can be particularly difficult in live delivery. They should be formatted clearly and checked carefully.
Names of people, organizations, regions, programs, foreign terms, and technical expressions may need pronunciation guidance.
The final script should also be easy to scan from a podium, teleprompter, tablet, or printed page.
Presentation preparation confirms whether the written version works in the real conditions where the politician will speak.
Types of Speeches a Political Speechwriter Handles
A political speechwriter can prepare many forms of public communication, each requiring a different balance of policy, emotion, explanation, persuasion, and ceremony.
Campaign speeches usually communicate priorities, contrast political choices, and motivate supporters.
Policy speeches explain government decisions, programs, legislation, budgets, or administrative priorities.
Legislative speeches address bills, debates, motions, government performance, or opposition arguments.
Victory speeches recognize supporters and set expectations for the period ahead.
Concession speeches acknowledge an electoral result while protecting dignity and political continuity.
Crisis speeches provide verified information, explain action, and communicate responsibility.
Commemorative speeches recognize people, events, anniversaries, or national moments.
International speeches require greater attention to diplomatic language, cultural context, translation, protocol, and geopolitical sensitivity.
Community speeches usually benefit from specific local references and direct discussion of local priorities.
The speechwriter should never assume that one successful template will work for every occasion.
Skills Required for Political Speechwriting
Political speechwriting requires strong writing, research, communication, collaboration, political awareness, time management, and the ability to accept extensive editing.
Professional career guidance identifies collaboration, communication, professionalism, research, networking, and political knowledge among the central abilities needed in the field.
Grammar matters, but grammar alone is not enough.
The writer needs to understand argument structure, spoken rhythm, audience expectations, political terminology, policy basics, public communication, and the speaker’s personal style.
Research skills are necessary because assignments can move quickly between economic policy, education, healthcare, infrastructure, foreign affairs, local government, elections, public safety, agriculture, technology, and social policy.
Emotional discipline also matters.
Drafts can receive heavy criticism. Lines can disappear after hours of work. Entire speeches can change because political circumstances change.
The writer has to respond professionally and keep improving the material.
Education and Career Path
There is no single mandatory academic route into political speechwriting, but writing ability, political knowledge, practical experience, and a strong portfolio are common requirements.
Career guidance for aspiring political speechwriters points to subjects such as English and political science while also emphasizing internships, campaign involvement, political experience, networking, writing samples, and entry-level communication work.
Practical experience can be especially useful.
Campaign volunteering exposes writers to political messaging and voter communication. Journalism develops research and deadline skills. Public affairs work builds experience with policy communication. Legislative or government communication roles provide familiarity with political processes.
Aspiring speechwriters should build a varied portfolio.
Useful samples can include a campaign rally speech, policy address, ceremonial speech, crisis statement, legislative speech, community event remarks, and victory speech.
Each sample should demonstrate a different communication requirement while maintaining a believable speaker voice.
Entry-level writers may begin with research, editing, briefing notes, short remarks, and supporting drafts before receiving responsibility for major speeches.
Multilingual and Regional Political Speechwriting
Multilingual political speechwriting requires more than translating words from one language into another because political meaning, local references, rhythm, cultural expectations, and speaking style can change across languages.
Professional speechwriting services increasingly cover multiple languages and combine speech preparation with communication and delivery support.
This is particularly relevant in multilingual democracies where political leaders address audiences across different states, regions, communities, and language groups.
A translated speech should sound natural in the language being spoken.
Literal translation can produce awkward political language, especially when slogans, idioms, humor, cultural references, administrative terminology, or emotionally sensitive topics are involved.
Local review is valuable.
A regional-language editor can check pronunciation, grammar, cultural meaning, and whether a phrase carries an unintended political interpretation.
The final version should preserve the leader’s message while sounding as though it was prepared naturally for that audience.
Ethical Standards in Political Speechwriting
Ethical political speechwriting requires accuracy, responsible sourcing, respect for the audience, and clear awareness of the consequences of putting information into a public leader’s speech.
A writer should not knowingly insert false statistics, fabricated stories, invented quotations, misleading historical references, or unsupported factual statements.
Attribution also matters.
Professional discussion of political speechwriting includes well-known cases where unattributed borrowing created major political consequences.
Writers should trace quotations to reliable sources and verify that the wording is accurate.
Personal stories require care as well. Private citizens should not be turned into political examples without proper verification and appropriate permission where needed.
The speechwriter also needs to distinguish persuasive communication from factual distortion.
Strong political arguments can still be written clearly without manipulating facts.
Credibility is difficult to rebuild once audiences discover that important details in a speech were inaccurate.
A Practical Political Speechwriting Workflow
A practical political speechwriting workflow moves from purpose and research to structure, drafting, review, fact checking, rehearsal, and final approval.
Start by confirming the speaker, event, audience, speech length, political objective, central message, required topics, and deadline.
Collect approved policy material, previous speeches, briefing notes, local information, relevant statistics, and background documents.
Identify the single idea the audience should remember.
Create the structure before writing polished paragraphs.
Write the first draft in the speaker’s natural vocabulary.
Read it aloud.
Remove unnecessary detail and shorten sentences that are difficult to process when spoken.
Check every number, name, date, quotation, program title, and historical reference.
Send the draft through the required political, policy, legal, and communication review.
Incorporate revisions while protecting the central message.
Prepare the final delivery format.
Run the speech aloud with the politician when possible.
Make final changes based on pronunciation, timing, tone, and comfort.
Archive the approved version and the supporting research so the team can refer to it later.
The Value of a Skilled Political Speechwriter
A skilled political speechwriter helps a leader communicate complex ideas in language that is accurate, understandable, personal, and appropriate for the audience and occasion.
The profession combines research, writing, editing, political knowledge, audience awareness, collaboration, voice matching, and delivery preparation. Sources describing the role consistently show that successful speechwriting depends on understanding the politician, researching the subject, considering the audience, managing revisions, and producing material that works when spoken aloud.
The best political speechwriting often appears simple because the hard work happens before the leader reaches the microphone.
The writer has already sorted through competing ideas, checked the facts, removed unnecessary language, tested the structure, adapted the tone, refined the speaker’s voice, and prepared the text for delivery.
For anyone seeking a career in political communication, speechwriting offers a demanding path that rewards strong writing, curiosity, political awareness, discretion, research discipline, and the ability to improve a draft repeatedly without losing sight of the speaker or audience.
A political speechwriter helps political leaders turn ideas, policies, values, and public priorities into speeches that people can understand when they hear them. The role requires much more than strong writing. It combines research, fact-checking, audience understanding, political awareness, voice matching, editing, collaboration, and preparation for live delivery.
Good political speechwriting keeps the speaker at the center. The language must sound natural for that leader, fit the occasion, respect the audience, and communicate one clear message. Every statistic, quotation, policy reference, personal story, and historical detail also needs careful verification because political speeches are often examined by journalists, opponents, researchers, and the public.
The strongest speechwriters also know when to remove material. Clear structure, shorter spoken sentences, useful examples, disciplined revision, and repeated read-aloud checks often make a speech more effective than complicated language or excessive rhetoric.
For anyone planning a career as a political speechwriter, the most useful preparation is consistent practice. Study political speeches, follow public policy and current affairs, learn how different leaders speak, write for different political situations, build a varied portfolio, and improve your ability to work under tight deadlines. Over time, these skills can help you produce speeches that accurately represent a leader while giving audiences a clear understanding of the message being delivered.
Political Speechwriter: FAQs
What Is a Political Speechwriter?
A political speechwriter is a professional who researches, writes, edits, and prepares speeches for political leaders, candidates, ministers, elected representatives, and public officials.
What Does a Political Speechwriter Do?
A political speechwriter develops speeches, talking points, public statements, event remarks, and other communication materials while making sure the language reflects the speaker’s voice, political priorities, and audience.
What Skills Are Required to Become a Political Speechwriter?
Strong writing, research, editing, political awareness, fact-checking, communication, audience analysis, time management, and the ability to write in another person’s voice are key skills.
How Does a Political Speechwriter Match a Leader’s Voice?
The writer studies previous speeches, interviews, public appearances, vocabulary, sentence patterns, speaking rhythm, and preferred expressions to create language that sounds natural when the leader delivers it.
Why Is Research Important in Political Speechwriting?
Research helps the writer verify facts, policy details, statistics, historical references, names, dates, and local information before they are included in a public speech.
How Is Political Speechwriting Different From Regular Writing?
Political speechwriting is created primarily for listening rather than reading. Sentences must be clear when spoken aloud, easy to follow, and suitable for the speaker’s delivery style and audience.
How Long Does It Take to Write a Political Speech?
The time required depends on the speech length, subject, research needs, approval process, and political circumstances. Some speeches require extensive preparation, while urgent remarks can be prepared under very tight deadlines.
What Types of Speeches Do Political Speechwriters Prepare?
They can prepare campaign speeches, policy announcements, legislative speeches, victory speeches, concession speeches, crisis addresses, commemorative remarks, international addresses, and community event speeches.
How Important Is Fact Checking in Political Speechwriting?
Fact checking is essential because incorrect statistics, dates, quotations, policy details, or historical references can damage the credibility of both the speech and the speaker.
How Can Someone Become a Political Speechwriter?
Aspiring political speechwriters can strengthen their writing and political knowledge, study public speeches, gain experience through campaigns or communication roles, build a varied writing portfolio, and develop strong research and editing skills.
