Programme Information

Kate and Alastair step up to the mic on The Speaker

The Speaker

Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 April on BBC TWO

• Programme copy (Tuesday)
• Programme copy (Wednesday)
• Press pack

With a wealth of experience between them, former Labour director of communications Alastair Campbell and BBC Breakfast’s Kate Silverton were ideally placed to mentor the teenage public-speaking hopefuls of The Speaker in the art of communicating.

"I was asked to concentrate on the area of persuasion," explains Tony Blair’s speech writer, Alastair Campbell. "For me, the single most important thing when persuading someone is the central argument, then the power and passion with which you put it over. I was looking to see how well the Speakers could frame a factual argument and then put it over.

"We went to Egham and the participants had to make a specific case on a local issue and then appeal directly to the people of Egham to vote for them ahead of the others. I think it was pretty daunting but they did well."

Journalist Kate Silverton was asked to focus on the area of storytelling – something that’s absolutely at the heart of broadcasting: "As a broadcast journalist, storytelling is key," says Kate. "We took the participants through the basics of broadcasting, including how to report a story for television and how to stay sane during live broadcasts!

"We then set them the task of performing a live report and interview to camera. Some of them were really thrown by the ‘countdown’ they get in their ear while they were trying to concentrate on their interview ... a hard enough skill to learn when already qualified let alone to get used to in a short weekend! But they were magnificent and I was very proud of them," she adds.

Alastair is inspired by the speeches of leaders who have used oratory to make change and to lead through crises, such as Churchill and Martin Luther King, and says he’s been privileged to hear great speeches by great speakers and be involved with the preparation of some of those speeches.

"Tony Blair's conference speech in 1994 stands out for me. And also one of Clinton's speeches in Northern Ireland at the height of the Lewinsky affair, when he really got the crowds going and you could sense a genuine moment of progress in the peace process," he says.

Kate also names Martin Luther King as a public-speaking inspiration: "Inspirational figures for me include Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Barack Obama, in the early days of his campaigning. I love listening to articulate people who have the ability to construct brilliant arguments spontaneously and who can do it mellifluously, too," she says.

Both Kate and Alastair have some sage advice for public-speaking success: "Know what is the one thing you want the audience to take away, try to mix up the tone and use humour if possible," advises Alastair.

"Be confident but with humility," says Kate. "And be authentic because if you don’t care about your subject it will show. Finally, use nervous energy to good effect – if you can channel energy you will have that ‘spark’ that sets you apart from others, and that can turn a good speaker into a great one."