How to Write a Stump Speech

This is the eighth in Authentalk’s series about how to write subject matter-specific speeches. Call it “Politiciain”.

Politicians in the 1800s often had higher-pitched speaking voices than we expect from politicians today. I learned that in 11th grade AP US History. I have a pretty neutral, sometimes high-ish natural speaking voice, so I basically felt like Teddy Roosevelt.

The classic stump speech began on literal stumps in rural frontier towns. A politician would stand up, make the case, rally the crowd, and move on to the next town. It’s a repeatable argument for why this person, with these values, should solve this problem now.

Today, candidate are everywhere all at once. Think of Zohran Mamdani on TikTok or Donald Trump on Theo Von. These are abridged or lengthened formats, but they’re still weaving in stump speeches.

I’ve worked with some folks on their political aspirations. I’ve learned that too many very good prospective public servants never run because they don’t feel like they have the roadmap to pitch their vision in an authentic and accessible way.

So how do you write one?

Start With the Story

Tell the audience about your background (helping your parents’ small business, working at your first job). This opening story needs to answer a simple question: why you? Why are you connected to the problem?

If the audience relates to why you decided to run for a position most people distrust, they are more willing to trust you when you start offering solutions.

Pick Three Things

If you are running for Congress, mayor, school board, or local dogcatcher, your instinct may be to prove you have thought about everything.

Resist that instinct. A stump speech should make the audience remember your priorities. If you name fourteen priorities, you have named zero priorities.

The structure of each point can be this simple:

1. Here is what is broken.

2. Here is what I will do.

3. Here is why you can trust me to do it.

Repeat that three times.

Can you tell the priorities of these Michigan Democratic Primary candidates based on this debate?

Prove Your Principles

If you say you believe in hard work, show us how you worked hard like Romney talking about the Salt Lake Olympics or Fetterman working with the Teamsters.

If you say you believe in safety, demonstrate what life was like when safety measures failed, like Crenshaw losing an eye in Afghanistan or Giffords being shot in Tuscon.

If you say you believe in freedom, show your commitment to the principle, like McCain being a POW in Vietnam or Duckworth giving her legs in Iraq.

Which of these LA Mayoral candidates does the best job of proving their principles?

Use Compare and Contrast

Contrast can be about style: “My opponent sees this as a paperwork problem. I see it as a family problem.”

It can be about priorities: “They are focused on who gets the credit. I am focused on who gets the help.”

It can be about governing philosophy: “I believe government should be easier to navigate, harder to exploit, and more honest about what it can actually deliver.”

Here’s part of a skillful 2008 Obama stump speech, where he contrasts himself with both Clinton and McCain.

Make It Quotable

Your stump speech may be clipped by a fan account or be cut into a seven-second attack ad by someone who hates you and has too much free time. So write lines that can survive being pulled out of the speech.

“Hope.”
“Change.”
“Yes we can.”
“Make America Great Again.”

Make It Iterative

You are somewhat stuck with your big merchandise-level message. Once it is on the signs, shirts, and bumper stickers, you cannot reinvent it every Tuesday. But almost everything else can be workshopped.

Modern politicians do this constantly. Donald Trump has openly played with slogans and nicknames at rallies. Ken Paxton has asked supporters which insult they prefer for James Talarico.

The person who looks the most comfortable with the audience often has the advantage. Audiences can feel when someone is having fun.

Know Your Voters

A stump speech may be delivered to one group and aimed at another.

The people in the room matter, and so the donors watching later, the out-of-district supporters, the reporters, etc.

Thomas Massie once described the way some Kentuckians saw his appeal by saying, “They weren’t voting for libertarian ideas—they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race.”

Voters are both looking at your philosophy and your personality. That’s why I’m so interested in the tremendous clash between both of these things in the upcoming Maine election between Susan Collins and Graham Platner. There could not be a stronger contrast on personality, presentation, and policies.

A Stump Speech Outline

1. Hook/story


A concrete scene from your life that explains why this problem is personal to you.

2. The larger problem


Connect your story to the audience’s experience.

3. Three priorities


No more than three. Problem, solution, proof for each.

4. Principles


Name the values underneath your campaign, then prove them through background and action.

5. Contrast


Make the choice clear without turning the whole speech into a complaint.

6. Call to action


Tell people exactly what to do: vote, volunteer, donate, organize, bring three friends, knock doors, share the clip, show up.

Write a stump speech for a theoretical run for Congress. You’ll probably be better than this guy.