Professional Writing is Music

8/9/2019 Professional Writing is Music

1/21

Professional Writing is

MusicDefining Professional Writing with John NorbergMatthew Mohamed

4/11/2008

Delve into the nature of professional writing through the perspective of a field expert, John Norberg.Mr. Norberg relates through an interview his views, feelings, and descriptions of professional writing not just in his own employment of speech composition but as a whole field. The interview responsesconsider the definition of professional writing, the use of ethics, the issue of public image, howprofessional writing is art, and more.


2/21

Professional Writing is Music

April 11, 2008

Page 2

Table of ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Rhetoric as Art: Meeting John Norberg .................................................................................................... 3

At First Glance ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Analyzing Methods ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Creating Interview Questions ................................................................................................................... 4

Gaining Trust and Keeping Interest With the Respondent ....................................................................... 5

From Questions to Answers: An Analysis of Responses ............................................................................... 6

The First Draft: Vietnam and Education ............................................................................................ 6

What is Professional Writing? ........................................................................................................... 6What Does a Professional Writer Do? .............................................................................................. 7

How It Feels Composing a Rhetorical Symphony...................................................................................... 8

Professionalism and Ethics ................................................................................................................ 8

Publicity ............................................................................................................................................. 9

The Art of Speech Writing: Tricks of the Trade ............................................................................... 10

But How Does It Make You Feel ? ................................................................................................. 11

A True Artisan ................................................................................................................................. 12

Who Can Write? .............................................................................................................................. 12

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A Original Interview Questions ................................................................................................ 14

Appendix B Interview Transcript .............................................................................................................. 16

Interview Transcription ........................................................................................................................... 16

Qualitative Section .......................................................................................................................... 16

Quantitative Section ....................................................................................................................... 20


3/21


April 11, 2008

Page 3

Professional Writing is MusicDefining Professional Writing With John Norberg

IntroductionCommunication can be considered one of the greatest assets of humanity; the ability to go

beyond body language and guttural grunts to truly define abstract thought and manufacture ideas.Communication can take many forms, and some immediately recognizable forms are as music, poetry,and painting. That which binds them together as art is their communicative properties, specifically theirability to invoke emotion and provoke thought and discussion by their use. Though rhetoric may notnecessarily considered art by popular culture, in many ways it fits all the criteria of artistic expression. Infact, sometimes rhetoric as an art is not popular at all by cultural standards, and yet still creates a

resonant effect in society. Such are the feelings of John Norberg, Senior Writer for University Relationsat Purdue West Lafayette, who relates for an interview his understanding of and feelings for his role asthe foundation of a modern rhetorician. He explains the gravity of his work and his feelings toward thehidden significant difference he makes in the lives of everyone at Purdue.

Rhetoric as Art: Meeting John NorbergSpeeches are amazing things to hear, especially when the person orating truly has the ability to

speak. My favorite contemporary political orator and presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, is one of those people; his speeches bring audiences to their feet and make them scream at the tops of theirlungs when he comes on stage to talk. His voice carries over people who are chanting his name like a

rock star, and his words reach the hearts of those who claim to want change. But are they really hiswords? If the person who writes his speeches is anything like John Norberg, it is entirely possible that noone will ever know, perhaps not even if they ask Barack himself.

John Norberg was kind enough to allow me to talk with him about what he does, but only because it waspart of a class project. He works as the speech writer for the recently elected President of PurdueUniversity, Dr. Franc Cordova. John as a personality is very humble, so any effort outside of a directquestion about his occupation toward those who have first-hand knowledge will have little to say abouthis full-time job. When he (or at least his position) was considered for my assignment, he could not befound connected to Purdue on any web searches except for his work with the Journal and Courier and a

few books he wrote. It took me going all the way to Dr. Cordovas office in Hovde Hall and asking thesecretary at the door about who wrote the University Presidents speeches to find out if there even wasa person who wrote he speeches. She kindly pointed me towards a corridor nearby, and walked me to asmall but comfortable room with a kindly and spectacled man at a desk. It was here that for the firsttime I met John Norberg. John is a man who, even though he is the sole speech writer for a highlyrespectable university president, still considers himself as just another writer. It was this very humilitythat allowed him to remove the popular influence from his perspective towards art.


4/21


April 11, 2008

Page 4

At First GlanceSorenson? Kennedys speech writer? You NEVER see, to this day, he never talks about it. You know. Kennedy had a speech writer, you know, all these great things that he said,it came from the speech writer. Still wont talk about it. And I think thats what a speech

writer should do. You are not there to be out in public. John Norberg 1

I only spoke with John for five minutes the first day I met him; I was crunched for time to get tothe bus before it left and I knew that he would be busy with his work, so I kept my initial questions to aminimum. It was all very general, simply asking his permission, but I realized immediately from hisattitude and statements that I was working with someone who I felt was very different than me,especially with regard to maturity. Here was a man who, in only five minutes, had made sure that I wasnot a reporter for the Universitys newspaper and that the interview was indeed for a class as I had said,and then changed my whole perspective of writing. I then told him I had trouble finding him as a speechwriter with Google. He replied to me that I wouldnt be able to find him as a speech writer online

because he believed speech writers should be behind the scenes. This struck me as unnerving because Ihad visions of glory as a writer with my double in a Creative Writing major, and in that moment I realizedthat if I was to write in my primary major of Professional Writing, I too may have to be behind thescenes. I thanked him for his time and left, we having agreed on a time and place for the interview asthe following Monday, March 31 st, at 10:30 a.m.

Analyzing MethodsAny report on people conveys an attitude toward them: sympathetic, indulgent, critical,

dispassionate. The attitude may not be made explicit but will in any event be expressed in the way the

people are presented to the reports readers. -Weiss2

Creating Interview QuestionsIn general, if there are difficult questions to be developed, it is important to establish a reliable

research relationship Otherwise they will communicate their absence of confidence in the questions.-Weiss 3

When I wrote out the questions I was going to ask John, I had to keep in mind the readings wehad done for class, as well as my goal of better understanding professional writing. I knew that anyquestions I gave to John would have to be ethical and answerable, and since there were personalquestions regarding his feelings toward his job and his educational background, I felt that some

precautions were necessary. The first few questions were to get a sense of his professionalism and hishistory with writing, and these were tailored to be as neutral as possible when addressing potentiallyawkward or distressing topics. I wanted questions that would show John for what he was, and reallymaintain his true personality. Clarity is difficult for me, so I took this heavily into consideration.

1 Norberg qualitative question 8a2 Weiss 2003 Weiss 76


5/21


April 11, 2008

Page 5

When the qualitative questions were finished, I realized after looking at the syllabus that I hadno idea was expected later on concerning the project. Things were listed, but they were not entirelyclear to me, so I decided to put a section for quantitative questions and ask those if I had time. Theseturned out especially helpful, since it was with these that I was able to determine what I may have

missed or been unclear in the qualitative questions. If it was already stated qualitatively, I couldreinforce that quote with a numeric answer. Furthermore, I geared all the qualitative interviewquestions as a positive bias, where the expected answer was yes. I did this so that any answers thatcame back with disagree would stand out. Furthermore, due to the uncertainty of what would beexpected of us, it felt safer to have a set of quantitative questions to have and use provided that the restof the class had done the same. Quantitative questions are useful only with a relatively large samplesize, but with the whole class contributing quantitative questions (or improvising qualitative ones) Icould be sure I was prepared for anything the instructor expected. Questions were designed in threeeasy steps, each accounting for an idea.

The first idea was to make fully aware to the audience the scope of education and background

for John the respondent so that he would be trusted as an expert, which has come up in the readingsas a rather dubious quality (as I detail in the section The First Draft: Vietnam and Education). Thesecond idea was to fully understand the interviewee as personality, as a character with a history and astory to tell. This would attract the attention of the audience, make them connect, and then give thatattentive audience a look at the feelings and ideas that are being shared. The third idea was to see ageneral overview of his day (not included in transcript but included in recording it so happens thatwriting all day does not entail a great need for explanation) and then use quantitative analysis toprovide numerical/binary data for any class exercise that might occur.

Gaining Trust and Keeping Interest With the Respondent

Keep in mind that you are at least as interested in the topics of the interview as a reader of ultimate report will be. If you are bored by the material, you can be sure its readers will also be bored. Weiss 4

During the interview, there were multiple times where the topic question was breached in favorof a side-note or discussion about something partly relatable. With the knowledge that there wassufficient time for minor deviances, I took these in strides and used them to develop a sense of trustwith John. These asides not only ended up helping my understanding of John as a person but gavecrucial information regarding things that were helpful to the interview after all. I understood that therewas potential for straying too far, but it was my decision to make the interview seem like a rather one-

sided conversation or discussion instead of an inquisition. I felt this gave John the impression that notonly was I listening, but that I was genuinely interested in what he had to say.

4 Weiss 82


6/21


April 11, 2008

Page 6

From Questions to Answers: An Analysis of Responses

The First Draft: Vietnam and EducationWell, I just have a bachelors degree, and my bachelors degree is actually in American

Literature, from DePauw University. 1970 John Norberg5

The first three questions were meant to establish John as an expert in his field, in reference tothe forum discussions made on how to define an expert of writing. In every aspect, John appearedincreasingly more expert when considering the qualifications set by Susan M. Katz in Writing Review asan Opportunity for Individuation. With regard to personal authority, In rhetoric and composition[expertise is] deriving from knowledge and ability in two spaces: a domain content space and arhetorical process space (Peeples 124).

6

The first interview question sparked a description of Johns escape from the Vietnam War draft,and he described how the experience of seeing people he knew being sent overseas made him

reconsider the importance of education in his life. Things I felt were important from these responsesincluded the necessity of graduate and doctoral degrees, of which there are none, as he states thatpeople dont commonly get Ph.D.s for journalism, or even Masters for that matter

7

What is Professional Writing?

. His degree inliterature paved the way for his acquiring a job in journalism, where he honed his skills in interviewingand gathering information; this experience was no doubt invaluable when he had to develop therhetorical context of his speeches. His literature degree, since he made no further comment, I can onlyspeculate on how it affected his work. Judging from what is taught in Purdues English 230 (GreatNarrative Works) and 267 (World Literature 1600-Now), I would expect that the literature degree helpedhim better judge rhetorical contexts by considering time, place, and audience.

One of the major questions for the class was what could be defined as professional writing. Thissame question was given to John in order to get into his thoughts about what he felt his job meant. Thequestions concerning his feelings and experiences about writing were six through nine, questions thatdiscussed his own definition of professional writing, his ethical standards when writing speeches, andhow he felt about being the writer for someone of recognition. In response to my question of thedefinition of professional writing, John said Well, I guess, I dont know, professional, what isprofessional? The word professional means you get paid for it, for one thing. It essentially means: yourean amateur, you do it for free; youre a professional, youre doin it for pay. 8

When considering how he and the university he worked for might see professional writing differently,his answer was more specific;

5 Norberg qualitative question 16 Peeples 1247 Norberg qualitative question 38 Norberg qualitative question 6


7/21


April 11, 2008

Page 7

I suppose the definition they [Purdue] are using is more of a business type of a, a typeof thing. You know, there are things that I like to write, you know, there are books that Ilike to write, and speeches that I like to write, whatnot, that I dont have time to get to,because I am busy writing the needs of Purdue, right now. I mean, thats My job is to

write for Purdue. So, professional writing is writing for someone else, I suppose. Writingfor the needs of an organization, the individuals within the organization. 9

This is in accordance with Katzs second statement on social authority, which recognizes when anindividual is viewed as an expert by a community he or she gains certain benefits including greaterrespect, access to resources, and power and influence [that designates one as expert] (Peeples125).

10

His reply was almost what I had expected, but what caught me was his inclusion of business. Includingbusiness redefines professional writing from a personal act to a social act, and then goes further to statethat it is not only a social act but a totally selfless act: an act of service for others. This new definitioncompletely eliminates the idea that an individual writing the piece may have a substantive personalinfluence in the document. His response ties in to the class reading of divisions of labor, specificallyKillingsworth and Jones Division of Labor or Integrated Teams, in which Johns act of writing theauthors would have considered as recursive: the process flows from planning to drafting and backagain (Peeples 331)

Via his employment by Purdue and his being valued as a columnist for Journal & Courier, he hasset up his foundation for being socially accepted as an expert writer.

11 , with John being one of only three editors; the President, his immediate superior(head of University Relations), and himself. In the same article, it is said that the emphasis in Taylorismand its descendants has fallen upon time and cost efficiency, whereas the emphasis in human relationsmanagement falls on worker motivation (Peeples 323) 12

What Does a Professional Writer Do?

. John is in a Taylorist situation, where his workis never known to be by his hand, and yet his personal ethic drives him to find worth not in the glory of public view but in the product itself.

John also expressed why he thought that it was absolutely necessary that professional writersexist when he spoke about how he provides his service to Dr. Cordova;

We help people communicate. So, the president at Purdue, I help her, or him,or whoevers got the jobcommunicate to students, to faculty, to staff, to alumni, tostate legislators, to national organizations, even internationalShe [President FranceCordova] has all these different groups that she needs to communicate with. And they

need to understand her, and what shes doing, and where shes going.13

9 Norberg qualitative question 610 Peeples 12511 Peeples 33112 Peeples 32313 Norberg qualitative question 6


8/21


April 11, 2008

Page 8

John, at this point, became noticeably excitable, with his excitement staying almost the whole interview.I realized as I was talking to him that the further I delved into how he felt about writing and what hisefforts meant for his clients (e.g. Cordova), the more he talked with energy and leaned forward to lookright at me. Being there, in the chair, I could sense through the shroud of humility a distinct and vibrant

pride. Even with this sense of pride, he committed himself to saying we instead of I anytime hediscussed a generalized statement. When I told him I was glad that he showed such fervor in hisresponses, he came back quickly with the agreeable statement, Oh, its fun, I enjoy it. I love it. 14 Hespeaks more on his love of writing in the section But, How Does it Make You Feel?, but for now let itbe known that he is not just respected and earnestly thanked by Dr. Cordova he received the sametreatment from Martin Jischke, Cordovas predecessor. When Jischke took office, John was hand-pickedas the speech writer. It is here that Katzs third position falls into play, that of situational authority:Situational authority is based on the immediate needs of a particular organization at a particular timethe individuals expertise has to be valued by the organization if it is likely to lead to authority (Peeples125). 15

He is completely justified in enjoyment of his work and for feeling part of a groupfor somecompanies, it is not a matter of whether the employee enjoys the work so long as it gets done. Such isthe case stated by Killingsworth and Jones, When they are closed out of one of the phases of theprocess, they tend to be critical of their organizations practice (Peeples 335).

16

This is certainly nothow John has experienced it.

How It Feels Composing a Rhetorical Symphony

Professionalism and EthicsFurther discussion about the way John feels towards professional writing brought up ethics,

which turned his demeanor very quickly into a serious one. When asked about the ethics required by hisline of work, he became a little more reserved and, though laughing at a joke at first, began speakingquieter and chuckling less when he spoke about plagiarism,

Plagiarism! You have to be very if you are using somebody, something, fromsomebody else, you quote it! Absolutely. You cannot take someone elses material. It must be contributed contributed very, very strictly. And you know, with the university president even more strictly than anybody else. So, A, not to put these in any order, but,you have to make sure that if you are using someone elses ideas that it is fully attributed. To the person, and to the individual source. 17

14 Norberg qualitative question 615 Peeples 12516 Peeples 33517 Norberg qualitative question 7


9/21


April 11, 2008

Page 9

His sudden seriousness had caught me off guard when he responded, and as I maintained myself hecontinued with his thoughts that developed into several different areas of possible ethical issues, onebeing truthfulness and honesty. It was apparent that honesty was a major factor in this mans agenda:

We do not lie. Just do not do that. It has to be the truth, it has to be honest (Lightly bangs fist). We report numbers, if, you know, were using numbers, they got (bang) to beaccurate (bang), we dont fudge em. 18

His hand-banging had gotten my full attention, and I realized just how serious this man really was. Hewas showing to me first-hand the very things that he felt were most destructive to the reputation of thespeaker and the writer, and these were infinitely important pieces of information. I questioned him onhow he might approach the issue of the necessity for perfectionist accounting. He stated that not onlywas rounding all right, but it was also better ethically than putting the real number itself when in theright situation. He states that,

You know, in a speech you cannot say, Its gonna cost us $86,000,000; $86,346,000,I dont know how to count; youre gonna have to round that off. Cause peoples earswont pick it. Peoples ears will get so confused. So we, we slightly round off numbers.But Im saying, you know, if you have, if your university numbers arent great, you gottause that number. You still have to use that number, and its important. 19

As Ornatowski puts it, a good writer is,

one who can negotiate successfully the subtle boundary between, on one hand, thestylistic and formal demands of clarity, objectivity, neutrality, format, and effective useof visual devices, and, on the other hand, the institutional, social, and situational (read:political) demands placed on text (Peeples 178) 20

The mood was still jovial, but it was obvious that what he was saying meant a lot to him and wasnot something he preached and then did not follow. Incidentally, it was at times like these during theinterview that I felt I could really trust what this man was telling me. Not because of what he was saying,but because of the pure and unadulterated emotion that he gave through body language and voice inhis words.

.

PublicityA major question for me was the acceptable amount of publicity the author of a speech should

have. Because I am working towards a double major in professional writing and creative writing, I wentinto the interview with the idea that a major novelist could generate the same fan base as a majorspeech writer. I couldnt have been more wrong in the way John saw things. I knew that Dr. Cordova wasa truly respected individualperhaps with international recognition in her job as an astrophysicistbut

18 Norberg qualitative question 719 Norberg qualitative question 720 Peeples 178


10/21


April 11, 2008

Page

10

now she was the president of a Big Ten university, and John was the one who lent her the right wordswhen she spoke.

The gravity of being in a position like Dr. Cordova carries a lot of ethical and social baggagewhen stepping up to the podium for a speech. As her speech writer, John doesnt want his name out foreveryone to see; again, what he does is a service to those who want it, and it is not for him to publiclytake credit for the speech; that is the job of the speaker, the orator. He feels strongly when he says,

Yeah, I dont think speech writers should be, publicly, talked about and some speechwriters do. And, this is an issue. When George W. Bush gave his Axis of Evil speech, someyears ago, I think it was the wife of the guy who wrote it was online, that night, tellingreporters it was her husband who wrote it. And, if he asked her to do that, I dont know.But they, people, you know, have written books, you know, about being speechwriters. 21

Johns description of how President Bushs writer was publicized online does not make John condemnthat writer; John seems to think that is part of his freedom. However, John also therefore holds adifferent ethical standard and demonstrates a different ethos, in contrast to the implicit adoption of the values of bureaucratic and scientific management suggested by the predominant concern withsuch issues as increased specialization, automating, and efficiency It is when corporate concernsdominate the individual that workers lose willingness to work; if an example is necessary, just look atthe result of communism in the U.S.S.R. Workers begin to feel that their work is banal andunappreciated. In contrast, John chooses to remain in the shadows, taking pride from the sidelines like abystander.

The Art of Speech Writing: Tricks of the TradeSomething that really stood out as a quirky ethical issue was Johns insistence on working withthe interests of the people. Over and over, in various places during the interview, he would bring up theimportance of standing audiences. He said the difference between a sitting audience and a standingaudience translated into a great difference in the length of a speech. He said that a sitting audiencewould get bored and aggravated after so many minutes of non-stop lecture if they were standing,whereas if they were sitting they could handle twice as much and still be relatively comfortable.

In one of the asides, John describes his experiences at a presidential campaign speech he wastold to cover as a journalist. He was the only one to take notes on the speech, and when he asked thecampaign officials about who wrote the speech, he was amazed to find that the candidate had done thewhole speech off of a few note cards; the vast majority of the speech had been done on the spot. Thatcandidate lost that year, and the next campaign he won four years later. When John studied thedifferences, he found that the year the candidate had won was the year he had a stump speechamemorized set of lines that was given at the more minor campaign stops. John felt it was due to theconsistency and timeliness of the stump speech that gave the candidate an edge. He also felt that this

21 Norberg qualitative question 8a


11/21


April 11, 2008

Page

11

was an imperative of every speech writer, because consistency meant everything when trying to get amessage across to many different people. His point: Always have a stump speech. 22

I felt this was a great piece of advice since it gave importance not only to organization but toconsistency of thought and peace of mind for the speaker, who after saying the same thing over andover, can expect and prepare for the same repetitive questions.

In another aside, when I asked him why he felt the way he did about writing for Cordova, heresponded in the same stark and serious tone he had used before as he said,

Its theirs [the clients]. Its their speech, its not yours. When I write it, I hear their voice. And I consciously focus on how do they say things, how do they talk. Its not mine. 23

And he doesnt just stop there, either. John has worked both for magazines and newspapers, learninghow to perfect his ability to cancel out his own words and use the presumed diction of the person he iswriting for. He has a very professional grasp on how to be an effective speech writer, and told me thatnot only does he pay attention to all the usual details like gathering information and considering hisaudience, but he goes so far as to time the speech rate of the person he is writing for so that he knowsdown to the second how long that speech is going to last given the words he chooses to use. He doesthis for many reasons, but especially because of the aforementioned issue with standing audiences.

These small extras that he has picked up are exceptionally important: as a speech writer, thelittle things in the speech are just as important as anything else. When it comes down to getting to thepoint, he can; when it comes down to making a certain timeframe, he can. All of these things help toincrease timeliness, efficiency, and organization; the very things that the bureaucracy wants, but Johndoes it without the pressure of the bureaucracy. In effect, John as a writer represents the best of everything: self-driven, productive, organized, and utterly capable. Was it fear of Vietnam that madehim this way? Or does it just make him feel good?

But How Does It Make You Feel ?As previously noted, John takes a great deal of pride in his work even though he doesnt

necessarily have to prove it to the world. When I asked him about his exact feelings, he gave me afantastic description. I asked him how it made him feel to have his words come out of someone elsesvoice. He told me he just loves itat least when it works out right:

I feel great when it works right. Its my job, is to make it sound good, I feel good. When I

go to a speech and I see its being well-received, when I hear people laugh at the right time, if I used humor, or be inspired, or be informed, I feel very good. And I dont need tohave it publicly known. I enjoy going to a speech, for instance, lets say the president [Cordova] is talking to the parents of incoming freshmen, of new freshmen. None of them know who I am, I can go sit in the audience and I go stand by the door when

22 Norberg qualitative question 423 Norberg qualitative question 8a


12/21


April 11, 2008

Page

12

theyre leaving, and I listen to em talking. And I can hear what they are saying, Oh, boy that was really interesting, you know, I feel good about that. I dont need to say, Iwrote it! I wrote it! No, no, thats not the point, I know, I know, I know inside myself 24

And not only that, but he even offered a story that goes to give example to the way he feelswhen he listens:

Its the old story of a man who was up on top of a cathedral, you know, and hesworried about some detail in a gargoyle, you know, getting it just right, and someonesays, Dont worry about it, no one can see it from down here! You know, just get it done. And he (the artist) says, But I can see it, I know. So when it goes well, I know. And thats the important thing. 25

A True ArtisanAs a master of his craft, John practices with skill and deftness his expertise. But does that make

it an art? As part of the quantitative section of the interview, I asked John if he believed that what he didconstituted as art or just another profession. His answer, on a scale of one to five with five being thehighest, said,

Yeah, five (5; I strongly agree). Its an art form. I believe this is writing, itscommunication, and you know, you could say its science, you know, its facts, you know,types of things, but I believe that all writing is music. Writing has rhythm, it has beat, it has tempo, it has all the elements of music. And a writer is, youre writing music, youreconducting an orchestra, and you know, thats art. 26

John believes it is an art form because it carries many of the distinct characteristics that define anotherform of art: music. He parallels the two as forms of communication and self-expression, but I think hesees it as much more. There is something called flow, a term used to express the totality of awarenesswithin a moment the point at which ones focus is entirely on the task at hand. Music is often used toachieve this, such as when athletes use it before matches to concentrate shortly prior to competing. Thefact that music and writing are, to John, so much alike may actually drive him into a self-sustaining blisswhen he works; a time when he is completely into his work and physically expressing his full potential.In fact, he states that one should be completely exhausted when finished writing; that if all the energydidnt go into the paper, it wasnt being worked hard enough. Not only is this telling of the man, but alsoof the mindset to which he sets himself, and the parallels to that of the focused athlete.

Who Can Write?Being at a school full of engineers and scientists, I wanted to know if my degree was going to be

worth what my teachers claimed it would be, and not as some fellow students would like to think. Iknew that I wanted to write professionally, but I felt that John might know a bit more than I would. I

24 Norberg qualitative question 8a25 Norberg qualitative question 8a26 Norberg quantitative question 1


13/21


April 11, 2008

Page

13

asked him if he thought that writing professionally required a high level of expertise, and if it wassomething that not everyone could do. He responded,

Yes, I feel strongly about that (5; I strongly agree). Not everybody can write. And most people, if theyre honest, will tell you that. I have people tell me they cant write whodo absolutely great work [professionally, other than writing], but they are not good writers. Theyre really important, but they need me to help them with that [writing]aspect of it. 27

His answer was more than a relief- it empowered my understanding of what I would be responsible foras a professional writer and how I could potentially be expected to help people of influence whocounted on me to make them be communicatively adept. This understanding can also be seen in hisdiscussion of the stump speech in the section The Art of Speech Writing: Tricks of the Trade. For themost part, it let me realize that no, not everyone can write- and that is good because it means a writersservices are in need.

ConclusionAs a person double-majoring in Creative and Professional Writing, I have had to struggle with

the pros and cons of each. In the beginning, I believed that on the one hand, creative writing tended toproduce less money on average but was driven by love of expression. In contrast, I thought professionalwriting could pay very well, yet depending on the situation there may be little to no self-expression. Ibelieve I have found my happy medium in speech writing. I completely understand why John loves his job so much: speech writing is one of the few professions that can be found wedged in the overlap of two very distinct sectors within a school of thought. It is relatively easy to be a mixed electrical engineerand computer engineer, or a sculptor and a potter or even painter. But writing as a discipline groundedin sophistic history, philosophic history, folk lore, and eventually fiction and otherwise things becomevery complicated, very unclear- to the point that writers cant even use modern words, instead relyingon old Greek like ethos and pathos to communicate what they mean. Speech writing is that truly happymedium- it combines the artistic and philosophic with the rhetorical and sophistic in a potentially world-changing profession that pays well. When a person can engage a congregation and watch them sway tothe bass tones of argument and the serene chimes of simple persuasion, what about it isnt harmonic?

27 Norberg quantitative question 9


14/21


April 11, 2008

Page

14

Appendix A Original Interview QuestionsI. Qualitative Interview Questions

1. So as to establish you as an authority, what is your highest degree, and in what field?a. From where did you obtain these degrees?

i. College?ii. Graduate Studies?

iii. Doctorate?b. What, if any, was your concentration or field of interest?

2. Besides speeches, what does your education or background grant you professionalqualification for?

3. What was your first professional experience with this field?a. College internship?b. Graduate teaching assistant?

4. Besides President Cordova, what major experiences would you like to describe of yourprofessional history?

5. What first made you interested in this profession?a. Was there perhaps a person of interest?b. Was there perhaps a specific class?c. Other?

6. How would you define professional writing?7. What code of ethics, if any, do you follow when writing a speech?8. As the speech writer for a person of international recognition, what is your opinion of your

work with regard to your own public image as a professional writer?a. Do you feel that professional writers who should be behind the scenes? Why do you

feel this way?b. Do you feel that writing professionally should carry with it a sense of honor or

respect? Why do you feel this way?c. How much input do you personally have in speeches?

i. What I mean by this is that works of art tend to carry a voice that reflectthe artist. Do your speeches have a voice insofar as representing yourstyle of writing?

9. How did you first become interested in working for Purdue University?a. What is your official title as recognized by the University?

i. Do you have a rank of office?b. Do you work solely for President Cordova?c. Are you the primary writer for administrative speeches?

10. Speaking of speeches, I think a great to really expand on this particular subject of writing forPresident Cordova is perhaps a walkthrough of a typical day in or out of the office. Is thissomething you can do?

a. Requires follow-up questions dependent on context, but overall it is pretty muchhow does that make you feel?


15/21


April 11, 2008

Page

15

II. Quantitative Interview Questions1. I feel that professional writing may be considered an art form.2. I feel that professional writing is necessary for the eloquence of businesses and

administrations.

3. I feel that professional writing is a key component of creating a strong professional imagefor businesses and administrations.

4. I feel that my work is necessary to the social success of my organization.5. I feel that professional writing is a publicly/widely respected institution/career.6. I feel that professional writers should take credit for their work.7. I feel that professional writing is a highly prized field of study by businesses and

administrations.8. I feel that professional writing in any administration should be respected and held with

honor.9. I feel that professional writing requires a high level of expertise, and is not something

anyone can do.10. I feel that overall, professional writing is a strenuous and demanding profession.11. When someone hears a speech I wrote, they are entirely my words and my literary voice.


16/21


April 11, 2008

Page

16

Appendix B Interview Transcript Transcript as assigned for class.

Interview TranscriptionThe following eight interview questions were picked for transcription on the basis of relevance tothe original goals, but specifically those which emphasize the knowledge, feelings, and ethical beliefs of Mr. Norberg concerning the art of speech writing as a means of professional writing. Ihave, for the sake of respect and space, omitted any stuttering if there was any. Please referenceoriginal scripted questions as indicated by number and section. Times of starting question are posted with syntax, (RECORDING NUMBER, MINUTES ELAPSED:SECONDS ELAPSED).

Qualitative Section

Question 1INT: (Roughly 1,0:00)So, to as establish you as an authority, what is your highest degree and in whatfield?

Here I try to get an idea of the educational history of the interviewee to better judge his professional caliber.

NOR: Well, I just have a bachelors degree, and my bachelors degree is actually in American Literature,from DePauw University. 1970

He appears to be checking my ability to interview and my ability to write notes, as if to gauge my adeptness and preparedness as well as pace himself.

INT:Ok.

Generic assurance that I am listening.

John relates his history in Vietnam, his escape from the draft lottery. He was #346. It was during this timethat he gave serious consideration to his future, since he realized that without a good degree thegovernment had that planned for me.

Question 1.b becoming Question 2INT (1, 3:33): So then do you have any other concentrations or fields of interest? I know you said youwere very interested in writing Did you have, like, professional or creative writing courses, did you takeanything on the side that you may have thought was

Even though I asked about concentrations, I dont think I was specific enough to show my intention in wanting knowledge in collegiate activities, but what I received ended up answering#2 instead.

NOR: Oh, I took a lot of writing courses in college, Ive written four books, four published books

INT: Ok.


17/21


18/21


April 11, 2008

Page

18

have also been taken in poor context as do you not have an understanding of professional writing? After a semester of linguistics, this should not have happened. His subsequent chucklesduring his response led to the belief that he did indeed understand but also understood that anerror was made.

NOR: Well, I guess, I dont know, professional, what is professional? The word professional means youget paid for it, for one thing. It essentially means: youre an amateur, you do it for free; youre aprofessional, youre doin it for pay.

Though this may have been a joking jab at the question, it is also necessary to see how hedefines professional as opposed to how Purdue defines professional.

INT: Yeah.

NOR: I suppose the definition they are using is more of a business type of a, a type of thing. You know,there are things that I like to write, you know, there are books that I like to write, and speeches that Ilike to write, whatnot, that I dont have time to get to, because I am busy writing the needs of Purdue,

right now. I mean, thats My job is to write for Purdue. So, professional writing is writing for someoneelse, I suppose. Writing for the needs of an organization, the individuals within the organization.

John is clear that professional writing is dependent on the needs of business; with hisunderstanding through experience, he declares that professional writing is a social act, and not just a means of earning money.

INT: Excellent.

This was a response to how his answer tied beautifully into the readings of the social aspect of professional writing, and yet he dove even further:

NOR: People within an organization, they may be great leaders and may have a number of talents. Someof them have great writing talents, some of them dont, theres just all varying degrees, and they needpeople that Communication Is just.. just absolutely essential, you know. Just, you have to be able tocommunicate. And thats what we do. We help people communicate. So, the president at Purdue, I help her, or him, or whoevers got the jobcommunicate to students, to faculty, to staff, to alumni, to statelegislators, to national organizations, even internationalShe [President France Cordova] has all thesedifferent groups that she needs to communicate with. And they need to understand her, and what shesdoing , and where shes going. And we help her accomplish that. Thats our job: communicate .

John seems very excited at this point, very enthusicatic about his abilities and their relevance tohis organization. This showed immense pride, even through his humility.

INT: Excellent. I love the fervor you have in what you do, thats NOR: Oh, its fun, I enjoy it. I love it.

Question 7 INT (1, 20:38): And in your writing, I mean, Im sure that there is some things that because of Purdue, orbecause of I wouldnt so much say biases, but like your own interests You wouldnt be able to say.And so, by, I guess my next question is what code of ethics if any do you follow writing a speech?


19/21


April 11, 2008

Page

19

NOR: Well, you follow really strict code of ethics, (flustered) I dont even know where to start

(Laughter from both parties)

NOR: First of all

INT: Within five minutes, hopefully!

The joke was only half funny; it was now roughly half an hour into the interview and John had been exceptionally thorough in his answers. Time was not an issue yet, but it was an issue that needed to be avoided. John is becoming increasingly more comfortable in his responses at this point and is continuing with the same fervor as before.

NOR: Nope! Nope. Plagiarism! You have to be very if you are using somebody, something, fromsomebody else, you quote it! Absolutely. You cannot take someone elses material. It must becontributed contributed very, very strictly. And you know, with the university president even morestrictly than anybody else. So, A, not to put these in any order, but, you have to make sure that if you

are using someone elses ideas that it is fully attributed. To the person, and to the individual source.Secondly, uh, true, we do not lie. Just do not do that. It has to be the truth , it has to be honest (Lightlybangs fist on emphases). We report numbers, if, you know, were using numbers, they got (bang) to beaccurate (bang), we dont fudge em.

Though he appears excited, he also has a calm sense of seriousness, showing his respect for theseriousness of the issue.

INT: So, you dont go, you know, like, instead of saying, like, exactly like thirty-four percent, you say athird you make sure that you say

It is necessary to know just how meticulous numbers are needed to be in this type of serioussituation.

NOR: Yeah, you can do a little fudging like that, you know, in a speech you cannot say, Its gonna cost us$86,000,000; $86,346,xxx, I dont know how to count; youre gonna have to round that off.

INT: Right.

NOR: Cause peoples ears wont pick it. Peoples ears will get so confused. So we, we slightly round off numbers. But Im saying, you know, if you have, if your university numbers arent great, you gotta usethat number. You still have to use that number, and its important.

Question 8a.INT (1, 32:12) And then, I was actually gonna ask, as a speech writer for personal, for as a person of international recognition, what is your opinion of your work with respect to your own public image, as aprofessional writer? For instance, uh, cause I know thats vague, um, you had actually mentioned to methe first day I met you that you prefer to be, not so much unknown but behind the scenes.

It is important to understand his views of professional writing for himself, and how it affects hisimage, and just what kind of public awareness he feels is due to him.


20/21


21/21


April 11, 2008

NOR: Yeah, which is strongest?

UNCLEAR: One or five?

INT: Five.

NOR: Yeah, five. Its an art form. I believe this is writing, its communication, and you know, you couldsay its science, you know, its facts, you know, types of things, but I believe that all writing is music.Writing has rhythm, it has beat, it has tempo, it has all the elements of music. And a writer is, yourewriting music, youre conducting an orchestra, and you know, thats art.

Once again, John exhibits the excitement of his interest in his profession, showing how eventhough he has no heard personal voice, he is still being creative and inventive.

Question 9INT (2, 32:36): I feel that professional writing requires a high level of expertise, and is not somethinganyone can do.

A common belief, especially in technically-driven schools, is that not only is writing somethinganyone can do, but that it is secondary to the sciences. His response as a respected master of the written art has the authority to judge this for its truth.

NOR: Yes, I feel strongly about that.

~off record comments~

NOR: Not everybody can write. And most people, if theyre honest, will tell you that. I have people tellme they cant write, I (UNCLEAR) people who do absolutely great work [professionally, other than

writing], but they are not good writers. Theyre really important, but they need me to help them withthat [writing] aspect of it.

His response goes to show that even those who hold positions of power and responsibility still find it greatly to their benefit to employ a professional communicator instead of going at it alone.

Professional Writing is Music

Documents

Transcript of Professional Writing is Music