How to pen an Oscar speech

He also advises that a great speech needn't be long, noting that President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address - considered by many to be the greatest speech ever made - was fairly brief. To that end, he cautions against reeling off a list of names of personal acquaintances. "Don't feel compelled to thank your third-grade teacher; your junior high drama coach," he says, adding that off-camera contact is better for those sorts of relationships. "Drop them a personal note instead."

While some winners have a paper filled with names tucked into a tuxedo pocket or handbag, others sometimes appear to have put little thought into what they'll say. Adrien Brody excused an utter lack of preparedness by saying he was afraid to jinx his chances. Many performers put off preparation because they are afraid of looking too slick.

But preparedness is the only way to be truly spontaneous, says T.J. Walker, a media trainer. He points to examples such as President Clinton, who routinely manages to look and sound as if he's talking extemporaneously, with a conversational quality to his words.

"He is still working from a scripted speech, but he knows it inside and out and that allows him to feel prepared and therefore relaxed," says Mr. Walker.

He notes that Hollywood stars risk alienating their fans with a poor performance. "If you are a movie star making $20 million per movie, it's flat out annoying to suggest to people that you don't know how to speak in public," he says. "A highly paid professional should be able to do this."

A final piece of advice comes from Ms. Temescu. Remember to whom you're talking - these are the people who go to your movies and have tuned in for a quick glimpse of the real you.

"Even though it is still a fantasy, we want to connect with these winners and feel, for perhaps one small moment, that we can connect with these 'demigods' as real people," she says. "We can allow ourselves the fantasy that we can share in the moment of their greatest triumph."

Political views are perhaps the touchiest topic for an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. Why? It breaks the unspoken contract between viewers and entertainers, says LeeAundra Temescu, a presidential-speech analyst.

"If Oscar is indeed a nationwide escape-fest from all the bad news in the world, the last thing we want is reality, in the form of political protest, intruding on our fantasy night," she says.

Yet Oscar history is full of those who opted to take advantage of a captive audience. Vanessa Redgrave castigated the US government for its treatment of the Palestinians. Michael Moore criticized the Bush administration. Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere made a pitch to free Tibet from Chinese rule.

There are subtle ways to send a message, says Matthew Felling, director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. "Lately, [lapel] pins and non-verbal cues have been useful symbols of strong, though unstated feelings," he says. Examples would include the red and pink ribbons that symbolize the fight against AIDS and breast cancer.

But if a winner feels strongly about an issue and is willing to accept that most viewers will either tune out or discount the opinion of someone who is "merely an entertainer," then go for it, says Robin Williams. "You're addressing a global audience," says Williams, who won an Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" in 1997. "Go for whatever is on your mind. Don't waste the opportunity."

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