A speech ought to do more than say where you're going - it should help you get there." This is the selling pitch from the group of high-end speech- writers that once churned out words of wisdom for President Bill Clinton and his administration, but then decided to offer their talents to America's private sector. For obvious reasons their clients don't reveal who they've hired to make them sound good. But according to the West Wing Writers (WWW) group "you would know them".

We're talking foreign leaders here, ambassadors, US senators, entertainment figures, high-profile CEOs. Leaders who crucially need to tell us what they think - so they pay someone else to get their thoughts down and on to the autocue for them. In the speech-writing world, this is the equivalent of the old George Burns quote. He said the secret of acting was sincerity, and once you could fake that, you've got it made.

Next week in Manchester, Gordon Brown needs to tell us and his party where he's going, and how he'll get there. In speech-writing terms, this will be like an ascent of Everest without oxygen, wearing only a duffle coat and Crocs. Brown's new speech-writing sherpa is Tim Kiddell, the wordsmith and former choral scholar tasked with delivering a new improved PM.

Brown's previous "voice", Beth Russell, recently ran back to the Treasury to escape the pressures of Number 10, with Kiddell filling the gap after an appeal call went out from Jeremy Heywood, Brown's permanent secretary. Kiddell is said to be a quiet fan of the West Wing. But whether he supports the WWW philosophy of "move, persuade and inspire" with a message that targets the "heart of your audience" we'll have to wait and see.

At last year's Labour conference Brown's story of his upbringing and his father's moral compass always pointing to the wellbeing of others, left the party faithful with tears in eyes. This year? Forget the moral stuff, one party official told me. And the compass? "B***** all use if you're lost and no-one's got a map," said another.

This is where Kiddell is expected to earn his money. Once a King's College scholar, he's as well qualified as anyone to end Brown's years of shouting at arguments and make him sound different, friendly even, by singing a different tune.

Having asked those who should know what Brown's new Kiddell-inspired tunes would be, no-one would say. Operatic, religious, U2? They won't tell, it's a secret. But I was told it will be a recognisable "Gordon Brown speech, full of what Gordon stands for". So it would appear Kiddell has failed already.