Answering the Call of History
Introduction—Deliver Today, Prepare for Tomorrow Honourable Members, In just under 300 days, Europeans will take to the polls in our unique and remarkable democracy. As with any election, it will …
Inflation: Progress and the Path Ahead
Good morning. At last year’s Jackson Hole symposium, I delivered a brief, direct message. My remarks this year will be a bit longer, but the message is the same: It …
My Electric Speechwriter, and Me
Prologue, Post-Dated, August 24, 2023 I wrote the piece below before I spoke with the Dutch founders of the speechwriting app Verble, Devin van den Berg and Victor Straatman. In …
‘I Have a Dream’: As It Was Felt on the Day, by One Young Woman Who Had Traveled From Chicago
This month marks the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. Most living Americans have heard the …
With Modern Leadership Virtues, She Finds Fault
I read to my sister one of the opening graphs of my friend Lucinda Holdforth’s new book. “Yes, I suppose that Empathy, Humility and Vulnerability are nice. They are seemingly …
Speechwriters Are Serious Readers, Still
The emphasis in leadership communications the last decade or so has been on strategic thinking, not writerly erudition. So I was pleased to see last week when an email group …
Self-Awareness for Exec Comms Pros (or Selves Awareness, More Like)
Every corporate communications role requires lots of emotional intelligence, self-awareness. But surely none requires more interpersonal athleticism than that of the executive communicator, who must fluidly navigate a huge range …
An Effort to Rob People of Their Will to Be Free
A brief story sums up my theory of journalism: In 1991 I was trying to work as a freelance reporter in newly ex-communist St. Petersburg, Russia. I heard a hot …
Come.
Many speechwriters who have come to rely on the Professional Speechwriters Association as a sturdy, steady source of professional development, advocacy and global networking would be surprised to know that …
When India Grows, the Whole World Grows
Mister Speaker,Madam Vice President,Distinguished Members of the US Congress,Ladies and Gentlemen,Namaskar!It is always a great honour to address the United States Congress. It is an exceptional privilege to do so …