Speechwriters, kicking it old school
On coffee breaks in Gothic courtyards and over pints in ancient pubs at the European Speechwriters Network’s spring Speechwriters’ and Business Communicators Conference last week at Brasenose College in Oxford, …
The Banker Who Talks Too Much
(H/t Ernest Hemingway.) “Do we incessantly hear Jamie Dimon’s opinions because he is particularly insightful or consistently wise,” asked one of the many smart readers of the useful and free Executive …
On the Road Again: How to Prepare an Executive for a Productive Trip
Most likely, the executive you support is often on the road meeting with customers, employees, partners, press and other key audiences in order to advance the goals of the organization. …
Workaday White House Speechwriter vs. Credit-Hogging Dilettante Historian
My old man used to say to his self-conscious teenagers, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what people thought of you if you realized how seldom they do.” That came …
She Scared the Hell Out of Me (and Made Me Better)
My former boss died February 18, after battling an aggressive cancer for less than a year. She was brilliant and dedicated and selfless, and had terrifyingly high standards. I respected …
Pulling Back the Curtain on the Speechwriting Process
Four weeks ago, snow was in the forecast again for Boston. But by the time Mayor Michelle Wu took the stage at MGM Music Hall, the unconvincing afternoon flurries had …
Exit Interview: Outgoing CEO Tries to Explain His Stance on Stances
Last week Axios published a simplistic piece—(surprise!)—titled, “America’s CEOs Have Gone Silent on National Tragedies.” Leaning hard on a comparison between CEOs’ vocal reaction to George Floyd and the relative corporate …
Collaboration Skills: In Exec Comms, Your Superpower or Your Kryptonite
You hear it a lot when you spend time with veterans of executive communications: A skillset every bit as foundational as communication, in this business, is collaboration. Really? Why is …
‘Rhetorical Perspective,’ and the Future of Speechwriting
If the feverish talk about ChatGPT and other IA composition tools leave speechwriters in grinding dread for their livelihood, the Professional Speechwriters Association offers some strong anti-anxiety medication: a new …
How to Out-Write ChatGPT
Plenty of writers see ChatGPT as a threat because of its ability to generate readable content in a matter of minutes. For my part, I prefer to view it as a …