How to be lonely no longer

Some speechwriters don't particularly want to connect with other speechwriters. They feel their time is better spent digging more deeply into the institution they work for, the subject matter they write about, or even with their life outside work. They don't have time to kibbitz with their colleagues in leadership communication.

But most speechwriters I know occasionally (or frequently) seek a little understanding and a helpful hand from the only other people in the world who do the strange and sometimes stressful work they do. They want to know that when they get in trouble, there's someone to call. And they'd love to pass on the wisdom they've earned to other writers, that not everyone in the business must learn the hard way.

If I were advising a speechwriter who dropped out of the sky and straight into our profession (as speechwriters so often do), here's what I'd tell him or her to do to get into the fold—IN FIVE MINUTES:

Join the Professional Speechwriters Association.

The moment you do, you've become a subscriber to Vital Speeches of the Day, keeping you up on the best speeches in the business.

You've joined the members-only PSA LinkedIn Group where only serious speechwriters hang out—speechwriters who call themselves speechwriters, and place the PSA members-only logo on their LinkedIn pages.

You've gotten access to a member survey and other white papers that show you where you stand in a changing business, and how to position yourself ahead of the professional curve.

You're in the constant loop of industry news, writing advice and speechwriterly writerly inspiration that the PSA's enewsletters bring you every week.

You can affordably meet your colleagues in person, with a 25% discount to every PSA meeting—including the World Conference, Oct. 7-8 at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business, the Speechwriting School on Oct. 6, and also Leadership Communication Days, which takes place at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Duarte, Nov. 5-6.

Once you've signed up for the Professional Speechwriters Association, you've gone from solo, to surrounded.

You'll never go back.

Come on! —DM