Tony Robbins, #metoo and the failure to listen to a changing world
Tony Robbins’ dismissive comments about the #MeToo movement should make everyone who speaks from the stage step back for a moment and think hard. (If you haven’t followed this story, there’s a pretty decent summary here. And if you haven’t seen the video from...
Need to make a big emotional pivot without losing your audience? Try a three-point turn.
The speaker ahead of me was wrapping up. I could feel a little knot of anxiety start to grow in my stomach as I prepared for my turn at the mic. Speaker after speaker before me had spoken with courage and vulnerability, and nobody in the room had been left unmoved....
The Cicero Awards: a rare chance for speechwriters to shine
Let’s face it, speechwriters: we’re a hide-in-the-shadows, cheer-from-the-wings kind of bunch. Our work involves helping someone else be at their best on stage. Chasing the spotlight ourselves? Not our thing. But there’s an exception. The Cicero...
Common myths about speechwriting
Myth: “Speechwriting is a dark and mysterious art, known only to a handful of monks who live in a subterranean lair deep under an extinct volcano. There, they gather under each blood moon to add a single new member to their number, and — in exchange for her or...
Delivery: How to lift a speech from the page
“Put me up on stage in front of a microphone to speak off the cuff, and I do great,” one of my workshop participants said not long ago, as we talked about speech delivery. “But give me a written speech to read and I just go dead,” he added,...
Why, yes — I’d LOVE to speak at your event
Public speaking and speechwriting: the essential guides
Looking for advice on public speaking, speechwriting and leadership communications? Here are some of my most comprehensive posts, on topics that people ask me about most often.
