These Speechwriting Skills can Improve your Writing
Use the lockdown to sharpen your wordsmith saw
I recently saw The Darkest Hour starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill and Lily James as his assistant. It instantly brought me back to my years of working as a speechwriter for the Philippine president.
That career milestone from seven years ago remains the hardest job I have ever had.
My key takeaway from the experience is that writing competence is secondary only to trust. Many people can write, but not all have a relationship with the principal. I was a junior writer at best when I jumped into the highest office of the land. My boss had not envisioned ever becoming the president, so when he was elected in 2010, we had to overcome new realities that were quite unexpected. He needed someone he could trust to help him with messaging and I happened to be that person.
I share this because our times seem to demand more from us. We are all in the same boat, regardless of race, gender and tax bracket. No one is spared by this pandemic, and the whole world is in flux. Many of us are weary with anxiety in our own isolated bunkers. Some are heroically risking their lives to save lives. Everyone is affected on some level.
We need to turn these worries around and make good use of our time in seclusion. We do that…
