Yesterday I taped a Forum 360 for PBS. My guest is a national figure. I had prepped and stressed both an appropriate amount and an inappropriate amount for the interview. After the taping I went down a 17 hour rabbit...
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On the eve of Tiger’s most recent accident, covered non-stop on CNN, a FaceBook “friend’ asked, “Does the fact that he is a highly successful golfer warrant round the clock news coverage”? While at first the question surprised me, it...
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Stacey Plaskett was one of the House Managers for the Second Impeachment Trial and “the break-out star” of the proceedings. It was her viral blue cape dress that helped make her an internet phenomenon: that dress, her legal acuity and...
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A couple of years ago I started my Dead President’s+ Valentine’s Boot Camp. To me the reason was clear. Past presidents and a few others like Prime Ministers can teach us so much from their words, how they said them...
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WAZE is intuitive in many ways. For you to get to your final destination you need to know where you are going. WAZE can’t do that for you, as amazing as this Israeli technology is for us to use. Speaking,...
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In many ways the concept of a speech writer is much like the concept of a personal trainer: fine for Hollywood, but not for the Average Joe. Perhaps you think a speech writer makes sense for a president but not...
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A few comments on the Biden Inauguration Speech. The use of alliteration. Alliteration can be an effective rhetorical device. Here are a few from this speech: A day of history and hope. Of renewal and resolve winter of peril and...
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On one hand our words DON’T matter. They don’t seem to matter as much as how we say them, what we look like saying them, and what the audience hears. But as long as you are an octopus and have...
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Every year up until this year, I have attended a conference in D.C. My favorite speaker was Frank Luntz, wordsmith and political consultant. His consulting practice is based on the concept that WORDS MATTER. Hold that thought. My mom’s biggest...
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Recently someone said to me, “If the check doesn’t get there, I am going to WIRE the money”. I just looked at them and said, “You can say that to me, but please don’t ever say WIRE to anyone else”....
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