Quite A Testimonial, I Think You’ll Agree
I wrote this post on LinkedIn, originally.
Then president Barack Obama’s speechwriter Terry Szuplat shared my post, with these words:
“Learn, as I have, from John-Paul Flintoff. Highly recommend.”
I still feel dazed 😵💫.
Even some of the best speechwriters [ I wrote ] have little experience of standing before an audience.
How do I know that? Because I met some of them, at a conference for speechwriters.
Of course, many people who write speeches don’t do it full-time, or often – just once in a while, between writing other kinds of material.
But until you find yourself in front of lots of faces – or camera lenses – what can you know about how the people you write for might deal with nerves, and react in real-time?
This could make it hard to feel credible, and to move on to more exciting speech-writing roles.
In October, the European Speechwriter Network Conference will provide a day-long training session for speechwriters to practice speech-making in a safe space, where you can make mistakes and try things.
By stepping into the speaker’s shoes, you’ll gain greater credibility, authority and reputation – as well as a network of speechwriting allies.
I’ll be running that session. But I realise that some people may not be able to make it – so I’m running this hour-long online taster on LinkedIn first (recording below).
Who knows, if you like it you may decide to come to the Hague after all.
Click To Play Video
30 mins, 40 secs