There is a veritable tsunami of interest in my training/coaching skills as the World's Leading Diplomatic Speechwriter ©.
Tomorrow I fly to Geneva to give a two-day course on Speechwriting in Action to a group of international officials who have the tough job of writing speeches for some of the UN organisations based there.
That sort of speechwriting is unusually challenging, as people representing the UN or other international organisations necessarily must pronounce on behalf of their organisations, not themselves. This is taken by all concerned as limiting their scope for energy, wit and insight. Above all - never say anything controversial! Far, far better to be safe than sorry. And that usually means clunky nouns, meandering sentences and interminable jargon.
That said, I am confident that these international community speeches need not be quite as numbing as they alas so often are. At a minimum, I see no reason why the speaker might not make a good shot at coming across in a friendly, positive, 'human' way.
A core problem in places like Geneva and Brussels is that many speeches are delivered in English by non-native English speakers who have asked other non-English speakers to draft them. This can and almost invariably does lead to bewildering mixed metaphors, where the enthusiastic drafter plunges deep into clever English idioms and is never seen again:
"The open door policy of the Alliance is not at the forefront of today’s discussion. I expect though that it will also remain one of the cornerstones of our approach to promoting security around our borders"
Get that? A open door policy is not at the forefront of a discussion - but it is a cornerstone of an approach! Aaaaiiieeeee.
Separately an approach has come from Asia to explore training diplomats there in Speechwriting. And soon I am off to Scandinavia for a corporate client who wants pepping up on Presentation Skills.
Then there's a chance to sign up for a Masterclass in Speechwriting as Leaders Like It in London next month at the next European Speechwriter Network event. And if that does not work, try my Masterclass Gold seminar in September on Public Speaking led by government knowledge.
Finally, I have reasons to suspect that the wonderful Specialist Speakers will soon be adding Public Speaking coaching (by me) to their website and general offering.
Readers! Sign up! Get your friends and relatives and colleagues to sign up. It's just too good to miss.
Honest. Would I lie? To you?
Normal service here may or may not be resumed on Wednesday. In the meantime, there's always @CharlesCrawford on Twitter.
