Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

St. John (Edwards): Most saints started out as sinners

Most saints such as Francis of Assisi started out as sinners.  So, the odds are high that John Edwards could evolve into a major spiritual force in America - or the whole world.

POLITICO has a major article in which experts advise that he go on television and cry his eyes out. Rubbish.  He did his rite of humiliation in that trial which should never had taken place.   For four weeks he was the defendant. 

The penance out of the way, he can start building his new image.  Since his daughter obviously has forgiven him, he does not have to ask anyone else to.  It's time for action, not words from a public relations script.

Like Watergate's Chuck Colson, Edwards is destined for big things.  His temporary fall from grace may be the best thing which had happened to him.

Blankfein, Dimon, Zuckerberg: Is smart-aleck CEO brand over, for now?

The leadership persona in corporate America is rapidly shifting.  That brash style of Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs), Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) have become not only out of date.  They scare investors who are fleeing companies with outsized personalities.  The Facebook stock is at 28.09, within a range so far of 27.86 to 45.  So much for the staying power of a high flyer.

Instead of the Big Boom of a man (this is usually a male kind of branding) we are coming to trust the old-line boy scout.  We demand the socially appropriate human being who is oriented to scan the horizon for what the world needs, not what they personally need.  Such leaders and their companies are thriving and without the burden of a feeding frenzy by the media.  My prediction is that the stock market will continue to favor the ordinary guy like Tim Cook at Apple who gave shareholders a dividend rather than the stand-up comic performances of those whose need to be way out there which, we fear, can lead for financial tragedy.

DIY: Be your own speechwriter (Lesson 2)

Consumer confidence, according to the Conference Board, is the lowest it has been in 5 months.  That's current information or breaking news you have to take into account when preparing to write your own speech.  Lesson 2 is: Include topical information.

A Media-savvy Era

Since news - and with it the national or local mood - can change on a dime, you might never have the speech in the can until you are actually standing before the audience.

This is a media-savvy era.  Many have simply gotten into the habit of monitoring news - world, national, regional, and local.  You cannot ignore what's on their radar screens.  Sometimes the events in the news won't be important to them.  Therefore, you would only make a brief illusion to it.  But topical references you must make to demonstrate that you are with it.  In addition, if you are distributing the speech to the media and issuing press releases on it you need those topical references front-loaded to get the attention of the search engines.

If the news event means something to the audience then it's wise to integrate a theme derived from it into the speech.  For example, the job market has picked up in the region. 

Given how much work goes into writing your speech, you might then consider what you can recycle or repurpose from it.  You might take bits and pieces to include in the employee newspaper, create an opinion-editorial for the local or national paper, post something on your blog, Facebook page, and Twitter, and make a podcast or video.

Knowing ahead of time how you can leverage the content of the speech will motivate you to invest the time you need to do a good job of composing it.  

DIY: Be your own speechwriter (Lesson 1)

After too many years of virtual friending, we are hungry to get back together again in-person. 

That's just one of the reasons there are more invitations for us to speak at local forums such as the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and national ones such as the Detroit Economic Club. Other reasons are that in these volatile times of global economy continually disrupted by technology we want information from others about how they are navigating business - and their lives. So many of us are searching for models on how to take the next steps.

The problem is that contracting with a professional speechwriter like myself can be beyond your budget.  Yet, you don't want to turn down the invitation which could enhance your network, build your media clips, and lead to a career path on the speaking circuit.  The good news is, yes, you can be your own speechwriter. 

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The first lesson is to know your audience.  Speeches which resonate address, both in information and emotional high points, the exact needs of that group of people who have left their lives for a few hours to listen to you.  Just like we no longer send off generic pitches for assignments or jobs, we can't deliver generic talks. 

How do you research the audience? 

That starts with asking those who invite you for their take on what kind of experience the audience wants on that particular day or evening.  It could be the Christmas holiday season and they want light upbeat fare to reflect on.  Or it could be the beginning of the new year and they want both to be inspired for fresh beginnings and to have concrete guidance on how to stick with resolutions.

Then explore with those hosting the event the pain points for the group as a whole or a number of individual members. This is what marketers do all the time: Dig for where it hurts in order to provide the solution to lessen the pain or even eliminate it. 

Perhaps the association is for lawyers and the legal sector has been in a downsizing mode.  Here you have to diagnose the source of the pain in the room.  Is it still shock that this is occurring or is it the inability to know how to go about career transition?  Here is a speech I gave to the New York State Bar Association during the darkest days of job loss in the legal profession which has been published in VITAL SPEECHES OF THE DAY Download NYSBAtalkinVITALSPEECHESOFDAY. 

Next, ask for the names of the members of the group to contact to find out more about what's on their minds and in their hearts.  In addition, make it your business to attend some of the events to get a feel for both the organizational culture and the range of people who regularly attend.

In these digital times there could also be the organization's website, Facebook brand page, blog, twitter account, and Google+. 

Then, it's time to sit down and sort through the material you have gathered and connect the dots for:

• Message
• Tone
• Kind of content
• Mode of organization
• Length
• Gimmicks
• Audience involvement
• Ending

 Lesson 2 will be coming in this DIY series on how to be your own speechwriter.

Herman Cain et al.: When money is irrelevant in staying part of the conversation

Despite his new-found wealth, Boy CEO Mark Zuckerberg may become less valued and credible for input into "the conversation."  This is an era in which fresh ideas and the ability to package information and insight into entertainment count much more than money.  Sure, in the capital of wealth Manhattan everyone chases those with money.  But those being chased get attention for only that: money.  Not for what the influence of their views.

Former idea man Herman Cain is struggling, reports POLITICO, to recapture the right kinds of attention.  His magic moments were cut short by allegations of sexual harassment.  What we in the influence business watch is if and how he can pull off a return to being a voice that's heard.  As we know, that's tricky.

Some like Paul Volcker have had a comeback.  His insight about the operations of investment banks has been proven out in the JPMorgan Chase losses.  Others who have fallen off the radar screen aren't so fortunate.  Despite several tries, including aligning with Occupy Wall Street, Eliot Spitzer can't get traction. 

That's a case study for PR: Why do some influentials bounce back and others don't? My hunch is that it has a lot to do with being able to let go of their earlier identity.  Oprah can't stop being Oprah of the talk show space.  Her voice is fading out.

Kennedys Aren't Only Family Seemingly Cursed: You gotta meet mine, at least the few members still living

The Kennedy Curse.

Of course, we all expected that phrase to blanket media coverage when Mary Kennedy, estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., was found dead.  The media didn't disappoint.

However, so many of us also live - and are grateful for at least that - on the verge of panic of what will befall our own families next.  We R the dysfunctionals.  On the Eastern European side of the family (mother's maiden name was Miksza) passive suicide is rampant, fatal cancer happens at a young age, fatal alcoholism happens even earlier than that, prison time is par for the course, and after stays in mental hospitals the rest of the lifetime spent on SSI.

I felt I had dodged the curse.  At least until last Friday when I underwent a breast biopsy.  I explained to the attending doctors why I was convinced that I didn't inherit that set of genes with all the cancer.  There was a briefing on Mendel. Then one doctor mentioned that breast and colon cancers tend to be linked in families.  Both are in mine.  I prepared to find a home for my 16.5 year cat Jason. 

Today I found out yet again that I did dodge the family curse.  Everything is okay.  Was this a case of having a winning ticket in the genetic lottery or a mindset determined to beat back the darkness? My hunch is that blogging keeps me alive.

Recovery: Re-learning how to compete

Sure, the market is picking up for both contract work and full time opportunities.  But to get in on the recovery, so many of us who enjoyed affluence have to re-learn to compete.

Always driven, I had assumed I was at the top of my game.  I wasn't, I found out about two years ago, when I lost out for a long term legal writing gig to another applicant.  It's a fundamental of game theory not to make our moves in isolation.  Instead, we formulate our strategy and tactics in relation to what the other players might be doing.  

Applicants had to submit a sample blog post for the organization's site.  I did one.  The man who got the assignment submitted several.  What I should have done is ask the contract person if I could have submitted more than one.  Later I did just that in my interview with AOL for a contact position for its jobs section.   The interviewer specified that the person who's hired would be doing three to five posts daily.  I asked if I could do more than that.  I got the assignment.

The rub is to present ourselves as providing an edge but without seeming that we are going to take over the function. 

Arrogance: Not meme of 21st paradigm-shifting century

I've found it: The just-right persona to present myself for assignments as well as full time and part time jobs.  It's low profile, helpful, and humble.  As a result, good things are happening for me professionally.  Because work is great, I'm not so needy in my personal life either.  There's a pull force, much like the law of attraction. The meme of this confusing paradigm-shifting 21st century might be push back against arrogance of all sorts. 

A sign of the times is that the influential publication Bloomberg features the non-arrogant attorney Gary Naftalis of Levin Naftalis & Frankel who is defending former McKinsey head Raja Gupta.  That Manhattan attorney mirrors the Providence, Rhode Island attorney John Tarantino of Adler Pollock & Sheehan who got his client ARCO off the hook in that state's lead paint public nuisance trial.

On the other hand, there are the boys (the girls get knocked out of the game way too early) of Wall Street who are being hammered for, you got it, arrogance.  The smart-aleck ways of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon, once featured as self confidence and praised, are being panned.  Other heads of business could also be in line for spankings by the media as well as shareholders, simply because of a persona which is perceived to be, well, arrogant.

This is really nothing new, is it. The literature majors among us recall the ancient Greek artists who positioned arrogance as hubris, the significant variable which brought down leaders.   Of course, there is the very real danger of moving into an era of Uriah Heeps where too many of us are way too 'umble.

JPMorgan Chase Employees: Diminished brand

Many of those employed by JPMorgan Chase are far away from the kind of risks undertaken by The London Whale.  Yet, because of the bad bet on corporate bonds made by The Whale they will find themselves at a disadvantage in doing business.  Those they deal with could see them as reckless.   If they leave and get positions in other financial institutions they could carry this negative branding with them.

This is not the first time and it won't be the last in which employees suffered for the sins of their employers.  Enron staff found it difficult to get jobs.  So have many former mortgage brokers.

As a service to itself and its employees, who are actually the brand ambassadors, JPMorgan Chase should call in a crafty public relations firm - that is, after the crisis dies down.

Mother's Day: Speechwriters as ultimate earth mothers

When we send our clients out into the world of public speaking, you bet, we speechwriters and speech coaches are the ultimate earth mothers.  There is little emotional difference between that and the first day of school.  Public speaker is one of the most threatening experiences in human life.