Professional Speechwriters Association

A HAPPY HOLIDAY PROJECT, and a gift to give yourself: Make yourself a nice toddy, gather your best work from 2024 and enter it into the 2025 Cicero Speechwriting Awards. (Early-bird deadline January 31.) https://lnkd.in/eY9iVFK

WHAT LEADERS SAID THIS YEAR (and how they sounded). Read our annual review and commentary. https://lnkd.in/ghb69b35

"RATHER THAN WORRYING ABOUT DELIVERING THE PERFECT TALK, I concentrate on delivering a perfect phrase or sentence. A few well-delivered words can make a whole speech work." So advises the rhetoric writer Jay Heinrichs, today at Pro Rhetoric. https://lnkd.in/ewv9dH5g

SPEECHWRITER, GET BETTER (AND HAVE FUN DOING IT). This webinar has supercharged hundreds of speechwriting careers, and reinvigorated hundreds more. Don't let another year pass without learning how to think more clearly, write more powerfully and persuade more reliably—from the beloved speechwriting teacher, Michael Long. (PSA members get 25% off) https://lnkd.in/eRUuCch4

CALL FOR ENTRIES. (Early-bird deadline January 31.) https://lnkd.in/eY9iVFK

NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND ... ... one of most well-attended and deeply appreciated sessions we've ever offered. Just a few of the many enthusiastic responses to Jeff Davenport's webinar: "With the three principals my office supports, the training allowed me to identify why my interactions felt subtly but consistently off. What is blowing my mind is how quickly the relationships are straightening out as I apply the suggestions you and Jeff made." "There's this idea that executive presence is innate--you have it or you don't. Like any tradecraft, or any aspect of Exec Comms tradecraft, it's something that can be learned and coached, no matter if you've been on the job for 5 minutes or 50 years." "Since I’ve consistently started applying tips from the training, my boss has started to relax and invest more." "I only wish it would have been available at an earlier stage in my career, as it could have saved me from making some rookie mistakes that haunt me to this day." "I’ve never entered a boardroom with more confidence. The difference was especially stark as I watched other committee members fidget and shrink--just as I would have (or been tempted to) a few months ago." Yes, executive presence can be taught--and learned! Get access to Executive Presence for Exec Comms Pros, at the Executive Communication Council's Professional Development Academy ON DEMAND. https://lnkd.in/epwhG7M

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the most popular speechwriting course of all time. In a teaching style described by a typically tickled participant as “cogent, insightful and hilarious,” the PSA’s resident writing coach Michael Long shows speechwriters and exec comms pros at every level how to work around the daily difficulties of this work, to achieve its greatest rewards. Many hundreds of writers have happily passed through “Strategic Speechwriting” in the decade Mike’s been teaching it. Join them—in professional enlightenment, and delight. “I think much more critically and analytically when it comes to my writing.” “He allowed me to ask questions, find humor in mistakes, and he armed me well professionally.” “The confidence I gained has been drawn on time and time again.” “Seriously, a genius. Friggin’ amazing.” Register now. https://lnkd.in/eRUuCch4

“INDEPENDENT SPEECHWRITERS: How Do You Charge, What Do You Get, and How Do You Feel About It?” Download a free executive summary of the results of a new survey by the Professional Speechwriters Association, conducted in conjunction with independent speechwriter Jean Card. Some basic economic reality here, and lots of advice from working freelancers. https://lnkd.in/gU5CmuBj

A BIG STEP IN ANY EXEC COMMS CAREER. Eventually, a giant leap for the entire exec comms discipline. Read about the development of the first certificate course in executive communication. And register right now to secure your seat in the very first class. https://lnkd.in/dmRjmVT2

THIS WAS NO CEREMONIAL SPEECH. Faced with an impossible rhetorical problem, Abraham Lincoln brought "great and terrible" persuasive powers to bear. In his locknote lecture at the 2024 World Conference of the Professional Speechwriters Association, legendary writing professor Larry McEnenerny makes you see the Gettysburg Address again, for the first time. A gift, from the Professional Speechwriters Association. https://lnkd.in/g3QTtyeF