Leadership communication in the Trump era with David Murray

When Trump moved into the White House in 2016, he replaced one of the great orators in American modern history, Barack Obama. Trump communicates like no other President ever has, or ever will again. We talk to a 25-year veteran of the speechwriting profession and director of the Professional Speechwriters Association, David Murray, about what's changed for speechwriters now, why the way we talk to each other - at work, at home and in politics - needs to change.

David is a highly respected veteran of the speechwriting profession. He's the founder of Pro Rhetoric, an organisation that publishes Vital Speeches of the Day Magazine, oversees the Cicero Speechwriting Awards and convenes the Professional Speechwriters Association and the Executive Communication Council.

As well as the World Conference of the PSA held annually in Washington, David convened the inaugural Asia-Pacific PSA Conference in Sydney 2019, with another scheduled for 2022 (was supposed to be 2021, but...virus).

If you'd like to join or want to learn more about it, check it out. It's a fantastic network of professional communicators from all over the globe, with lots of great tools and content to access.

Some of the things we chat about in the episode:

Death of 25-year-old African American Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia on 23 February 2020

Bobby Kennedy's speech informing an African American audience about the death of Martin Luther King

Fred Rogers' speech during an appearance before the US Senate seeking funding for national public TV for children.

Australian speechwriter and author, Lucinda Holdforth

An American Prayer: In conversation with my dead father by David Murray

More about our guest, David Murray

David co-wrote the New York Times-bestselling memoir Tell My Sons (Random House, 2013) and Raised By Mad Men, a memoir about his parents' careers in 1960s advertising business.

He’s written for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, the Chicago Tribune to name just a few. His new book, An Effort to Understand will be published in early 2021. It's a non fiction book about how to hear more clearly and speak more truly to rebuild relationships in your family, your workplace, your community and your society.