View from my "remote office” in Maine last month.

One of my clients told me last month I am invaluable to her. Because I “tell it like it is.” We were revising her speech for a BIG event. It had apparently been written by committee.

We chipped away at the extra bits of content the other contributors—a number of organizational stakeholders—felt they had to include, the vast majority of which did not further her message. After our cuts, edits, and tweaks, we unearthed the essence of a strong speech that had been hidden underneath layers of details and digressions.

I tell my clients they can always rely on me to “kill your little darlings.” That’s what writers say when we undertake the painful task of excising insights we think are so valuable, but really slow down the narrative or muddy our message.

Sure, my clients could do this for themselves. But it often takes time to get sufficient mental distance to do so. Time busy leaders usually do not have. So it’s good to have an expert take a look, offer revisions, tighten things up.

And if you hire a speaking coach/playwright/performer, you’ll get a bonus: the best version of your authentic voice—with an extra dash of pizazz—so it can sing!