To our next president....

It is election season. Many jaded Americans bemoan this time of year, mostly because the world of politics is ugly, slimy and sometimes downright unethical! Let's hope that the next three months are not as ugly as the last political election.

My daughter has asked me several times when we can go to the White House because she wants to meet and talk with our president. I love the mind of a seven year old--she doesn't understand that you can't just walk up and ring the doorbell. But if you could....here is what I would want to tell the next president:

SPEAK ONLY THE WORDS YOU HAVE WRITTEN YOURSELF

If this were an actual practice we would REALLY see our president for who he (or she...one day, one day) really is. We could all sound presidential I think if we had a team of people writing for us. Can you imagine if our sitting president had to write his own material. I'd betcha that would be a whole different bag of tricks wouldn't you?

One of my favorite shows was The West Wing. Rob Lowe was the president's speech writer and on several episodes we watched him labor to find just the right words for President Bartlett's next important speech. And yes...this fake president was articulate and charismatic as many of our past presidents have been. But he didn't write the speeches! I think a person reveals their intellect in their ability to organize and present their ideas and opinions--and the leader of the free world should be articulate given the thousands of people he or she comes into contact with in any given day or week.

You may not have aspirations to be the next president, governor, senator, mayor or town dog catcher, but everyday you give speeches. Think about it--all our communication is in some way a presentation. Take the time to invest in your ability to translate those amazing thoughts you have into messages that people will respond and react to in a positive way.