Simplify your language to amplify the message

‘Talk the way people talk’ isn’t just for speeches and media lines—it’s an approach that should be applied to every product a political staffer touches.
Jeni Armstrong writes that she learned a lot during her five years as lead speechwriter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but the lesson that made the biggest mark on her work as a political staffer was a simple one: talk the way people talk.
“Talk the way people talk.” I learned a lot during my five years as lead speechwriter to the prime minister, but the lesson that made the biggest mark on my work as a political staffer was a simple one: talk the way people talk. This isn’t a new idea. The first time I was told to “eschew o...

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