Taking the Stage: How Women Can Speak Up, Stand Out, and Succeed

Chapter ElevenStructure Your Script

Creating a strong, well-argued script is not a skill we learn in school, or in most leadership courses. I learned this craft from Roy Cottier, my first boss. After he hired me fresh out of university teaching, he began grooming me to become an executive speech writer—preparing talks for our CEO and other executives. It was a steep learning curve, and I remember tossing my first speech into his in-basket and walking as fast as I could back to my office so I wouldn't have to see him reading it. But no sooner had I arrived in the safety of my small space than the phone rang and he said (with an uncharacteristic note of warmth in his voice), “You've made it!” Cottier mentored me and made clear that a well-argued ...