Lynn Espinoza is a broadcast news veteran with more than a decade of media, presentation and executive coaching experience. She has developed personal coaching sessions for Fortune 100 C-level executives, corporate communicators of all kinds, doctors, lawyers and leaders in non-profit.
A Tone of Grace in Washington
Posted on January 13, 2009. Filed under: Latest News
Watching President Bush’s good-bye press conference made me sort of melancholy. His fractured speech and “Bush-isms” have made me crazy for eight years. And yet, in a strange way, I’ll miss them.
But all misunderestimating aside, I’ve been impressed with Bush since the election. He seems to be making every effort to ensure we hear a different tone from him: graciousness.
By all accounts, he has been a gracious loser and a gracious host. He drops his “good ole boy” routine when talking about the incoming administration. He speaks with respect and grace. When an audience can hear a tone so clearly, it’s because the speaker has deliberately chosen that tone. And when the speaker is deliberate about the tone, the appropriate words flow naturally. Listen for it when President Bush talks about President-elect Obama, and you’ll hear what I mean.
For eight years, I’ve used President Bush’s speaking style as an example of how not to speak. In his final days, he’s given me an example that I can use for good.
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