Speechwriting, speech modules & speaker’s notes
Here are sample extracts from speeches we’ve prepared for clients:
- An address by a senior executive to the Canadian Centre for Management Development
- An address by a senior executive at Canada’s National Microbiology Lab
- An address about the history of scientific research at Health Canada
- An address by a senior executive to the Public Policy Forum
- An address by the Minister of Health
- An address by the Minister of Industry, Main Estimates
- An address by a senior researcher at a public health forum
- An address by a senior executive at a conference on First Nations issues
- An address by an award recipient at the Ontario Dental Association
An address by a senior executive to the Canadian Centre for Management Development
…The last few years have been challenging for this department. But like the best challenges in life, the value of the experience has shown itself in what we’ve learned. And indeed, we’ve learned a lot.
One of the first lessons we learned was that the public, in many respects, had as much trouble with a perceived exclusivity of our troubled program as they did with the results of the audit.
As you know, grant and contribution programs were tailored to meet the specific needs of areas with pockets of unemployment. While our efforts were well meaning, it nevertheless left some people with the impression that we were giving preferential treatment and access to certain groups and individuals. And this runs contrary to the democratic values of Canadians.
People expect to be seen and treated as equals by their government. And here we were reporting on a program that left the impression that we were being anything but equal.
Our problem was that our attention focused on the interests of the program rather than on those of the citizenry…*
An address by a senior executive at Canada’s National Microbiology Lab
…It is understandable that Canadians — like others — are still reeling from the events we’ve all witnessed over the past several weeks since September 11th. We’re all feeling anxious and even vulnerable wondering what’s next. But it is in this hour that we remain mindful of the difference between facts and fear.
There’s no question that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States and other countries in the fight against terrorism. We’re all engaged in this fight for the same reason. We will not bend to those who use fear as a weapon.
Fear resides not in our minds but in our hearts. We must weigh the facts. And in doing so, we are less burdened, unclouded, so we can make the right choices in these difficult days while helping our friends in any way we can…*
A history of scientific research at Health Canada
An address by the Chief Scientist
…When we talk about history — about the relationship of time and people — I’m often reminded of the story of John Harrison, an eighteenth-century English clockmaker and inventor of the chronometer. This is a device that revolutionized exploration and reshaped the world around him. Harrison’s chronometer solved one of the biggest scientific challenges of his age -– one that Isaac Newton once contended was unsolvable. And that was the ability while at sea to measure longitude, or an east-west position.
The chronometer accomplished this by comparing the time difference between high-noon at sea with a clock set to the time of the ship’s port of origin. The result was that far fewer ships were lost at sea, navigation became exceedingly precise, and the British became a mighty sea power.
By knowing the precise time where they were, as well as the time at their departure point, explorers could chart where they were heading in the future.
Much like the chronometer, when we look back at Health Canada’s past and measure it against today, we reveal a chart of our department’s future…*
An address by a senior executive to the Public Policy Forum
…When The Economist magazine recently proclaimed our country as the new “cool” — a choice place to live and do business — they recognized what we already knew to be true. We’ve tackled the deficit and put our economic house in order. We can take pride in the diverse, multicultural richness of society. And we’ve seen how it has transformed our largest cities into vibrant, cosmopolitan places. The rest of the world has now taken note of this, too.
There is something that overarches the long list of Canada’s unique qualities — and that’s the confidence of our citizens. Canadians now see for themselves an economic and political future with a focus and clarity that was simply not there fifteen years ago. There are fewer monologues about the nature of the Canadian identity. Even fewer still about national unity. We understand who we are…*
An address by the Minister of Industry
Main Estimates speech
…Innovation is a priority for Industry Canada that — by its very nature — touches on our other priorities, including trade and investment.
With this in mind, I would like to take a moment to share with you our key accomplishments in this area, and talk about its linkages to innovation. Improving Canada’s position as a preferred location for domestic and foreign investment and trade remains an important long-term goal for my department. Indeed, this is a point that I’ve repeated over and over during my recent trade and investment trips.
I spoke about it in London , where I talked about the federal budget and of Canada’s Innovation Strategy. I spoke about it in Beijing, where I met with leaders of the People’s Republic of China and promoted trade between our two countries. And I spoke about it in Davos, Switzerland, where I addressed the Canada Contact luncheon at the World Economic Forum.
Our message everywhere is this: Canada is the best place in the world to do business. And to ensure this, we’re always fine-tuning our economic and trade engine…*
An address by a senior researcher at a public health forum
…It’s worth remembering that every action, every contribution makes a difference and takes us one step closer to a cure. As Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, remarked in a recent speech: “Nothing in this pandemic works in a vacuum, or works in compartments. Everything is linked inextricably to everything else.”
None of us can be detached from this disease such that we might think we’re removed from it. We’re all connected in some way. For each person who is infected with HIV, whether young or old, whether living in the suburbs of Winnipeg or on the streets of Nairobi, each is at the end of a continuum — one that includes scientific inquiry, research, public policy, public- and private-sector collaboration, and funding.
It is within this continuum that we seek not only to fight the spread of HIV and to successfully develop a vaccine that some day eradicates this pandemic.
We also seek to make a difference today. To ease, in any way possible, the weight of human suffering that this pandemic leaves in its wake…*
An address by a senior executive at a conference on First Nations issues
…It is symbolic that this conference is held in the same week as National Aboriginal Day. It has brought together Aboriginal communities from across Canada to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, at the doorstep of the Garden River First Nation — a location that the Ojibway have always known as “The Gathering Place.”
This “gathering place” is a fine place for us to meet and share ideas and to reflect on the Aboriginal name that has been given to this conference —Memengwaanh, which means butterfly. The butterfly goes to the heart of why we are here, to inspire us, to lift us, so that we can work to make positive changes in our communities.
The conference agenda is quite impressive and it provides an excellent opportunity to incorporate the wisdom of the past.
Tonight I would like to talk to you about three things. First, about the importance of this conference. Second, how we are responding to the challenge of crime prevention for Aboriginal communities. And finally, the special leadership role that First Nations police can — and do — play in their respective communities and how partnerships have helped us move forward together…*
An address by an award recipient at the Ontario Dental Association
…I’ve always been fond of the saying that when it comes to volunteerism, you always get back more than you put in. And that certainly has been true for me.
Dentistry has been my profession and my passion for a very long time.
Yet many of us here also know that it can be personally draining when so much of your energy and concentration is focused on the patient in the dental chair.
For me, the ODA quickly became a very welcome alternative track — a place where I could switch gears periodically so that I could talk about dentistry and promote the profession, in place of the day-to-day work in the office.
I’ve learned a lot from the ODA. Thanks to the time I have spent working with its members — including many of you here tonight — I’ve benefited from learning opportunities that go well beyond the experience of working at the dental chair…*