Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1. He was there, he went to Tucson

Being present is important in communication and leadership

2. He was visible

Visibiity equals viability. We expect and need our president to be visible.

3. He spoke as a father

The real tragedy is the tragedy of the loss of a parent, child, sister, grandparent.

4. He rose above politics

He did not make his comments or the tragedy the focus

5. He remembered equally all of the victims

In addition to a federal judge and a congresswoman, each victim was a tragedy

6. He shared exclusive news

One responsibility of a speaker is to share with their audience news that no one else knows. In this case it was the update on Gabby Giffords.

7. He did not place blame

Opposite of Sarah Palin's seven minutes, he did not point fingers.

8. He showed and verbalized support

He talked about being there to console, to grieve, to honor.

9. He found his own voice

This was different than Clinton's Oklahoma tragedy or Reagan's challenger.

10. He tried to heal

He understood that in addition to the grief, Americans inside and outside of the hall need to heal.

He implored us to live up to Christina's expectations. You can't get more right than that.