The Homa Files

Sports coaches refrain that there’s no “I” in “Team” … every management communications coach cautions against the arrogant and isolating effect of using “I” instead of “we”.

Appears somebody missed that class …

* * * * *

Excerpted from WSJ: Obama Redeclares, Peggy Noonan, Dec. 3, 2009

There was too much “I” in Obama’s speech at West Point.

George H.W. Bush famously took the word “I” out of his speeches—we called them “I-ectomies” — because of a horror of appearing to be calling attention to himself.

Mr. Obama is plagued with no such fears.

“When I took office . . . I approved a long-standing request . . . After consultations with our allies I then . . . I set a goal.”

That’s all from one paragraph.

Further down he used the word “I” in three paragraphs an impressive 15 times.

“I believe I know” “I have signed” “I have read” “I have visited.”

I, I—ay yi yi. This is a man badly in need of an I-ectomy.

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704007804574574311658007036.html

This entry was posted on December 4, 2009 at 6:43 am and is filed under Communications, Communications - Presentations - Powerpoint, Obama Administration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.