Speak from a deeper well.
“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
In other words, speech is to move.
I collaborate with those who wish to move people with words.
Who I Am
We are surrounded by noise. Most words—speeches, opinion pieces, articles—are lost in that noise.
I know. I spent years as an international trade negotiator and lawyer trying to navigate through the noise. I then served as the Director of Speechwriting and Senior Policy Advisor for Ambassador Katherine Tai, the 19th United States Trade Representative—the first Asian American and woman of color to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative.
My job was to cut through the noise with a new story on trade. And from Main Street to Wall Street, my words helped shape a generational shift in U.S. trade policy and moved people to tears.
This experience confirmed what I knew all along as an immigrant boy from Seoul—that we all have our own stories, longing to be told.
This is why I started Verb Collective, to empower people through their words, their stories.
Verb Collective is based in Fairfax, Virginia, where I live with my wife and two girls.
What I do
Authentic communication begins by drawing from a deeper well. To speak into existence the unspoken, you must form your story from what can only be felt. We’ll be in conversation to clearly know and articulate your story and to spell out what you stand for.
Think
Write
Once we’ve tapped into your deeper well, I’ll find the best words to tell your story. Speeches, op-eds, social media posts—whatever the medium, I’ll help you sound like you, and your words will resonate with power.
Deliver
If we’re working on a speech, the words are only as good as they are spoken. After all, speeches are meant to be heard, not read. Whether you’re delivering an intimate toast or speaking to an audience of thousands, I’ll work with you on delivery and maximize your impact.
“We will face old and new headwinds. But I am hopeful because of you—because of us. Because I know we will respond with the same resolve, the same determination, and the same courage—so that in the midst of our trials, our joy will be unhindered, our unity unbroken, and our hope untainted.
So that, as future generations look back eighty years from now—as they glance up at that torch in the hands of Liberty—they too will feel the connection through the electric cord Lincoln was talking about, that inseparable bond, and say, ‘Yes, this story is worth fighting for, this home is worth building.’”
Excerpt from Ambassador Katherine Tai’s speech Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act
“Some people think that your industries are relics of the past.
But look around you, look around this room today.
You are the literal backbone of our nation’s construction projects.
You also make possible the infrastructure, the tools, the inventions – all the things that enable our technological might.
They are built by hands, by real people, real workers. And many of you here today have the calluses to prove it.
It’s clear that yours are the industries of the present, and will continue to be the engine to take us forward.
You are the foundation of American competitiveness, innovation, and ingenuity.
You are critical to this ‘American Possibility.’ You are our strategic workforce.”
Excerpt from Ambassador Katherine Tai’s speech at the 2022 United Steelworkers Constitutional Convention