Top Bush aide to address issue of communications.

PositionConferences - Karen Hughes

Karen Hughes, who was at George Bush's side when he was elected governor of Texas and then president, will be a headline keynote speaker at the FEI Summit in Orlando, Fla., May 4-7.

Hughes will talk about the importance of being able to put complex ideas into clear language. Her ability to put together the President's speeches in the context that she has demonstrates the power of communication in a leadership position. The steps to leadership communication--whether political or financial--all have a common thread: dealing with integrity, forthrightness and clarity.

Hughes, 46, has worked side by side with President Bush since the days when he was an underdog candidate for Texas governor in 1993. As communications director and chief speechwriter, she played a vitally important role in Bush's ascent to the presidency, prompting Time magazine to call her "the most powerful woman ever to serve in a White House." While Hughes actually left the White House last April and returned to Austin, Texas, she continues to serve as adviser to the President.

In a speech during her tenure in the White House, Hughes spoke about the challenge she faced in trying to ensure that a common and persuasive message was being sent out. "I think of the communications part of my job as trying to find the facts, first of all, which is sometimes hard to do--especially in a place as complex as the White House--and then trying to portray them in the best possible light," she said. "And that's what I think I do every day.

"It's actually a technique I learned as a reporter. As a reporter, I used to go into a room where people were talking about something I knew very little about, and I would try to distill what I was hearing, figure out what was important and then figure out how to communicate it.

"And...

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