Writing That Works, 3e_ How to Communicate Effectively in Business - Kenneth Roman [35]
4. Leave them thinking
A great speech is one that inspires the audience to think about a subject from a fresh perspective. It helps a lot if you have the credibility, if the audience perceives that you are speaking from personal knowledge. Robert Rubin, described (in 1999) as “the most successful Treasury secretary of this century,” is known for making good decisions. He was thus in a good position to focus his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania on decision making. His title: “A Healthy Respect for Uncertainty.”
As I think back over the years, I have been guided by four principles for decision making.
First, the only certainty is that there is no certainty. Second, every decision, as a consequence, is a matter of weighing probabilities. Third, despite uncertainty we must decide and must act. And lastly, we need to judge decisions not only on results, but on how they are made.
He closes with a reminder of a world of increased interdependence and a plea to “recognize this reality and reject the voices of withdrawal …” Heavy stuff, even for a commencement, but important — and something that will leave at least some of the audience thinking.
5. No speech was ever too short
On your way out after a speech, do you remember ever thinking it was good — but a little too short? Most good talks take less than twenty minutes. Consider what you have so often had to sit through, and how much better it could have been said in few words.
When Theodor Geisel, who wrote as Dr. Seuss, was awarded an honorary college degree, he determined he would respond with the best speech ever — and the shortest. “Kids hate long speeches,” he said. “They have other things on their minds at graduation.” Here is his entire talk:
My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers
My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare —
And, when they were served,
he regarded them
with a penetrating stare …
Then he spoke Great Words of Wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,”
said my uncle,
“you must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid …
BUT
you must spit out the air!”
And
as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out of hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.
Few of us — indeed only one of us — have Ted Geisel’s talent. But it doesn’t take talent to figure out what you want to say, to say it, and to sit down.
Making it sound easy
Consider speeches that have impressed you. The speaker seemed to be talking to you, not reading to you. You’ve got to establish contact with the audience. And that means looking out at the people, not down at the script.
Some speakers have a bag of tricks that make it easier for them merely to glance at the script now and then and spend most of their time looking around at the people in the room. Ultimately, however, the only way to do this is to rehearse. Rehearse what you have to say over and over until you know it almost by heart. The better you know your speech, the more spontaneous you will sound. And the more confident. What sets the memorable speaker apart from the ordinary one is confidence and presence. As somebody’s mother-in-law says, “You get right up there and pretend you’re just as good as anyone else.” Great speakers communicate a sense of energy and enthusiasm.
It’s difficult to be objective about your own speaking ability. But it can help to listen to yourself rehearse on a tape recorder. Better yet, take the traumatic step of seeing yourself on videotape. An illuminating teacher.
The most effective speeches and presentations sound as if they have been spoken, ad-lib, and not written down at all. Great presenters and speakers make it all sound so easy and so natural that one assumes it just pours out of them. It almost never does.
Lopping off two paragraphs improved this speech.
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