Speaker's Digest January 2003

In this issue:

• Preparing for the 'Super Bowl of Public Speaking'
• Rate the President 2003
• More Fun Facts About Our Presidents

Preparing for the 'Super Bowl of Public Speaking'

"I have no intention whatever of walking away from the job that the people elected me to do for the people of the United States." – President Richard Nixon in his 1974 “State of the Union” speech, less than a year before his resignation.

President George W. Bush will deliver his annual “State of the Union” speech on Tuesday, January 28th.  Here at EMS Communications, we think of this event as the “Super Bowl of Public Speaking.”  Our country’s esteemed leaders have been giving this annual presentation since 1790, when George Washington gave the shortest such speech on record. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson began the tradition of delivering the annual presentation to the joint houses of Congress.  In 1936, Franklin Roosevelt made the decision to move the speech into the evening so that more citizens could listen, and State of the Union has been a prime-time event ever since.

This year, we invite our clients, colleagues and friends to watch Bush’s speech through a different lens—as experts in public speaking.  In this month’s Speaker’s Digest, we’re providing an evaluation form for your viewing pleasure: Rate the President 2003.  We’re giving you the opportunity to evaluate W’s presentation, looking for his “POW” statement as well as pauses, eye contact, non-words, intonation and passion.  How will he attempt to persuade his fellow Americans that his agendas for the economy, defense, security and foreign relations are sound?  How will he keep his audience’s attention throughout the speech? Will he stand up straight, or will he rock from side to side as has been his habit?  Most importantly, will he convey to viewers the image of competence, confidence, and visionary leadership that he needs in order to succeed?

Join us by watching his presentation closely on one of the dozens of TV stations that will be covering him.  Immediately following the speech, we’ll email you a link to an interactive version of the scorecard where you can evaluate the speech yourself and submit your insights (see below).  The results will be tabulated and posted on our website, along with our thoughts, by the end of the week.

Rate the President 2003

We encourage you to print this out and refer to it as you watch this year's State of the Union.  Make extra copies for your friends and family!

An interactive copy of this evaluation form will be available immediately following the speech at www.ems-communications.com/president.  Make your opinions known!

You’ll be able to rate President Bush on a scale of 1 (Needs Improvement) to 5 (Expert).  Here are the factors you’ll be using:

Eye Contact
Did he cover both sides of the aisle?  Did you feel like he connected with you at home?

Gestures
Did he use his hands effectively?  Did his gestures help to emphasize his messages?

Movement
Did any swaying or shifting distract you?

Pauses
Did you have enough time to process key points?

Speaking Pace
Was it too fast, too slow, or just right?  Did he appear to be speaking rather than reading?

Non-words
Did you hear any “um”s, “uh”s or “ok”s?

Facial Expression
Did he smile when appropriate?  Was there some variety?

Energy
Did conviction and passion come out in his voice?  Was he enthusiastic about his vision?

Introduction
Did he grab your attention from the start?  Did he “tell us what he was going to tell us?”

Conclusion
Did the speech end on a strong note?  Was his wrap-up effective?

Overall Rating
Politics aside, how would you rate the president’s speaking style?

More Fun Facts About Our Presidents

• Speeches, writings and biographies of all 43 presidents:  http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/
• Presidential trivia and other interesting facts:  http://www.presidentsusa.net/trivia.html
• State of the Union trivia:  http://news.theolympian.com/
  specialsections/stateofunion/
  UNIONtrivia.shtml

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