Speaker's Digest May 2004
In this issue:
Memorable Presentations by Women
In our last issue, we asked our readers to share examples of memorable speeches that they have seen or heard in their lifetimes. (Your input is still welcome, by the way!) Within days, we saw a presentation by Maria Shriver that was worth an honorable mention in Speaker’s Digest.
Hopefully, some of you were able to watch part of the recent memorial service earlier this month for Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who was killed in service in Afghanistan. The service was memorable for many reasons, but we were particularly impressed by the quality of the speeches that participants gave. Former teammates, military colleagues, and public figures such as Sen. John McCain spoke passionately and eloquently about Tillman. Maria Shriver, appearing on behalf of her husband, the honorable governor of Cah-lee-fo-nia, gave a wonderful speech.
Shriver’s presentation was terrific, reading a letter from her husband and then sharing her own “Dear Pat” letter in which she spoke to the fallen soldier and told him how much he was missed. She reflected on Tillman’s life, pondered the definition of a hero, spoke with emotion, and stood out among a group of great speakers. She was invited to speak only because her husband was out of town, but went beyond simply standing in for him. She incorporated his thoughts and prayers into her own, sharing much of herself in the process. Maria was articulate and genuine, and her words clearly moved her audience.
We work with many clients who are women. Our work is made easier because there are so many woman role models that we can use as examples of great speakers. The ones who are most successful are those who are comfortable being themselves, showing confidence, sharing their unique personalities, and not taking themselves too seriously.
Here are a few other speakers you might make a point of watching:
Ann Richards, former governor of Texas. This media savvy ex-governor gained national prominence when she gave a biting, pointed speech in the 1988 Democratic Convention, encouraging her Democratic colleagues to defeat the first President Bush, claiming that “he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” She exuded confidence, had a wonderful sense of humor and excelled in front of that audience. She still is active as a public speaker, and appears as a regular guest on Larry King and other news programs.
Senator Elizabeth Dole. A wonderful public speaker, Dole broke with tradition a few years back when she decided to leave the lectern during her speech at the 1996 Republican convention to walk the convention floor and visit with her audience. Talk about letting her natural abilities shine through. She left her notes behind, engaged people in conversation, and shared personal details about the character of her husband, presidential candidate Bob Dole, in this highly memorable presentation.
Eleanor Roosevelt. If you were lucky enough to ever hear her speak, you’d remember the impact she had on audiences. She began her speaking career as a carrier of her husband’s presidential messages. Over time, she made so many critical speeches that her own messages became intertwined with FDR’s, and she gained an unprecedented presence among first ladies. She was small in stature, but that almost added to her power in front of an audience.
Governor Jennifer Granholm. Newsweek magazine, in describing this governor of Michigan, said: “she has stage presence and intellectual panache.” From our perspective, she may be the best speaker you’ve never heard. Granholm is an outstanding presenter, a dynamic public speaker who has a genuine, personable delivery style. She uses a natural voice inflection that helps people feel at ease, as if she’s talking directly to each individual in her audience. Her style conveys energy, passion, devotion to her ideas and excitement about her work.
Hilary Clinton, Madeline Albright, Carol Mosely Braun, and Condoleezza Rice also belong on this list. There certainly must be others—any suggestions?
You can follow the links below to find video or audio clips of these women in action:
Maria Shriver, campaigning for her husband (video): http://www.womenjoiningarnold.com/video.html
Ann Richards at the 1988 Democratic National Convention (audio):
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/
annrichards1988dnc.htm
Elizabeth Dole at the 1996 Republican National Convention (audio):
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/convention96/
realaudio/elizabeth_dole_8-14.ram
Eleanor Roosevelt speaking at the University of Manitoba March 1, 1949 (audio)
http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/
archives/roosevelt/index.shtml
Jennifer Granholm delivering her 2003 State of the State address (video):
http://wkar.org/stateofthestate/
page.php?content=archives
Seek Improvement, Not Perfection
Public speaking comes more naturally to some people than to others. But for many, who have reached a certain management level in a company based on their other skills, presenting in public is an important part of their job. They need to attain a certain level of competence in order to succeed, even if they aren’t naturally suited to the task. In these situations, we work to help our clients strive for improvement rather than perfection.
A few months back, we worked with an executive from a major consulting company as she was preparing to give a speech to a group of emerging leaders within her organization. Katherine has a great reputation, an enabling style, and is well-liked in her industry. Speaking in public, however, is not one of her strengths—she appears shy, unconfident, unexpressive and stiff. Her colleagues encouraged her to work with us.
As a visible leader within her division, Katherine was going to be called on to make numerous public presentations to staff and clients, and she needed to be perceived as a positive force within the company. More important, the message she needed to deliver emphasized the importance of being passionate about work, taking on tasks with positive energy, and the value of a positive, can-do attitude. Those are difficult messages to convey when your speaking style is perceived as dry, uninteresting and reserved.
Katherine initially put off working with us for several months because she wasn’t confident that we would be able to help her. The idea of training seemed harder than the task of making presentations. Deep down, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to improve. (How many trainers does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to WANT to change.)
Another client of ours faced similar challenges, but his issue was high expectations. George wanted to become a great speaker, but couldn’t overcome his lack of expression in front of an audience. He knew that he tended to freeze up, but couldn’t find ways to relax and be himself when speaking. George felt that he could only be successful if he went from point A – stiffness– to point D—excellence.
When improvement is necessary, make sure you train in bite-size pieces, and set realistic goals. If you’ll pardon the golf analogy, no one can pick up clubs for the first time and expect to compete with Tiger and the pros next year. Improvement takes a series of small steps, accompanied by practice. The golf swing is complex, and few of us can handle more than a few tips on a given day. As Yogi Berra once said when trying to incorporate his coach’s suggestions: “How are you gonna think and hit at the same time?!”
Speaking is the same way. If you review past issues of Speaker’s Digest, you’ll know that we discuss topics such as content, pace, volume, energy, eye contact, gestures, and movement. Great speakers are excellent in most categories. But if you’re still a beginner, it’s impossible to assimilate all that information at once. We help our clients to prioritize steps that they can take to improve.
For example, Katherine might not become a great speaker, but she has many skills, and has the capacity to become better in front of a group. We worked with her to develop some powerful content, and encouraged her to invest time in becoming very familiar with it. By continually practicing an effective opening, for example, she became able to draw her audience in right at the beginning. The power of her initial comments helped her keep their attention as she moved into the body of her presentation.
We also encouraged her to smile, and gave her some tips on using energy more effectively, through movement, planting her feet (when not moving), and incorporating her natural gestures. We helped her practice using her energy in short, effective bursts at appropriate times in her speech, such as when she was talking about passion, a technique which really helped that part of her presentation stand out. In the same way, her smile helped her communicate the importance of a positive attitude. (She literally took a magic marker and drew smiley faces into her notes to remind herself to smile.)
With George, we worked to help him see that moving from Point A to Point B was a giant step, a substantial improvement, and an accomplishment he could be proud of. His colleagues saw the difference as well, and we have seen him continue to work toward improvement. He has become a more patient learner who has let go of aspirations toward perfection, which ironically has helped him relax and loosen up in front of groups. That’s a lesson we can all remember.
Gordon McGregor
Director of Development and Community Relations
The Nantucket AIDS Network
Nantucket, MA