May 2011
Volume 10, No. 5

In this issue:

• Executives Using Pronouns
• Two More Obamas
• An Open Letter to the, uh, President

This month, we look at the speaking style of President Barack Obama from a few different perspectives, having seen him-in the past month-announce the death of Osama bin Laden, share his policy on the Middle East, speak at length on "60 Minutes," and even tease Donald Trump at a White House gala.

As you read this issue, please keep in mind that our topic is related to the art of leadership and public speaking, not to politics. We are not trying to make liberal or conservative statements, but rather to help our readers learn from others. That's our ongoing goal at Speaker's Digest, we appreciate your input.

Executives Using Pronouns

""I," "me," "my" were three of the most used words in President Obama's media appearance last night."
Rush Limbaugh

It was just a few weeks ago that President Barack Obama broke into our Sunday night with a nine-minute announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden. Obama's speech was short and succinct, using tone and language claiming that this was a proud moment for his administration and a huge accomplishment for the USA.

Though Obama clearly wanted this to be a kumbaya moment for political friends and foes alike, pundits did come out of the woodwork the next day claiming that Obama took too much credit. To support their argument, they claimed that he overused the terms "I", "me" and "my."

Now, those of you who have been coached by EMS or have read Speakers Digest regularly over the years should recognize that criticism. We often counsel our clients to avoid the first person singular pronouns when speaking to an audience. Here's why: presenters that rely on the pronouns "I", "me" and "my" tend to alienate audiences, because they come off as egocentric, boastful and insincere.

We have seen many speakers overuse phrases such as "What I want to show you," "today I'm here to talk about..." or even "it seems to me." Not only do these phrases take up space, but they can antagonize audience members because they set the speaker apart from the listener. We're not joking when we say to presenters "No one really cares how YOU feel."

The question is: how did we, as Obama's collective audience, respond to HIS use of those terms?

First, let's check the data, because Limbaugh's claim that they were the three most-used words in the speech didn't exactly pan out. We counted 14 uses of "I," "me" or "my." On the other hand, by our count Obama used "we," "us" or "our" nearly 90 times, or once every seven seconds. (Those first-person plural pronouns are much more audience-friendly because they're more inclusive, bringing speaker and audience together in agreement.) He did take great pains to share credit with his advisors, with the military, and even to a lesser extent with his predecessors. You, as an audience member, feel much more included by a statement such as "we will never tolerate our security being threatened," or "we give thanks for the men who carried out this operation." (Here's the full transcript of Obama's speech.)

Still, those uses of "I" and "me" did jump out of Obama's speech, even for us. We expect that he used those words, in part, as a show of strength and decisiveness as well as to make a statement. But even the more mainstream Washington Post, in its "Fact Checker" blog by Glen Kessler, wrote that Obama clearly was claiming a lot of the credit when he called out these phrases used by the President: "I was briefed...I met repeatedly...I determined...today, at my direction, the United States launched...."

In the end, however, Kessler conceded that "the buck stops with the current occupant of the White House. Certainly, if bin Laden had not been found, Obama's Republican rival might have used a clip of Obama promising to kill bin Laden in some kind of attack ad."

We agree with Kessler. When you're a leader, whether a CEO, Executive Director, or head of a team, sometimes you need to take responsibility and show that you're accountable for something, whether that's making a tough decision, sharing bad news, or even when sharing good news. Using first-person pronouns when you're stepping up to the plate is different than blandly saying "I believe that..."

That's why Obama was entitled to use "I", "me" and "my." He IS the President, for cryin' out loud, and in the context of his position, the nature of the event, and his use of other, more inclusive words in far greater number, his presentation worked.

What was your perspective? Your feedback here is more than welcome.

Two More Obamas

We watched two other presentations by President Obama since our last issue. They are perfect examples that humor can be appropriate, even during serious times, and that PAUSING is critical when you want to be clearly understood.

1. The White House Correspondents' Dinner

We enjoyed watching the President in a lighter moment when he stepped up for a bit of light-heartedness at this annual well-attended White House event. Obama's smile was a welcomed expression, even though only he knew then what the world knows now: that he had already given the green light to Navy Seals to take out bin Laden.

SNL's Seth Myers was in top form, and it seemed like everyone was having fun except for Donald Trump, who happened to be the butt of many jokes that evening. As someone who craves the limelight, we were wondering as we watched him scowl: was he laughing on the inside? Come on...lighten up, Donald!

2. American-Israel Political Action Committee Conference

On Sunday, Obama gave a speech to this key political group to clarify his earlier remarks on the Middle East. In the second half of his speech, he takes time to talk in greater depth about his intentions in pursuing peace between Israel and Palestine. Two great lessons emerge that apply to all speakers and leaders. If you're short on time, fast forward to the 19-minute mark to see what we mean.

Clarifying meaning. In today's era of short sound bytes, big ideas get drilled down into quick thoughts. Political pundits end up commenting on those sound bytes instead of the ideas. Obama shows leaders this: if you have been misunderstood, or if others are mischaracterizing your ideas, then you need to step up and reclaim your intention.

Pauses. When we watched his speech, we noted some of the most effective pauses we've ever seen a speaker use. Obama's long pauses gave his complex messages time to sink in with his audience. Nicely done, Mr. President.

An Open Letter to the, uh, President

(If any of our readers have access to President Obama or his people, please pass this on!)

Dear Mr. President,

We at EMS Communications have no problems with your choice to use the words "I", "me" and "my" when you speak to the American people, particularly when you are announcing that our country has brought a known terrorist to justice. That night, you sounded strong and presidential.

We DO have a problem, however, with your continued use of non-words. We watched you on "60 Minutes" one week later, and quickly lost count of the number of times you said "uh" during your interview with Steve Croft (more than 70 in the first five minutes.) Non-words make you sound less credible, less prepared, and less confident.

You've known about this speaking problem for quite some time, Mr. President, going back to your days in Chicago. As a state senator, as a U.S. senator, and as a candidate, we've heard those nasty little non-words pop up whenever you leave your teleprompter at home. Think of it as something akin to the stutter that King George VI had to overcome. (You saw The King's Speech, right?) He learned to get past it, and it's time you embrace a similar opportunity.

We urge you to turn to your friends and constituents at EMS for help. We have so much in common with you. First of all, we're fellow South Siders. Like you, we savor a trip to Manny's for a pastrami sandwich (with potato pancake, of course!). We love to shoot hoops. And we all pull for the same ballclubs. (C'mon, Good Guys!)

More importantly, we have helped hundreds of clients learn to eliminate non-words through the use of a few simple exercises. We'll help you, too. Here's our proposal:

Pull some strings to reserve a sky box at a White Sox game this summer. You can bring Michelle and the girls, and we'll bring a few friends, too. We'll do a little coaching that gets everyone involved. We guarantee that by the seventh-inning stretch, you'll be well on your way to conquering your over-reliance on "uh."

Cost is negotiable. We look forward to working with you.

EMS and EMS

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