The Ideal Communicator

In this 19-minute speech, Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. Having had the pleasure of seeing him present in 2006 at a conference, I am now very excited to feature one of his talks in this newsletter. Discussion of this speech will focus on three things: His movements, what makes his content so compelling, and ways in which he links himself with the audience.

HIS MOVEMENTS — OR LACK THEREOF

Sir Ken does not move around when he speaks. In this video, you’ll see that the camera is focused on his upper body and face only, and he stays planted on his feet throughout his presentation. This is a stellar example of how it’s possible to engage an audience without moving around, gesturing, or “working the stage.” This is quite unique to Sir Ken, as most speakers feel more comfortable moving around…and there’s nothing wrong with that either.

COMPELLING CONTENT

Sir Ken uses so many core components of a persuasive speech that it’s no wonder his audiences are mesmerized. Let’s take a look at a five of them:

1. Clearly stated hypothesis, problem statement, and introduction. Within the first three minutes, he states his hypothesis (“My contention is all kids have tremendous talents and we squander them. Pretty ruthlessly. So I want to talk about education, and about how creativity is as important as literacy”). He gets to his point quickly and concisely. Read the rest of this entry »

I went to a wedding over the weekend, and had the opportunity to listen to at least 7 different speeches given by the family and friends of the happy couple. The content of all the speeches was great – all were very heartfelt and warm, and written from a place of deep caring for the couple. However, in terms of how the speeches were delivered…well, that’s where there may have been some ‘cracks in the pavement’ for a few of them.

That’s not to say that they were bad – not in the least! Each speech was straight from the heart, and it was obvious that each speaker truly cared for the couple. Hey, it’s not easy to get up in front of a room of 300 people – many of them strangers – and deliver a speech. So I applaud each and every speaker for making the decision to put themselves in this situation and having the courage to give a speech.

Some speeches had an ‘edge’ to them – they were delivered loudly, clearly, and humorously. The others had some ‘issues’ – that could have been easily resolved – which would have made them even more well-received. Read the rest of this entry »

Ellen DeGeneres’ speech to the Class of 2009 at Tulane University is an excellent example of how to deliver a serious message with humour.  This 9-minute speech has humour, it has relevant stories, it has an inspirational message, and it has a call-to-action to set her listeners on the right foot as they leave university for the real world. 

Several months ago, I watched a speaker at a conference deliver a riveting talk on marketing, branding and social media. He was polished, interesting, and the slides and videos that he used brought the perfect mix of humour, fun, and insight. All around, a great presentation.

And yet, his audience was cheated.

What happened? At the end of this well-structured, well-delivered and value-driven speech, he immediately left the stage. The audience had barely started their applause in appreciation of his talk, but he didn’t see it. And what was worse, the audience gave him a standing ovation. Of the approximately 300 people in attendance, almost everyone was on their feet, trying to show their appreciation for sharing his views through their applause.

But he was gone. Out the door. Without a clue that 300 people were trying to show their appreciation. We thought he’d come back, but he never did.

So I, as the rest of the audience, applauded an empty stage. Awkward.

Did he not care? Did he have somewhere more important to be? Did he not have 10 extra seconds to hang around and accept his applause? Read the rest of this entry »