I’ve been writing speeches and coaching speakers for years. During that time, I have always believed that the essential element of a good speech is a core message the speaker develops through stories, examples and unified logic bookended by a great attention-getter and a resounding conclusion.
I was wrong.
A recent experience listening to a great speaker reminded me that all of the profound ideas, powerful stories, carefully crafted metaphors and the well-timed pauses are for naught if people cannot hear what the person is saying.
What brought me to this obvious conclusion was a speech I watched in an arena filled with probably 1800 students and dignitaries. The speaker — a highly respected man with obvious talent for delivering a lively speech — must have told the set-up crew that he did not need a lapel mike but would speak from the podium. His voice was booming when he started off, engaging the audience with funny stories, self-deprecating humor and one-liners that drew muffled laughter. It was a shame that such a promising start fell short.
As is the case with many veteran speakers, our keynote found the podium confining. He apparently wanted to remove that barrier between him and his audience. He wanted to be active and move around to target different areas of the audience.
He grabbed a podium microphone and walked out. When the mike didn’t work, he laid it on the floor. Someone brought him a second microphone which he tried for only about two seconds. Even though the green light was on (signaling that the battery was good), it didn’t seem to work during that brief test and so he ceremoniously laid it on the floor beside the first one. That drew laughter and a few claps from the crowd. Unfortunately, that was the last positive reaction he received.
How any speaker could think he could speak in a basketball-arena-turned-auditorium without a sound system defies logic. However, this speaker was so focused on his message and his movement that he apparently missed that point. He paraded back and forth, pausing occasionally at one side, in the center and then at the other side. Those who could hear the entire speech were directly in front of him. The hundreds sitting to one side or the other heard only the parts aimed in our direction.
The sound crew was apparently reluctant to interrupt the speaker and re-mike him. Perhaps they didn’t want to embarrass him. They did send two people with hand-held mikes to sit on steps close to the middle of the area to help pick up his voice and that helped a little. But from my seat on the side bleachers, I watched as people in the audience began to either doze off or fidget restlessly.
The next day, I talked with a student fortunate enough to be seated in the middle section close to the speaker. He commented that it was the best speech he had ever heard at the college. That cmment made me sad. Surely the speaker would have preferred being interrupted rather than having his message be missed.
As a result of this speech, I’m re-evaluating my advice about speaking. Yes…a great speech needs a great message that is delivered well. But none of that matters if the message cannot be heard.
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