A short CNN/YouTube segment (aired around February 25, 2009) that analyzes Barack Obama’s public-speaking techniques and promotes a paid DVD produced by media trainer TJ Walker. The clip mixes studio teases from Wolf Blitzer, a Jeanne Moos feature with humorous demos ("tick buster" sticker, teleprompter anecdote), and practical coaching from TJ Walker on posture, pre-speech demeanor, eye contact, pacing, vocal variety, and strategic pauses. The piece also names Michael Sheehan as Obama’s media coach and contrasts polished performance with small verbal tics ("ahs"/"uhs").
Chapters
He's charismatic and holds great influence. That would be Jack Cafferty. But we're also talking about the President of the United States.
Look at him. He looks supremely relaxed, comfortable, confident, as if he had not a single worry in the world.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation. All right, you can see how you can learn President Obama's secret. That's coming up right here in this situation. That's not what makes us strong. The secret to speaking like Barack Obama. A DVD promises to tell you how to do it, of course, for a price. Jeannie Most takes a most unusual look. We're a little more than two hours away from the president's big speech tonight. The world, of course, will be watching here on CNN and CNN International. So CNN's Jeanne Most has a most unusual look at talking the talk.
If you want to bask in the reflected glory of bar, have we got a DVD for you.
What's Barack Obama's secret? Here's the secret that Barack Obama knows. The number one secret. That there is no secret which will.
Be revealed in TJ Walker's secret to speaking like Obama.
America, we have come so far.
This is how far we've come for 2995. Learn President Obama's techniques.
He realizes that the speech starts before your mouth opens. When he's walking up there, he's smiling, and he looks like a billion. He looks like there's no place else in the world he'd rather be.
Learn how not to sound like a robot, especially when using the teleprompter.
You have to go a little faster, a little slower, a little louder, a little softer. And occasionally you have to pause.
Media trainer TJ Walker walks us through basics, like eye contact.
Let's look at Barack Obama. Look at how he holds the eye contact here for five seconds or so. Then he moves to the next place.
But does the master of public speaking himself have a master? He has a media trainer.
Well, coach. Same one as Bill Clinton.
That would be a coach by the name of Michael Sheehan, who posts photos of his famous clients on his website. Not that Barack Obama has completely perfected his speaking style.
When he's thinking, he fills the air with ahs and uhs.
You know, the. I think they're still working it through.
Who you gonna call?
The tick buster.
A tiny little sticker indicating no ums or ahs allowed.
As I put it on the 12 on their watch. Now, what happens is you look at your watch or your cell phone dozens of times a day.
It's supposed to condition you so you become completely conscious of your ums. But no tick buster will save you when your teleprompter goes bust. For instance, when the wrong State of the Union speech showed up in Bill Clinton's prompter.
My fellow Americans, I'm not at all sure what speech is in the teleprompter tonight, but I hope we can talk about the State of the Union even.
If the state of the teleprompter is impromptu. Ginny Mo, cnn, New York.
Hope that teleprompter works tonight. Stay with CNN for continuing coverage of President Obama.
