TJ Walker argues that polished public speaking kills engagement. Memorizing scripts and keeping steady speed and volume make you sound rehearsed. Instead, focus on your ideas, sound conversational, and let yourself have fun with it.
Chapters
There's a certain quality that all great speakers have and that very few awful speakers have, and that element is simply being in the moment. What does that mean? We've all seen speakers and heard speakers who technically may be going through everything just right, and their voice is fine, their eye contact is fine, but they sound like they're thinking about what they're going to say 10 seconds from now. They sound like they're reading a teleprompter in their brain. Sometimes it's because the speed is too consistent, the volume is too consistent. There's just something about it where there's too much consistency. It doesn't sound fresh, it just doesn't sound real great. Speakers have the ability to say something, even if they've said it a thousand times, to make it sound as though they're just talking to you. And that is an important element to have, because if people feel like you're going through a speech, it instantly becomes more boring for them. It's easier for them to tune out. It's easier for them to pull up their cell phone and check what email is happening and what the stock price is, etc. That's why it's critical for you to cultivate and to build in you the ability to just sound like you're in the moment. Part of it is don't memorize stuff. It's really hard to memorize and sound conversational. And in the moment. Broadway stars may study for years, if not decades. Juilliard, the Yale School of Drama. You don't want to compete with those folks. It's hard to take somebody else's script, or even your own script and make it sound conversational. But if you are simply talking, focusing on ideas, making them come alive for people, and having fun with this whole thing in your presentation, you'll come across fresher and more in the moment. Do that. It's going to be much harder for your audience to zone out or find you boring, and much easier for them to just listen to you like they're listening to a friend. People always ask me, how long should a speech be? Well, if you're really interesting, you might have someone listen to you for five days. If you're conversational throughout. If you're boring, 30 seconds is way too long.
