TJ Walker argues that public speaking is the most important skill for gaining influence, using Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic Convention keynote as a focal example. Walker emphasizes that Obama transformed from a ‘boring’ lecturer in his 40s into an electrifying speaker through deliberate practice, and therefore anyone at any age (8–80) can learn and improve public speaking by practicing aloud and on video.
Chapters
At the age of 40, I was still considered a boring lecturer. I was a college professor. I was an obscure state legislator without a lot of clout, and I'd failed my one bid for higher office running for Congress. And yet, a few short years later, I gave the speech of my life at the National Democratic Convention. That speech catapulted me to the top tier of presidential candidates the next go round, and I was elected president in 2008. My name is Barack Obama, folks. I find Obama a fascinating case, almost a perfect scientific example of the power of public speaking because you can, almost like a controlled experiment, remove other variables. Barack Obama did not become president because he had the most presidential sounding name as far as what people thought of in 2008. He had no great family connections. He did not have personal wealth. He really didn't have anything going for him other than his speaking skills. I don't say that to take anything away from him. But his rise to power came from the fame that was generated from his excellent 2008 keynote address at, excuse me, his excellent 2004 keynote address of the Democratic Convention. Because his speech was so electrifying, so dynamic, so interesting, so compelling, it attracted supporters, fans, financial contributors. To me, it is a perfect example of why public speaking is really the most important skill to have. If you are a public official and you're planning on running for office, you can make the case, oh, it's about integrity, it's about all these other things. But if you actually want to get elected, you need to know how to be great public speaker. And if you had to pick just one asset that might in fact be the one you want. Again, so many people just believe that Barack Obama, he's a natural born speaker. He just has the gift of public speaking. Well, no, as I mentioned at the beginning, even at the age of 40, right before he gave his 2004 keynote speech, he was still considered by his students at the University of Chicago to be a boring, tedious lecturer. Dry, not charismatic, not interesting. But he learned, he practiced, he made it a goal for himself that he was going to be a good speaker. And he learned, and he Learned in his 40s. That means you can do it, too. I don't care if you're 8, 18, or 80, if you want to be a better public speaker, you can practice. Practice out loud, practice on video, practice till you can watch yourself and like it.
