Page 76 - PR COMMUNICATION AGE July - December 2020

Stop Scripting Your Speeches

by Joel Schwartzberg

"Don't worry," a coaching client memorizing a word-for-word speech is come across like the voice on a
once told me shortly after I saw actually one of the most destructive robocall - friendly but noticeably stilted
her rehearse her presentation. and counterproductive tactics you can and artificial.
take as a presenter.
"I'll have it completely written
A presentation audience doesn't even
and memorized by next week!"
Below are some of the biggest pitfalls have time to process - much less
of fully writing, reading, and remember - specific words and
To my trained ears, she might as well memorizing speeches, as well as what phrases, so time spent conceiving and
have been saying, "Don't worry, I'll you should be doing instead to writing "the perfect words" is largely
make my task pointlessly hard and accomplish what should be your main wasted on them, even if it brings
ensure a distant connection with my goal - engaging and inspiring your comfort or pride to the speaker.
audience!" audience.
Finally, writing a full speech is a process
Like many people, she thought a "good Writing Focuses on the Wrong Things that excludes the audience, whereas
speech" is something you write out While a speaker's primary goal is to delivering a speech with limited notes
word-for-word and read aloud - engage and inspire, many involves and incorporates the audience
perhaps even memorize. Some learned communicators are inclined to write into the experience. This concept is
this approach in school. Others inferred out their speeches because they critical, because humans are more apt
it from seeing stirring, perfect mistakenly believe their goal is to be to give attention to speakers who
speeches from politicians, award perceived as a fantastic speaker or seem to, or actually do, demonstrate
recipients, and fictional television writer. This mindset has nothing to do a sincere interest in them. "The key to
characters. with getting your point across or doing delivering a successful speech is
your job, and sends you down a path showing your audience members that
If you have a team of speechwriters of performance ("I want to impress you care about them," says Steve D.
working for you, you should certainly you"), not presentation ("I want to Cohen, an author and professor at
have them work their magic and then convince you"). Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
take your position behind glassy "If you maintain an audience-centered
teleprompters to serve it up. But In most cases, writing a full speech is approach, your listeners will reward
that's not the majority of us. Most of also pointlessly time-consuming. For you with appreciation."
us give presentations more frequently every important concept you raise,
in business meetings, online you're crafting many extra lines to set Imagine someone recommending a
conferences, and a wide range of up and contextualize those ideas. movie to you. Should that person look
small- to mid-size internal and external These words and transitions should you in the eye and explain what makes
events. In those typical settings, come naturally and sound human, but the film compelling, or should they go
writing, reading, and certainly when read word-for-word, they can home, write and edit a review, come

"To an unhealed heart, true love is a scary thing to face."

76 PR COMMUNICATION AGE July - December 2020