WHAT You Say and HOW You Say It

Speakers of all types need to regularly ask themselves important questions as they prepare for their presentations: Will this message interest my listeners? Am I delivering it in an effective way? Am I successfully connecting with my audience? Notice that these questions address both WHAT speakers say and HOW they say it. It’s an important distinction.

Both of us grew up—and remain—active in our Jewish community, and have a number of friends (and even relatives) who are rabbis. In the days leading up to the recent high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we were invited to help a few of them with the sermons they were preparing to deliver to their congregations.

In this process, we observed that ministers, priests, rabbis and other spiritual leaders run into the same issues as business leaders, namely the need to really connect with listeners. To effectively do that, we encourage them all to avoid being overly formal in style. In our experience, listeners want to feel as if a speaker is talking directly to them, and like they can connect with the speaker personally. That takes a certain type of approach.

Complicating the situation is the fact that most sermons are delivered from prepared texts—written out word-for-word. Some business presenters also write out their presentations in advance, most often because they are simply more comfortable having all the words in front of them. If you include yourself in this group, here’s our advice: make sure you’re writing a speech, not an article. There’s a big difference between an article that will be PRINTED, and a speech that will be DELIVERED in person.

Here are a few examples of what we mean: nn- Be conversational. Use contractions—instead of saying “this will not” or “you should not”—because you’re more likely to use them in everyday conversation. And no one wants to sound like Mr. Data, the android from Star Trek, unless you’re speaking to an audience of Trekkies!nn- Omit excess words. In particular, leave out phrases that automatically indicate that you’re reading them, such as “My remarks today…”, “Allow me to …”, or “…and in conclusion….”nn- Keep it simple. Words such as “endeavor” or phrases such as “leveraging resources” or “let us not…” make it seem like you’re trying too hard to impress. Stick to terms that you use regularly. (President Bush used the phrase “speaking before this rostrum” in two separate State of the Union speeches. How often do you think he uses THAT word?)nn- Match your expression to your words. If you say “we’re excited about…” or “I’m passionate about this,” be prepared to demonstrate that excitement and passion through gestures, energy and intonation. One-time presidential candidate Michael Dukakis struggled to convey the passion that his words claimed, which made him much less believable as a candidate.nn- Use audience-focused examples. Anecdotes are wonderful to use, just don’t make them all about YOU as the speaker. The listeners always want to know what’s in it for THEM, so use examples to which they can relate.

Spoken words pack a lot more power and impact than written ones. That’s a huge advantage that a speech has over an article. Just make sure your writing and delivery are in sync.