SPIN #6 – SPEECHWRITING
Rip into whoever's running the PowerPoint when there's a technical glitch, the slides don't advance or there's no audio with the video. (I was at a conference where the speaker tore into the AV team. He then quit giving his speech in mid-sentence and stormed off the stage. The audience didn't just boo. We hissed. Someone even clapped when he left the banquet hall.) Avoid using weekend words at all costs. You use big, confusing words that make you feel smart even though they leave us feeling stupid. Run way past your allotted time, especially if we're waiting for breakfast or dinner to be served and we've long since eaten the muffins, buns and pads of butter that were on our table when you started talking 90 minutes ago. End your speech without a rally cry. Don't tell us what we should or could do next. Don't close the sale or ask for the order. End your speech by saying "well, I guess that's it. I've got nothing more to say. Thanks for listening". Invite us to ask questions but make it very clear by tone of voice and body language that you want nothing more than to get off the stage. What you can do instead. You don't need a speechwriter. What you want is someone who can start and carry a conversation that gets you opening up.
I've written lots of speeches. Most were forgettable. Some were truly regrettable. And only a couple were memorable. The best speeches were never really speeches. They were transcripts. Lightly edited transcripts from open and honest conversations with leaders who made it personal. Who told a story that only they could tell. A story that didn't have a single quote from Yoda, Harry Potter or Maya Angelou. I wrote a convocation speech for an interim president. He was a good leader and a great guy. Low key, no ego and definitely not a natural performer. We didn't want to dust off and recycle a speech given by a previous president. He deserved a speech to call his own. A new president would be installed by the time the next convocation ceremony rolled around. The interim president agreed to meet and gave me an hour of his time. I pitched the idea of having the president reflect on the advice he was given during his graduation ceremony many years ago. What advice was out-of-date? What advice aged well and was still relevant today? What advice did he follow? What advice did he wish he'd been given? The president didn't want to do that. I can't do that, said the president. Were his graduation speeches that forgettable? I don't remember the speeches because I wasn't there, said the president. Were you working? There was a long pause.
