The Most Vulnerable Point of Leadership

by Mike Landrum


We in America are being treated to a rare phenomenon in this presidential campaign. We have seen the ascent of Barack Obama from far back in the lists only 18 months ago, to riding the crest of a wave of enthusiastic support that will probably take him to his party’s nomination and on to the White House. How did this happen? Not with shrewd marketing, a huge outlay of money or great political connections, no, this came about purely on the ability of the man to speak. For a student of the speaker’s art, it is a thrill.

At first, it seems he has little to bring in the way of tools. No great resonant voice, no particularly handsome demeanor, no charismatic physical endowments to speak of; and yet he gathers crowds like a rock star and can leave the throng in a frenzy of excitement. Meanwhile the competition, Senator Clinton, a former first lady with, as she proclaims, 35 years of experience in the political circus, and John Edwards, a very handsome and charismatic trial lawyer, have been beaten all hollow. How?

Public speaking is the most vulnerable point of leadership. Most speakers try to hide that vulnerability, to show power, to override it with energy and gestures and a big smile. Obama lets it be. He seems comfortable with his physical limits. He opens up to his audience, accepting them and himself as human beings sharing the experience. He delivers a simple message - often criticized as platitude - that aligns with his audience. Hope and change are what they want.

Edwards always seemed to be speaking to people who weren’t in the room. The “other Americans” were down and out, mill workers, poor people that few could identify with. Hillary has been campaigning against resistance for so long that when she came down off the top of her voice for a few minutes in New Hampshire some weeks ago, people recognized her as a person again and her poll numbers climbed dramatically. Unfortunately, she did not learn to stay simple and direct and has gone back to the default style again.

What lessons can the rest of us take from this? Trust yourself. Find the appropriate level of energy to address an audience. Don’t hide. Go ahead and be vulnerable - it may be where your strength lies.

The Speechwriters Conference

I've just returned from my annual trip to the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Ave. in Washington, D.C. for the national Speechwriters Conference. Every February speechwriters from business, government and academe gather for two days of networking and learning at this conference put on by Ragan Communications. This year, one of the stars was the closing day Keynoter, Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain. Westen, a professor of psychology at Emory University, gave a fascinating speech on the importance of emotional intelligence for political campaigns.

His insights on the use of words and images to strike emotional and persuasive chords in the hearts of an audience are valuable for speakers beyond the political sphere.

Other great takeaways for me were provided by Wendy Cherwensky, a free-lance writer from Ottawa. Wendy's seminar contained many valuable tips but the strongest takeaway for me was her recommendation of Garr Reynolds' great new book PresentationZen. This book and the excellent blog that he maintains with the same title - http://www.presentationzen.com/.

Both are briming with great ideas for simplifying your visuals and strengthening your PowerPoint presentations. The blog also features many links to speakers who make good use of the principles that Reynolds (and yours truly) espouse. One of my favorite discoveries from this site was the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design conference, TED, held in Monterey, California. It's an amazing conference with speakers from all disciplines, limited to less than 20 minutes to present their ideas. Check it out!