By now many speakers, politicos and professional speechwriters have commented on Obama’s keynote at the convention. For the rest of us to become more captivating and credible, the most concrete insights I've found come from Garr Reynolds' thorough analysis.
Here’s some quick takeaways:
1. He cites David Gergen who told CNN "As a speech, I was deeply impressed. In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony.” Tempo. Ebb and flow. Variation. Pauses. Details then a big picture. Intensity followed by calm.
2. Citing Bruce Block, author of The Visual Story, Garr noted that it had the three basics of story — exposition, climax and a resolution.
3. Using words and thoughts that are natural and authentic to you, the speaker. (It helps to write your own speeches, as Obama does).
Yet so much of how we view a speech and the speaker is how we already feel about that person, as demonstrated, for example, by some comments in response to Garr’s post.
Also, my friend Bert Decker offered three other lessons we can learn from Obama’s acceptance speech.
