Just read a blog posting from Seth Godin entitled “Mechanics vs. Intent.” It follows on from my previous post on What is Your Intent.
Seth boils down the discussion into such a simple form.
…if you don’t go the extra mile and I end up not caring, all the tactics in the world won’t help.
Although Seth is not talking directly about giving a speech, his words are just as relevant. No amount of vocal variety, movement, or gestures will help you if you don’t go the extra mile to share your message.
If there’s no passion behind your message, please stop wasting both our time.
No matter how scary the prospect is to put your passion into your speeches, you owe it to yourself to share it with the world.
It doesn’t have to be a speech about world hunger or curing cancer. It can be as ordinary as a fishing trip, a kitchen disaster, or a trip to Costco. I don’t care about your mechanics. All I care about is that your eyes light up when you speak.
Update:
Just read a post entitled Passionately Speaking by Robert Killen. Complementary to this post:
Passion is the one thing that will get your audience to sit up and take notice. Without it, all the best slides and statistics will inevitably fail to ignite them.
Posted under Public Speaking
This post was written by john on May 8, 2009
Georgia O’Keefe, the famous painter, had an interesting take on originality. For years she studied the masters and dutifully painted according to those techniques. At one point, she finally realized she needed to make a decision: either continue to paint classically and please her family and others, or start painting to please herself. If you’re an O’Keefe fan, you know what happened! She was able to capture her unique version of the world while incorporating all she’d “learned” about how to paint.
I think the same is true for our speaking. Once we study and understand the mechanics, it’s time to speak our truth and enhance the audience’s experience with those effective techniques.