Political and media pundits will decide the merits of what Trump said in his joint session of Congress speech this week. However, from a presentation delivery point of view in terms of how he said it, I am reminded of a famous scene from the movie, “Three Men and a Baby.”
For readers who never saw the movie, Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson starred as three bachelors who must care for a baby who suddenly appears on their doorstep. At one point, Guttenberg and Danson return from an evening out to discover Selleck reading the baby to sleep. Nothing unusual in that, except that what Selleck was reading to the baby was an article on boxing!
When asked by his incredulous friends, how could he read a sports article to a baby, Selleck replied, “It is not what you say, but how you say it that counts.” And he continued to read the article in a sing song way to help the baby fall asleep.
“How” and the “What” Must Work Together in Presenting
Selleck was correct up to a point. In business, the “what” you say is also key. For your success, they need to complement each other. If “what” you say is suspect, but “how” you say it is engaging, then people will listen, even be entertained, but will not be persuaded to act. You will be seen as suspect, sneaky, not credible, or illogical. If “what” you say is excellent, but “how” you say it is weak, then people will lose interest and miss the value of your content. What you say won’t resonate and be experienced as boring.
How do you ensure the “what” and the “how” are working together?
That will be determined by how much thought you give to your Objective and to your Audience, which brings me back to Trump.
What’s The Objective?
His objective in campaign appearances was to fire up a particular (and real) base. His speeches were designed to be red meat talks and they played to the fears, anger, and pain of his audiences. His target audience did NOT include the media, liberals, moderates, or traditional political pundits. The “what” of these events was deliberately laced with incendiary language and the “how” was bombastic, dark, raucous, aggressive, and defiant. His audience listened. They ate it up.
And it worked. He won the election.
Fast forward to a very different audience last week: Congress and the entire country. The objective now was different. He was speaking to the people whose help he needs if he is to get as many of his programs enacted as possible, a group that represented interests and concerns beyond his base. After a chaotic month in office, a “red meat” approach both in content and delivery was not going to work. Instead, he needed to present his vision in a more measured and disciplined manner to get people to put aside their misgivings and strong feelings and just listen to what he wanted to say. He did that. Regardless of your position, I think it is fair to say, most people listened to the full speech.
And it worked. He was widely seen as more “presidential.”
Time will tell if this was a one-off performance and people will still debate the goals and specifics of his policies, but at least they heard him out.
Biz Lesson: Know Your Audience
If you want to achieve your presentation/demo/sales/ goal, you need people to listen to you first. It is critical to
- Analyze your audience before you plan your presentation
- Select your content (what you say, your story, and your language) based on that analysis
- Deliver your presentation (the how) in a style that will be congruent with your goals and audience
That works.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
Need to Improve the “What” and the “How” in Your Presentations & Demos?
Call today for individual coaching or team workshops and learn how to turn information that tells into a story that sells. 212-876-1875 amiller@annemiller.com
“Anne and I recently worked together on a speech I gave at a large conference. She helped me turn a series of somewhat interesting points into an expertly crafted, compelling and actionable story. Together, we built a storyline with attention-grabbing headlines. We worked and re-worked the language, making sure every word was important. Finally, Anne coached me on the delivery. The result was so exciting – I’ve never been so well received in a speech before. Thank you, Anne!” Kate Griffin, Vice President, CFED.org
Want to Make Your “What” More Compelling?
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