"If only I had had better presentation skills,
I think I'd be in my second term
as president."
Al Gore
You might not want to be president, but someone who did has realized just how important presentation skills are. In a recent interview, as Al Gore was reflecting on his 2000 run for president, he remarked that
if he had had the "presentation skills" he has since learned, "I think I'd be in my second term as president."
You may or may not agree with Mr. Gore's assessment. But if you have seen his movie or live slide show An Inconvenient Truth, you've seen a passionate, intelligent man who communicated clearly and with ease. That was not the same Al Gore we saw during the 2000 Presidential race.
Before the 2000 bid, Al Gore had been nicknamed Gore the Bore. He was a dull and robotic public speaker. There was little personality, charm, or perhaps even much of a pulse.
Mr. Gore did what many believed was important to do. He worked with speech coaches and consultants to improve his public speaking skills. The problem was, the team he worked with pushed him too far, too far in the other direction. This 2.0 version of Mr. Gore was emphatic when he spoke. He spoke loud and forcefully. His body language was still robotic, but now the robot seemed to be wound up too tight.
He became a cross between the energizer bunny and the terminator.
He was not a pretty sight or sound.
He seemed phony, over-the-top, and just not the real deal.
I believe that what we see today with Mr. Gore is the real deal. He is speaking passionately about a topic that he has been interested in for a long time. And, guess what? He sounds natural, easy to listen to, and easy to understand. The phony Mr. Gore is gone; so is the robot. Now Mr. Gore is having a conversation with us---and many are listening.
Here's my challenge to you
Find your passion and purpose for every presentation that you give. Tap into what's important to others about your topic. Share from the place in you that has excitement or at least genuine interest in your material. By doing that, you'll never come across as phony, and will always come across as someone who is genuine and natural.
About the Author
Dana Bristol-Smith is the founder of Speak for Success, an organization that works with companies that want their people to communicate with confidence and credibility.
You can email Dana at:dana@speakforsuccess.net
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