Take Obama To Your Next Presentation
Inspiration. Learn from the master of public speaking and take that with you into your next presentation.
In Never Stop Learning this week I will be covering the following 1-2-3:
One Big Thing - How Obama can be with you at your next presentation.
Two Recommendations - Two speeches you need to watch.
My Top 3 articles of the week.
Enjoy.
One Big Thing: What you can learn about public speaking from Obama
At his 27th July 2004 speech to the Democratic Convention, the world was introduced to Barak Obama. People were captivated by his style and charisma which was clear in his delivery. Ultimately, this would start him on the path to the Presidency.
But if we take that speech and really break it down there are attributes we can all learn from as well as some techniques we can start to apply right now.
So regardless of your political leanings at what is a divisive time I invite you to take a trip through that speech and pick out what might just be a take away you can apply to your presentations or the next time you have to stand up in public and speak.
I’ve talked about presentations before. In that post I focused on how you can create the optimal conditions for your presentation. In today’s post we’re exploring delivery.
Think about how you can make your story relevant to your audience’s story
Obama does a great job at making his story meaningful to people by tying it in with the wider narrative.
Telling a story and building your message into that narrative is one of the most powerful things you can do. What elevates it is making it personal. Personal to you and personal to those listening to you.
For Obama, this was tying his story into the American Dream.
Think about your story but do more than that. Weave the story into the stories of your audience.
Vary your pace
Watching Obama you cant help but be drawn in to what he’s saying and he does this in part through varying his pace.
In particular, you see this when there’s a key point he wants his audience to acknowledge and remember. He will slow down and then almost stop at the point and then continue. This is particularly effective at keeping his audience’s attention. Think of the opposite; a monotone piece that bores the life out of you.
Vary the pace and you keep your audience guessing to ensure you keep them engaged.
Make a great point and then pause
………..
If you’ve tried adding pauses into your presentation style you’ve probably found this the most difficult technique to master.
It’s difficult because at first it will feel like an age. You will feel the audience’s attention perk up. You will feel them waiting for your next word. The anticipation is what you’re looking for but the temptation in the moment is to rush to your next point and give your audience what they want.
Hold off just long enough that they are gasping for your next word but not so long that they think there’s something wrong with you.
It takes practice but it’s worth it.
Repetition is ok
You need to be a little careful with this one as you don’t want to sound like you’re at a Trump rally - unless you’re at a Trump rally of course.
Anyway, its ok to repeat your key points. These are the points you want them to take away and remember tomorrow at the breakfast table. Let’s be honest, they probably will forget around 95% of what you say anyway so you want to bang home the points they really shouldn’t forget.
Specifically summarise those big points at the end - just in case anyone was in any doubt.
Use your hands and arms
Hands and arms can add to the moment but be careful to not appear as though you’re directing traffic.
Watch Obama in 2004 and he uses his hands a lot to make his points. Fast forward ten years and he has adapted this style significantly and uses his hands and arms much less. He seemed to take on a more serious manner once president and toned it down. I wonder if this was subliminal or he’d been advised to do this?
Hand gestures in particular can help you make a point but also give them something to do rather than look idle by your side or, worse, a shaking mess.
Speak to everyone in the room as though you are talking to them and only them
Making a presentation personal is a real skill.
Obama, with his words but most importantly with his body language makes it feel as though he is talking to everyone in the room. His eyes are moving across the room, appreciating the audience in front of him.
A difficult thing to do, but by drawing everyone in you can build a chemistry with the room.
Whether you like his politics or not, there’s so much to learn here. I’ve included a link to that 2004 speech below as well as one of his more recent ones from later in his presidency.
Side note: watching these speeches transported me back to what feels like a different time but it wasn’t that long a go. It felt like a time where politicians where at least trying to pull people together rather than push them apart.
I hope you found this useful. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or better still hit the share button and help me get this out there helping more people.
Two Recommendations - what to consume this week
1. The Speech that Made Obama President
Obama’s speech to the Democrat National Convention in 2004 has been widely hailed as the speech that made him President. Of course, this was years before he entered the White House but the power of this speech is hailed as what set him on that path.
2. President Barack Obama delivers stirring speech in Parliament
In this speech to the Canadian Parliament, he pulls together all the techniques I talked about above. It’s quite a long speech so maybe dip in and out but its worth a watch to see if you can pick out how he does it.
Top 3 articles of the week
Finding great articles on Substack can be difficult. Fear not, I have been digging deep into the discovery areas of the platform so you don’t have to.
Here are my top three posts to read this week:
I Hate AI! by
ofIf you have something nice to say. SAY IT! by
orRipples of Impact: The ROI of Rebel Leadership and Learnership by
ofSubstack Recommendations
A big part of this newsletter is the community we are building. Never Stop Learning recommends these Substacks that I suggest you check out.
Last week’s post
In case you missed it:
Building and refining your own Substack
There are some amazing Substacks that can help you with your Substack strategy and content creation.
, and being three of the best ones I regularly read.To supplement these, I am planning “How To Video Guides” covering the technical aspects of navigating the Substack platform. Examples including:
How to navigate the Substack stats pages
How to refine your Welcome Page
Setting up Paid options on your Substack
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Thank you for reading and see you next week.
Good insights as always. Public speaking is a challenge but one that can be perfected. Ted Talks are a great example as they are highly scripted. And this Ted Talk captures your points very well for how you can say nothing but say it really well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Presentation used to make my tummy turn earlier in my career. Like any skill keep practicing results will improve 💪. Still working on make a good point & pause.Thanks Martin.