Mastering
    Your Material,

Developing
    Your Delivery →

What do professional public speakers do differently?

Comedians give the impression of being nearly perfect public speakers. Professional comedians are spot-on every time without a hitch, having just the right words at just the right moments. They do not appear nervous, their brief interruptions and rabbit trails are ironically to the point, and they always seem to know exactly what to say—even when you think they’re about ready to open mouth and insert foot.

The truth is that most comedians have mastered the art of performance. You’re fooled every time.  No doubt there are many skilled comedians who improvise, and kudos to them. Most of them are not the high-dollar, high-names you so often hear about. Well known comedians have mastered their material and developed their delivery like an actor in a play. Knowing their material backwards and forwards allows an actor to stop spending the majority of their time recalling information or looking for cues. Because their material and delivery are so thoroughly committed to their bones, they can simply focus on adding the convincing touches to their delivery instead of recall.

Only after a public speaker has seriously mastered their material are they able to have any semblance of appearing professional. And only after mastering their delivery are they truly worthy of being called a professional. True professionals provide impact without interrupting the linear thought of their audience with (a) distracting references to notes, (b) wondering what to say next, and (c) rabbit trailing on truly irrelevant matters.

Mastering Your Material

Without saying the dreaded word “memorize,” the material to be discussed must be absorbed. The best way to describe the end result of this goal is to talk to a business owner of a particular trade. Ask this business owner to lunch and tell them to elaborate on how they first broke into business.  Often with emotional detail, they will be able to elaborate about this experience and any micro-experience you probe into. This emotional detail is the indicator of one who knows their own material. If you do not have intimate understanding of your topic, able to elaborate about each sub-topic to be discussed—emotions or no—then your material is not yet mastered. Whatever it takes in the way of disciplined absorption, do master your material and master it well. Especially if you speak to different crowds about the same message, afford yourself some time to absorb similar material to bolster your message. 



Developing Your Delivery

There are two major objections to developing your delivery. The first is the moral objection. Public speaking is a heavy responsibility that greatly impacts people’s understanding of the world and even their motivations. It should not be taken lightly, and yet there is so much potential for abuse. Many orators take advantage of the power of public speaking by attempting to deceive or manipulate the crowd. Dictators master their material, their delivery, and their image in order to intimidate, manipulate, and control people. However, mastering your material and developing your delivery says nothing about your motivations. Deception is a separate object. Would you consider an actor or a music performer to be deceptive? Truly excellent and professional public speaking is a tool like a garden rake, an automobile, or a pen. It’s not a moral compass.  We don’t abstain from writing because someone abuses the privilege.

Secondly, there are many occasions where having mastered the material and developed the delivery could* be considered offensive, hurtful, or inappropriate.  Sensitivity and compassion are applied in these circumstances.
 

"It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech."

    — Mark Twain

 


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