Never Read Your Speech… Never?
Bor’-ing, adj.
- Uninteresting and tiresome; dull.
- A speaker reading their entire speech.
Presentations are more lively when a speaker speaks from the heart, from memory, or from minimal notes.
But, what if you simply must read an entire speech or a portion of a speech from script? Is there anything you can do to salvage a successful presentation?
In an article devoted to mastering the teleprompter, Pete Ryckman reminds us that:
[...] sooner or later, you’ll need to give a speech word-for-word from a script.
Maybe your employer or a legal team insists that the speech be read from a script. Maybe the context is too delicate to allow for any ad-lib. Maybe you were not given adequate time to practice thoroughly.
When you simply must read from a script, there are some things you can do to salvage your speaking reputation in this scenario:
- Author James Humes devotes an entire chapter of Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln to a technique used by master speakers. The key of this technique is to only speak to the audience when your eyes are up off the text.
- Practice with a teleprompter so that when you need to use it, you will already be comfortable with it. CuePrompter.com is a free resource which simulates the teleprompter experience. The graphic accompanying this article is a snapshot from this tool.
- As much as possible, compensate for your lack of eye contact with excellent vocal variety. This will draw audience attention away from the script you are reading and toward the message you are conveying. To do this, you will need to practice a few times through the script; otherwise, you will almost certainly be monotone and flat.
- Similarly, compensate with broad gestures and other movement. Lack of movement will certainly make the eyes of your audience droopy.
Remember, this advice is only for those very rare instances when you must read from a script. In all other cases, don’t do it. People don’t like being read to in a presentation. Put in the necessary preparation time to ensure that you do not need to torture your audience.
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Norman Wei — Feb 1st, 2008
The only time it is acceptable to read from a text during a speech is when you are doing a verbatim quote of another person’s speech.
Terry Gault — Feb 22nd, 2008
Tim,
Excellent points all!
I discourage my clients from trying to memorize a script because if they make the slightest ‘mistake’, missing a piece or getting out of order, they tend to panic and get flustered. I recommend that they spend time writing their talk and then distill it to key bulleted points and print those out to use only as a reference if they get stuck or start to veer offtrack.
A few comments on your suggestions:
#1) Author James Humes technique of only speaking “to the audience when your eyes are up off the text.”
This is a technique that I learned as an actor doing “cold-readings” and I recommend to all my clients. I’ve concocted a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) as a mnemonic to help speakers remember this principle:
R-C-S (Read-Connect-Speak). Read off your notes or script in silence, Connect with your audience through eye contact, then Speak.
#3) “compensate for your lack of eye contact with excellent vocal variety”
This is good coaching regardless of whether they are reading or not.
Fully 80 – 90% of the presenters that I observe do not expend enough vocal energy and do not speak with vocal dynamism. Hence, they come across as uninvolved, uninteresting, and unenthusiastic.
#4) “compensate with broad gestures and other movement”
The human eye is deeply sensitive to movement. That part of our ‘operating system’ is based in our brain stem, which developed very early in the history of our species. Simply, if we were not attuned to movement, as a slow-footed and weaker animal, we would have been lunch a long time ago.
There have been documented cases of patients in hospitals with little to no brainwave activity whose open eyes will still follow movement in a room.
Terry Gault — Feb 22nd, 2008
Sorry, Andrew. I don’t know where I got “Tim” from … *wiping egg from face*
Again, excellent post!
Sarah Gershman — Jun 17th, 2009
Andrew – Thank you for this terrific post. It is great to know that there is so much research and attention devoted to helping people engage while reading from a script. I just blogged about this exact topic – sarahgershman.blogspot.com.
I would really appreciate feedback.
Warmly,
Sarah
Successful Speeches Blog » Should you script your speech? — Feb 1st, 2008
[...] will have more than sufficient time to look at and connect with the audience. Using a teleprompter? Andrew Dlugan recently wrote a post about this. I also understand that Bert Decker teaches executives how to use a [...]