By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to take more control in delivering your next speech. Reading time: 3:48.

        The executive steps up to the microphone, flips open the cover of his prepared text, abruptly closes it and declares:  “Today I just want to speak to you from my heart.”

      Balderdash!

      After all, EVERY speech must be delivered “from the heart” or your audience will walk out on you –figuratively if you’re the boss or literally if you’re not. Their B-S meters are set too high to keep your voice in their ears.

        In my experience, executives most often eschew their written speeches for self-serving reasons like these:

1. The executive fears reading a speech makes him look less authoritative.
2. The executive didn’t have time to rehearse the speech.
3. The executive hates being chained down to a script that makes him sound too wooden.
4. The executive is visiting a new venue and isn’t used to the TelePrompTer.
5. The executive KNOWS what he wants to say and besides one idea always leads to another good idea.

      That’s why I am often asked to counsel executives who don’t want their scripts to show. I ask them to think of their script as if it were a preSCRIPTion. Think of this preSCRIPTion as a power tool that gives you even more control and authority in “treating”  your audiences.  Continue reading →