What makes a speaker great?

It is an interesting exercise to consider who is a good public speaker and what qualities make a good one. I have a number of people I admire as speakers – as I am sure you do too. Jonathan Aitkin, recollected in his recent political memoirs, a conversation he had with Winston Churchill. Aitkin had asked Churchill whether his success and greatness could be attributed to his public speaking. Churchill’s response is recorded by Aitkin

“I was never a true orator, for when I rose to speak I always prepared meticulously. I polished my words so thoroughly that I could not bring myself to jettison a single sentence. Even when I was Prime Minister, with all the apparatus of that office behind me, my speeches sometimes smelt too much of the midnight oil. I remember my private secretary once caught me pacing up and down the garden of Number 10 saying over and over again, “Mr Speaker, I had not intended to intervene in this debate but…I was never a bird on the opinioned wing. By contrast the best parliamentary orators, like Lloyd George, F.E. Smith, Healy or even Bevan… when they rose to speak, they did not know whether they would begin, they did not know how they would end, and they certainly did not know what they would say in the middle. For their phrases were dictated by some inner God within. That is oratory.”

Or is it?? What do you think??

I feel it is a combination of the preparation and practice that Churchill clearly put in, combined with an ability to deliver under pressure. As my wonderful singing teacher Maureen Guy used to tell me. “Do all the practice you can, but leave your technique in the dressing room when you go out to perform.” In other words, when public speaking (or performing generally) you need to let your instinct take over. Of course, if you have prepared and practised, you can have the confidence to ‘leave your technique in the dressing room’, but I cannot think of any respected speaker or performer that would admit to no preparation, even if he or she wished to give the impression of spontaneity.

Churchill might have been stuck in the ‘technical’ side when he spoke, or possibly he focused on the negative aspects of his speaking (he suffered from depression).

Having heard recordings of some of his speeches, his voice, the text and delivery are so impressive that I can understand why he had such an impact on Britain during the Second World War. We do not know how Churchill fared in the House of Commons, and it is possible that other politicians had more charisma, style and impact within the house. But can you remember any of their speeches?

So there is a clear message here: do the preparation and practice, but then see how you can free your mind to add that extra magic into your public speaking.

If you have any comments on this or would like to start a debate on the subject, do contact me info@susanheatonwright.co.uk  

 © 2006 Susan Heaton Wright