I spent last Sunday afternoon (October 24, 2010) with President Bill Clinton. There were a few other people present - several thousand I suspect - because the event was a Democratic Party political rally held on the University of Michigan campus. On ostensible focus was Congressman John Dingell, facing a tough re-election campaign, but make no mistake about it, the feature that afternoon was Bill Clinton. I was but a few hundred feet away from President Clinton, and I took it all in.
What I want to write about in this blog entry is not the political message of Clinton, Dingell, or any of the other Democratic candidates who spoke during the afternoon*. Rather, I want to write about what I learned from President Clinton about how to give a good speech, lessons worth heeding across the political and nonpolitical spectrum. Like him or not, the guy is good! Really good. And this judgment comes from someone (me) who speaks (professes) for a living and is considered rather good in his own right.
This was a ticketed and ticketed-out event, and I did not have a ticket. But as luck would have it, I was hosting some visitors from France this past weekend, who went to the folks hosting the event and politely asked for tickets. The rally organizers were charmed by the interest of visitors from France - who of course were not registered voters - and they scrounged up some extra tickets for them, as well as for me. Cool.
The event was scheduled to start at 2:00 PM. I kept telling my French guests that President Clinton would be late. That is part of who he is, and he indeed was true to form.
No one cared, including in particular President Clinton. And that is the first lesson I learned about how to give a good talk. Make no apologies or excuses. Once he took the stage, he just gave a great talk.
As a speaker, I always make excuses. Once upon a time, when my standard talk was on pessimism and illness (i.e., before positive psychology), at least my excuses were somewhat humorous. I would always say, "I've been fighting a cold ... I'm not sure I can get through this ... you probably won't like what I have to say anyway."
But no one wants to hear a speaker start with an apology or an excuse - it's an insult to whoever shows up! President Clinton just talked.
The second lesson, obvious but not always heeded by most of us who speak for a living, is to make the talk relevant to the audience. President Clinton of course mentioned Ann Arbor and the local candidates and politicians in attendance. He also addressed why college students should care about the midterm election. But he scored a touchdown when given a Michigan hat which he donned. He proceeded to discuss the pending election in terms of Michigan football, without notes (that I could see) and certainly without a teleprompter!
He asked why we many of us in Ann Arbor know more about University of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson's injury status than we know about the issues facing the country. Answer: Because we have already made up our minds. But that's silly - indeed dangerous - in terms of national politics. "Don't confuse me with the facts" does not cut it when issues more important than football are on focus.
When President Clinton spoke, he leaned into the microphone, and looked intently at the audience. I know he was not speaking directly to me, but it was as if he were. That's another lesson to heed.
President Clinton looked older than I remember him. He was very lean, and his hair was completely white. I guess his Presidential tenure and more recent health problems have taken a toll. He looked tired, but he did not sound tired. And that is the final lesson I learned. Bring zest to your talk.
When his talk was over, no one left, including President Clinton. I believe his next stop that day was Battle Creek. He would be late. That's okay. It's part of who he is. Most of the audience moved toward the stage to chat with him. He made a point of having a photograph taken with him and a young child.
Can you tell I'm a fan? Words matter! And my guests from France were mesmerized as well.
*As I observed in my previous blog entry about President Barack Obama speaking at the University of Michigan, the other speakers also delivered very good talks. How could they have not, given with whom they were sharing the stage?
