Speech Content Always Trumps Presentation Delivery
Delivery is the icing on the presentation cupcake
Did the headline make your bristle? Or nod your head in agreement? Recently, I saw a speaker who asserted that content is far more important than presentation delivery. Fifty percent of the room nodded in agreement and the other 50% began to argue for the overwhelming importance of excellent delivery.
In my oh-so humble opinion, working on vocal expression, gestures, pauses, or how you move on stage in absence of great content is equivalent to putting lipstick on a pig. (Although if you watch my recent webinar, you know I'm big on P.I.G.s)
Content is the foundation of your presentation while delivery skills can accentuate your message. Delivery is merely the icing on your content cupcake.
What do Tony Robbins & Stephen Hawking have in common?
One's a motivational speaker who people pay obscene amounts of money to so they can be inspired. The other is a theoretical physicist who suffers from ALS, which confines him to a wheel chair and he must use a computer in order to speak.
Yet when either of the two men take the stage, they hold their audience with rapt attention. Why? What's the common denominator?
Tony Robbins possesses a dynamic delivery style. He takes audiences on emotional roller coaster rides with his energy, enthusiasm and delivery skills.
Stephen Hawking cannot have dynamic delivery skills due to his physical limitations.
However, both men command the room and engage the audience. Why?
Amazing Content! People would not shell out $5K to see Tony Robbins' delivery style – they pay that kind of money because his content has great value. No one would see Stephen Hawking speak if he was not one of the most knowledgable minds on the planet.
Passion is knowledge
Audience sometimes mistake enthusiasm, delivery and energy for passion. Passion is knowledge. Passion is giving an audience great content that provides value. It's not just about delivery.
Make no mistake – I am not saying delivery isn't important at all. Dynamic delivery skills are important. How you present can get in the way of great content. However, if you don't have the content as your foundation working on your vocal expressiveness is just a waste of time (and money if you've hired a coach).
Since I feel so strongly about helping you develop great content, for the next few weeks we are going back to the basics – public speaking 101 – with a focus on developing amazing content that leaves your audience wanting more of what you've got.
This Wednesday – we are discussing the most overlooked step in developing a great speech. See you on Wednesday.
I am standing right behind you with a big placard that says “preach it, sister!” I would agree with you that delivery is extremely important and through significant practice this can be developed and refined. However, if the content has no value, or is just old stuff regurgitated, then no amount of fancy delivery can make up for that shortfall. I often see people starting in the wrong direction by opening PowerPoint to start writing a speech. That should be the very last stage. It is the depth of content that really matters. Thanks Michelle, looking forward to the new series, always good to go back to the basics.
Thank you Peter! Glad you agree with me. I know this can be a hard topic for some speaker’s to accept. If you don’t have great content, delivery is just lipstick on a pig.
You are so right, Michelle. Last night I was at a Speech contest. The winner had inspirational content as well as flawless delivery. I now know what I need to work on. Your expertise is awesome! Thanks!
Both hand-in-hand is great. However that base of content is what needed first and foremost. You would not remember the contestant if he just had an expressive voice. Thank you Sharon for commenting!
Honestly, I see them both as being almost equally important. You can get a long way if one of them is ULTRA-strong. But I think that’s the exception.
Hawking is a great example: his content, because of his intellect, is amazing. But it’s amazing to a specific audience. In a broader audience, Hawking’s ability to command the room immediately starts dipping. Likewise, outside of a specific audience, Robbins’ enthusiasm begins to put people off, too.
And given today’s shorter attention spans, great content not delivered in a great way is going to lose some people.
Forced into a choice of one OR the other, I’d pick content. But I’d never attempt a big presentation without working on both the content AND the manner in which it’s presented.
As I said in the last line paragraph, I’m not arguing that delivery is not important. You need to have that foundation of content. Audiences forgive stumble, stutters, awkward pauses or anything that is less than stellar delivery – if the content is amazing. They are not forgiving if they spent big bucks and got nothing out of the presentation outside of entertaining delivery. Content is what makes us memorable and gets people invited back to speak. Delivery is the cherry on top the of the content sundae.
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