Saturday 7 January 2012

HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world - (The Iron Lady and Tony Blair) Darren Kelly, Kellcomm, Blog - Day 47

Hi,

I compared Tony Blair's communication skills to those of to ‘The Iron Lady’ in a previous post, but I would like to highlight the one thing that he learned most from her. If you study many politicians at Prime Ministers Question Time, you will notice the speed at which the leave their seat before they speak. Many act like they cannot wait for their words to escape their mouths. ‘The Iron Lady’ and Blair gave their public speaking an extra air of charisma by working at their own pace. Blair was a master at leaving people waiting for his next sentence. He would build anticipation by using the power of a pause, and by gently smiling at the opposition’s jibes. He could remain calm, and he had the confidence to wait for his opponents roars to die down before he said what was on his mind. It was almost like he had created a confident protective sphere around his body and mind that was impenetrable. ‘The Iron Lady’s’ calmness, composure and collected thoughts were always evident, and she only fired off her big attack when she desired. This is what powerful, communicators do. When they are under attack, they buy themselves time with their confidence, so they can respond in relation to their thoughts and values. They never allow anyone to intimidate them or force them into reacting emotionally against their will.

I watched Blair on the American TV show, David Letterman. He said that he still gets a feeling on the back of his neck at three minutes to twelve every Wednesday. He said it was a nervous experience when he had to face his opponents who were only eight feet away during the debate. It highlighted the fact that even great communicators suffer from nerves speaking in public, but they make sure their audience never knows.

Tomorrow, I will analyse 'The Iron Lady's' speech about ‘Europe’ in Bruges in 1988. I will also analyse the reaction to that speech in the UK.

Take care,

Darren

PS: 'HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world' - is available on iTunes and Amazon NOW!
Audio Version only.
Text version out January 31st.


Kellcomm, Princes Exchange, Princes Square, Leeds,LS1 4HY, United Kingdom

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