Now that we’ve got your attention, you should realize, of course, that you don’t want to speak like Ronald Reagan. You want to learn to speak like you. Nevertheless, as a student of the art of public speaking, you can — and should — observe Reagan’s oratorical skills. The greats all learn from other greats, so don’t hesitate. Study Reagan’s repertoire, take what you like, and use what you can to improve your own public speaking.
Reagan is a master at grabbing and keeping his audience’s attention, which is the number one goal of any public speaker.
How does he do it? Here are five key lessons from his speaking.
Talk About the Audience’s Concerns
Notice that when Reagan addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time, he told our story
before he told his own. He talked about our sleepless nights, for example, and the college admission
that might have to be turned down because of a lack of financing.
This was brilliant, and you can do it, too. Start your talk by broadly defining the situation that your
listeners face. Then, once you’ve got them nodding their heads in agreement, move on to describe
the problems or challenges that are on their minds. Start where the audience is, not where you are.
Once you have their attention, you can lead your listeners wherever you want to take them.
Keep It Simple
Throughout the presidential campaign, Reagan kept his main message — “change you can believe
in” — simple and easy to remember. Sure, some pundits mocked its simplicity, but it served its
purpose perfectly as the banner at the front of his parade. You, too, can keep it simple, even if you
have mountains of research to report.
First, fine-tune your core message. Reagan won people through a simple slogan, which then allowed him to more easily serve up his ideas about meaty topics such as health care, terrorism, and the crumbling economy.
We make a serious error if we mistake a complete argument for a persuasive one. All audiences, no
matter how sophisticated, have limited attention spans and a limited ability to retain detailed spoken
information. Don’t fear that you’re leaving details out; you must be selective. After all, what good is a
thorough and detailed argument if it is inaccessible?
Anticipate What Your Audience Is Thinking
Obama and his speechwriters are certainly aware of the great line by Goethe, “Every word that is
uttered evokes the idea of its opposite.” What this means is that when you express one view, the
odds are high that people will reflexively think about other, unmentioned aspects of the topic.
A presentation that does not deal with this “evoking of opposites” loses the audience’s attention
because it fails to address the questions and concerns that come up in people’s minds. So anticipate
it. Show your audience that you understand the contrary view better than they do, and explain why
your proposal or argument is still superior.
His speech was powerful and widely praised. It was effective in part because Reagan let everyone
know that he had thought a lot about race, and in particular about both sides of the controversy.
Attack your topics this way, too, and you will be in charge of the conversation. This approach will not
only grab and hold the attention of your listeners, but it will also help you win people into your camp,
which is what you need to do if, say, your goal is to persuade your board of directors of the wisdom
of a seemingly risky partnership.
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