Seth Godin made an interesting point:

 

It’s extremely difficult to read a speech and sound as if you mean it.

For most of us, when reading, posture changes, the throat tightens and people can tell. Reading is different from speaking, and a different sort of attention is paid.

Before you give a speech, then, you must do one of two things if your goal is to persuade:

Learn to read the same way you speak (unlikely)

or, learn to speak without reading. Learn your message well enough that you can communicate it without reading it. We want your humanity.

If you can’t do that, don’t bother giving a speech. Just send everyone a memo and save time and stress for all concerned.

Our advice? – tell your story in a video.

Read more from Seth Godin’s Blog

 

Arline Melzer is a film producer with a passion to help small businesses with their online video presence, and to help generations preserve and celebrate the times of their lives.