I just witnessed several clients reading scripts.\u00a0 There was something very unsatisfying about the experience for me.\u00a0\u00a0 They lacked life and expression.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t appear to mean what they were saying.<\/p>\n

Yet scripts are often useful and necessary.\u00a0 So what are the pros and cons of written speeches?\u00a0 And how do PowerPoint presentations stack up?<\/p>\n

Written Speeches are More Formal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you write your own speech, or hire a speechwriter<\/a> to help you, you are committing yourself to taking a written document to the front of the room and reading it to the crowd.<\/p>\n

There are pros and cons to this.\u00a0 First, the pros.\u00a0 You will appear to be prepared; speak in full sentences; present your thoughts in a more formal fashion; be more likely to address big thoughts and avoid data and details; have a written document for the historical record; and finally, avoid the terror of standing alone on the stage in front of a crowd with the possibility of going blank or saying something really dumb.<\/p>\n

Compared to a presentation delivered without a script, a written speech requires more time writing, and less<\/em> time rehearsing<\/a>.\u00a0 And the script is a huge security blanket.\u00a0 With a script, there are times when you can just show up and read.<\/em>\u00a0 (Not a great thing to do, but sometimes necessary.)<\/p>\n

However, there are cons to consider as well.\u00a0 You have to be a good writer to write a good speech; speeches that are read are less alive than presentations that are spoken without scripts.\u00a0 (It\u2019s hard to read and sound like you\u2019re talking.\u00a0 Even great actors and politicians have trouble with this.\u00a0 It leads to a lack of engagement with the audience.)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s less give and take because the speaker is constantly looking down to read, and the listeners see this, know that the speaker is reading, and feel obliged to sit still and listen.\u00a0 It\u2019s a monologue, more about getting the words out than engaging with the audience in the here and now.<\/p>\n

PowerPoint Presentations are Less Formal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now how about the pros and cons of a typical business presentation, one in which the presenter stands and talks from slides?<\/p>\n

The pros?\u00a0 More conversational; more opportunity to interact with the audience; more informal; more lively; more room for improv; greater ability to display data and dive deep into technical subjects.<\/p>\n

The cons?\u00a0 Bigger challenge to the stage-worthiness of the speaker; more rehearsal required to discover an efficient way of verbalizing the points; greater likelihood the speaker\u2019s cup will run over with data, data everywhere and not a thought to think; the likelihood that the predictability of PowerPoint<\/a> will undermine the impact of the speaker <\/a>and the message; and finally, the greater chance that a charismatic speaker with an inferior argument will carry the day.<\/p>\n

Quo Vadis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speeches have their place on formal occasions, and can be delivered brilliantly.\u00a0 But it\u2019s a rare person who can connect with an audience while reading a prepared text.<\/p>\n

(Was it Dick Cavett who said, \u201cRichard Burton can make reading the phone book sound like Shakespeare.\u00a0 The rest of us make Shakespeare sound like the phone book.\u201d?)<\/p>\n

Presentations with PowerPoint provide a greater opportunity for connection between presenter and audience.\u00a0 However, the over-use of text slides, the predictability of the typical format, and the demands on the speaker\u2019s stage presence made by the wide open space of the typical meeting room cause many business presenters to struggle with the task of getting their point, and themselves, across to the audience.<\/p>\n

The differences between the two seem to be getting blurred.\u00a0 I recommend a speech when there is no real need for visual aids; when the occasion is emotional or commemorative; when the crowd is so big that a presentation with slides might be hard to see and hard to deliver.\u00a0 (After all, as the audience gets bigger, the need increases for less information and more emotion.)<\/p>\n

A speech <\/a>is more formal and lofty.\u00a0 A presentation<\/a> is less formal and can more effectively accommodate the technical details of a narrowly defined subject.\u00a0 A speech is like an opera.\u00a0 A presentation is more like a chalk-talk, like a coach in the locker room diagraming on the blackboard what the team will do in the second half of the game.<\/p>\n

They both have perils and promises.\u00a0 Choose wisely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just witnessed several clients reading scripts.\u00a0 There was something very unsatisfying about the experience for me.\u00a0\u00a0 They lacked life and expression.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t appear to mean what they were saying. Yet scripts are often useful and necessary.\u00a0 So what are the pros and cons of written speeches?\u00a0 And how do PowerPoint presentations stack up?… Read More »Reading a speech vs. giving a presentation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[36,18,88,210,905,30,612,904],"yoast_head":"\n