Learning From Subpar Speeches

[dropcap background=”” color=”” circle=”0″]F[/dropcap]or speakers looking to gain a further understanding of a great speech, it is just as important to evaluate and learn from subpar speeches as it is to learn from great ones. Sometimes even great speakers fail to deliver a well rounded speech and there are multiple things that can be learned in these instances. A great example of this is given by David Perry in his speech about video games.

What it Lacks

For one, the speech seems very personal to an individual experience and fails to reach out and engage the audience. While the visuals are solid, they’re displayed in a way that is almost more like a documentary. They’re also somewhat confusing; it is not clear to the audience exactly what their purpose is. Remember that visuals are important but it is necessary to make sure that they tie directly into your message and argument.

Second, Perry doesn’t really ever create a benefit to the audience. Apart from providing them with confusing information, he fails to answer this basic audience question: ‘So, what is this telling us about ourselves?’ Remember that without a clear benefit given, it is difficult to fully engage the audience. Your audience wants to know exactly why your speech is beneficial to them and you want to make sure that they don’t have to guess these benefits.

Lastly, the ending is very unenergetic and Perry actually turns around to read words directly off of his slide. The ending is one of the most important parts of a speech because it is generally the way your audience is going to best remember you. The energy created from your ending can literally change lives and, for that reason, there needs to be a confidence within it that allows you to channel your energy into your audience as you exit. The ending of your speech should be practiced thoroughly so you can deliver it with the proper confidence and energy.

Analyzing Different Types of Speeches

While it may seem so, this certainly wasn’t meant as a bashing of David Perry and his speech. Instead, the hope is that learning from this brief breakdown of his speech will show you ways in which even the best speakers fail to meet all of the components of a great speech. As we’ve mentioned, we learn best from our mistakes as well as by analyzing the mistakes of others. Analyzing below average to bad speeches is just as important as looking at great ones.