It takes a lot of practice to become a natural speaker

There is a very unflattering picture of Sen. John McCain in this morning’s edition of The New York Times.

Before you jump to any conclusions … This is not a political blog. And the picture in the paper was chosen intentionally – to illustrate a specific point:

Sen. McCain is not a natural orator. His speaking technique is below average. He should avoid standing behind a lectern whenever he delivers a speech.

His “off-the-cuff” candor when speaking is a closed setting was enough to get him to this point in the campaign.

His stiff, under rehearsed, forced style of speaking in larger settings will not get him to where he wants to go – to be elected President.

In my opinion.

The NY Times article by Mark Leibovich is an excellent case study about the realities of speaking in public today – in the real world of “YouTube” moments. A world where every mistep and every malaprop is monitored, magnified, and memorialized.

What is a candidate to do? What should you do – to minimize the possibility of a “YouTube moment” sabotageing your career?

Practice, practice, practice!

“Every great shot you hit, you’ve already hit a bunch of times in practice.” – Martina Navratilova

Make you mistakes during your practice sessions. Speak your key phrases aloud. Over and over again. To the point that you, personally, can no longer stand listening to your speech. That’s how much you have to practice if:

you want to become a natural speaker
you want your audience to respond favorably to your speech
you want to avoid a “YouTube” moment like the one that Sen. McCain created for himself

To quote from Mark Leibovich’s NYT article:

“But when Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, came to the intended sound bite of his speech — the part about reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil — he hit a slick.

“I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lex-eegton Project,” Mr. McCain said, drawing a quick breath and correcting himself. “The Lex-ing-ton Proj-ect,” he said slowly. “The Lexington Project,” he repeated. “Remember that name.”

In a town meeting in Cincinnati the next day, Mr. McCain would again slip up on the name of the Massachusetts town, where, he noted, “Americans asserted their independence once before.” He called it “the Lexiggdon Project” and twice tried to fix his error before flipping the name (“Project Lexington”) in subsequent references.

Mr. McCain’s battle of Lexington is part of a struggle he is engaged in every day. A politician who has thrived in the give-and-take settings of campaign buses, late-night TV couches and town meetings, he now is trying to meet the more formal speaking demands of a general election campaign.”

Unless Sen. McCain seriously commits himself to a program to improve his public speaking … Well, let’s just remind him of how President George W. Bush’s continued mispronunciation of the word “nuclear” has solidified his image – and it is not a image that I would want for myself.

Practice is not fun. Nor is it fun to watch or listen to a recording littered with “awkward speaking moments.”

Especially, when you are the one who did the speaking!