Mary Beth Marklein of USA Today says, "Of the 700 or so commencement speeches. . .only about one in 20 "is really inspiring..." So how do leaders, like Scott, prepare to deliver a winning speech?
Marklein gives eight tips for an effective speech. She says:
1. Inspire us … but lose the clichés.
2. Talk about yourself … but make it meaningful to us.
3. Make us laugh … but leave stand-up routines to the pros.
4. Practice … but don't sound practiced.
5. Make us think … but don't make us seethe.
6. Do your homework … because details matter.
7. Hope for a sunny day … but even then, have pity.
8. Finally, keep it short. Period.
These tips sound simple, but they are often forgotten. Clichés slip into everyday life, making messages less meaningful. People who try too hard to be funny are not taken seriously; humor should not be forced and neither should a good speech. It should feel natural. Speeches can inspire thinking through the detail that is presented. Be clear, but don't spoon feed your audience. In the end, none of these keys will matter if the lesson is so long that the listeners lose interest. Brevity is key.
Watch Steve Jobs' 2005 address to the graduates at Stanford University. This speech was first on USA Today's top 10 commencement speeches list.
Jobs' message is meaningful and he follows many of the eight tips from above. Early on he says that he will cover stories from his life: "That's it; just three stories." He understands the principal of brevity, which is different than short.
He tells a group of college graduates that dropping out of college was the best thing that ever happened to him. The irony behind this grabs interest. It opens the door for him to inspire his audience.
Jobs impressive message, which is the basis for its making the top ten speeches list, outshines his rather poor delivery of that message. He rarely looks at his audience, and he reads most of his speech. For a truly winning speech, he needs a better balance of delivery and message.
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