POLITICAL SPEAKING & WRITING TIPS
As experienced by
D.A. Sharpe
Here are some principles that are useful in the art of public speaking and some help in writing. Maybe they can be useful for you to apply.
1. It is vitally important to prepare yourself mentally for each presentation. You are the one who has offered leadership. Be comfortable, and rest in confident self esteem. If you make a mistake, laugh and say you made a mistake. Then do the correct thing. Be able to laugh at yourself, but not at your candidate competition. Thank whoever introduces you. Smile before the first word.
2. State a specific purpose for the talk, and how you plan to pursue it. Be familiar with your material, so you will not be glued to the research or a speech you have prepared in writing. Outlines help one to stay on target, as do full manuscripts. However, the latter can be extremely boring and non-effective, since eye contact is usually at a minimum. Eye contact is extremely important. Notes in a professional-looking leather folder or on 3” X 5” cards give the appearance of an organized speaker. Folded up sheets of paper extracted from your pocket look hap hazard.
3. If at all possible, try to make your address without the need of notes held in your hand. Demonstration of passion where appropriate is essential. Brief notes placed on a podium where you may glance at them without handling them is good. The notes you make for this purpose should be in LARGE TYPE for legibility.
4. Do not rush to open your mouth the moment you reach the podium. Pause, look over the audience, and then begin. A good rule of thumb is to scan the outer edges of the audience. If appropriate and you know a suitable story, do not hesitate to use it. Be wise with humor. You probably are not a polished stand-up comedian. Use humor only if it can show the way to some point you intend to make.
5. Review your speech and enunciate clearly, remembering to speak slowly. It is important not to run words together. A rushed speech and a rushed attitude make for an exhausted audience. Know the advantage of a well-placed pause
6. Practice enunciation of your words, particularly consonants. A good practice is singing the song from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Matchmaker.” Syllables should stand out clearly and word endings like "er" or "ing" need to be stated distinctly.
7. When addressing an audience, speak much more slowly and distinctly to them than you do on the run to co-workers at the office.
8. Limit your points to no more than three that are well-fleshed out with stories, examples and illustrations, but not over-done to create boredom. In most settings, speaking engagements are political opportunities, not policy debates
. . . . . . .This section 9 is about practicing good garmmar!
Why is that so important, especially if you percieve that most of your audience does not practice good grammar, nor does that seem to bother them? It matters, because you do not want to limit your messge to those who don't mind incorrect grammar! Those people fare just as well when good grammar is used in their presence. The key element to know is, as soon as you use bad grammar, you lose the attention of and the credibility from the more educated people in the audience. This section applies to your writing as well.
9. For example: use personal pronouns correctly, avoid splitting infinitives and watch how you use prepositions. Keep in mind being well-prepared by planning your words ahead of time helps cement correct grammar. Asking someone knowledgeable of good garmmar to critique your presentation ahead of time can be helpful.
Personal pronouns need to be used correctly: “The meeting was planned by Sally and me.” is correct. It is not correct to say “The meeting was planned by Sally and I.” It would be correct to say, “Sally and I planned the meeting.” If you're uncertain how to use the "I" in cases like this, try saying the sentence without including Sally.
Avoid splitting infinitives. Say, “My plan is not to allow contracts without open bidding.” Do not say, “My plan is to not allow contracts without open bidding.”
A speaker should try to use "we" and "our" instead of "I" and "my" whenever feasible. Most people would be surprised to notice how much the personal pronoun "I" is used. Such usage detracts from the message, because the audience starts to think you are self-centered.
Never use a preposition to end a sentence with! As you can see, this is a humorous way to saying the rule, while demonstrating how not to say it.
Watch how you use the word, “at.” Say, “I am presently at the campaign headquarters...” Don’t say, “I’ll bet you don’t know where I’m at.” i.e. You could say, “I’ll bet you don’t know where I am.” Avoid the habit of "Ums”, “er” and buzz phrases like "don't ya know," "You know what I'm sayin?" and "OK." Don't say, "Here's what I'm driving at." The correct way is to say "Here's where I'm driving."
10. A very important candidate’s statement which is controversial should first be written carefully, so that wording can be chosen wisely. Practice articulating that statement, so that you will not be distracted. Keep in mind that it is good to cultivate the art of looking directly at individuals when possible. It is sometimes good to move around a little, to lean into the audience to focus on a particular person. Spread your focus to different individuals to be more inclusive. Good eye contact is one of the most valuable assets you can maintain.
11. If you are provided a microphone, keep it close to your mouth. If it is stationary, you are limited in your effective movements. Try to see if they will allow you something that gives you move ability. A wireless lapel mike is the best to use.
12. Vary your pitch (highness and lowness of voice), pace (speak slower sometimes, and then a bit more quickly on "common phrases"), loudness (increasing volume is sometimes less effective than decreasing it: to say a word softly and suddenly will usually cause everyone to notice), body - stance, gesturing, facial direction (if you've been very still, move; if you've been moving, pause quietly in a posture; if you've been maintaining a nice, sweeping eye contact look up or to the side - as if in introspection, for an arresting affect on audience)
13. Dress appropriately for the occasion, asking the event planners or another speaker ahead of time, what is considered appropriate. Most of the time for casual settings, men may wear an understated sport shirt with slacks and sometimes a sport coat. If there is someone in the audience who will be wearing a suit and tie you might choose the same, which will be appropriate. Women may wear a tailored dress or basic suit or pant suit to most occasions avoiding the pant and tee shirt-look. Keep in mind that good grooming requires polished and well maintained shoes, clean, well cut and combed hair and that facial hair for men should be trimmed well. Freely growing beards might connote the idea of freely flowing disorganized habits. If you are a little broader than you might like to be, have someone coach you on clothing that does not accentuate your broadness. Hoizonal strips are not good for broad people. If you are too skinny, horizonal strips do help.
14. Visualize yourself with a natural smile, a straight back, head held high and a stomach pulled in walking to the platform, speaking and leaving the platform. The first thing that anyone will notice is the confidence in the way you present yourself. Practicing your speech before a mirror will help you decide how to use your hands and arms to complement what you are saying. The audience will be more relaxed and enjoy the event more if you, the speaker, gives a relaxed and happy appearance.
15. In most cases, avoid having a stern appearance on the countenance of your face. Practice having a natural smile in response to all that is around you. Look like you are having fun and that you are glad to be able to be a candidate. Don’t make it look like a pain to do. Looking stern is not necessary to be a candidate who seriously wants to change things, once in office.
16. Be prepared to follow up important matters. Commit to the audience that you will check into something that has been raised that you could not answer immediately. To do that more effectively, arrange to have a trusted associate or campaign worker sitting nearby to whom you can refer the instruction about what to do. The audience can see that a note is being made by someone on your team and their confidence that you will follow through is strengthened.
17. Remember what your mother probably said, “If you can’t say anything good about a person, don’t say anything at all.” That is excellent advice. Also, a closed mouth catches few flies. If someone in the audience raises a negative element about your competing candidate, avoid jumping on the band wagon. There is a lot of truth in the old saying, “You don’t raise yourself by lowering someone else.” He who slings mud loses ground!
If you are one of several candidates in a party primary election race, remember that only one of you will emerge to be on the November general election ballot. It is expected and hoped that you will support for the general election whomever is the party candidate elected in the primary. You should not say things to or about your primary competitor that would make it difficult or impractical to support him or her in the general election. If you are the primary winner, remember that you want the support in the general election of those fellow party members who ran against you in the primary. Don't make it hard for them to support you, because of what you may have said to or about them. Focus on percieved differences of position or policy, and not so much bad characteristics of the candidate.
18. Audience engagement is often helpful. Consider involving someone by asking a pertinent question, “What do you think about the benefits of the tax proposal?” or speak directly to someone like, “John, do you think the benefits are greater than the cost?” And be sure you thank the person who responds. Also, try to be careful not to draw out someone you know is against you.
19. Never speak too softly. Sufficient loudness to reach the back of the audience is what you need.
20. Pauses really add to audience attention.
21. Being on time is extremely important and knowing what time allotment has been given for your presentation is absolutely necessary. Look around the room to see whether0 a clock is visible so you can monitor the time. Or, take off your watch and place it on the lectern so you can monitor time. You may even have a “friend” sitting on the front row that gives you a subtle signal when three minutes are left.
22. In conclusion, restate the specific purpose in the same phrasing or in reasonably close phrases to those you announced at the start. Thank the audience for coming and ask for their support.
23. It is good, if you can, to visit the site of the address earlier, perhaps the day before, or at least earlier than the audience begins to arrive. It helps you to have a sense of the setting.
24. An expressed thank you is important. Expressing thanks to the audience for being present and attentive and for giving their support often gains good support. A personally written thank you note to the person who invited you is a small token of appreciation for his/her support, and bears you in good stead with your host.
These are principles that I strive to follow, and I confess that there still is work to be done in me with them. They include some suggestions from friends when I solicited their ideas. However, I believe the political candidate who can master most of these principles is a step ahead of the competition. It’s a good way to have the last word, simply by being really pleasant to have been at an event. It’s another way of creating impressions beyond mere words.
D. A. Sharpe,
Former
County
Wise County (TX)
Republican Party
H: 817-638-5560
C: 817-504-6508
www.dasharpe.com
www.wiserepublicans.org
Acknowledgements
and my gratitude go for contributions to the composition of this article from
the following friends:
Jeff Fisher Former Executive
Director, Republican Party of Texas,
Dick Dzina Former Executive
Director, Highland Park Presbyterian Church Foundation
J. Ralph Wood, Jr. Retired
Attorney,
Will Hartnett Texas
State Legislative Representative, District #114,
Janelle Shepard Texas
political commentator, former Republican County Chair, Parker Co.
Becky Farrar Republican
leader,
Peggy Bell Contributing
editor to Christianity Today Women’s magazine
(Mrs. B. Clayton)
Carolyn M.
Casterline
Trip Jones Dallas
area businessman
Rev. Sharon Horne Presbyterian
Pastor, Atlanta, Georgia
Becky Shaw Administrator in the State Legislature,
Francis D. Moise Dallas
investment advisor and planner
James L.
Griffith Former Governor of Rotary
District (North Texas), former President, Rotary Club of Dallas