8 essential tips for a strong speech

All you hard-core business types who believe that communication is a “soft skill” that only matters when everything is going smoothly, consider this from Vanity Fair magazine:

“During his first earnings call with analysts, (Google CEO Larry) Page read, with a discernible lack of enthusiasm, a 394-word statement, then took off before the traditional question-and-answer session. The next day Wall Street lopped $15 billion off his company’s market value. His second appearance, in July, beat expectations and wowed investors, driving the stock price up by 12 percent.”

I watched a bank CEO address 100 MBA faculty and students with a speech that had the thrill of an airport security line. I wondered, “How does this drone motivate employees and investors?” He’s gone now. The bank is too.

A university system president rallied public support with a presentation as exhilarating as my last urology exam. She and her content were numbing. She’s gone, too.

Also, each week many of us watch smart, educated folks give civic club speeches that would cure insomnia.