It Takes More Than Words to Make a Great Speaker

What makes a good public speaker?  Knowledge. Wisdom. Experience…yes, all true. But if that was all, how do you explain the incredible attention given to Amanda Gorman, the young black woman who recited her poetry at President Biden’s Inauguration on January 20?  She hasn’t been on earth long enough to acquire knowledge, wisdom or much experience.  And yet, in my opinion, she stole the show.

As a rhetoric major and one who has had a front row seat to many great orators from Ronald Reagan to Billy Graham, I watch closely to see what makes a speaker great.  Research shows only 20% of communications is made up of words. That means 80% of what you “say” is non-verbal.  

Presentation is key.  That includes visuals, cadence, presence, body language (facial expressions, gestures), even relevance. Ms. Gorman commanded that stage.  In her canary-yellow ankle-length coat, she exuded confidence.  She could have led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance and we would have applauded.  She looked the part – polished, prepared, and authoritative. 

She recited her poem boldly – there was no nervousness or timidity.  She KNEW her speech.  She knew when to pause, when to take a breath, when to emphasize a certain word or phrase, when to gesture.  And her gestures were not distracting.  They were soft but poignant.  They added meaning to her words.  

She had a cadence that was mesmerizing.  I found myself glued to the TV trying to pick out the rhyming words and was amused when they didn’t rhyme exactly but were so close as to seem consistent and clever.

Her remarks were relevant.  Though not all of us can relate to being raised by a single black mother, she addressed the storming of the Capitol and the general unrest in the country over the last year, which we all lived through.  Her words hit home, no matter what race or nationality you are.  But her delivery hit it out of the park – her calm, poise, diplomacy – drew us all in and by her last stanza “For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it; if only we are brave enough to be it,” had America wanting to be brave.

I had never heard of Amanda Gorman and I would venture to guess most of the world met her on January 20th for the first time as well.  I actually pride myself in writing speeches in rhyme but what we all heard that day was not a rhyme; it was pure poetry, delivered with meaning and purpose and setting forth a vision that, by the end of her poem, we all saw.

Ms. Gorman was memorable. Do you want to be a memorable speaker?  It takes more than words. I can help.