September 16, 2008
Q. What did you think of the acceptance speeches by McCain and Obama?
A: Both Obama and McCain brought their “A” game to their crowning moments. Obama has star quality and obvious stage skills. McCain is stoic and iconic.
Every speech has three important elements: content, voice and body language. We can look at each candidate in that context.
Although McCain delivered a typical campaign speech, it was one of his best ever. In terms of content, he played to his strengths: he stressed his experience and his life-changing experience as a POW. The latter was emotionally powerful.
His voice is the weakest element. He would do well to lower his tone of voice and project it more powerfully. His body language was more relaxed than usual. He looked comfortable and confident because he used the teleprompter well, smiled naturally and used good gestures. He is at a disadvantage because the injuries he sustained as a POW make it hard for him to wave and gesture naturally. This makes his movements appear stiff.
Obama gave an excellent speech, but not his best. He toned down his usual rhetoric, perhaps to appear more like a president and less like a candidate. His speech reminded us more of a State of the Union speech than a campaign speech. It was a powerful combination of his vision of change and the specifics of what he will do if elected.
His strong, deep voice is one of his most powerful assets, as is his body language. He commands the stage with an easy confidence and engaging charisma.
Obama is the better speaker, but McCain has more experience. The race may boil down to who seems to have the best judgment because the next president faces some extremely difficult decisions on both the domestic and international fronts.
What do you think?
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Paula Blanchard Stone and Patty McCarthy are partners in McCarthyBlanchard, an executive training firm specializing in key message development, presentation skills training, media interview training and executive presence. Copyright © 2008 McCarthy Blanchard. | Website
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