6: Why Study the Mechanics of Speaking?
The chapter opens with a recollection of a speaker who used a prop to focus the attention of the audience on the thrust of his speech.
It was a simple spinning wheel, and the point that he used it to make is that the wheel seems very sturdy and stable when it is in motion, but when the motion stops it falls over and seems quite frail and useless - as a metaphor for the necessity of purpose to an organization or a person.
The author considers other ways he might have communicated this point, whether by describing the wheel rather than showing it or using any of a number of trite sayings about the importance of purpose - but his use of a physical prop gave the audience something to do with their eyes while they listened to his speech. And because the two were well aligned, the speech was memorable - as evidenced by the author's own memory of it.
What Are the Mechanics of Speaking?
The author mentions hypokrisis, a Greek term that was used to describe the manner in which actors delivered their performance on stage - it is what differentiates stage acting from normal conversation in terms of exaggerated voice inflection and gestures to heighten emotion.
(EN: The word has transformed to "hypocrisy" in modern usage, which simply means a liar, and particularly one who denounces others for violations of ethics of which he is personally guilty - but in its original sense it simply meant the style of delivery used to aggrandize emotions, which was merely used for emphasis.)
The author suggests that dramatic presentation can have "devastating effects" when used effectively. Adolph Hitler's style of speech, with all the shouting and wild gesticulations, is often credited for his ability to captivate a crowd. Hypokrisis is also blatantly obvious in religion, such as the speeches of protestant evangelical ministers.
Hypokrisis is a tool that can be used when a speaker has nothing else at his disposal - but there are other mechanical tools that are available in many instances, such as visual aids (slides, charts, props, etc.) or musical accompaniment, that can enhance the speech by engaging the emotions of the audience.
There are few speeches that can grip the emotions of an audience while being spoken in monotone by a speaker who remains motionless, and even those can be improved by leveraging the mechanical tools of speaking.
Don't Get Stuck on the Tools
The author relates a story from a Chinese film, in which a character believed that their superior skill as a swordsman was derived from their possession of a magical blade - and who lost their courage when the blade was lost. The turning point came when this character was counseled by a sword master, who demonstrated by fighting with a number of found objects that the power of a swordsman does not derive from the sword, but from his skill - such that a magical blade will not make someone a great swordsman.
This is a lesson to be heeded by speakers. The tools of speaking can enhance a good speech, but they do not substitute for it.
Many novice presenters believe that if the put together an attractive visual aid or use gestures appropriately that their speech will be captivating. Moreover many who claim to teach people to speak merely focus on the tools of speaking without addressing the ability to compose a compelling speech. To go back to the analogy, this is like giving a novice swordsman a "magical" sword, and no training in swordsmanship.
Great presenters may leverage the tools, but they are also capable of delivering a compelling speech with no tools at all. Remember that the tools are available to enhance emotion - but if there is no emotion, there is nothing to enhance.
He mentions a motivational speaker who was blind - and who couldn't leverage many of the tools but was nonetheless compelling as a speaker. It's noted that he did study the venue to learn where the audience was located and its general parameters (distance, width, depth) and would intersperse his speech with parts that would provoke a reaction (such as laughter) so that he could be sure that he was facing them. Otherwise he used no props, gimmicks, tools, or tricks but remained a highly effective speaker.
So while learning the mechanical tools of speech is valuable, they are no substitute for a firm grasp of the fundamentals of speaking.
Speech Styles for Different Formats
Some individuals who communicate effectively in one-on-one conversations are miserably incompetent in delivering speeches, much in the same way that some stage actors cannot act for film. Both situations illustrate the importance of delivery in a manner that is appropriate for a given format.
The two are largely analogous: film acting and face-to-face communication enable a person to use very subtle signals, small gestures and faint expressions, to effectively communicate emotion. Stage acting and public speaking require grander signals. On stage or before a crowd, subtle signals will go unnoticed. On a video screen or in a private communication, grand signals seem hammy and disingenuous.
Most people have a default speaking style, which comes to them naturally and does not need to be practiced or put on. The problem is when they use their default style in a format in which it is ineffective.
Being effective as a communicator means understanding the mechanics of speech and selecting a presentation style that is appropriate for the format. This also requires speakers to step outside of their personal comfort zones when it is required - recognizing that what is comfortable for them is not always effective for their audience.