The Well-Spoken Woman (17 page)

As you draft the headline points, make strategic decisions about word choice. The words that work best are simple, conversational, attention getting, and visual. Pro-life groups brilliantly labeled an obscure procedure “partial-birth abortion” to argue against a woman's right to comprehensive reproductive healthcare. Never mind that the phrase is not found in medical dictionaries or used by doctors. It was a concise, graphic description that generated antiabortion sentiment.

Terms of Expression

Researchers have grown ever more sophisticated in their ability to identify words that influence how we feel about an issue. Was President Bush's decision to send additional troops to Iraq “an escalation,” or was it a “surge”? People who supported the war tended to view the president's decision to raise the level of troops as a surge.
Surge
implied a short-term show of force that would overwhelm the enemy and hasten the war's end. Those opposed to the war saw a rise in troop numbers as an escalation of the war effort that would prolong the conflict, resulting in more casualties and further depletion of limited sources.

Large organizations and corporations hire polling firms to conduct focus groups that test language. They want to pinpoint the words that will elicit a desired response. With the right phrasing, public sentiment about issues and products can be dramatically changed. Pollster Frank Lutz tapped into antitax sentiment by calling the estate tax, a fairly obscure provision in the tax code, the “death tax.” Nobody wants to pay taxes, especially after they have died. Supporters of offshore drilling for oil are encouraged to call it “exploring for energy.” As Luntz says, “Drilling for oil sounds dirty,” while “exploring for energy” creates a positive visual and “has a more patriotic feel to it.”
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Step 4: Make It Memorable

Not every organization has the resources to invest in research and focus groups. And sometimes you need to respond quickly. It is possible to write your own great lines. With the quotable quote techniques, you can create Twitter-sized messages that pack a big bang for the buck. Quotable quotes are the types of lines that appear on the front page and that generate sustained applause. “Let there be light” and “I have a dream” are messages that stick in our consciousness. Paint pictures with illustrative words, and what you say will break through the din and be remembered for some time to come.

Organizers of the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® creatively draw attention to the 5 km event that raises funds for prevention of breast cancer. During the race, thousands of runners wear brightly colored pink and white T-shirts adorned with inspiring and heartbreaking messages, such as “Yes, they are fake. My real ones tried to kill me.” “Operation Support 2nd Base” is another example. For some race participants, humor tells the story: “Walkers for Knockers,” “Taking Care of the Girls,” and “Tata Sisterhood.”
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Use the sound-bite (“ink-bite”) techniques below to craft bold statements that will draw attention to your cause.

• One-liners:
  These are not jokes but well-thought-out, well-crafted phrases.
  

  “More children will live through their parents' bankruptcy than will live through their parents' divorce.”
  

  —Elizabeth Warren
  

  “This is a pivotal moment for women's and children's health; this is our moment.”
  

  —Melinda Gates
  

  “Failure is impossible.”
  

  —Susan B. Anthony
  

  “The truth will set you free. But, first it will piss you off.”
  

  —Gloria Steinem
  

   
  

• Cliches:
  The utility of cliches is that everyone understands them.
  

  “Caught between a rock and a hard place.”
  

  “Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
  

  “There's no silver bullet, but there may be a silver lining.”
  

  Analogies:
  Sports analogies are popular with media reporters.
  

  “Three strikes and you're out.”
  

  —state statutes requiring mandatory prison time for a series of three offenses
  

  “Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a female schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel.”
  

  —Bella Abzug
  

  “Gumbo was meant to keep us together. You stir in the good times. You stir in the bad times.”
  

  —Donna Brazile
  

   
  

• Startling number:
  Numbers are more powerful when put into context.
  

  “The 3 billion dollars Americans spent on potato chips in 2007 would fund the National Institutes of Health obesity research for more than three years.”
  

  —Centers for Disease Control
  

  “Domestic violence is an epidemic. One in three women worldwide has been a victim of violence.”
  

  —Vital Voices Global Partnership
  

  “Each day a cruise ship generates 30,000 gallons of raw sewage which they can dump into pristine ocean waters three miles off shore.”
  

  —Oceana
  

   
  

• Contemporary reference:
  Use catchy lines from popular culture.
  

  “Show me the money.”
  

  “Go ahead, make my day.”
  

  “Where's the beef?”
  

   
  

• Quote an unlikely source:
  It gives your message more credibility.
  

  “Even President George W Bush agrees that climate change is caused by manmade activity.”
  

  “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay.”
  

  —Clara Barton, American Red Cross founder and early proponent of equal pay
  

  “Pope Benedict agrees that the use of condoms can reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS infection.”
  

   
  

• Colorful language:
  The more vivid, the more impact it has.
  

  “The women's libbers are radicals who are waging a total assault on the family, on marriage, and on children.”
  

  —Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum
  

  “And Hubble has become the people's telescope. It has its own Web site and it gets its own email. What I love the most are the messages from children. They talk to the Hubble as if it were a person. They send emails that say, ‘Did you see God today? Have you met an angel? Is there another universe? What does it look like?' Hubble gets kids excited about science, inspiring our next generation of scientists and engineers.”
  

  —Senator Barbara Mikulski
  

STANDING OVATION POINT: MESSAGE IS QUEEN

An enduring quote used by Melinda Gates is from anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Gates is adept with the sound bite when it comes to characterizing the success of the Living Proof Project. Both she and husband Bill are self-described “impatient optimists.” The phrase neatly sums up the sentiment that much has been accomplished but much more remains to be done to improve global health. The following is an excerpt from the inaugural presentation of the Living Proof Project.

We're optimistic because of the people that we meet on the ground, in the developing world, whose lives are absolutely transformed by American investments. Just a couple of years ago, Bill and I visited an AIDS clinic in Durbin, South Africa, and we expected to see in this clinic what we see a lot of places in the developing world, an overworked staff, long waiting lines, not many drugs available.

But, in fact, we saw something completely different than that in this AIDS clinic. We saw a well-trained staff, we saw an ample supply of medical drugs, and we saw patients being counseled about how to live with HIV. And this clinic was completely paid for by the American people

So, we are optimists: The world is definitely getting better. But it's not getting better fast enough, and it's certainly not getting better for everyone. For every two people who go on the antiretroviral treatments that we saw in this clinic in Durbin, South Africa, five more people become infected.

Now, we know how to prevent these infections, but they do happen anyway, and that's the kind of thing that makes us impatient optimists.
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Audiences would pay attention without regard to the savviness of Gates's message. The billions distributed in charitable contributions guarantee people will listen. In just a few years, the foundation has donated more than all of the money given away by the Rockefeller Foundation since it was founded in 1913. The business of the foundation is carefully
managed; so, too, is the work of communicating its progress. The carefully constructed message about global health keeps the public's attention focused on results. Melinda is a messenger who holds the hand of a woman dying of AIDS in a rural village in Kenya as readily as she shakes hands with presidents, prime ministers, and rock stars. Strategic messaging ensures the spotlight is not on celebrity or wealth but on the work that remains to be done.

 

One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little. They act impulsively without thinking. I always try to think before I talk.

—US Senator Margaret Chase Smith

 

 

B
efore she was a celebrity with her own reality TV show, an unknown Sarah Palin exceeded all expectations in her first nationally televised address with a humorous and rousing endorsement of her running mate. Since that historic night, Palin has stumbled and then regained her footing with an inconsistency that can be likened to the Dickens classic
A Tale of Two Cities.
It is as if there are two Sarahs, in that she can be the best of speakers, and she can be the worst of speakers. When prepared and rehearsed, she can speak to the age of wisdom; when not, to the age of foolishness. When ready, the epoch of belief; when not, the epoch of incredulity. With her everywoman's sentiments, she is the spring of hope; with her cringe-inducing quips, the winter of despair.

While Dickens provides a literary comparison, it is difficult to compare Palin to any other speaker past, present, or in the imaginable future. While everyone experiences ups and downs on the public stage, Palin's swings tend to be more like a roller coaster ride, with dramatic climbs followed by free falls. The pressure of the nominating speech was handled without a gaffe. She owned that speech, having helped rewrite the original draft, which was written assuming a man would deliver it. The funniest line about lipstick, hockey moms, and pit bulls was a last-minute insertion but not a lucky fluke. Palin could bet on the line delivering a laugh because she had used it before.

As the roller coaster roared on, the spirit of Sarah the Barracuda was missing in an interview with Katie Couric when she was unable to say what
magazines and newspapers she reads. Palin later admitted she was unprepared for the encounter, and her defensive answers opened her up to fair criticism about her qualifications for the vice presidency. So few women reach the top echelons of any field, it is difficult to watch one who does stumble and be relentlessly pummeled. While Palin's candor, energy, and ambition are worth emulating, the inevitable mistakes and inflammatory rhetoric that go hand in hand with a “going rogue” style are not. Fortunately, they can be sidestepped by taking a different approach.

Going Rogue Goes Only So Far

A rogue speaking style is a high-wire act that is difficult for anyone to maintain. So too is its polar opposite—being overly organized. An overly organized speaker tends to stick to the script word for word at all times and can become easily rattled should something go wrong. An excessively scripted presentation, like a wildly irregular one, lacks balance. Both of these styles can prevent the speaker from making a real connection with the audience.

Elizabeth Dole has developed a balance as a speaker between her desire to be organized and the need to be able to react in the moment. Renowned for her acute attention to detail and exhaustive practice schedule, Dole is said to have a photographic memory, and her methodical preparation could be described as epitomizing the exacting standards of a perfectionist. Dole has never denied the criticism and gets high marks for telling an audience: “Some pundits say I'm scripted…but according to my notes, that is not true.”
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The self-deprecating humor proved to be a handy tool for a woman of many remarkable firsts. Dole was one of the few women to be admitted to Harvard Law School in the 1950s and went on to be a cabinet secretary, American Red Cross executive, presidential candidate, and US senator. In college, Dole said she worked twice as hard as her male classmates to counter their belief that her presence was wasting a classroom seat that would be better filled by a man. Yet she admits that striving for perfection can become “a kind of social tyranny, and that there is most definitely a point of diminishing returns.”
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A THIRD WAY: PREPLANNED SPONTANEITY

“Preplanned spontaneity” breaks loose from both manic inflexibility and the unpredictability of anything goes. Preplanned spontaneity (PS) is just what it sounds like: being ready to experience the moment. The approach is a balance between being excessively scripted and being unprepared. It combines the freshness of resourcefulness with the steadiness of skilled competence. It isn't a strict formula or regimented routine, which drains originality and stifles inventiveness. It is the habit of developing and executing best practices, practices that allow you to exercise control so you consistently deliver at a level that earns the audience's approval.

Consistency is more than being predictable or reliable. It is about meeting the audience's expectations and not disappointing. Presenters who repeatedly throw caution to the wind eventually try an audience's patience, especially when it is clear the speaker's interests come first. Seasoned pros draw upon their experience to consistently meet and even exceed an audience's expectations. Dole's attention to detail ensured she didn't disappoint when a big opportunity came her way.

Preplanned Spontaneity at Work

An unprecedented appearance at a political convention positioned Dole as presidential material. Ironically, Elizabeth was speaking on behalf of husband Bob Dole's presidential bid when she broke with a long-held tradition. Rather than remaining a podium hugger, she became a floor walker. In a stunning canary-yellow suit and three-inch heels, she skillfully descended twelve steps and navigated a crowded floor to walk among thousands of “friends.” The seemingly risky move wasn't so, if you understood Dole's preparation regimen. The talk-show delivery style wasn't an eleventh-hour decision. Rather, it was a well-rehearsed, choreographed routine that she had been refining during months of practice on the campaign trail. The made-for-TV speech wasn't a “going rogue” move but well-executed stagecraft; it was an excellent example of preplanned spontaneity in action. It had such a “wow” factor that it led to immediate speculation that Elizabeth should be on the ticket rather than her husband.
In fact, Dole went on to use her star power to make her own run for the presidency three years later.

Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, Dole and her older brother were raised in a comfortable middle-class home. Her father was a florist, and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. Dole strived to satisfy her goal-oriented parents, who taught her that “selfimprovement was a measure of personal growth.”
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At the knee of her grandmother, she developed a familiarity with and devotion to Bible scripture. On Sunday afternoons, she would sit with her cousins listening to Bible stories. Those early religious lessons resonate in Dole's speeches, as she often articulates the strength and comfort she has found in her faith.

Dole says that as a young girl, she “caught the rhythm of a different drummer” and for her, “life was more than a spectator sport.” The conventional wisdom at Duke University when she enrolled as a political science major was that “there were girls with dates and girls with data.” Dole happened to possess both. In 1958, her senior year of college, she was crowned May Queen and elected president of the student government. The poise she acquired as a debutante who attended cotillion balls later proved to be a good defense against the naysayers.

At Harvard Law School, professors and classmates openly expressed hostility toward Dole and her five female classmates. A professor of property law pretended the women didn't exist except on “Professor Leach's Ladies' Day,” when they “were summoned to the front of the room to read a poem of their own composition.”
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When finished, the women were pelted with questions from the men. When Dole graduated in 1965, the chauvinism that existed in the classroom was evident at the major law firms. None were recruiting women, so Dole decided to put her legal education to work in what would become a lifelong career in public service.

Dole went on to distinguish herself by serving as a cabinet secretary for two presidents. Ronald Reagan appointed her secretary of transportation, and under President George H. W Bush she was secretary of labor. In 1991, she left government to spearhead the American Red Cross until she resigned to make her presidential bid. Dole said it was during her tenure at the Red Cross that she became comfortable with moving out from behind the podium to visit with people in the audience. The conversational style stemmed from her days as a student teacher “when you are walking up and down the aisle.”
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The style was popular with audiences, and she used it repeatedly throughout her presidential and US Senate campaigns. While Dole's agility made the movement appear spontaneous, she wasn't speaking impromptu. Rather, she had rehearsed the speech enough times that it was in her head. The five steps to preplanned spontaneity ensure that you aren't either shooting from the hip or glued to a script. Preplanned spontaneity ensures you will be ready to handle the foreseen as well as the unforeseen situations that occur with live audiences.

PS Step 1: Channeling Nancy Drew

Make preplanned spontaneity work for you by taking the time to get a sense of what you are getting yourself into and how you can maximize the situation. All aspects of a presentation need to be given deliberate advance attention, including audience, event, setting, and room and equipment setup. Pull out your Nancy Drew sleuthing tools to learn as much as you can about the who, what, where, when, and why of the occasion. Like the “girl detective,” investigate to compile the clues that will take any mystery out of what is expected of you.

Ask questions before you accept an invitation. That way you can decide whether the event is worth the investment in preparation time before you commit. Some program chairs will overestimate the audience size and clout. Some programs lack focus or are not germane to your interests. Don't be afraid to decline; otherwise, the speaking date will hang over you like a black cloud. Better to say no immediately so you don't waste time regretting the acceptance.

When you are an invited guest speaker, reach out to the event sponsor or host to get the logistical intelligence you need. Some sponsors are experienced and know how to help; some don't. Early reconnaissance starts with getting a read on the audience's composition and what they expect the topic will be. When people make an effort to show up, they come with a certain predisposition about what they will hear. These expectations and the expectations of the host should guide your decision about whether the event is a good fit for you.