I watched a TED talk on Facebook toward the beginning of my first semester in college. Delivered by Maysoon Zayid, it is called “I Got 99 Problems…Palsy Is Just One.” It became the first post I ever shared on Facebook, because I was so moved and inspired by Zayid’s message, by Zayid herself.
The talk was about the notion of staying strong in the face of adversity, never giving up despite the challenges. Cliched, no? But here’s the thing: I really felt inspired after watching Zayid. “If I can can, you can can,” she had said, and I believed her.
How did Zayid manage to incite genuine emotion despite an often-heard message? For me, it was because of her delivery.
Now, for most people cerebral palsy is not something to joke about. And neither is being discriminated against. But Zayid managed to crack jokes about her experiences with both in a way that made her audience laugh with her, and relate to her despite individual differences. Yet she also incorporated moments of solemnity, but without letting the mood sour. Her enthusiastic delivery and her understandable language made it easy to listen to her, to want to continue listening. Her telling of personal anecdotes in a comedic yet compelling way served to make her audience more vested in what she had to say.
Zayid had a unique, interesting story and a penchant for comedy. In considering my own delivery, I don’t necessarily seek a style like Zayid’s, but I hope that I will be deliver a message in a way that makes listeners as compelled as I was when I listened to her.
In terms of delivery, I don’t have any problem projecting my voice or speaking clearly. I like to think that I’m decent at delivering speeches because I know to inflect my voice as appropriate, to make my main points clear and concise, to express using body language. However, there’s a critical aspect of delivery that keeps me from becoming the next Hillary Clinton: I really don’t like to improvise.
I think it’s part of my perfectionistic tendencies to stick with the script and try not to deviate. The thing is, when the script gets lost and the speech isn’t memorized, improvisation has to be done. So, it is an aspect of delivery that I’d like to work on.
I think the main way to improve improv is to be thoroughly familiar with the content of the delivery. That way it is possible to speak naturally and without nervousness, because you know what you’re talking about. Becoming familiar with the material requires spaced-out learning of the topic far in advance of the speech delivery. By following these tactics, I will strive to improve my improvisation skills as part of the development of my delivery skills as a whole.
iImprovisation? It’s an interesting concept. The ability to speak ad lib in the middle of a speech. It is definitely critical component in convincing your audience if there is a flaw in the speech. If a speaker is stumbling over their words or getting lost constantly, then it is difficult to trust what they are saying. The audience does not know what the speaker’s script says, so they do not know whether he or she messed up. I always thought the same way about playing music. The audience does not know what notes are on the page, so if you mess up, just sell it, and they will never know. The same thing definitely applies to public speaking. If you get lost in your script or forget some parts, then just improvise. I do agree with you that it is easier to improvise when you have a lot of knowledge about the topic. This makes me wonder though, is improvisation or a prepared speech more convincing to an audience? Overall, you bring up a different aspect of public speaking that is a valuable skill but is overlooked by most people.
I find it interesting that in Zayid’s speech she managed to balance comedy, enthusiasm, and solemnity to deliver an overall relatable, compelling message. You bring up a great point too, that a delivery can make an argument memorable, when the argument itself can be a cliche. I feel that this is what Dr. Scott was getting at when we asked her about developing our own arguments. We can come up with unique stories, but it is really hard to avoid generalizations and cliches. This is why Dr. Scott emphasized ways of improving our delivery so much, rather than focusing all of our attention on a completely refined, original argument.
I’m really glad you brought up your point on improvisation, and I agree that it would reinforce a more natural delivery. I can relate to relying on a clear cut script for these types of projects too. I would definitely be an interesting challenge to attempt improvisation. As I mentioned in my own article, I want to deliver my speech as if I was telling a friend about the account, and maybe a little improvisation would make the process a lot more sensible.
Maysoon Zayid’s ability to blend humor and seriousness in her ZYN Rewards is inspiring. To improve your own delivery, focus on improvisation by thoroughly familiarizing yourself with the topic. This will help you speak confidently and adapt to unexpected situations.
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