Expression/Impression

Thirty-eight years ago this week, the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after blast-off, killing all seven astronauts on board. That evening, President Ronald Reagan, who had been due to deliver his annual State of the Union speech, addressed the nation about the tragedy. The four-minute eulogy, drafted by his young speechwriter Peggy Noonan, is today … More Showing compassion: Ronald Reagan’s Challenger eulogy

Nelson Mandela died 10 years ago today. In our currently war-torn world, it might be heartening to see how his powerful – yet often humble – rhetoric helped set his country on the difficult path out of its divisive racial history. His speech on South Africa’s first national Day of Reconciliation in 1995 is a … More The rhetoric of reconciliation: Nelson Mandela’s mastery of the timeline

The cacophony in Manchester among the UK’s Conservative government ministers and other party bigwigs at their annual conference is a case study of how not to prepare a team presentation. As with corporate showcase events – be it an Investor Day, a Shareholder Meeting or a Corporate Seminar – a party political conference is a … More Presenting like a team, not like a Tory

Science offers our greatest hope against the multiple existential threats we face – be they from disease, climate, or the decaying environment – so it’s crucial that we non-scientists can understand, accept and support what’s going on in the labs. What follows is a quick look at how two masters of the art, Bill Gates … More How Bill Gates & Vas Narasimhan open up science to non-scientists

Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv last week to deliver a powerful and moving speech in support of Ukraine. She was there the same day as Vladimir Putin delivered his rambling rant at a military parade in Moscow.  Both speeches, delivered on Europe Day, 9th May, took their inspiration from the end of the Second World … More Ursula in Ukraine: structuring a speech for impact

Rishi Sunak clearly never received one of the most face-saving presentation training tips on offer: how to take control of a Q&A session when your audience clams up.  After a speech last month about maths education in the UK, the Prime Minister asked his audience of students and teachers if they had any further questions … More No questions? Rishi fumbles in front of an unresponsive audience

Storytelling can certainly help any public speaker deliver a more memorable message, but here’s a word of warning: don’t overdo it.  That was Joe Biden’s error last week in County Mayo, Ireland. His speech showed clearly how even the liveliest storytelling, poorly handled, can be too much of a good thing. Mr Biden’s long speech … More Joe Biden’s Irish stories: too much of a good thing?

Emmanuel Macron is generally a very skilled public speaker. Not this time. His television interview last week, as French demonstrators took to the streets against his pension reform law, was a case study in how not to speak to angry people. To be fair, the interview wasn’t all bad. He delivered a clear and logical … More How not to talk to angry people: Macron’s masterclass

At a dinner party in Paris last week, I overheard a remark that Brad Pitt was considered to have outshone his French counterparts at the recent César awards.  Ever keen to learn from the best in public speaking, I went home and watched a clip of the ceremony.  Big disappointment: Mr Pitt’s performance behind the prompter was poorly paced, clumsy, … More Speaking from a prompter? You can do better than Brad Pitt

Jacinda Ardern and Nicola Sturgeon’s recent surprise resignation speeches were remarkably similar in content. Both ran through many near-identical points: knowing when it’s time to go; the best job in the world; no option but total commitment; humans are frail; no hidden skeletons in the cupboard; now’s not the time to thank everyone; deep love … More Who gave the best resignation speech, Ardern or Sturgeon?