Public Speaking for Geeks

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Yesterday I was meeting with a client , Ron, who mentioned that he recently watched the NFL Hall of Fame induction.   Each of the inductees was asked to speak.  Most had a piece of paper with their speech written out word for word.  Some read directly from the page which wasn’t very effective or memorable.  One fellow had notes written down but forgot his glasses and could not read what was written so from the podium, he asked to borrow someone else’s glasses. 

My client remembered the Maya Angelou quote I always use, "People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel."

Ron did not remember a word from most of the inductees.  The ones who were memorable, may not have had perfect verbal fluency but really connected with the audience and spoke from the heart.  Are you too attached to your content? Or do you connect and speak from the heart?  It is ideal to have a good balance of a strong message and engaging delivery.