It’s another Saturday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic Campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up anytime: Just visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
In almost four years of writing Nuts & Bolts, there are some subjects I have stayed away from, for varying reasons. Some of those subjects are difficult to convey in a post, while others are best shared only when I or others go to a location and help walk candidates through them in person; and the one I’m discussing today—well, it’s because I love the subject matter so much.
For a lot of people, public speaking is a great fear. Some of us, on the other hand, live for public speaking. The majority of my life, from high school through today, has been spent writing speeches, prepping debate, organizing arguments, and either speaking myself or preparing others to present—whether it is helping candidates for Congress, Senate, or governor plan their speeches, or sitting in a room with a small crowd walking through a plan for how to handle a debate.
Whether you are an elected official or a candidate, community forums and town halls, be they friendly, partisan-run events, incumbent services, or multi-candidate general election voter-assistance events, happen all over the country and in almost every race. In downticket races, these events can be covered by the local press and livestreamed on YouTube or Facebook, and can give you a chance to inform voters. Ready to start?
Few things really get me going like throwing on a suit and getting up to speak, from my first policy debate in high school to National AFA-NIET championships in college, public speaking about advocacy positions, fundraisers, debates, and media appearances. I admit, I’m one of those people in group meetings that, if they don’t restrain themselves, will be driven by their inner gremlin to dominate public conversations.
A large number of candidates dread public speaking. It can be a personal fear or just something that they are uncomfortable doing. Many of the smartest people you know struggle with this. I have frequently had great candidates struggle with public speaking, and sometimes it is because they are constantly negotiating with themselves—stuck in their own head—as they work to frame arguments and data in a way that they think an audience will understand.
Another campaign consultant once told me that Republicans have such a simple pattern to their public-speaking methods because most of their candidates never feel the necessity to explain complex ideas to the public. Democratic candidates, however, so want to win over an audience with data and arguments that they spend all of their time thinking about how to convince people with the right words:
A Republican candidate or elected will run into a crowd of Democratic activists in a town hall, roll their eyes and pretend they aren’t there. A Democratic candidate or elected will find the one Republican in the room and fixate on what they could say to change that one person’s mind.
So, how can you help your candidate succeed at a town hall or other public forum? The advice I’m offering this week contains some very basic steps to help make your forum appearances succeed.
Vocal warmups aren’t just for theater
How often have you felt personally tongue-tied? You had the words, but your mouth didn’t seem to work the way you expected? You had dry mouth, you fumbled for words, your voice cracked, or you stumbled when you wanted to sound fluent? Theater performers and public speakers have known for years that vocal warmups are an important part of public speaking. Take time 30 minutes before you speak to go through some verbal routines that will help you get your voice in good shape and your mouth exercised for the task, and will increase your confidence in delivery.
Many parts of your body have a critical function in public speaking, helping you to articulate your thoughts. Your lungs provide the air and some of the volume, your throat the cadence and tenor, your tongue the form, your teeth the means to hit proper tones, and your jaw and lips the projection, like an amplifier for your voice. Doing your best to keep these all in good order can make you feel much more confident about going into a room and speaking.
You are much more likely to struggle when speaking if you walk into a room “cold”—if you’ve sat for hours reading notes and scripts without properly preparing the equipment to deliver your message. More than half an hour before you present at any forum or other event, walk yourself through some public-speaking exercises. Hearing yourself talk out loud will boost your confidence and give your voice time to loosen up so that you sound your best.
I prefer quick tongue twisters, said repeatedly at different cadences, that can help loosen you up and put you in a proper place to go speak. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert is a good source:
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark, dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp, shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark, dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp, shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! A dull, dark, dock, a life-long lock, A short, sharp, shock, a big black block! To sit in solemn silence in a pestilential prison, And awaiting the sensation from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
You can use your own preferred vocal warmup, but I mean this seriously: Any successful public speaking should involve you getting yourself ready to articulate your voice. It will give you confidence in what you are doing and make you more fluent and understandable.
Preplan in concepts, not prewritten books
Have you been to a town hall where candidates or elected officials sit with sheets of paper or binders in front of them full of prewritten prepared speeches containing what they want to say in response to the specific questions they expect to be asked? No matter where I have been in the country, numerous candidates and even elected officials interact with the public in this way. They preplan what they expect the questions to be, and have preplanned answers. Some believe that this helps make them more confident in delivering a response and helps them seem more polished.
This is simply not the case. The more detail you provide yourself in prewritten content, the more you as a speaker take your own personality out of the room. Candidates and elected officials who interact with audiences in this way can come off as stiff or agitated. If a question doesn’t exactly match what they expect, they struggle to come up with an answer that varies from their plan, which increases nervousness and makes gaffes more likely. I’ve watched candidates for everything from school board to U.S. Senate sit with overprepared notes.
Instead of thinking in preplanned minispeeches, think and prepare in concepts. If you have key concepts, bullet points with basic ideas planned around subjects, it allows you to be more personal and have a real conversation with an audience.
Use humor, gestures, and pauses
Town halls, debates, public speaking, and group presentations all are about making an impression on an audience. What you say and do is about connecting with the public and making yourself and the issues you care about relatable. Many town halls and public forums are full of people who are activists and advocates for you already—friendly audiences that are sure voters. Like it or not, the number of people who attend public forums in person who are truly undecided is very small. These events are often filled with the most dedicated activists.
You may not notice because you don’t think about it, but interpersonal communication is built on establishing connections. In the era of text, we often forget exactly how important body language, humor, facial expressions, and gestures are in how an audience receives what you are telling them. The reason having too much content preplanned can be harmful is that it doesn’t open you up to present in a way that seems, well, human.
Let your own personality come through. Public forums allow you to give an audience new ways to talk about issues, arguments they can use to promote your candidacy, and an understanding of what you care about. Those things are important. Just as important, though, is making sure they want to do these things for your campaign, and being relatable is what helps you turn a vote for you into someone who will campaign for you.
Begin and end with a bang
Your interactions with the audience are about them. Your opening and closing statements, though, are about who you are. Many candidates have well-worn stump speeches, available in one-minute, two-minute, and three-minute versions. It is rare that anyone wants you to give a long treatise on anything. Focus on starting with a bang: Deliver your main items in a focused way that shows your personal investment in the race. What motivates you to run? What issue do you want the audience to leave thinking about?
Nothing is perfect, and that’s okay
Even the most confident public speaker can slip, use the wrong word, have to backtrack and clean up statements. It is okay. If you are overprepared or too close to perfect, that can be a turnoff for audiences as well. Be yourself; make sure people can hear you. Have water available to drink, and press on.
Stay after
Town halls and public forums end. Don’t run out of the room after they do. Try to find some time to say hello to supporters, and talk to reporters or press in the room if any come to watch. The public appearance helps you make your interests and issues known to a whole group. Handshakes, hellos, and follow-ups help cement relationships and are important in building a network of voters who will advocate on your behalf.
Next week on Nuts & Bolts: building a tiered financial plan.