Both Palin and McCain Score Big Speeches
Both John McCain and Sarah Palin hit a home run in their convention speeches last week, each in a different way. McCain arguably had the easiest challenge, at least concerning the delivery of his speech.
Because of past underwhelming examples we’ve seen when he reads a formal speech from a TelePrompter, expectations for Thursday’s acceptance speech were low. But, in my opinion, he was able to exceed those expectations by showing us a real, down-to-earth person.
He does that better in his more informal Town Hall speeches, but this time he brought that same sincerity to the main platform. I was surprised at how comfortable he seemed and how easily he smiled, as opposed the the fake, forced smiles in other speeches. There was very little of the stammering and fumbling I’ve seen in other presentations. Obviously he prepared and practiced, a good lesson for all of us.
But Sarah Palin — WOW! What a speech! She did so many things right, it’s hard to illuminate them all. She was extremely natural, at ease, and seemed like she was really having fun. She spoke conversationally and passionately, but didn’t yell as so many of the convention speakers did. (To their defense, many of them didn’t have the rapt attention that Palin did and had to try to speak louder than the audience members visiting with their neighbors.)
She used the power of the pause, for emphasis and drama. And she read well, without making it seem like she was reading at all. That is a skill that doesn’t come naturally or easily.
The speech was well written, thanks to the writers in the background, but Palin can take the all the credit for the fine delivery. Supposedly, she rehearsed for three days and even practiced the night before at 10:20 to see if she had the right energy level for that time of night.
It paid off!
