The “Rick Perry Moment” will delight all but supporters of the Republican hopeful from Texas. But it carries a useful lesson for all public speakers.
For anyone who missed it, Governor Perry was on a nationally televised debate with rival candidates and listed the three huge federal government departments he wanted to abolish. “Commerce, Education and …” And there he lost it, the third government agency just wouldn’t come to mind.
For 50 toe-curling seconds he floundered before a live audience of millions. The man who seeks to be president could not recall the scarcely insignificant Department of Energy. Ouch! Many commentators are already reading the last rites over his campaign.
But we should spare a little sympathy for the Texas governor. The bright lights of television and the awareness of the millions behind the camera can do strange things to our brains. The pressures are unimaginable, especially during the hostile environment of a political debate.
How could the debacle have been avoided?
In principle there is nothing wrong with having a list, so long as it is no longer than three. Rhetoric relies heavily on threes, it’s enough to sound weighty and not too many for an audience to absorb. “Commerce, Education and Energy” would have sounded fine.
But as a back-up you need notes, especially in a high-energy (sorry!) situation like Wednesday’s Michigan debate. Don’t prepare pages of notes with carefully crafted sentences. Just one sheet, with the outline plan of what you want to say, in clear script large enough to be read through the glare of the lights.
It should consist of:
– section headings for the points you want to make
– key numbers and names
– any title which might cause difficulty
– a reminder of your prepared soundbites
– and any list.
Turning it into an acronym can be a useful memory-jogger. Governor Perry did briefly peruse his papers in his desperation. But the letters CEE were presumably not there.
Oliver Wates, MediaTrain