How Do You Turn a Presentation into a Performance?
In the second episode of The Truth in Ten Podcast, host Jeremy Connell-Waite takes you on a journey to discover how the world's most famous spoken word poet, Amanda Gorman, overcame her fear of public speaking (and a speech impediment).
Just two weeks after hundreds of protesters stood on the exact same spot and stormed the Capitol Building, 22-year old Amanda had just 6-minutes to try and heal a nation with her words, with millions all around the world watching to see what she'd say.
74% of people suffer from Glossophobia (the fear of public speaking) according to the National Mental Health Institute.
This episode is not just a profile of Amanda, it's a storytelling masterclass for anyone who struggles with public speaking and wants to be a better communicator.
SHOW LINKS:
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
How Do You Turn A Presentation Into a Performance?
On 6th January 2021 at 2:10pm on on a freezing cold Wednesday afternoon, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of Donald Trump supporters in an attempted self-coup, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
- 174 injured in the attack.
- 1,200 charged for playing a role in the attack.
- 2 bombs were discovered.
- 5 people died.
On TV it looked like a civil war was breaking out. People were asking the question “How could this happen?”
But just two weeks later, a nervous “skinny young Black girl” stood on those very same steps to read a poem she wrote at the Inauguration ceremony of President Biden.
Tensions couldn’t have been higher.
The world was watching.
No pressure.
[THE HILL WE CLIMB]
Within minutes, it felt like everyone on the internet was asking a different question:
“What was the poet’s name?” “Who was that incredible young woman?”
Her name… is AMANDA GORMAN.
And what’s astonishing about this story is not that she was only 22 when she wrote this powerful poem to try and heal a nation, or that she gave such an electrifying performance when she read it in front of 40M people on US TV (and millions more around the world).
Or even the fact that she took just 6 minutes to capture global attention, seeing her poem printed in newspapers all over the world the next day. As amazing as that was.
No. It was that not long before that moment that she was terrified of public speaking. Many of us are, right?
But Amanda had good reason to be.
She has an auditory processing disorder which means she is hypersensitive to sound. She also had a serious speech impediment which made it especially difficult to pronounce her “R’s”. Not ideal for a spoken word poet. And especially one who’s name is GORMAN.
But not ideal for a spoken word poet!
She’d be writing about environmentalism and protecting “earth”– but she couldn’t say “EARTH” properly when she reads her poem out loud, so she had to use words like “planet” or globe” instead.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health 74% of us suffer from Glossophobia in some form like Amanda did. The fear of public speaking.
- 10% are terrified of speaking in front of people.
- 10% of the population loves speaking in front of people.
- 80% fall somewhere in the middle.
So how did Amanda go from a someone who only liked reading and writing because she couldn’t pronounce her “R’s” – to the confident and compelling performer who spoke truth on the steps of the Capitol Building in front of world leaders?
Let’s back up a bit first.
When she was 15, Amada saw Malala Yousafzai giving her Nobel prize acceptance speech, she was so impacted by it that she decided right there and then that she also wanted to speak on a global stage; she just didn’t have the tool’s or techniques to be able to do it yet.
Amanda thought “Whatever you’re struggling with - chances are there’s someone from the past who has walked a similar path. Maybe not exactly the same path. But someone who can inspire you to keep moving forward – especially if others are telling you that something you want to do - can’t (or shouldn’t) be done.”
Amanda always loved reading Maya Angelou’s poetry, and she learned that Maya, her hero, was mute for several years. One of the world’s greatest spoken word poets, another powerful black woman – didn’t just have a speech impediment, she didn’t even speak for 5 years! This became an “aha moment” for her. Amanda said, “If Maya can do it, so can I.”
Amanda continued to struggle for a couple more years, and she continued to write furiously, but then she stumbled across another political writer. One who was also famous for writing furiously.
Alexander Hamilton.
Lin Manuel’s “Hamilton” musical had just opened off-Broadway and Amanda became obsessed with one of the main songs.
[AARON BURR]
Learning this song off by heart and reciting it over-and-over became her training regimen.
"It just compacts the ‘R’ sound over and over again." said said. "I would listen to the track of 'Aaron Burr, Sir,' and try to do it over and over and over again, and I told myself, 'If you can do this song, you can speak this sound wherever.'"
With the help of a speaking coach – and a lot of bravery practicing at open mic’s in front of friendly audiences – Amanda started to bring her words to life off the page.
She started to experiment more with rhyme, alliteration, rhetorical devices like repetition, meter and stressed syllables…
Her training regimen made her ask questions like “does this need to live on the page - or does this need to come to life on a stage?”
Because there’s a difference.
Let me give you an example.
Listen to this part of her Inauguration poem again and you’ll see what I mean, because some things are written to be performed.
[HILL WE CLIMB]
When you really want to inspire an audience, you might have something in your mind that doesn’t quite make sense on the page, but it comes to life when spoken.
Like “Justice vs Just is”…
Impressive.
Amanda stopped seeing her speech impediment as a crutch. She started to treat it as a gift and a strength.
If you watch the video of Amanda performing this poem, you’ll also notice something else...
Her speaking and pronunciation is almost flawless, but it’s not that - she’s reading her poem.
Does that strike you as strange for a performer?
It did for me.
Performers don’t read their own words!
But this is another way Amanda has faced her fears to turn her presentations into performances.
She doesn’t memorise her poems for when she reads them out loud. For a spoken word poet (or any performer for that matter) that was a new concept to me.
Of course great performers memorise their words???
Nope. Not Amanda.
Remember, Amanda is still a nervous public speaker. She just needs to do a good job of hiding it.
Here’s a real piece of golden advice for you to take away from this episode:
You don’t need to worry about memorising your words - it’s how you bring it to life that matters.
Some presenters worry that having notes might make your performance sound wooden, or worse still – look like you’ve not rehearsed.
No.
Having a script to read from tells your audience at that you’ve done your homework and you’ve come prepared.
What’s important is that you speak from the heart. Instead of worrying about your words and what to say next, you can focus on speaking with pride and compassion but show your flaws.
Don’t worry about remembering your words. Worry about remembering WHY you wrote them.
And then transfer that feeling to your audience.
That’s an important distinction.
Fear (of public speaking) never really goes away… which is why it’s important for you to have the tools available for when you’re asked to perform in any mission critical moment.
I LOVE that Amanda included a reference to Hamilton in her inauguration poem as a nod to the musical which empowered her to find her voice (she called it her “speech pathology”)…
[HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON US]
And now the musical…
[HAMILTON]
That’s a nice touch.
In a full circle moment, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote Amanda’s profile for her TIME 100 Next ranking:
“If the hardest part of an artist’s job is to fully and honestly meet the moment, Amanda delivered a master class. She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation. She revealed us to ourselves.”
And she’s continuing to speak truth today.
Amanda is still only 26 but her words, and a wisdom beyond her words, have put her on the cover of every magazine. She’s written Nike ads, performed at the Superbowl and been photographer by Annie Leibovitz for the cover story of Vogue.
On Good Morning America not too long ago - Robin Wright asked if she was serious about a joke she made about running for president in 2036:
[GMA]
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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