put your body ahead of your content I am told that the one-time Catholic Archbishop of New York said that it takes him 10 minutes to write a two-hour speech and 2 hours to write a 10-minute speech. While I think he has a point, most research suggests that the content of a speech is […]

put your body ahead of your content I am told that the one-time Catholic Archbishop of New York said that it takes him 10 minutes to write a two-hour speech and 2 hours to write a 10-minute speech. While I think he has a point, most research suggests that the content of a speech is much less important than most people think it is. A number of studies, one of which was reported by Corporate Communication Experts, found that the impact of a speech or presentation may be viewed as follows: Content – 7% Voice – 36% Body language – 57% Some studies have found body language or non-verbal skills as being even more important. I have not seen a study where content was responsible for more than 10% of the impact. The implications of this research are profoundly important: Work on and practise your body language Keep your speech…