The Well-Spoken Woman (4 page)

 

 

Ann Richards connected with audiences by using a narrative that employed well-honed stories and down-home humor to express shared hopes, fears, and dreams. Richards acquired the knack of speaking simple truths at the knee of her storytelling father. “I would lie in bed as a child and listen to my father and his friends talk well into the night, telling stories of plain people. Basic, gentle, and optimistic stories, forever taking aim at the self-important and dishonest.”
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The Richards narrative was based on real life: she humanized issues by relating them to a common situation. The aim was always “to speak so that my Mama understood what I was talking about.”
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Step 2: Paint a Word Picture

Messages crafted with her mother in mind ensured Richards didn't talk down to people. Rather she conveyed that she understood what caused them to lay awake at night. She often accomplished this through the use of vivid imagery. Painting a picture with descriptive words greatly enhances the audience's ability to remember what you want them to remember. The address she gave at the convention shared tiny slices of life that trans-ported the audience to another place and time.

I was born during the Depression in a little community just outside Waco, and I grew up listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio. Well, it was back then that I came to understand the small truths and the hard-ships that bind neighbors together. Those were real people with real problems and they had real dreams about getting out of the Depression.

I can remember summer nights when we'd put down what we called a Baptist pallet, and we listened to the grown-ups talk. I can still hear the sound of the dominoes clickin' on the marble slab my daddy had found for a tabletop. I can still hear the laughter of the men telling jokes you weren't supposed to hear, talkin' about how big that ol' buck deer was, laughin' about mama puttin' Clorox in the well the day the frog fell in.

They talked about war and Washington and what this country needed. They talked straight talk and it came from people who were living their lives as best they could.
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The syntax captures a commonality of experience. Words were chosen to encompass sound and texture: Roosevelt on the radio, dominoes clickin' on the marble slab, and puttin' Clorox in the well. Not only do you see the dominoes, you hear them clicking on that marble slab. Simple descriptors and phrases ring true:
Baptist pallet, small truths, grown-ups
, and
my daddy.
With the right words, the ordinary and the everyday are seen in living color and heard in stereo sound.

Even the most technical, dry subjects can be made relevant with well-chosen language. Shortly after she was elected governor, Richards rounded up a bunch of women politicos from across the country for networking and barbeque at the Texas governor's mansion in Austin. During the opening remarks, the others and I who gathered on the stately mansion lawn were held in sway by her unique way with words. Richards had the ability to take what could be the dullest of dull subjects—the role of government—and breathe energy into it:

Government is the most pervasive influence in our lives. It is the institution that determines the price you pay at the grocery, what happens when you flip the light switch and the electricity comes on or doesn't, whether your environment is clean, whether or not the garbage is picked up in the morning, all the way to the questions of life and death, and whether or not we will give our children in war. That's how pervasive government is.
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Step 3: Give Them Something to Chuckle About

Former speechwriter to President Lyndon Johnson and a buddy of Ann Richards, Liz Carpenter, wrote that the three basic rules for any speech are these: “Start with a laugh, put the meat in the middle, and wave the flag at the end.”
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At the beginning, humor can be a connector that closes the gap between you and the audience. It signals that you don't take yourself or the subject too seriously, and they can relax, knowing the talk is not going to be nearly as bad as they thought it would be. Humor doesn't require joke telling. In fact, trying to tell a joke can be a prescription for failure. The most effective humor is drawn from daily life. Self-deprecating humor can create an instant bond. You can comment on “insider humor,” something everyone is talking about. And, if a story goes over well, don't hesitate to recycle it. Sarah Palin made hay talking about her “mamma grizzlies.”

Richards's unsurpassed brand of Texas wit ranks her with some of America's most beloved humorists. She is to the one-liner what Mark Twain was to satire. Richards had the ability to make just about anyone laugh until they cried and was once described as an “unabashed feminist who could make unrepentant chauvinists laugh out loud.” Audiences came to expect belly laughs, and she delivered on those high expectations with humor that was distinctive for its edge. Critics sometimes accused her of going too far. Yet, the line most identified with her was the poke she took at Vice President George H. W. Bush.

Richards was quick to point out that the chance to deliver such a line doesn't come along every day. All the pieces fell into place—the right speaker, right place, right time, and right subject. Richards later said she couldn't resist: “It was a great line…and you have to go with a great line.” Bush to his credit harbored no ill feelings about the laugh at his expense and later presented Richards with a silver-foot pin. Richards appreciated the gesture, saying she “always wears a gentleman's jewelry when he comes to call.”
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The nuts and bolts of coming up with something funny are covered in
chapter 5
in the section on memorable sound bites.
Chapter 5
also introduces the Message Map approach to developing strategic messages to advance positions on policy, legislation, and public debate. How to prepare
for different types of forums and events is covered in
chapter 6
, which explains step-by-step how to prepare to take charge of a room and prepare tools such as notes and visual aids.
Chapter 7
is all about speechwriting, with tips on how to open and close with a bang and how to organize the speech content and flow.

POWER PERSONA PRINCIPLE: SELF-ASSURED

How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.

—Coco Chanel

A former telephone operator was the first person in the US Senate to speak out against Joseph McCarthy and his anticommunist crusade in the 1950s. While the men remained silent, the lone woman in the chamber delivered a “declaration of conscience.” Senator Margaret Chase Smith put aside concerns that she would be labeled a communist sympathizer to address a vacuum in leadership that she felt could result in “national suicide” if McCarthy pursued his witch hunt unfettered. Speaking as a “woman” and “senator,” she said: “I don't like the way the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity. I am not proud of the way we smear outsiders from the floor of the Senate and hide behind the cloak of congressional immunity and still place ourselves beyond criticism on the floor of the Senate.”
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Well-spoken women have often had to go it alone. Six of Smith's colleagues signed onto the declaration, but she was the only member with the courage to publicly stand by her principles. Smith entered politics as a secretary to her husband and won election to his House seat after he died in 1940; she then served thirty-two years in Congress. She had the distinction of being the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate and later had presidential aspirations. In a 1964 speech to the Women's Press Club, Smith laid out the reasons why she should not consider seeking the presidency. The list included severe limitations on money, organization, and time and the contention that as a woman she would “not have the physical stamina and strength to run.” Smith then announced: “So, because of these very impelling reasons against my running, I have decided that I shall.”
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Step 1: Quash the Illusions of Assuredness

One doubts that Smith dreamed of running for president while she answered phones for the Maine Telephone Company. She was an ordinary person who went on to do extraordinary things by working hard, always striving to improve, and being willing to take a risk. The decision to speak out against a Republican colleague was not one she made lightly, nor was it a ploy for publicity. Unlike McCarthy, Smith was not a camera hog showboating for the press. She stepped into the role of moral leader when she felt such leadership was lacking.

Smith knew who she was, and she brought that sense of self-assuredness to her public pronouncements. The tough stance wasn't affected but was grounded in the values that guided her life, values such as directness, self-reliance, and integrity. For Smith, remaining silent was simply not an option, for she was compelled to take issue with anyone she felt was abusing power. Self-assured speakers command our attention with their conviction, not their arrogance. They speak to higher principles and for the greater good but do so in a genuinely humble manner. Projecting self-assuredness is not about positioning yourself as “the” expert, meeting perfectionist standards, or allowing the ego to run wild. Arrogance, flawlessness, and dogmatism are merely illusions of self-assuredness.

The Expert Illusion: You Must Know Everything

Being self-assured does not mean you have to be an expert on a topic to speak about it. Don't allow a belief that you need to be an expert throw you into a tizzy that causes you to miss opportunities. Stop turning down invitations because you know something but not everything about the subject
matter. Men are often more willing than women to fake it and learn as they go. Also, don't attempt to compensate for perceived knowledge gaps by cramming before a presentation. It is not possible to know the answer to every single question that could arise. Forget about memorizing endless factoids and data. There is nothing wrong about telling a questioner you will get back to her with the specific information she seeks. Last-minute cramming makes you more self-conscious and more anxious. Moreover, plenty of experts come across like pompous jerks. You just need enough material to credibly fill the seven minutes on a panel or twenty minutes at lunch.

The Perfectionist Illusion: You Must Perform Flawlessly

Like Girl Scouts, well-spoken women are prepared, but they don't attempt to project like a Stepford wife. Striving for perfection on the scale of the “early” Martha Stewart is a misplaced goal. As we came to learn, Martha didn't bake all those cakes and pies herself. She had loads of helpers in the wings. Neither was her household so “hospital-corner” perfect. Once we knew she had limitations, as we all do, Martha was eminently more likable. Space scientists at NASA need to be technically accurate. But forcing yourself to memorize a presentation will result in a lifeless, stilted performance. Forget the unobtainable and focus on making the connection.

The Egotist Illusion: You Can Do No Wrong

Then there are the presenters who have loads of experience and rarely feel nervous. Don't allow a high skill level to allow you to become complacent or overly confident. And, recognize that as you move up the ladder of success, audiences expect more from you. A false sense of greatness can lead to a public-speaking purgatory I call the land of the “almost famous.” Some talented, intelligent people think they are better than they are, so they don't spend much time preparing or any time practicing. The mindset is “Why rehearse when I'm already good?” The skills of these presenters tend to plateau at slightly above average. Their overconfidence breeds an arrogance that limits their ability to improve. These speakers often find watching video of themselves to be a humbling experience.

Step 2: Workhorses Become Show Horses

Before she was a superstar, Ann Richards was a mom with a resume that had big gaps. As much as she loved the tussle of debates in college, she left the team in her junior year. At the age of nineteen, she didn't think twice about putting aside her professional ambitions for love and marriage. For the next several years, debating and politicking would take a backseat to husband David and raising their four children. Richards was a stay-at-home mom who volunteered on local campaigns, answering telephones and licking stamps. It was her lawyer husband who seemed destined to be the politician in the family. However, when a local seat opened up, Ann was asked to run. In 1976, she was elected the first woman to serve as Travis County commissioner.

The victory was not universally applauded or welcomed by a large swath of the county employees who found themselves under her domain. By defeating a longtime incumbent, she had alienated the all-male road crew who maintained county highways. The men were less than thrilled about their new boss, expecting her first order of business would be to replace them with women and minorities. So, Richards carefully prepared a little pep talk to reassure them during her initial foray into their world—that of the maintenance shop.

Arriving on the appointed day, Richards was greeted outside the shop by “the ugliest looking mutt” and learned it was the crew's mascot. Talking about the dog seemed like a good way to break the ice, so she asked the men about the dog's name. The room fell silent until a defiant voice yelled from the back: “The dog's name is Ann Richards.” A young man seated up front quickly added: “But, we call her Miss Ann.” Richards's response was a belly laugh that broke the ice. It was a shaky start, but over time the men got used to working for a woman, and Richards says they eventually became friends.