If you have been following the news at all I am sure you have come across President Trumps word slip debacle. If you have not seen the video the basics premise is that President Trump replaced the word “would” with “wouldn’t” when referencing Russian interference in the election. Let me be clear no matter how you feel politically that is not the topic of discussion today instead let’s focus on the principle of the mistake he made.
You see by switching up a single word President Trump completely changed the message he was presenting. As a result, he found himself in hot water and was forced to come back and clarify his statement.
As I watched this video showing a side by side comparison of the two sentences I was reminded of just how important every single word we select as a presenter is. In a recent critique of one of my presentations a mentor of mine reminded me that “words create worlds.” He spoke into the fact that I often use the word “things” to describe lists and then he told me this story.
He shared how when he first started out as a speaker he did not pay much attention to his words. He would spend the bulk of his time developing his overall story, being sure that it flowed well, and all of the main points were present. But when it came to his transitions he often used filler words to fumble his way through them. He shared that one day a mentor of his challenged him to take the extra time and focus on every word that went into his presentation. Whether it be a transition statement, a main idea, or a story this mentor encouraged him to intentionally place every word.
He took this advice to heart and started to put in the time to focus on every single word. It was amazing what happened next. He shared with me that he knew he was accomplishing what he had set out to do when a lawyer walked up to him at the end of a presentation. This lawyer looked him in the eye and said something along the lines of…
“When you first started I wasn’t the biggest fan, you didn’t seem to know what you were talking about. But today is a different story, every time you speak I can tell you have taken the time to think about your presentation and prepare. You see I deal in words for a living the nuances of them, the importance of them, and today you showed that you care about words to. That you have taken the time to create the perfect presentation using the perfect words.”
The reality is words really do matter. So often as presenters we spend all our time focusing on the big picture and never zoom in to the small details of our presentation. But it’s those small details that show we are willing to go the extra 10% for our audience. By taking the time to focus on each word and ensure it is right we will not only win over our fans but just like my mentor we will win over the skeptics. As a result we will inspire more of our audience to join in with our vision.
Try This: As you prepare for your next presentation write out a manuscript of what you will say. Then go back through and think about each word that is present in that manuscript. Think about whether it adds or detracts from your clarity and credibility then replace and edit where needed. I promise that taking this extra step will not just impress your fans but win over the skeptics.
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