Public Speaking: Word-for-word or Ad-lib?

I’m often asked the question by clients whether a presentation or a speech should be completely written word-for-word, or whether it is acceptable to be ad-lib – as if these were the only two options.

My response is that both are not good ideas: presentations should definitely not be either ad-lib or set in stone.

Presentations should be interactive. They should have questions, allow questions, and be audience focused. To do this, a presentation has to remain flexible. Bad presentations often consist of a presenter reading their verbose, text-heavy slides in a monotone.

This can be alleviated by a few things.

1. Never treat a presentation as a speech or a lecture: the audience matters. Always allow time for comments and questions, and be flexible enough to finish up on time, every time.
2. Be aware of your energy level and your body language. It is important to keep an open posture and a high energy level to maintain audience alertness.
3. Use a format that is simple and easy to follow. Do not use a lot of text (if any…pictures can often be more effective) in your slides or flip-charts. Instead, focus on the big picture. If the presentation is overly technical, use hand-outs for the small details. Keeping these in mind will go far to improve your presentation.

As to speeches, you probably shouldn’t write it word-for-word. Now, a lot of people will respond to this advice by saying that politician’s speeches are often word-for-word, so theirs should also be word-for-word. While this is true, politicians are trained to use tele-prompters…an art in itself.

There are several problems with writing a speech word-for-word. First, it is easy to fall into the trap of passively reading to your audience. This will make your speech come across as dry, and highly unmotivating. Using tele-prompters correctly can alleviate this problem (by having the presenter be looking at the “audience”) but is hard to pull off. Second, this method is rigid. You already have exactly where you are going set in stone, which minimizes interaction and flexibility.

On the other hand, while impromptu speeches are definitely more flexible, they often end up a disaster: it is simply too easy to run over-time, become tangential, or for the speech to be full of verbal filler. Further, impromptu speeches usually have rougher transitions than scripted speeches.

Ideally then, a good presentation and speech should be well practiced, but not be set in stone. An excellent presenter and rhetorician should have such a mastery of their material that they can work from a detailed outline, which will allow for questions and flexibility. This will make the presenter seem more accessible and authentic since it is much easier to maintain a high energy level and correct body language while working with an outline. There is no substitute for practicing your presentation on your feet before you deliver it.

Mark Twain said it best, “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”

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