Words matter, but the message is King

We know that the greatest assembly of words in the world does not matter much if it does not register with the audience, if it is not meaningful to them. But what of the words and the sentences themselves? Does it matter how many "difficult" words you use, how long your sentences are, and so on? Words matter of course, but it is the message, the structure, the delivery, the story, the connection, etc. that matter more (usually). Still, Seattle PI has an interesting post comparing the recent keynotes by Steve Jobs at Macworld and Bill Gates (and Michael Dell) at CES using an analysis of their respective keynote transcripts.

The results are not particularly surprising, though frankly they are a bit meaningless. It's fun to look at the results (man, Gates sure did say "Windows" and "Vista" a lot, and Jobs sure said "iPhone" and "Phone" often...hardly surprising since that was the focus of the keynote). If you look at the average words per sentence, lexical density, number of words with three or more syllables, etc. then it appears Steve Jobs had a much simpler talk. So Jobs' popular presentation was so interesting, memorable, enjoyable, etc. because the language he used was relatively simple? Is there a correlation between simple, easy-to-understand language and impact on an audience? Most communication experts say to keep the language as simple as possible (but not too simple). Here are a few quotes on simplicity with regards to writing or speaking (go here for more):

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." — Thomas Jefferson

"The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words." — Hippocrates

"The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity." — Robert Stuberg

"Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind." — Cicero

"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction." — Albert Einstein

However, I can think of at least one popular speech that was easy to understand by a mass audience — it even moved a nation — but that is "more difficult" than the presentations by Jobs and Gates (and Dell) if one analyzed only the written transcripts. Obviously this is a long-winded way of me reminding you that today is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr., the man behind one of the greatest speeches in U.S. history, "I Have a Dream." If you just read the transcript of Dr. King's speech you may be moved or you may not, but I don't know how anyone can watch the entire speech on video and not be absolutely blown away. It is indeed the meaning of the words and the importance of the content, but it is the power of the conviction and the sincerity of the delivery and the amazing connection Dr. King made with the people that makes this a legendary speech.

I hope you can take a few moments today and watch this video of the "I Have a Dream" (March on Washington) speech from 1963. The video is 17-minutes long. If you are short on time, please at least watch the last three minutes. Amazing.

Comments

[Kim U]

Thanks for posting the video link. I've read the speech and seen clips of pieces, but never seen the entire speech.

[bdecker]

Yes, you do it again Garr. Thanks for the video on this day, and the good insights. Content is important, but behavior reigns.
Bert

[Matt Eventoff]

Garr -

Thank you for another insightful posting. It is crucial to review performances by some of the great speakers of our time, like MLK, in order to see that a speech, or public speaking performance, includes countless variables as important, and sometimes more important, than words. How a speaker express himself or herself through body movement, inflection, expressions, emotions, etc. is critical to effectively communicating a message.

[Dimitar Vesselinov]

American Rhetoric: Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century by Rank
http://americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html

[peterh]

Another quote in the same spirit that come to my mind, and I guess it came to you as well, is from Hagakure: "It is bad when one thing becomes two". Unfortunately I don't know the 'surrounding' text, but it's definitely in the same garden as Jefferson.

[John Windsor]

Thanks for posting that, Garr. It really is a moving speech.

[Lisa Braithwaite]

Thanks for posting the plain language resource. It's a pet issue of mine. I wrote a post on it, in fact, a few months ago (more in reference to jargon):
http://coachlisab.blogspot.com/2006/10/lose-jargon.html

I forgot how moving the MLK speech was, and I've never heard the whole thing. It's really beautiful.

[towsonu2003]

thanks for the video link.

[Russ Conte]

Excellent comments, as always.

A couple of other things to note:

1. King did not have a projector.
2. He did not use PowerPoint, Keynote, or a computer
3. He could not possibly make eye contact with everyone
4. There are no bullet points in the speech (first, second, third....)
5. According to some of the materials I've read (and are unconfirmed but believable) King read part of the speech from notes, (can you say Cingular?) and improvised at other points
6. He had no product that people could go out and purchase at the back of the Lincoln Memorial as soon as the presentation was over.
7. There were no handouts, no take homes, no giveaways.
8. No visual aids were used.
9. He did not have any guest speakers come in the middle of his presentation to offer a supporting voice and more authority to his own comments
10. The audience is overwhelmingly lower and middle class. There were few people of influence that day listening to him.
11. He very clearly publicly criticizes individuals, and even entire states.
12. He invokes God, and is in fact an ordained Christian minister, and literally quotes the Bible several times. He regularly mixed his faith and his public life, and this speech is the consummate example of private faith in public action.

Oh, one more thing. He keeps repeating himself over and over, ("We can never be satisfied,", "I have a dream", "Let Freedom Ring"....) I thought you weren't supposed to do that more than two or three times unless you were trying to be funny.

All kidding aside, this speech really breaks all the rules. Maybe there is more to be learned here than the content, but also in the manner of delivery, and as you write, how he connects with his audience.