A nearby school district's athletics director recently telephoned and asked me to address his coaching staff, student athletes and athletes' parents. I agreed to do so. He then asked if I gave 'power-point' presentations. I told him no; he seemed fine with the answer.
This issues of 'power-point' speeches is interesting. On the one hand it would seem that if a speaker's presentation had passion and substance he would not need a slide-show. On the other hand, I believe many folks today suffer from attention deficit disorder unable to focus on the spoken word without some visual aid to keep them awake. We have produced a generation of people who simply lack imagination; they need a picture.
I don't know about others but I don't even need to 'see' Dr. Martin Luther King's face to feel the passion in the words, 'I Have a Dream.' I can listen to a recording of Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech and feel the goose bumps. I believe that the greatest speech ever heard on this earth was Jesus Christ's Sermon On The Mount. I suppose if the Lord gave that message today He'd have to use an overheard projector at least.
What strikes me is that most speeches end with a call to action. Therefore, the speaker needs to scratch the hidden potential to motivate the listening audience. I never needed visual aids to touch THAT nerve. If the day comes when I cannot strike that nerve, I'll stop giving speeches.
Personally, I like speeches that contain a clever beginning, a passionate finish and little time lapse between the two.
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