Recently, I listened to a very intelligent man give a talk. In the first part of his talk, he used the novel The Scarlet Letter as an analogy to the points he was making. He spoke directly to the audience, he was animated, and had great eye contact. I was enjoying his talk immensely.
But when he finished his analogy, he went behind the lectern and took out his notes. Two things happened.
- Written language is not the same as spoken language. Written language is for the eye. Spoken language is for the ear. His sentences got longer. The syntax were more complex. And his vocabulary got notched up a few grade levels. When you read what someone has written, you can linger over it. You can re-trace what you’ve read if necessary. You can’t do that when you’re just listening to them.
- Another thing happened. His connection with the audience went straight down the drain. His eye contact, except for an occasional glance, was gone. I’m not saying not to use notes if you need them, but you can’t READ your notes.
Strive to be conversational with your audience—just as though you were sharing your thoughts over the dinner table—and you will become a better communicator.