Try not to sound scripted. When I started as a university leader, I did not do this very well. Frankly, a couple times I saw myself on television giving a scripted speech and I said, ‘That’s awful.’
I had one program, which was a full half-hour that they kept running at midnight to guarantee it would put people to sleep. I learned by hard experience that this is not easy, so I actually got lessons from a person who specialized in techniques of giving scripted speeches so they don’t look scripted.
Read the script in advance to be sure it says what you want it to say and to be sure you can speak passionately about what’s in the script. There are techniques in memorizing parts of the sentence. Never have a sentence that is longer than 15 words. You memorize the first five words so you speak them looking at the audience. You look down and read the next five and simultaneously memorize the final five. Then you look back up at the audience and say the next five.
It doesn’t look as if you are reading something that’s written down as a script because you’ve looked directly at the audience and said two-thirds of the words directly to them.
Watch yourself. This advice came from Chuck Vest, who was president of MIT. When I was deciding to take on a senior leadership position, he said, ‘I have two pieces of advice for you. No. 1, being president of the university is not a job; it’s a life. No. 2, even when you’re off the record, you’re on the record.’
If you’re the head of a major institution, you’re always on the record. There are so many times where people get caught. When you’re in a leadership position, the microphone is always on.
How to reach: University of California, Berkeley, (510) 642-6000 or www.berkeley.edu
