Content vs Delivery: Which Is More Important?

Last night at our Toastmasters meeting, we had the opportunity to watch a TED talk entitled “How to Sound Smart in Your TEDx Talk by Will Stephen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o).

It was a fabulous, humorous talk and highlighted the power of presentation skills versus content. His presentation utilized all of the delivery skills a professional speaker uses, and he used them very well. He embraced gestures, facial expressions, expert pauses, vocal variety, enthusiasm, props, and humour. It was entertaining, but he said absolutely nothing. And, he said he was going to say nothing!

Of course it raises the question, which is more important, content or presentation skills?

I think of many professional speakers I have listened to. Many times I was very entertained during a professional speaker’s presentation, but on reflection at home, he or she really hadn’t said much. I felt let down. On the other hand, when Malala gave her speech to the United Nations student delegation in 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRh_30C8l6Y), she used no gestures, minimal facial expressions (likely a result of her injury), no props, and little in the way of vocal variety; yet she had some of her audience in tears.

While researching for this column, I found some authors claimed content was more important, while others argued delivery was vital. So which is more important? It’s back to the same old question—which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Personally, I believe both are equally important. As Patrick said in response to a column by Michelle Mazur (http://www.drmichellemazur.com/2013/04/content-trumps-delivery.html) “Given today’s shorter attention spans, great content not delivered in a great way is going to lose some people”. I agree with him.

The content of any speech is really what the audience is there for. They want to learn. You’re the expert in your field and you’re imparting information. However, if you do so in a dull and boring way, people are not going to flock to your next presentation. You might as well hand out your notes.

In preparing for any presentation, business or otherwise, ensure your content is well-crafted and contains excellent information. Then deliver it with passion and eloquence, utilizing good presentation skills. You’ll have a win-win combination.

Will Stephen gave a unique TEDx talk. It was an excellent example of how to incorporate presentation skills into your speech. In the end, he said nothing. Hopefully you’ll have more content!

Mary Anthes is a business owner, speaker and a Distinguished Toastmaster. She can be reached at nmanthes@shaw.ca