Gladwell on Keynote speeches

Recently listened to Malcolm Gladwell interview with Tim Ferris and he talked about giving keynote speeches which is a very different medium than books.

I only want to continue doing keynotes if I become much better at it and I change it in a way that is meaningful to me

First of, Malcolm realized 15 years ago that if he were to consider keynotes as a strategic medium he would need to become much better at it. Here were his actions.

1. Develop original content and avoid giving the same speech all the time — “I need way more materials”
2. Really get to know his audience — “I spend a lot more time thinking about whom I’m speaking to”
3. Really think about his performance-“I spend a lot of time thinking about my performance”. By the way, it’s not a speech, it’s a performance

It took a long time to implement but it made it much more interesting to him. It’s a world with its own rules and principles, almost like acting. He gave the example of historian Niall Ferguson as a great speaker (at least at a birthday party).

Here is a great TED talk from Niall.

Malcolm’s most important element of a great performance is authenticity, which is really hard to do when giving a prepared talk to a group of people who belong to a world that you don’t belong to (i.e. IT specialists). You have to make an effort to connect with the audience in a way that is unnatural (it’s not like just talking to your friends). There is effort in “not faking it” and bridge the gap. When you can bridge the gap it becomes really satisfying to the audience.