Did Obama fluff his words?

Well this week's debate has been fascinating - did he, or didn't he?? I am of course referring to the "fluff" President Obama made at his inauguration. Yet did he make the mistake, or was it Chief Justice Roberts?

On watching the footage several times I see Obama interrupting Chief Justice Roberts on the initial repeat of his name, yet the next "fluff" and the important one, Obama used the power of the pause. The words he was given were not what he expected, so he stopped and waited for them to be repeated, the repeat wasn't clear - so who was at fault?

Well, the fault doesn't matter. As I mentioned when interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire yesterday morning, what Obama did was use the power of the pause. He stopped, waited and continued when cued.

What would you do if you had the eyes of the whole world on you?

Many would crumble at the mere thought of the eyes of a few hundred people, let alone millions. So what do you do when faced with a situation where your brain seems to have frozen?
1. Don't um, er, ah, stumble for words
2. Do pause
3. Collect your thoughts
4. Ask for help if necessary
5. Recap what you have just said - that often kicks the brain back into action.

So was his inaugural address his greatest speech? No, I don't think so, but it was delivered, clearly with energy, enthusiasm and with some great phrasing.

Listen again and look for the run of threes, the use of pauses and the vocal inflection. Obama is certainly one to watch for future speech techniques.

For more tips on presentation skills and public speaking contact me via my website Aspire 2