The Power of Tone and Gesture

Sarah Palin – An Ordinary person doing the Extraordinary…

I have wanted to write about the recent convention speeches, and Sarah Palin is an excellent example of the power of tone and gesture. Peggy Noonan, in today’s WSJ, wrote:

“Her flaws accentuated her virtues. Now and then this happens in politics, but it's rare. An example: The very averageness of her voice, the not-wonderfulness of it, highlighted her normality: most people don't have great voices. That normality in turn highlighted the courage she showed in being there…”

Sarah sounded like us – no booming voice, not shrill or strained like she was working at it too hard – just a normal tone that any of us have when we relax as we speak. In fact, if I was not open to her message, I would have thought she sounded like an Alaska version of, like, a valley-girl, ya know?

It was the openness of her demeanor, her willingness to be herself and vulnerable, that attracted everyone to her speech. So how did she convey this message of: “I know this is extraordinary – but I am OK, in fact, I am kind of enjoying this and you can trust me to be the person you see and hear right now even after I am in office…”

First –her voice was not strained but at a comfortable volume, with inflections to enhance her points.

She used pauses: “…. I put it on Ebay… “. Or “….lipstick!” She has pretty good timing, and that comes with being comfortable with pause and silence.

Her gestures were effective. She used pointing, but did not hold the pointing gesture. We saw her hands, and they were under control, moving to punctuate her key words. She raised her eyebrow, nodded her head, and even put her elbow on the podium to share a secret with thousands of her close friends.

I would prefer political speakers lose the “thumb-on-the-outside fist” gesture. Did this start with Clinton? An open gesture is more effective, where you can see the palms of your hands. It is friendly and non-threatening.

Humor goes a long way. Self-depreciating humor goes even further. When the joke makes fun of yourself but also highlights your strength – it is a home run. The “pit-bull/hockey mom” joke did just that. That joke, I understand, was not scripted.

I am not saying Sarah Palin is ordinary, what she has achieved is clearly not ordinary. But public speakers can learn from her example.

Palin was having a great time just being herself. We loved it.