Music Lessons

What speakers can learn from musicians.

Today, let’s take a look at three communication strategies that I draw from the world of music, and how they can help us present with greater mastery.

First, let’s start with Mozart’s quote above. I typically adapt this by telling my clients that “the rest is as much a part of the music as the notes.” It’s crucial to a composer to silence the orchestra from time to time to draw emphasis to the notes that were just heard, or that are about to come. Similarly, for presenters, there is great power in using silence to both provide emphasis and generate anticipation.

When working with entrepreneurs who are introducing their firm's name for the first time, I coach them to “frame the name in silence.” That is, to pause before and after the name since it’s not a familiar term yet to the world.

Imagine that you heard this in 1997 from two young grad students at Stanford: “We wish to organize all the information in the world through, [pause] Google [pause], a platform we are now creating that will come to be known as the first search engine. Google, [pause] has the potential to become its own verb in time, if you invest today.”

A second tip I often provide to speakers, as they are, heaven forbid, trying to memorize a presentation, is that once you know the sheet music, then you can begin to improvise. I never coach leaders to just wing it, though many choose to do so. Instead, I suggest outlining their presentation, working to know it so well that it’s assimilated into their psyche. That content from the outline becomes the sheet music, allowing the speaker to extemporize when delivering the information to an audience. You can only do this effectively if, indeed, you are sourcing your “sheet music” (outline).

Our final music lesson comes from my friend and colleague, Allison Kluger:

Trust the tempo of the piece you’ve created.

Kluger explains: “I tell clients and students that there is never any reason to speak too fast. Imagine you are at the symphony and the orchestra is prepared to play three beautiful pieces. Then someone rushes to the conductor and says, ‘There will be a power outage in ten minutes. You only have time to play two of the three pieces.’ Should the conductor play all three pieces really fast, or just two of them beautifully? If he plays all three fast to get them in, the integrity of the music will be destroyed.”

Similarly, if you speak too fast, the integrity of your message will be compromised. It may make your audience anxious, and it won't sound as “harmonious.” In training teachers, I’ve often coached educators that they are better off getting through 60% of the planned material and having their students understand it, rather than making it through 100% of the lesson plan and having students leave confused.

In summary, here’s your musical assignment for your next talk:

• Build in silence for greater impact

• Improvise only after you’ve crafted the outline

• Cover less content if you are time-constrained

If you have musical strategies of your own, please send them along, or drop them in the comments below. I’d love to build out this list further and someday adapt it into a full workshop, maybe accompanied by piano, harp, or violin.

Join me on May 31

I’m delighted to announce the fourth iteration of this inspiring speaker series. On Saturday May 31 from 3 to 6 pm Rugged Elegance Presents…Celebrating the Rise of Africa.

For several weeks, I’ve been preparing this inspiring group of founders who have launched remarkable firms and movements throughout Africa. Whether you attend in person at Unity San Francisco or online, I truly hope you will experience this event as it unfolds. Yes, the videos will be available afterwards, but there’s truly something magical about seeing this live. Please register at this link to claim your place in our audience.

Talk of the week

This month I’m getting to reconnect with my former student Kudzi Chikumbu, who has gone on to amazing things since his time at Stanford. As I reconnected with him, I was able to go back into the LOWKeynotes archive (which now numbers over 350 talks!) and rewatch his 2016 talk: The Moment You Decide to Commit to Your Purpose. It’s as powerful now as it was then. I hope you enjoy!

JD’s Recommends: what I’m reading, hearing, and seeing:

• Reading: In researching the “Let Them Theory,” I was blown away by what I learned of the poet whose uncredited work apparently launched the movement. Read more in Sage Justice’s Substack, to which I proudly am now a paid subscriber. I urge you to do the same.

• Hearing: one of my new best friends (and favorite podcasters) Kristine Michie provides a riveting interview with the “Father of Play,” Dr. Stuart Brown in The PlayFull Podcast.

• Viewing: for my fellow font nerd friends, I have laughed out loud each time I’ve watched Elle Cordova’s great piece: Fonts Hanging Out.

Wishing you “Nothing but the best,” as my friend and colleague Ryan Harvey likes to say.