Regardless of what you think of his accomplishments, almost everyone can agree that as president, Barack Obama was a mesmerizing orator.
The former president (and master communicator) lived by this simple rule of oratory
Each generation has its great political communicators. There was Winston Churchill in the 40s, JFK and MLK in the 60s, and Reagan in the 80s. My generation had Barack Obama.
Whatever you think of his accomplishments, almost everyone can agree that as president, Obama was a mesmerizing orator. But he didn’t always have the ability to capture the attention of an audience. In fact, when he was working as a community organizer early in his career, he failed like any of us.
What changed? According to his former speechwriter, he learned a profound truth about the art of public speaking that can be summed up in three numbers: 50/25/25.
In his new book Say It WellTerry Szuplat, Obama’s former speechwriter—who currently trains senior executives in public speaking—recounted a story Obama told him about a presentation he gave to a group of philanthropists when he was 24 years old.
“I had not written my comments. “I felt like I could walk into any room and improvise, which was a big mistake.”Obama reminded Szuplat. «There were a lot of people in suits. I looked a little disheveled and out of place. About four or five minutes into my presentation, I started to freeze up. “I lost track of my ideas.”
“I was terrible”he concluded. “I broke out in a bit of nervous sweat, hesitated, got stuck, and wasn’t particularly coherent.”
This will be completely understandable to many business leaders who struggle with public speaking. So what changed between then and 2004, when Obama gave the electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention that launched his national political career?
Of course, many hours of practice (sorry, no public speaking trick will save you from having to invest time). But Szuplat says the most essential piece of wisdom Barack Obama acquired through all that hard work can be summed up in what he calls the 50/25/25 rule.
At first glance, the 50/25/25 rule is simple: for any speech, regardless of type, location, or time available until delivery, you should spend 50% of your time researching, organizing, and outlining, 25 % to write and 25% to edit and practice.
Whether you have a month or a few hours to prepare, you should always divide your time roughly this way.
This may not seem revolutionary at first glance. Almost every public speaking guru under the sun emphasizes the importance of practice. And everyone knows that you won’t give a persuasive speech if you don’t know what evidence or stories you will use to convince your audience.
But Szuplat insists that the 50/25/25 rule isn’t just about reminding speakers not to skimp on preparation. The important thing, he points out, is the proportion: you should spend twice as much time reflecting as writing.
This is because, as Szuplat explained on LinkedIn, “The best indicator of whether we will give a good presentation is not what we do on the podium… It is the preparation we put in before approaching the podium, the work we do before writing a single word.”
By the time he became president, Obama understood that knowing what you want to say is more important than rhetorical tricks or polished delivery (although don’t get me wrong, everyone recognizes these are valuable too).
Szuplat once asked him directly what makes a truly effective speaker. Obama, as reported in the podcast HBR IdeaCastresponded: «“Effective public speakers are people who are sure of their core convictions.”.
At 24 years old, Barack Obama was smart and charming. But I still didn’t know what I believed in or why it was important. That’s why he collapsed in a sea of nervous sweat. By the time he got to the White House, he had learned that if you are clear about what you are trying to say, it is much more difficult to deviate.
And that’s what makes the 50/25/25 rule so valuable. It reminds you that the most important thing to be successful when speaking is to know what you believe, and that a lot of reflection is the only way to reach that clarity.
«I encourage people who have to give a presentation in a week, a month or a few months, to sit down with themselves, maybe with their team if they have one, if they are business leaders, and analyze… What am I trying to achieve? “What is my mission? What is my vision?” Szuplat advises on the podcast HBR.
Yes, these can be big and scary questions. And yes, doing this can feel uncomfortably similar to going to therapy. But spending half of your available preparation time clarifying your values and your message is «what great leaders do and what great speakers do«insists Szuplat.
And that’s what the 50/25/25 rule reminds you to do.
