We are testers. We communicate, collaborate and report. We are the headlights of a project. We light the way, break the news, deliver messages – and they’re not always pretty. How do we make sure our point is taken? It all boils down to adapting our style of delivery depending on the content and the audience. Context is indeed everything.
The delivery of a speech is mostly done through the nonverbal channel (whereas the content itself is verbal). This includes all speech elements other than the words themselves: eye contact, voice, articulation, gestures, facial expressions, body language – even appearance. Using all of these effectively requires timing and practice, lots of practice. An additional problem is that there is a wealth of delivery styles to choose from. How do we get the message across in the best possible way?
A really smart person once said: “Smart people learn from their mistakes, but REALLY smart people learn from other people’s mistakes.”
I think that’s true. In the video below, councillor Phil Davison – a candidate for the position of Republican treasurer for Stark County, Ohio – delivers a passionate nomination speech in front of a receptive audience. His delivery style is – well… – pretty peculiar.
Spoiler: he wasn’t elected.
Test Side Story 