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“I’d applied for a high-level public speaking position, but was rejected by the final interview panel. Tim was the only dissenter on that panel, and against the advice of more than a few his senior colleagues, chose to hire me anyway. He was convinced I had great potential, but also that I didn’t yet understand how to tap into that potential. He was right.
Tim personally coached me over the next three years, and as a result I’ve now become one of the premier speakers in our firm, making hundreds of presentations a year to senior business audiences. I think it’s fair to say that to this day, the panelists who rejected me remain extremely surprised at the way I flourished as a speaker.”
- Jonathan Dietrich,
Senior Director, Corporate Executive board
What We Teach — The DNA of Exceptional Speaking
A Cord of Two Strands
Just as DNA comprises 2 interwoven protein strands, so exceptional speaking comprises two interwoven intellectual strands:
Strand #1 - Presentation Architecture – AKA Design or Messaging. The premise that all great presentations begin with great architecture, (the selection and organization of content, the distinction between description and insight, the selection of language, and the correct use of visual aids) and that the greatest speaking mechanics cannot rescue deficient architecture.
A great speaker delivering deficient architecture represents nothing more than a fashion show. A passing entertainment. To quote Shakespeare in Macbeth:
“a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Strand #2 - Presentation Delivery – The premise that all great speakers have extraordinary mechanics, or delivery. They understand the role of modulation, signaling, lift, the use of authority, and the place of rehearsal. They know how to read a room and how to annotate their notes.
Without great mechanics, great architecture is just a lost opportunity.
A Balanced Approach
Oratium organizes its instruction and coaching around these two intellectual pillars. This is an intentionally balanced approach, with each element being taught through a proprietary mnemonic framework.
Presentation Architecture
Presentations begin their journey towards extraordinary long before the podium moment, when 7 design principles are followed. The great presentation architect designs “PALACES”.
P – The principle of Planned Outcome
A – The principle of Absorption (the ‘Antoine’ principle)
L – The principle of Linearity
A – The principle of Altitude
C – The principle of Connectivity
E – The principle of Evolving Argument
S – The principle of Supporting Argument
Presentation Delivery
Presentations conclude their journey to extraordinary when great architecture is matched with extraordinary delivery at the podium.
Moving far beyond the basic mechanics of clear speech and non-jangling keys, extraordinary speaking is a matter of “PARTICLES”.
P – The Principle of Poise/Authority
A – The principle of Absolute Readiness
R - The principle of Responsiveness
T - The principle of Teaching
I - The principle of Inhibition
C - The principle of Compensation
L – The principle of Lift
E – The principle of Energy
S – The principle of Signal
Seven principles of design, nine principles of delivery. None governed by ‘natural speaking talent’
The Critical Question of Tailoring
While these principles are all critical, they must be carefully applied in the context of the individual speaker.
Oratium coaching is highly tailored to each individual. Without allowing them to become unbalanced, we train speakers to recognize and accentuate their natural strengths while recognizing and concealing their natural weaknesses. (We call this “the hidden lesson of Churchill").
In fact, counter to all conventional wisdom, speakers can (and often do) become exceptional who are naturally stronger in messaging/architecture than they are in delivery. This widely-misunderstood fact underpins a critical principle of our teaching.