To script, or not to script?

This is a very topical subject given the reaction from me, and many, towards the scripted answers given by the seven leaders in the only debate of this General Election. 

Too often it appeared that the hours of preparation had ended up with half a dozen soundbites that had to be shoehorned into an answer. Minimise the amount of news you make, and stick to the party line. Except Farage. He's worth a whole dissertations worth of analysis, so I'll ignore him. Like the majority of the electorate will in May. 

This even continued onto Newsnight, with Andy Burnham stating how much he dislikes negative politics, then in the next breath, with no hint of irony, saying 'like Michael Gove' pushes. It was too clear that he wanted to say X and Y, no doubt given to him by somebody like me, without it really being him. 

There are many dangers facing the scripted communicator, but I'm just going to consider two. The first, is that you fail to make any eye contact with your audience. At best, this will just mean you mumble slightly, but it could lead everybody to question how trustworthy you are. The second is far more criminal, as you can come across as being a fake version of you: in fact, not being you at all. 

Your audience knows the issues around public speaking: its terrifying and can bring out the sweats in even the most accomplished and confident person. They also know that real people don't stick to a script, do make mistakes and do offer an insight into their own world. 

And that's what you have to do as a speaker. Show your audience how your world can help theirs. 

Unfortunately too many modern politicians go along trying to hold the centre line, to not make waves, to be the one left standing. Some people are actually like that I'm sure, by when I scan through my address book, I don't see any of them in there. 

This isn't bashing politicians; too many people who adopt the title of being a communications expert, just peddle how to come across as the archetypal alfa male, or tell you that to sell, you have to do X and Y. And that attitude has infiltrated politics where almost everybody is on script to the nth degree. 


So that's my USP. I say my, I'm sure some of my peers do it as well, but the majority don't. I help you be the best version of you that you want to be. I'll gladly work with you to write a script, or to be confident going up to speak with just an outline. The script or no script debate is secondary to you understanding how you want to come across. Real or unreal? Everything else just flows from there like a champagne tower.