Commencement 2010: Another Great Opener

I love the way Meryl Streep opens her speech at this year's Barnard College graduation:

(You have to first listen to a rather long intoduction, which is not bad either.)



Streep does a brilliant job of lowering her status - and thus connecting to her audience.

She gracefully moves from the elite situation of being asked to give a commencement speech to the universal "back in college" nightmares that plague here as the date of the speech draws near.


From the Green Room: Be aware of your status. As you prepare your content, ask yourself whether you need to lower ro raise it. Then do so in your opener. By evening the playing field, you will immediately forge a stronger connection with your audience.

Gov. Jindal and Mr. Rogers

What can Bobby Jindal's delivery teach us about what NOT to do in front of an audience?

Before he spoke a single word, he bombed. How? By making a Mr. Rogers entrance.

Jindal should have begun his speech with this feet planted - ready to deliver. Instead, he strides merrily towards the camera, much like Mr. Rogers entered the room the beginning of each episode.

What makes this mistake especially egregious is Gov. Jindal's age. He is 37 - the youngest governor in America. What he needed to do at that moment - that critical moment of first impressions - was to raise his status. His Mr. Rogers entrance communicated "casual," and only served to lower his status in the eyes of the audience.

An older, more established politician could have gotten away with it - maybe - but not a junior governor.

From the Green Room: If you're more junior than your audience, make sure that your body language raises your status.