51. Fast Talking: Fun or Maddening
An actor named John Moschitta, Jr. once made a career out of talking fast. During the 1980s, Mr. Moschitta appeared in a series of television commercials for Federal Express that promoted the company’s speed of service. In each of the commercials, Mr. Moschitta played the role of a busy executive speaking on the phone, barking orders and wheeling and dealing at more than 500 words a minute. The funny, catchy ads made “The FedEx Man” a household name. You can find a clip of his FedEx commercials on YouTube.F51.1
However, fast talking can also be maddening for presentation audiences. An accelerated pace often causes a speaker to utter “ums” and “ahs.” Speed can also have a negative impact on audiences—particularly ...
Get Presentation Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection) now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.