Q. What’s the similarity between a Vice-President Joe Biden speech and any other speech by an effective public speaker?
A. Both can be stopped by an emergency. And both speakers have to take effective leadership in case of incapacity to those nearest them. The Vice-President, Joe Biden, found this out during the week in an economics speech in Kentucky. In case of emergency, medical or otherwise, everyone looks to the speaker to take leadership, whether he’s the Vice-President or not.
But this was no George W. Bush pretzel-chomping, choking scare for the Vice-President.
Joe Biden Speech In Louisville Encounters Emergency
When one of the event organisers, Jim Campbell the CEO of the GE Appliance Division, unceremoniously toppled from his chair there was a cry from the GE factory audience in Louisville. A distinct thump then followed.
Amidst the hubbub the Joe Biden speech came to a halt as the Vice-President quickly assessed the situation, noted the possibilities and called for a doctor.
At one stage he clearly thought the worst:
“That’s a sad note to end this on.”
But, calm and assured he asked for a doctor again as his Secret Service people righted the fallen CEO and walked him from the clearly hot premises.
Completing the medical emergency interlude, the Vice-President noted:
“Keep the faith.”
Agreed, but Joe obviously thought the worst at one moment, as perhaps did his immediate predecessor, Dick Cheney during the pretzel choking incident in the White House. We’ve covered public speaking interruptions before, such as the Speaker Larijani speech, but this incident is definitely in a class of its own.
You can read plenty of tips for public speakers with Time to Market. Or alternatively you can always consider public speaking training or public speaking coaching to get your skills ready for your next conference speech. Please don't hesitate to get in touch when you are ready.
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