Every conference speaker dreads a bad day on stage. For the former Prime Minister, Theresa May, it arrived in Manchester in 2017, and it is worth studying with sympathy as well as scrutiny.
To start with, what was the point of this Theresa May conference speech? Was it a leadership speech, a rallying speech or a mea culpa speech? She and her team probably intended it to be all three: a bold vision for Britain, a rallying call for the efforts ahead, and an apology for the near-disastrous election in the summer. That is a great deal to ask of any speech, even in perfect conditions.
Theresa May Conference Speech In Manchester, 2017
She opened with a look back at her own history, over 40 years ago. Would this personal material work? There was a sense that it might not be right for the occasion.
However, the very personal beginning allowed the Conservative leader to handle her apology early. Once she had done so, she moved swiftly on to other matters, the British dream. It was a brave choice, plainly said:
I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign.
And I am sorry.
The Cough Begins
Whenever we heard her audience applaud, we also heard Theresa May coughing. Very tidy little coughs, but coughs. We noted at the time that this might be the result of the earlier cold that she had admitted to having. However, it was to get a whole lot worse.
Prankster Is No Joke
Then came an interruption nobody could have wanted. A prankster, Lee Nelson, got on to the stage and handed the Prime Minister a P45 form. It upset the balance of her speech, and it set off another coughing bout.
This time there was no controlling it. Cough sweets and water didn't help.
The Hall Gets Behind Her
This was a genuinely difficult moment for May in Manchester. Yet the conference audience got right behind her. They applauded vigorously, which seemed to give her time to recover her voice.
It was hard to listen to, not least because her delivery was suffering. But her fragility, though unintended, was met with real support from her audience.
You can't choose to have a cold during conference, and the question of whether she had dosed up beforehand is one we can't answer. Alastair Campbell thought she could have done better, and that is a fair point for any speaker to take on board.
TB got through 2 big speeches with flu, and most of an entire election campaign with a slipped disc (see volumes 1-6, can’t remember which)
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) 4 October 2017
Good Material Under Pressure
As she continued, she used repetition well in key sections:
That's what I'm in this for
She also tried position takers and other rhetorical devices. These typically work well in conference and set-piece speeches, and her predecessor David Cameron used them extensively. With a fragile voice, she couldn't carry them off, and that was a pity, because the full script reads well. The writing is not the problem.
The Backdrop Joins In
The background lettering began to give up too. First an F fell away, and then, near the very end, an E. The net result:
BUILDING A COUNTRY
OR EVERYON
Ah, yes, the vagaries of staging. It's not unusual. President Obama once lost his Presidential Seal during a speech. Fortunately Theresa May didn't see the letters disappearing behind her. The speech was over, but the memories are likely to last.
Prepare for Your Own Bad Day
You never know what is in store when you next give a conference speech. But you can be practised, ready and rehearsed for as many eventualities as possible. Nothing here was May's fault alone, and every speaker can protect themselves:
- 1Prepare your speech well ahead of time.
- 2Practise, edit and practise some more without getting bored with your material.
- 3Rehearse at the venue with the autocue/ teleprompt. Set the lights to conference mode and use the microphone.
- 4Be prepared for interruptions, not least the applause point.
- 5Get your voice in shape with exercise and/ or some singing. If you have a cold, then remember to have a remedy or two and don't over do the pre-conference entertainment.
- 6"Hello conference, thank you"...[PAUSE] and you've started.
When you need more help preparing for your own conference speech, you can join us for public speaking coaching or training. We can train you at your own offices, or you can choose one of more than 40 training centres in the UK, or your own place of work with an online course. Please don't hesitate to get in touch when the time is right.
For a wider view of what can go wrong and how to prevent it, read How to Avoid a Public Speaking Nightmare.
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