Find the music in your words!

A speechwriting colleague told me she always guaranteed her clients that her work would be well received by the audience.

“That’s a big risk,” I said. “No matter how good your writing is, you can’t be sure the speaker will find the music in your words.”

No matter how eloquent the prose is, speaking is performance. If you really want to sink a sunny Sunday afternoon, attend an author open microphone event. There you’ll hear work that was never meant to be read aloud. Boring!

And think about it… Why would anyone pay a speaker to read aloud? Plenty of well-written articles are out there waiting to be consumed free of charge … at three times the speed.

So what does it mean to “find the music in the words?”

Read the following Franz Kafka quote aloud:

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

To perform this piece—begin by breaking it down into individual ideas. Winston Churchill, who read all his speeches, called this “psalm form.” Now read it aloud again.

You do not need to leave your room. 

Remain sitting at your table and listen. 

Do not even listen.

Simply wait.

Be quiet, still and solitary.

The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. 

It has no choice.

It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

The “music” begins to emerge. Now add some pauses. Use one ellipsis (…) for short pauses and more for longer ones. When you tell the audience to “simply wait,” give them time to think before you continue.

You do not need to leave your room … 

Remain sitting at your table … and listen ……

Do not even listen …

Simply wait ………

Be quiet … still … and solitary …

The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked … 

It has no choice …

It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

Now underline the “heart words”—words that carry emotional energy. Will you whisper the word “quiet?” 

What hand and body gestures will you use to convey the essences of “still” and “solitary?” 

What feelings will you express when you speak the word “ecstasy?”

Will you begin on your feet, sit down in a chair when you get to the second line, and then rise again for the final stanza?

You do not need to leave your room … 

Remain sitting at your table … and listen ……

Do not even listen …

Simply wait ………

Be quiet … still … and solitary …

The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked … 

It has no choice …

It will roll in ecstasy at your feet

“Finding the music in the words” has other applications. Peter Mazza is an accomplished New York City jazz guitar player and teacher known for his technically and harmonically complex arrangements. He asked me to give a workshop for one of his Advanced Solo Jazz Guitar Round Table groups, and we began with each attendee giving a short performance.

After that, I presented a few speaking exercises much like the Kafka example above. We looked for opportunities to contrast loud words with soft words. 

He began with a soft, melodic introduction …… and then SHATTERED the silence with a sudden power chord!

We found opportunities to speed up and slow down.

It takes many …… loooong …… years to learn to play as fast as the devil!

We added dynamic variation to repeated patterns to create “waves” of expression.

1 2 3 1 2 3 … 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 … 2 … 3 … 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 … 2 … 3 …… 1 

And then each player returned to their instrument and performed again.

In the initial performance, each guitarist focused on the technical demands and harmonic complexities of the piece. But just “getting through” a difficult piece is the equivalent of reading the words without making a mistake. When the musicians “switched instruments” from guitar to voice and worked on dynamic expression, they carried those ideas back to their fretboards. When they performed again, the differences were remarkable. By finding the music in the words, the musicians were able to put more music into their music.

No matter how eloquent your prose is, speaking is performance. Figuring out what to say is only one component of effective storytelling. When you “find the music in your words” and then perform that music,” you deliver a transformational concert of feelings, ideas, and inspiration to your audience. Isn’t that what speakers are paid to do?