Most of the pundits have weighed in on the political ramifications of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address last night, but what of his public speaking craft? To be blunt, I think he does some things well, but many things poorly. Let’s break it down.

To start with, he is clearly reading off of two teleprompters. This is not a problem if you are able to coin phrases in a conversational manner , and you are very familiar with your material. Mr. Trump does neither well here. He seems unfamiliar with the language he is using, and he makes very little eye contact with the television audience or his constituents. It’s very important to be familiar with your material, and to lift your eyes off of the page, in order to make a personal connection to your audience.

As a result of this lack of familiarity with his material, Mr. Trump’s delivery is uncharacteristically tentative. When he is speaking off-the-cuff, he has some vocal variety, and punch to his language. But his voice fades when he is working with an outline, and he becomes quite monotone.

What he does well here has nothing to do with his delivery, but with his speechcraft. He utilizes personal stories well, highlighting numerous stories about heroic everyday Americans. But non-verbal communication trumps material (no pun intended), and the president’s poor delivery undermines his message.

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