Man this sounded like a great speech. If only I could hear it! In my humble opinion, this clip is a classic example of amazing material, terrible delivery.

Let’s start with the material… great stuff. Philip Zimbardo asks “why are boys struggling?” and throws out some startling statistics about boyhood, including the fact that boys are five times more likely to develop ADHD, and 30% more likely to drop or flunk out of school. His stats are impressive, and build effectively. He also has a sharp wit, and tells a joke well.

But most of the speech flew by me in a mass of incoherence because he is rushing needlessly, and his articulation is terrible. Luckily I had the pause button handy, so I could go back and watch interesting sections over again to catch the speaker’s meaning, but the audience did not have that luxury. Yes, he only had a minute to make the speech, but time limits are not an excuse to rush. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your speech is if nobody can understand it.

I think Mr Zimbardo would have done himself and his audience a big favor by cramming less into his one minute speech, breathing more, and taking his time with the language.

What do you think?

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