Why does rhythm matter?

We’ve all had experiences of being in front of a public speaker who had all the right words, and even had compelling ideas, but just couldn’t command our attention. (In the political arena, think of Al Gore, or Mitt Romney.)

Why not?

Probably because they didn’t have rhythm (or rather, they had it—because we all do—but they didn’t bring it to their public speaking.

On the other hand, rhythm is a big part of a certain president’s rhetorical success.

How I Learned to Find My Own Rhythm

As a music student back in Boston, I worked to develop my own sense of rhythm by:

• Taking dance classes (loved those dance classes, and learned so much about music from them!).
• Taking improv classes (which I sucked at, being an overly cerebral control freak; but since improv is all about the rhythm you establish with your scene partners, it still helped).
• And tapping my foot in rhythm whenever I could.
  • While driving my car, I tapped my left foot “in time” to learn how to hold a steady “beat.”
  • And while standing in line or walking down the street, I tapped my toe, or timed my footsteps, to the rhythm of whatever song I was singing in my head. (There’s a great scene of this happening in the movie “The Full Monty,” which is about—among other things—a group of not-very-musical British guys teaching themselves to be strippers.)

You Don’t Have to Go That Far to Find Your Own Rhythm!

For those of us who can’t prioritize taking classes, here are three simple ways to work on connecting with your natural sense of rhythm:

1. Notice how your body moves when you’re listening to music that you love—and apply that to public speaking

Whether it’s Mozart or Megan Thee Stallion, the question you want to ask is: Which part of me is moving? Is it my head? My hips? My shoulders? My feet? All of the above, or something totally different?

Could you let that part of your body move a little when you’re delivering a speech?

Or better yet, for a fun exercise, can you practice your speech while playing the song or symphony that made your body move?

I know this might sound strange, but mentally associating a message or speech with music that you love is going to help you see (and hear) your speech’s rhythmic potential differently.

2. Change the pace when you’re talking, to find your rhythmic comfort zone

One characteristic of your natural rhythm is pace—whether you speak quickly, slowly, or in between.

By pushing yourself to speed up or slow down when you’re talking, you’ll notice something about how fast or slow your internal rhythm really wants to go. (And you don’t have to do this exercise with other people; you can talk out loud to yourself! :-))

3. Try this “25 x 25 in ’25” Nursery Rhyme exercise

As you may know, I’m a big fan of using inconsequential topics to practice public speaking. The idea is that, if the content is silly, you won’t be trying to “perfect” the content. Instead, you can think about the actual skill you’re practicing.

So…nursery rhymes, anyone?