Hamlet is a Speech Coach

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Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare’s play called Hamlet, written around 1603.   He hires a bunch of actors to put on a play that he’s written, and he gives them coaching on how to speak their lines.

Four-hundred and six years later, what he says remains good advice for presenters too. 

So here’s what happening in the scene.  After he’s told them not to wave their arms around too much, he tells them to loosen up, but also make sure that their gestures relate to what they’re saying.

“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your

tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this

special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature”

To be most effective, and to look natural, gestures should come before the key word you’re emphasizing, or in the middle of the word.

Jimmy Carter had trouble with this on one occasion.  He was speaking from the Oval Office to the American people, saying that the economy was “heading up.”  Only after he finished the phrase did he move his arm to point skyward.  It looked as if his mind was not connected to his body.  Or that he had rehearsed a gesture, but forgot to do it, and tacked it on at the end when he remembered.

Finally, Hamlet says to his actors, “Don’t overstep modesty,” or words to that effect.  What does that mean? 

It means that when in front of an audience it’s best to express passion artfully with your voice, rather than with large, emphatic gestures.

President Obama is highly effective at this.  He communicates passion with his voice, even though his body is relaxed and still. The combination communicates power and control.  

To read more about Hamlet as a speech coach, go to executivespeechcoachnj.com.

Sims Wyeth is a private speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in executive speech coaching and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.

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