Faced with a nation weary of war and largely opposed to his policies; a Congress unwilling to grant him the authority he requested; and a world unsure of the United States’ position, on September 10 President Obama chose a time-honored method of making his case to America and the world: he gave a speech.

When the speech was originally scheduled, the President intended to use it as an argument in favor of military intervention in Syria.  Events, however, interceded, and the President did not have to call for immediate action: but he did use his speech to lay the groundwork for such action should it become necessary in the future.  He also attempted to answer many of the questions he believed the American public had about his plans, and laid out his thought processes in a uniquely personal way.

Whether military action will eventually be necessary, and whether the President’s appeal changed the minds of Americans or fell on deaf ears, is not yet known.  What we do know, however, is that by choosing this method of communicating to his fellow citizens, he demonstrated there is continued life in the speech, that most ancient of communication methods.   

Despite the universal availability of communication devices of global range and light speed capabilities such as smart phones, blackberries, and the Internet, there are times you’ve got to forget about emails and podcasting and simply talk to other people.  As we point out in our book, meetings still exist; lawyers still speak to juries; and there are thousands of other occasions when the personal dimension of a face-to-face discussion, a group briefing, or a full-scale speech is just what’s needed to get your point across.

But, as the President well knows, a speech is not a reading exercise, but a performance. In the President’s case, he was well aware that if he bored his television or radio audience, they could easily reach for the remote and turn on ESPN or HBO or one of the hundreds of other entertainment options available to them.  In your case, giving a boring speech is an open invitation to listeners to turn on their smartphones and start reading and answering emails, or play “Words With Friends,” or read the day’s newspapers online.

The verbal content of a speech is less important, perhaps considerably so, than how a speaker looks and sounds.  A study by a UCLA professor indicated that audience perceptions of a speech are based 55 percent on a speaker’s appearance, 33 percent on the way a speaker sounds, and only 7 percent on the actual words of the speech.  (Of course, it’s unlikely that the speeches surveyed had to do with the question of whether or not America was going to war.  A subject like that tends to focus listeners’ minds to a greater extent than most.)

The President chose, for reasons known only to him and his public affairs consultants, to deliver his speech from the East Room of the White House rather than the desk of the Oval Office, from which many previous Presidents have spoken to the nation.  Again, the jury is still out on which is the better, more “presidential” backdrop—but it does show that the White House was aware of the importance of atmospherics in the way in which the President’s speech would be received.

Every manager, even the most podium shy, will be called upon to give speeches and other presentations from time to time.  Giving great speeches and presentations remains an important part of every manager’s armament—from the President of the United States to an assembly-line foreman. You may not need to convince a nation to go to war—but paying attention to delivery and appearance will help convince your listeners of the correctness of your point of view, whatever it may be.