By Abby Sheridan
We included Dana Canedy on our "Best Public Speakers" list because of her excellent vocal variety, motivationally moving vocal style, assertiveness and use of key points in a simple yet effective manner.
Dana is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and a former New York Times reporter In 2017. She became the first woman and person of color to be an administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. Most recently she was the Senior Vice President Publisher at Simon & Schuster. And she's also the author of best-selling memoir, "A Journal for Jordan".
We reviewed Dana Canedy's interview with Goldman Sachs in 2018 titled "Dana Canedy: The Pulitzer Prizes and the Power of Storytelling", where she discusses why a free press is integral to American democracy and the role the Pulitzers play in both celebrating creative expression and challenging conventional notions of art
What are the main communication takeaways?
Vocal Variety: Her tone is both assertive and motivational. She made her points directly and clearly with concise and simple language making it easy for any audience to follow. Her message was easily heard with her volume and vocal delivery being loud with variety in pitch and tone.
Key Points and Facts: Dana backed up all of her questions with well thought out facts and opinions, using 1 or 2 examples to contribute to each point. (examples seen at 5:00 minutes) By keeping her examples short and to the point, she is more effective in holding the attention of her audience.
Expressive Vocal Variety and Storytelling: Dana uses various vocal qualities at appropriate times throughout the interview. When discussing more serious topics such as race, she lowers her tone and keeps her points direct in a more consultative style. Whereas, when she's discussing Kendrick Lamar (9:15-10:00), her pitch raises and moves more freely through her voice to show excitement and joy. This effective use of vocal variety and commitment to storytelling throughout, engages her audience over and over again, allowing them to pick up on more personal and genuine qualities she holds.
How could they improve?
Physicality: Dana was sitting in her chair at an angle towards one hip, most of the interview, with her hands in a closed off position, clasped in front of her. While this position allowed the interview to come across more personal and less formal, it's important to find a grounded position whether the speaker is seated or standing. This allows the body to match the vocal confidence and the speaker to open up even more to their audience.
Use of Filler Words: Probably due to the nature of the interview being less formal, Dana used a lot of filler words such as "you know" and "um" between thoughts. Taking a moment to slow down and think about the question being asked before answering will allow you to come across more confident, paced and less rushed.
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