Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer held an April 27 press briefing on Covid-19. The press briefing overall took around one hour and was mainly dedicated to COVID-19 related issues. The briefing had three main parts: Governor Whitmer’s pitch, followed by experts’ reports presented by Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Gerry Anderson, and Wright Lassiter, and a Q&A session (Wood TV8, 2020). Governor Whitmer demonstrated the ability to communicate her message to her audience successfully. Her pitch was well structured, supported by facts, and presented appropriately. As COVID-19 had hit the State of Michigan particularly hard, Governor Whitmer’s attention to the details was significant. She used printed reports and invited experts to support her performance and ensure people could get the best possible answers to their concerns. Governor Whitmer is a talented and experienced speaker; thus, this paper will analyze her speech in more detail.
Governor Whitmer opened her speech by informing her audience regarding order 2020-63, which had been signed. A short explanation of the order’s importance followed by the clear statement that they continue to flatten the COVID-19 curve. Within the first 40 seconds, Governor Whitmer managed to demonstrate her empathy towards the listeners and introduced them to the main subject. Grabbing the attention of the listeners, she provides the next valuable insights dedicated to business owners. To ensure the message will reach the audience in an intended manner, it was adequately articulated and supported by all necessary information. It took her about 40 seconds to cover the topic; her clear, rhythmic voice and constant eye contact with the audience benefit to channel the message.
As Governor Whitmer moved to the next part of her speech dedicated to health insurance via The Healthy Michigan Plan, she again mentioned the audience at the core of the message. Governor Whitmer did a great job constantly gathering her audience around a key message delivered. Her speech took around 12 minutes, and she covered more than a dozen topics. In general, all of them were well structured and professionally presented in the described above manner. Nevertheless, Governor Whitmer’s speech had some issues, which often follow speakers who work under enormous pressure (Luoma-aho & Canel, 2020). For instance, during her speech, she stammered a few times. She worked with loads of numbers, names, and facts, and it is not surprising she had some minor difficulties in presenting them. Ideally, a speaker has to rehearse her speech until it is perfect, but unexpected interference can negatively affect the whole performance (Viera, 2019). Thus, it is crucial to learn how to stay on track no matter what, and Governor Whitmer demonstrated a remarkable ability to do that. Each time she faltered, she instantly regained the audience’s attention due to the intonation, the power of her voice, and the contact with the audience. It is also worth noting that her gestures always remained calm and relaxed.
Governor Whitmer’s press briefing on Covid-19 held on April 27 is an example of a well-prepared speech; there, the speech’s general elements help maintain the audience’s attention and effectively convey the message. Over the years of professional practice, Governor Whitmer has developed self-confidence, the ability to work with an audience and report the facts and numbers while avoiding monotony and disinterest. Her speech was short and concise, which contributed to the assimilation of complex information by the audience. Due to her speech, Governor Whitmer managed to maintain her professional image and show people how the state and society cope with the current challenges.
References
Luoma-aho, V., & Canel, M. J. (Eds.). (2020). The handbook of public sector communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Viera, E. T., Jr. (2019). Public relations planning: A strategic approach. Routledge.
Wood TV8. Gov. Whitmer coronavirus update – April 27, 2020 [Video]. YouTube.