Kevin Rudd’s ‘pre-cooked meal’ speaking explained

Kevin Rudd was on the Tony Jones Q & A show this past week. Rudd displayed ‘pre-cooked meal’ speaking in his responses to questions. Let me explain. In those cooking shows, the cook demonstrates the steps and ingredients to use in cooking a meal. At the end of the demonstration he/she will show you previously prepared example of what the final dish should look like. When Rudd speaks, he delivers a similar pre-cooked meal response. He’s not present in the moment – just giving you a pre-prepared vignette he’s prepared earlier.  Listeners get a vague sense that he is not really there at all.

A person’s speaking has to give the listener the sense that they’re present with you, right now. That’s a key to great speech communication.