I give the ClassAct Award for the best thank you speech at the Oscars to Christopher Plummer.

The man is 82 years young. No wincing in pain as he rose from his seat. No creaky knees up the steps to the stage, as waves of affection from the hall broke across his shoulders. We see Max von Sydow and Queen Meryl beaming in his direction. He takes the statue and coos to it, “You’re only two years older than me, my darling. Where have you been all my life?”

Such longing. Such humor. Such self-effacement. A “pretend” private moment in front of the known world (which is what actors do for a living.) He had us at the start.

But then he lands another self-mocking blow. He turns from his faux private moment and confesses his actor’s vanity. “When I first emerged from my mother’s womb, I was already rehearsing my Academy thank-you speech. But it was so long ago, mercifully for you I’ve forgotten it.”

So nice of him to be concerned about our experience of his moment in the sun. (Well, why not? He’s an actor, giving a performance.)

And then comes the tell-tale sign that he has not forgotten to prepare for this moment. He is a great artist, actor and writer, and he links ‘forgetting’ to the next important point.

“But I haven’t forgotten who to thank. The Academy, of course, for this extraordinary honor, and my fellow nominees: Kenneth, Nick, Jonah, dear Max. I’m so proud to be in your company.”

I believe this is called the hook-and-eye technique, something Abraham Lincoln was also skilled at. Highly effective for spoken communication, as it builds a bridge and continues a theme from one point to the next.

One more bit of self-mockery. He declared, “ I would share this award with [his co-star] if I had any decency, but I don’t.” Another laugh from the enchanted crowd.

How wonderful that he took the time to craft these simple and intuitive remarks, rehearse them, and include the names of his fellow nominees. How remarkable that he could remember them at the age of 82. And notice that the audience gave him a spontaneous burst of applause when he rattled off the names of his competitors. Graciousness, even when rehearsed, moves the souls of men.

He went on to thank those who made the movie. He expressed pride in his daughter, and then awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to his wife for, “coming to my rescue every day of my life.”

The camera focused on her. She is beautiful, and made an expression as if to say, “Oh, don’t be silly.”

Such art. Such humanity. Such British lack of ostentation. Humble in victory. Acknowledgement of others. He made us glad that he won.

Such is the power of a tiny little speech.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.

Jim Fyfe is a friend of mine and a very funny man. He has been an actor, a comedian and is now an educator.

In his younger days, he was asked to judge a contest for students of architecture who were assigned the task of designing a comedy club.

There were two phases to the contest. First, Jim was to look at the models by himself and rank them. Second, he would meet with the students and ask questions as though he were a client. Then he would deliberate and award the prize.

When he met the student whose model he’d ranked #1, Jim was disappointed in his attitude and what he had to say. The guy was sloppily dressed, unshaven, and too cool to care.  He held his hand over his mouth while he talked and showed no enthusiasm for his own work.

Jim changed his mind and awarded the prize to another model.

You could say, “Who cares what the student was like? His model was the best!”  That’s rational, but human decisions are not always rational. How you come across speaks loudly too.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.

When I was 12 years old, I went to a canoe camp in northern Quebec. Thanks Mom and Dad. It was great.

We paddled for thirty days straight, pitching camp every night, foraging and cutting our own firewood. I was taught how to split logs by a master axman. In the time it takes for a squirrel to twitch its tail he could split logs into firewood, firewood into kindling, and kindling into pencils.

His rules for us were simple: spread your feet, wear steel-toed boots, go with the grain, and keep the axe sharp. The most dangerous thing to a wood splitter is a dull axe, because dull axes bounce off wood and hit you in the leg.

Can we stretch these rules to apply to public speaking? Let me try.

First, as good presenters, we’re trying to hit the audience where it counts. We need to be talking about something that they care about, so they’ll open up and listen. That’s going with the grain.

When we deliver a speech or presentation, we need to take a stand, have a point of view, and attack the issue in a balanced manner, giving voice to both sides of the argument. That’s presenting with your feet apart—taking a balanced perspective.

Public speakers also need to have thick skin—rhino hide, even—to have the courage to speak in the first place, to advance our opinions and push through any skepticism, prejudice, or inertia. And we need to be able to respond to antagonistic questions from our skeptical listeners. These presentation skills represent our steel-toed shoes.

Finally, public speakers and presenters need to strike the heart of the matter with force, to express our opinions as fact, so that our points sink deep. We can’t be wishy-washy. This is our sharp axe.

Splitting wood is a deeply satisfying activity. When you hit the wood in just the right place, and the log pops open, it feels good.

Public speaking is more complicated. It’s torture to prepare, but if you do happen to build a talk that turns you on, it’s exciting to deliver it, nice to get the compliments afterwards, and satisfying that you did well something that is difficult.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.