This blog was originally published on Forbes as Michelle Obama Glides Past A Teleprompter Glitch on Saturday, October 29, 2016.
During this intensely competitive election year, First Lady Michelle Obama has delivered six campaign speeches, each of which has drawn rave reviews for her stirring content and powerful delivery.
However, her estimable rhetorical skills were challenged during her most recent event last Thursday in North Carolina when, about a dozen minutes into her speech, her teleprompter malfunctioned.
None among the thousands of people in the audience at Wake Forest University and the millions watching on live television was aware of the glitch and it was not mentioned in the press. The only indication of the problem was when she started looking down at the hard copy of the speech. Several times, her hands leafed through the pages to find her place, but her voice and words never skipped a beat. After a minute or two, it was clear that the teleprompter began working again because her eyes focused only up and out to the audience.
Two weeks earlier, when Donald Trump’s teleprompter failed during a campaign speech, he dismantled the device mid-speech, exclaiming, “That means the company doing the teleprompter … didn’t do a good job. So I won’t pay them!”
Even without malfunctions, using a teleprompter is a challenge in how smoothly the speaker moves back and forth between the two transparent panels flanking the lectern. During the 2008 election, Senator John McCain, who is well-known for his shoot-from-the-hip, straight talk speaking style, became uncharacteristically robotic giving this speech from a teleprompter.
Even a single teleprompter presents challenges. During this 2013 speech, Senator Marco Rubio was suddenly stricken by a case of dry mouth and took an infamously awkward sip of water.
Michelle Obama’s smooth handling of her glitch was no accident: according to U.S. News,, she consults with a coach and—surprise, surprise—also rehearses her speech many times over.
It showed.
This blog was originally published on Forbes as Michelle Obama Glides Past A Teleprompter Glitch on Saturday, October 29, 2016.