I’ve written before about how I admire the written stylings of Bill Simmons and Malcom Gladwell. In that post, I wondered what the difference was between a good writer and a good speaker.
Last week, I put up a video of Malcolm Gladwell speaking at TED. Much like his books portray him, he is articulate, funny and engaging. He can make something as silly as spaghetti sauce, riveting.
Currently, Bill Simmons is touring the country in promotion of his new book “The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy
Something with it just didn’t seem to work. I know that the first time I heard his voice, I was stunned by how dissimilar it was to the voice I has assigned him in my head while reading his articles. I won’t criticize him here, because he is still a superb writer and I appreciate the thought process he goes through when creating his work. Let’s just say that he helps to prove the idea that good writers are not necessarily good speakers. It’s interesting food for thought if you are trying to become one, or both.
