The secret behind the fluent English speech of Narendra Modi

‘What a speech!’ was my friend’s reaction after our PM’s speech during PSLV launch last year. My uncle was telling ‘Our PM speaks so well in English’. My colleague was of the opinion that ‘He knows good English, but chooses to speak in Hindi, so that he can connect with the larger audience’. 

Today, I was also astonished to see the ease with which he spoke in English at China. But immediately after the speech, there was a question and answer session. While answering the first question, our PM chose to reply in Hindi. This has prompted me to write this article – the secret behind our PM’s ‘extempore’ English speech. 

Our PM reads a written speech! But the technology he uses is so good that most of us feel as if he is speaking extempore. The technology is known as ‘teleprompting’

What is a teleprompter? How does it work?

A teleprompter is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. A teleprompter usually consists of two mirrors that are semi-transparent, each mounted on a small, thin stand, with each mirror set at a 45 degree angle. The text from the monitor is visible on the mirror for the speaker to read. 

(You can compare this with tripod base stand used for fixing video recorder in marriage functions. The pole inserted to the base looks very thin) 

At the base of the mirror is a flat LCD monitor, pointed at the ceiling. It displays the words of speech in a large, typically 56 pt to 72 pt, font. Usually an operator who listens to the speaker controls the speed of the speech and follows along. The operator waits, if the speaker pauses, before moving on. 

Though the speaker can easily read from the mirror, from the audience side it looks like a clear piece of glass because of the anti-reflective coating that is on it. During his speech, the speaker simply looks from one teleprompter to the other. This gives an impression that he is looking at the audience while giving his speech. 

So, the secret behind our PM’s fluent English speech is a teleprompter. He reads from the written documents, exactly like the President of Congress party. In the latter’s case, she reads from the paper directly whereas our PM uses ‘digital connect’ device to read the speech!!!