Energy Is Essential The most important element of excellent speaking is energy. Speaking has been described asenthusiastic conversation, projected at a higher level of energy, to more people, and over a greater distance. Some years ago, I spoke to 3,000 people at a new hotel in Orlando. My talk was a major part of a four-day conference. Because the sound systems were new, they hooked me up with two separate microphones, just to be sure. Within five minutes of beginning my talk, both microphones stopped working. But the room was jammed with people and the schedule was tight.