Unscripted Versus Scripted Speech,

 

Yesterday, in the revealing debate with Donald Trump, Joe Biden was on his own, without a teleprompter – to tell him what to say – and the whole nation has witnessed, that the man, he really is, failed dismally. A seemingly different, articulate Joe Biden was at a rally, today, where he enthusiastically read from a teleprompter. It is now clearer than ever before – thanks to Karine Jean-Pierre, who is so good at clarifying that the president has been very clear – that scripted Joe Biden is a completely different Joe Biden, than the unscripted Joe Biden, because we have all seen and heard, Joe Biden without a script, is like the emperor without any clothes. 

What we are witnessing here, is the difference between unscripted and scripted speech, which I call Embodied Language (EL) and Disembodied Language (DL). In the former, the speaker is on his own, which means, we can all hear, who he really is, naturally, but in the latter, the speaker is a phony, fabricated, robot, who acts from a script. This is the enormous difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden: Donald Trump is natural, while Joe Biden – like Barack Obama – is a cheap-fake. Most importantly, these two candidates represent the quintessential issue of our time: the difference between our EL and DL. Although it has ruled every society since humans became verbal, DL is, whether we acknowledge it or not, on its deathbed, as it isn’t really speech. In DL, speakers pretend to speak, and listeners pretend to listen, but in EL, speakers really speak, and listeners really listen. The issue is not whether Joe Biden has dementia or is unfit for office, but the issue is DL versus EL.   

 

 

To be sure, scripted refers to a presentation or performance, where the dialogue, actions or sequences are prearranged and written down. Unscripted, however, implies spontaneity, where dialogue and events occur naturally or are improvised. In other words, scripted is based on written language, whereas unscripted is based on spoken language. Stated differently, in scripted speech, written speech is considered to be more important than spoken speech or to put it precisely, the false assumption that written speech is more important spoken speech, is the reason why DL is occurring everywhere twenty-four-seven.

 

Another consequential aspect of our common, unconscious DL is, that because it is scripted speech, we are never in the here and now and our listening and understanding, only involves the ‘listening’, to what we are supposed to hear, and things are only ‘understood’ in the way a topic was presented. Surely, DL is always about indoctrination, whereas EL is about freedom. Of course, in scripted performances – which, in my opinion, shouldn’t be considered speech – actors rehearse lines, written by someone else, but in unscripted settings, individuals speak and react in real time, without any prior planning. Joe Biden was a full week in hiding, while being prepared for this so-called debate. Every dumb dull thing he managed to say wasn’t his own.

 

Peculiarly, democrats, progressives, liberals or Left-wingers, who, presumably, are the protectors of democracy and, who, therefore, are into helping - which is, of course, gas-lighting - their fellow men, insist on scripted, acted and phony speech, while conservatives, republicans and Right-wingers, are more into actually saying it as it is and more likely to have EL. There is no mystery there, because the former is into the outdated group-behavior, which I call DL, while the latter is into freedom of the individual, which requires responsibility, accountability, independence and intelligence. So, what we are witnessing here, is not communist/socialist/Marxist ideology versus republican/conservative/capitalist ideology, but this is a compare & contrast between our DL and EL.  

 

Writing a speech is a process, which, obviously, excludes the audience, but delivering a speech involves and incorporates the audience in the experience. However, it is due to DL, that we overemphasize the presumed importance of speeches, which are, no matter how you want to put it, monologues. If we are going to have EL, there will be no more speeches by anyone, as we are truly engaging in dialogue. If we are going to be able to have EL, it will be because we have put the monologues of DL to an end. In DL, we speak at each other, but in EL we speak with each other and speakers can become listeners and listeners become speakers, at any time, without any rules, without any hierarchy of who is more or less important than others.  

 

The difference between DL and EL is critical, because we are, naturally, more interested in listening to speakers, who seem to, or who actually do, demonstrate a sincere interest in their audience. In DL, speakers are only able to create the impression, that they are interested in their audience, but in EL, speakers are their own audience first, and consequently, perceive themselves, as their audience perceives them. When we speak spontaneously, with authentic conviction and awareness – that is, when we engage in EL – it signals, we have something to say, something we feel strongly about, we are willing to speak about and truly stand for. A real leader is someone, who is capable of speaking in an unscripted manner.

 

Someone, who has unscripted speech isn’t into dominating, manipulating, exploiting, coercing, distracting or humiliating others, as he or she is always listening to him or herself while he or she speaks. Thus, in unscripted speech or in EL, we master our speech, and we don't want or tolerate any followers, because everyone is their own master during EL. As previously stated, EL is the language of the free individual, while our usual DL, is the language of the oppressive collective. Unless people – who consider themselves to be free – acquire EL, they aren’t free and they are endlessly trying, in vain, to address our DL with DL.    

 

I am in favor of Donald Trump, and I am against Joe Biden, because funny, upbeat Donald Trump engages and inspires his audience, while boring Joe Biden is trying to be perceived as a fantastic speaker, with his propagandistic speech, which was written for him, not even by him. Joe Biden desperately, pathetically, demandingly, and of course, negatively, wants to impress or convince his audience, while Donald Trump speaks freely, creatively and energetically. I use the difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, to point out the immense difference between our DL and EL.  

 

Joe Biden’s tiring, unnatural voice, is a voice of the past. He is the embodiment of DL, which is no longer valid. DL is group-behavior, while EL is individual behavior. Joe Biden comes across like the annoying voice on a robocall, intrusive, seemingly friendly, but noticeably stilted and artificial. He is so eager to be right and to get the audience’s approval, that he doesn’t have the time, to process what is happening while he speaks. With Donald Trump, however, you can clearly see and hear, how he constantly, enjoys processes and interprets his audience response.