Reading Time: 8 minutes  

This is part 16 of a 19-part blog series on Orals Coaching. To see the previous blogs, click here. In this blog and the next three, we’ll examine some of the most common presenter pitfalls I’ve encountered while coaching oral presentations. We'll look at how seemingly small presentation habits can influence evaluator perceptions and discuss ways to improve overall presentation performance.

The Perils of scripting 

As soon as she started her slides, I knew something was wrong. The speaker was an accomplished senior engineer that the client considered critical to the program’s success. She was perfect for her key position and a ringer for the presentation team. She was naturally shy and introverted and had a slight stutter.  

The problem I was encountering was paradoxical, she sounded assertive, articulate, and showed no signs of a stutter. This was unexpected. Something was off.

When I coach static presentations, I warn the team that I will not allow reading scripts and that I’ll know right away if they are using scripts. This does not deter them from generating long-winded and overly technical paragraphs of speaking points. Because so often I coach teams virtually, the first time I get the hear the team in action happens on a conference call and I can’t see their notes.  Even still, it is obvious that they are reading.

In this situation, I could not see her notes and confirm my suspicions. She has a long section and what started as a dynamic presentation soon became a boring monologue. As it got more and more painful to listen to, I finally stopped her and asked her if she was reading verbatim from her notes. Clearly busted, she admitted it and insisted that this was her standard process for presentations and that it would get better. Against my better judgement, I allowed her to use the script for the following 2 virtual practices, and she dialed in her script to meet the time requirement. On the first live rehearsal, when she went without notes, her stutter returned, and her part went long as she stretched to remember her script.  

She had to start over just a week before the presentation to the government.

As a coach, I learned my lesson. Ditch the scripts.  

Reading Communicates Lack of Understanding

Beyond having to start over after using scripts as a crutch, there is a more insidious reason that scripts don’t work.  When someone is positioned as an expert in their field and they are reading from a script, the evaluator will wonder if the speaker is really an expert at all. 

Training With a Script

My clients are not professionally trained actors. The presentation is not a play or TV show. Actors not only have trainined their brains to be great at remembering their lines, but they also have weeks to memorize their lines and rehearse prior to going live. Even in the very rare event that a presentation team has months to practice, everyone on the team has their daily work, a family, and a life to lead. On top of that, the majority of the practice sessions happen the week prior to the presentation to the government. Over a 5-day practice calendar, they will make countless refinements and changes to the speaker points. Rewriting a script and then memorizing the changes would take way too long to do. 

Writing, Reading and Speaking Extemporaneously

Human beings are blessed with a very complex brain, and we use different parts of our brain for different functions. As it turns out, we don’t write the same way we talk and use somewhat of a different part of our brain when we are speaking extemporaneously than when we are reading. This is why there are script writers whose only job is to take the narrative of books and turn it into something that would be a live play.    

Emotions Matter

Emotions impact how attentive the evaluator will be. Studies show that memory and emotions are tightly coupled. Reading your script without emotions sounds a lot like the Charlie Brown teacher going “wah wah wah wah wah”. Evaluators naturally tune out when presented with a monotone reader. This matches the common presentation advice to not read the slides verbatim. This isn't  just because the TEB can read it themselves. Don’t read the slides or a script because reading the slides is uninteresting and boring and everyone stops listening.  

Exception: Prerecorded proposal videos 

Before the recent changes to the FAR that exclude proposal videos, some RFPs required a video of the proposal presentation. In this very specialized situation, we would write the script and use a teleprompter and “voice over” techniques to merge the audio file with the presentation. The problem was that watching the replay on a screen and with the audio through speakers, the appearance of energy and enthusiasm would be reduced. I would coach the team to go really BIG with emotions just to make the video seem normal energy. Luckily, we could have the team do small parts of the presentation at a time with ample breaks between takes.   

Exception: Virtual Short Format Presentations  

Scripting has crept into virtual presentations when the amount of content required to be compliant in a very short time introduces risk of not completing the presentation. In this case, when someone is struggling to consistently brief what is needed, we draft up a script for them to read.  While it is obvious that they are reading, at least we no longer have the risk of non-compliance or getting cut off. 

Next Steps

Strong oral presentations are won in delivery, not just content. Over-reliance on scripts can flatten energy, reduce authenticity, and weaken audience connection. The best presenters focus on clarity, confidence, and speaking naturally under pressure, not reading verbatim from notes. With the right coaching and practice, teams can break script dependency and deliver with greater presence and impact. Don’t let scripting undermine your performance. Contact Trident today to learn how our expert orals coaching can help your team sharpen delivery and show up fully prepared in the room. Don’t miss Blog 17: Presenter Pitfalls Part 2 – Consulting Speak

Written by  Jeff Everage 

Jeff is the President and Founder of Trident Proposal Management. As a GovCon Oral Presentation Coach for more than 15 years, Jeff has coached more than 100 teams to success. His insights into oral coaching, gained from the trenches of coaching, are designed to support you and your team in your efforts. As a Navy veteran, Jeff resides in Southern California and provides support to clients worldwide as part of our globally dispersed team.