Interesting... because I think that Musk is one of the worst public speakers. But, that doesn’t matter, because what he has to say is so damn important.
Since I saw his presentation on Starship, I have started considering the “polish” of a presentation, and the “skill” of public speaking, to be a negative signal (the speaker wants us to focus on the form, instead of on the content).
Part of the reason I find Musk endearing (I know, controversial opinion in these parts) is that he doesn't come across as fake. Every time I hear a different CEO give a speech I think to myself how many speech classes they've taken, how often they rehearsed this, and that a big component of their job is just acting to project a good image. And they're getting paid tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for that.
Musk often just says what comes to mind. He clearly doesn't often rehearse or sometimes even prepare. He comes across as human and relatable. Not just some dude in a suit that has a team of secretaries of lawyers and hasn't had to flush his own toilet in 20 years.
Since I saw his presentation on Starship, I have started considering the “polish” of a presentation, and the “skill” of public speaking, to be a negative signal (the speaker wants us to focus on the form, instead of on the content).