I proved how little I know about politics once in my life when I ran for the House of Representatives in 1980 and got the living "health" beat out of me.

It was a brilliant move on my part. I ran as a Democrat in Republican-dominated South Carolina the year Jimmy Carter took on Ronald Reagan. I got beat so bad that a friend of mine came up to me and said "if I didn't have any more friends than that, I'd carry a gun if I were you." I've since found it's cheaper to buy a politician than it is to be one.

That was my first and last foray into the political arena, and while I don't know much about politics, I have been a student of verbal communications over the years. It occurs to me that we have a very interesting battle shaping up for the Presidency this fall.

On the one hand, you have John McCain, the Elmer J. Fudd of the two candidates. His style is to drone on in a voice that can best be described as "dreary." He doesn't even sound interested in his own stories, which, on their own merits, are absolutely compelling. Make no mistake; boring affects both viewers and voters.

To be fair, we live in a world of sound bites. Stump speeches of today are the opportunity for the cameras to capture the sound bites. Rarely will they ever give a full and fair hearing to all of a candidate's ideas.

Some of my colleagues in the speaking business actually resist the temptation to have a demo video for clients. Their thought is simple: the buyer isn't looking for the winner; they're trying to eliminate the losers. The same could happen this fall.

Just look at what John McCain went through. His military resume alone is a terrific story that needs little embellishment. Perhaps it is a lack of real experience on the platform. Perhaps it is a lack of "how-to" training on public speaking. Whatever it is, Elmer could use a boost.

And then there's Barack Obama, whose own story is equally interesting, albeit for entirely different reasons. He's young and handsome and had invigorated a brand new voter segment. On the face of it, it's old verses new; conservative versus liberal; no pun intended… white versus black.

In actuality, his speaking style cries out for help too. Have you ever counted the number of uh's and um's and unfinished sentences Obama has in a presentation? That's what we do every week in our Toastmasters Club. How are you going to improve if you don't know that this is a genuine problem in your presentation?

The political pundits often marvel at Obama's stage presence, and while good looks and charisma go a long way, frankly, a weekly visit to his local Toastmasters Club would do both Obama and McCain a ton of good.

Part of McCain's problem is attitudinal. You almost get the impression you're asking too much for him to explain himself. It almost appears he's holding back something. Obama's dilemma, on the other hand, is sometimes he doesn't know when to shut up.

Neither one of these guys is going to capture the World Championship of Public Speaking, but they can significantly improve their presentations with a bit of tweaking. Let's face it, if this was about issues alone, all each would have to do is publish a white paper. It's about substance and style!

In the speaking business, we are fond of saying "play to your strengths." McCain's strengths are clearly in the area of questions and answers. Open the floor and go to it. Obama gets himself in trouble in this area and can't seem to dance quickly enough. My guess is that McCain might prove to be a better debater when the pair square off this fall.

The debate arrangement doesn't lend itself to the rah-rah format that is served up at the average political rally where they applaud after every sentence. Some quick tips for McCain: smile more often, use a little humor and change your voice inflection and modulation since you don't gesture very well.

Some tips for Obama: stick with the script, don't stray, and be inspirational. It's what you do best. Don't take a knife to a gun fight. You may find yourself in that situation in a one-on-one debate.