Michelle Obama Coached On Teleprompter Too

There's one less thing President Obama has over his wife Michelle: mastery of the Teleprompter.

Speech coach Christine Jahnke, author of the new book The Well-Spoken Woman, reveals that she taught the first lady how to use a Teleprompter in advance of her pitch in 2009 to the Olympic Committee in Denmark to pick Chicago for the 2016 Olympics, won by Rio de Janeiro.

"She is obviously a fine speaker," Jahnke says. "But the Olympic speech was on a Teleprompter, and she was less familiar with that technique." [Read: Michelle Obama's Africa Trip Cost More than $424,142.]

Jahnke says Obama rehearsed four times and made time to do so even amid important meetings. "A well-spoken woman takes a speech seriously and prepares," Jahnke says.

Like no president before, President Obama is a huge fan of the Teleprompter, using it at both formal and social events. So it's natural for the rest of the family to follow suit.

Jahnke has some tips for the first lady Obama as she prepares to hit the campaign trail for her husband's re-elect. "What she did well in 2008, she should be doing again, which is showing his personal side," Jahnke says. "She brings so much warmth when she is talking about the family and their experiences as the first family. She does that so well that through her we see that side of him that we don't usually see when he is giving a speech to the joint members of Congress," adds the speech coach.

[See photos of Michelle Obama.]

Jahnke, based in Washington, coaches female politicians from both sides of the aisles. Her all-time favorite politician was former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

"She knew she had to hone her techniques," Jahnke says. "She was a champion debater and she knew how to use self-deprecating humor."

Another woman Jahnke has her eyes on is GOP presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann. Jahnke says that Bachmann reminds her of former Vice President Dick Cheney in that she does well in a control environment. "But there's an inconsistency when she is out in front of a live audience," Jahnke says. Like Cheney, she adds, Bachmann is most comfortable in a debate format and on Sunday morning talk shows.

• See photos of Michelle Obama.
• See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.
• See photos of the Obamas abroad.

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