About ten years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Sandy Linver, the founder of Speakeasy, Inc and the author of the book, Speak and Get Results: The Complete Guide to Presentations and Speeches That Work in Any Business Situation. Sandy’s presentation was on how to give presentations.

During the Q&A, someone asked what to do if you are called in, at the last minute, to substitute on a presentation for which you don’t know the content. Sandy’s response was quick, simple, and clear. You should never do a presentation on a topic that you don’t fully understand.

I’ve often thought about her response. It seems as though true understanding has given way to detailed notes pages and “message point” documents designed to allow anyone to deliver a message.

But there is a problem with such tools. They don’t replace understanding. If the only difference between a presenter and his or her audience is that one has pre-read the script, your communication or training event is going to fall short. As soon as someone asks a question that wasn’t anticipated or wants more detail, the conversation is over.

Unfortunately, the remedy in such situations is usually to try to anticipate more questions and pack more detail into the notes or message points. The result isn’t more effective communication. Rather, the communication becomes more mechanical and lifeless to the receiver. A good communicator brings life and meaning to message points and notes. He or she doesn’t simply recite them.

I’ve been in many situations where I’ve been asked to over simplify the content of a presentation so that any leader can be pulled in to teach it. While that makes it easier for the leader, it short-changes the participants.

If a topic is important enough to warrant your people’s time and attention, it should be important enough to have a qualified person deliver it. There are plenty excuses for why leaders aren’t ready or able to deliver such messages. But, those are just excuses.

If you or your leaders do not have enough understanding to communicate with or train your people, find someone who does.

Being two minutes smarter than your audience doesn’t help. They could have read the notes pages or message points just as well as you. A leader’s job is to create meaning and make connections. Anyone can read a script.

Brad Kolar is the President of Kolar Associates, a leadership consulting and workforce productivity consulting firm. He can be reached at brad.kolar@kolarassociates.com.