The Rebbe's Ma'amar

Played a non-Lubavitch Bar Mitzvah tonight where the boy's rebbe, who is a Lubavitch chossid, taught the boy to recite the rebbe's ma'amar instead of a speech. As seems to be the custom, the Bar Mitzvah boy recited it at warp speed. I've seen this before and don't get it. What's the point? No appeared to be listening, and even if they were, there was no way that they could have followed it. It's especially frustrating because the crowd could have benefited from a nice simple, but meaningful dvar torah.