The power of a well-delivered speech can be truly incredible. It has the power to inform, motivate and uplift and can stay in the memory a long time after the speaker has stepped down from their platform.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of three of most famous speeches that have ever been made, together with the lessons they teach us about public speaking.
1. Winston Churchill: ‘Fight them on the beaches’
According to a list published in Time Magazine, Churchill’s famous wartime speech, made in 1940, is one of the best known and most memorable speeches of all time. It captured the imagination of the nation and helped to motivate Britain to keep fighting and, ultimately, win.
By the sheer force of his language, Churchill persuaded the nation to give their all in service to their country. Constantly repeating the phrase ‘we shall’ encouraged the audience to band together. It’s a useful technique that anyone can adopt to create the sense of community and belonging.
2. Martin Luther King: ‘I have a dream’
A beautiful lyrical speech packed with biblical language and startling imagery, Martin Luther King’s iconic speech continues to live on. He may not have had any formal training as a motivational speaker, but he instinctively knew how to attract, and retain, the attention of a global audience.
The power of emotive language should never be underestimated. It’s something that professional speakers, such as https://www.adventureman.org/motivational-speaker/, instinctively understand, and it encourages feelings of mutual support within the audience. Simple heartfelt messages will always find their target.
3 King George VI: Address to the nation in 1939
On the eve of war, King George VI overcame his well-documented speech impediment to deliver a short but highly memorable address to a national radio audience. It’s a short but highly succinct speech, being only just over 400 words along, but is no less memorable for that.
Packed with inclusive words, such as ‘I’ and ‘we’, the speech helped to unite the nation, making listeners feel that they were all in it together against ‘them’ – otherwise known as the Germans. Unifying language encourages a sense of belonging, helping to promote feelings of togetherness. But King George VI also spoke of the huge significance and importance of the announcement too, which stressed its historical credentials.
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