The Lost Art of the Great Speech

Richard Dowis

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 1999
• ISBN:
  9780814424896
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Communication & Public Speaking

Learn how to give powerful, on-target speeches that capture an audience's attention and drive home a message.

Splashy slides, confident body language, and a lot of eye contact are fine and well. However, if a speech is rambling, illogical, or just plain boring, the impact will be lost. The key is not just in the delivery techniques, but in tapping into the power of language.

Prepared by award-winning writer and journalist Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech covers every essential element of a great speech, including:

• outlining and organizing,
• beginning with a bang,
• making use of action verbs and vivid nouns,
• and handling questions from the audience.

Plus, this authoritative speech-writing guide includes excerpts from some of history's most memorable speeches--eloquent words to contemplate and emulate. Discover how to not only write a great speech, but also how to deliver it even better.

CHAPTER ONE

Opportunity Knocks

Winston Churchill was arguably the most eloquent and dynamic speaker of the twentieth century. During the bleakest days of World War II, the great man used his eloquence and the medium of radio to inspire his countrymen and bolster their resolve to fight on to defeat the seemingly unstoppable Nazi war machine. His words brought hope and courage to millions of Britons who, in those terrible times, had little else to cling to, knowing that the survival of their empire and their way of life was at stake.

Who can forget those ringing Churchillian phrases—“the iron curtain,” “their finest hour,” and his most famous one, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”? That simple but powerful phrase is from a speech Churchill made to Parliament on May 13, 1940, shortly after he became Prime Minister. With that speech, the people of Great Britain and the rest of the world were first made aware of the bulldog determination that was to become Churchill’s trademark. Listen:

You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? It is victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terrors—victory however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

And later, after the Nazis threatened to invade England:

We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.

Powerful, powerful words. Words that literally might have changed the course of history.

Many years after the war, President John F. Kennedy, no mean phrasemaker himself, said of Churchill, “He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.” High praise, indeed, from the man who inspired his own people with “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

You may not aspire to the eloquence of a Churchill or a Kennedy. And it’s extremely unlikely that you will ever have the opportunity to “mobilize the English language and send it into battle.” It is quite likely, however, that you will have the opportunity to make a speech or perhaps to write a speech for someone else to deliver. And you just might be able to use such an opportunity to mobilize the language in the service of your company, church, civic club, political party, or other organization—or perhaps some special cause to which you are committed.

A holistic approach

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably taken a course in public speaking at one time or another. Most courses I’m familiar with concentrate on the techniques of speaking. They’re strong on such topics as posture, voice control, and overcoming fear. These are important topics, and as we continue there’ll be plenty of suggestions for improving your speaking techniques.

This book, however, takes what might be called a holistic approach. By that I mean we consider the whole area of public speaking—from researching and writing your speech and preparing your manuscript to delivering the speech and handling questions from the audience. In addition, we’ll be discussing some things you’re not likely to find in any speech course.

You cannot separate the speech from the speaker or the delivery from the message. No matter how skillful you are at speaking, you will not be a good speaker if you have nothing important to say or if the words and phrases you choose are inappropriate for the occasion. Nor can you be an effective speaker if you do not master the fundamentals of good delivery. Even the unforgettable words of Churchill would have fallen flat if they had come from an orator of less skill.

A logical sequence

In writing this book, I tried to provide instruction in all the various aspects of public speaking. I began the way most speeches begin—with someone being given an opportunity to make a speech.

I know that many people reading this book are especially concerned about the mechanics of delivery, so from time to time, I have included a brief discussion of a way in which you can improve your technique and be more poised and confident when you mount the podium. I call these practical suggestions “Podium Presence” tips.

Make a speech? Me?

Most speeches begin with someone being given the opportunity to make a speech. I like to use the word opportunity when I talk about speaking. An invitation to speak is an opportunity—not something to be avoided like a root canal or an IRS audit. Let’s assume for a moment that you’re the one who has been given the opportunity. I can almost hear you saying, “Yes, but I don’t have anything worthwhile to talk about.”

Nonsense. If somebody didn’t think you had something worthwhile to offer, you would never have been invited to speak. Besides, a subject doesn’t have to be a world-shaker to be interesting. If the subject is appropriate for the audience, and if the speech is well crafted and well delivered, it will be worthwhile.

“Yes, but there are others, experienced speakers, who could do a better job of representing my organization.”

Don’t bet on it. Most of your colleagues probably have the same misgivings that you have about making a speech. In any case, experience isn’t always the best teacher. I know experienced speakers who ought to spend some time looking for ways to improve their speaking techniques. Such people may be asked to speak often because of the positions they hold, not because they’re especially good speakers. One of the most boring speakers I ever heard was the president of a large company. Yet, despite his ineptitude, his name appeared often on programs. An experienced speaker can bore an audience just as easily as a novice can.

“Yes, but I’m scared out of my skull when I have to stand up before a group. I even get nervous when I’m asked to lead my Sunday School class in silent prayer.”

Good line. That kind of humor will help you win your audience over. We’ll talk about the use of humor in public speaking later, and we’ll also give you some practical tips for overcoming fear and nervousness.

You’re not alone

If you shake in your proverbial boots when you have to speak before a group, you’re not alone. Even such great speakers as Lincoln, Churchill, Adlai Stevenson, and the esteemed editor Henry W. Grady suffered from stage fright. Fear of speaking in public shows up in The Book of Lists as one of the fourteen things Americans fear most, along with the fear of high places, the fear of sickness and death, and the fear of insects. Can you guess how the fear of public speaking ranks on that list? Number one.

Sickness and death? That’s way down in sixth place. So, when someone says, I’d rather die than make a speech, he just might be speaking the literal truth.

Although increasing your ability to serve your organization or your special cause is reason enough to improve your ability to write and deliver a speech, there are other substantial benefits.

You gotta believe

Self-confidence is essential. Never doubt for a moment that you have it within yourself to make a great speech. You can move your audience. You can sell them on your point of view. You can even make them laugh, if that’s your goal. Lack of confidence is a common problem with beginning speakers. Even Moses lacked confidence in his speaking ability. The Old Testament relates that when God ordered Moses to lead the Children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, Moses tried to beg off, saying, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast last spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue. . . . Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person.”

And so the Lord sent Charlton Heston.

Carpe diem

Let’s say you’re a junior executive in a large company. One day your boss comes to you and tells you she has to make a twenty-minute talk to a group of customers and wants you to write it for her. Or maybe she has a conflict that day and wants you to pinch-hit and deliver the speech. What do you do? Well, you can arrange to break your arm so you can’t write. Or tell her that your grandmother is planning to die soon and the funeral will be on the date of the speech. But broken arms are painful, and grandmothers can die only so many times.

Or, you can accept the opportunity gratefully to pinch-hit for the boss as a writer or speaker or both. If you do a good job, you’ll not only earn the gratitude of the boss, you’ll enhance your prestige in the company. And if you continue to accept and seek out speaking opportunities, your poise, your self-assurance, even your standing in the company and in the eyes of your colleagues will increase. So will your mastery of other skills that are important in business and professional life.

Write better

Learning to write a good speech will help you write better letters, memos, and other communications. Although speech writing is different from other kinds of writing in the sense that ear appeal is essential, a well-crafted speech has many characteristics that ought to be present in other kinds of writing. A speech must be organized logically so it is easily understandable on the first pass. A letter, memo, or report should be organized the same way. A reader shouldn’t have to reread. A listener can’t go back and relisten. A good speech makes use of active verbs and vivid nouns, which I call “gut” words. A lot of writing would benefit from more of that kind of language.

A good speech often relies on anecdotes and human-interest examples to carry its message—another characteristic that’s appropriate for many kinds of writing.

Although speeches are written primarily to be heard, they are often seen in print as well. Many companies publish their executives’ most important speeches in pamphlet form for distribution to shareholders, customers, and employees. Key speeches are sometimes published in magazines and newspapers, either in whole or in part. In these ways, a speech can have a life far beyond the twenty or thirty minutes the speaker spends in delivering it.

Other benefits

Writing and delivering speeches will make you more aware of your appearance, your posture, and your voice. You’ll learn to enunciate more clearly and pronounce words correctly. You’ll learn to pay more attention to grammar and word usage. Your “people skills” will improve. You’ll become a better listener and more conscious of how words affect you and others.

And here’s something even more important: If you become an accomplished speaker, you will be a more interesting person. As your self-confidence as a speaker grows, so will your self-confidence in other aspects of your business and personal life.

As your ability and confidence grow, you might find that making a speech can actually be fun. Or, if not fun, certainly gratifying. I once asked a frequent speaker if he enjoyed speaking. He answered, “No, but I enjoy having spoken.” In other words, he liked the prestige, the satisfaction, the sense of accomplishment that come from delivering an effective speech. If speaking is a challenge to you, consider the words of the late General George S. Patton: “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”

Speakers, speech writers in short supply

Despite the many advantages of learning the craft of speech making, good speakers are in short supply. Exaggerated fear of facing an audience, lack of confidence, concern about selecting a subject—these and other problems, both real and imagined, conspire to keep many capable people in the audience rather than at the lectern.

In the business world today, good speech writers are much in demand. Busy executives often turn to speech writers for help, either because they themselves are not good writers or because they just don’t have time to devote to writing their own speeches. Many large corporations employ full-time speech writers, who are well-paid, respected, and have the ear of management. Other companies retain public relations firms or freelance writers to provide speech-writing help for their top executives. It isn’t at all unusual for a speech writer to command a fee of three, four, or five thousand dollars or more for crafting a twenty- to thirty-minute speech. And you must believe me when I say that a really good speech is cheap at those prices, considering what a good speech can do for a company. Or, to be negative about it, what a bad speech can do to a company.

Clearly, you are a person who wants to become a more proficient speaker or speech writer, or both. Otherwise, you would not have invested your money in this book. If yo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Chapter One: Opportunity Knocks
• Chapter Two: Before You Speak
• Chapter Three: Preparing to Write
• Chapter Four: Outlining and Organizing
• Chapter Five: Beginning Well
• Chapter Six: The Best of References
• Chapter Seven: Watch Your Language
• Chapter Eight: Write It Right, Say It Right
• Chapter Nine: “Secrets” of the Pros
• Chapter Ten: Wisdom of the Ages
• Chapter Eleven: Get Personal
• Chapter Twelve: Statistics and Other Lies
• Chapter Thirteen: Closing the Speech
• Chapter Fourteen: “I Have the Honor to Present . . .”
• Chapter Fifteen: More Than Words Can Say
• Chapter Sixteen: The Final Stages
• Chapter Seventeen: And So to Speak
• Appendix A: An Editing Checklist for Speech Writers
• Appendix B: Resources for Speakers and Speech Writers
• Index