Other than Winston Churchill and J.F. Kennedy would you know who else could give great speeches?

Question

What aspects of public speaking would usually win an audience over?

Answer 1

Martin Luther King had some chops...

Often what wins an audience over, besides content, is richness of speaking voice and good writing. King's repeated "I have a dream" coupled with different endings was powerful stuff. Kennedy's famed line, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" was not fully original, but he totally owned it.

Answer 2

The times help to make certain people more faous as public speakers. This is certainly the case for both Churchill and Kennedy. Neither was all that good as a speaker,but they both were leaders during troubled times and the were able to muster a lot of support for their policies. In the case of Kennedy, there was a lot of Charisma. He was kid of an idolized American. Other Charismatic and effective speakers were Ronald Reagan, very polished and practiced speaker. He had a long carrer on radio and movies to fall back on, and a kind of "oh gosh" himiness about him. Bill Clinton was also a very good speaker and still is. He has a unique ability to inspire people..

Answer 3

The speaker who can speak without a script is the first criteria. The ability of both these men to add levity or coin phrases, led to their effectiveness as public speakers.

The greatest response given to a speaker was that of JFK when speaking to the German people, in Berlin, and ending his dialog with his final words spoken in German. The German audience went wild !

Compare the compassion and fury of Churchill and Kennedy to the mundane and scripted speeches of a Bill Clinton. Granted Clinton's delivery was flawless, after all, he practiced in front of a mirror, like a Shakespearean actor. But it soon became obvious that everything he ever said publicly, was scripted, when he would never allow questions and answers from the media. This would have required him to actually think about what he was saying. Clinton could not do both !

Answer 4

Lincoln, Cicero, Socrates, Queen Elizabeth the First,
Williams Jennings Bryan, Theodore Rosevelt, ... Does Emikle Zola count? Check out Hitler in Triumph of the Will at the Nuremberg Part Rally of 1934 - evil beyond words but a magnificant speech. Danton during the Revolution in Paris, - there are countless examples.

Answer 5

We all know that Hitler was a scumbag. However he did know how to give a speech. We usually only see clips of him at the top of his voice, belting out his point with the crowd cheering him on. However if you listen to an entire speech of his you see that he starts slow, with a calm voice. Gradually he puts greater emphasis on his points, increasing the excitement of the audience until he reaches a crescendo with his followers in the palm of his hand.

Another great speaker was Reagan. He had a heart felt delivery that came across as being very genuine. I remember the speech he gave after the Challenger blew up. It was very moving.

Answer 6

Ronald Wilson Reagan and Marcus Tullius Cicero

Answer 7

FDR changed the manner in which a President would/could communicate to the American public. He simplified issues and addressed them directly in a manner in which most people could understand. He changed the office of the Presidency forever.

Answer 8

Dr. King, Ronald Reagan, Louis Farrakhan (sp), Hitler, Tony Robbins, Dick Vitale.
You can HATE the messages of some of those people, but I they could all motivate in some way.

Answer 9

There have been a few great speakers in every generation, whether they orated for good or bad. The ultimate bad example would be Hitler, who was a madman but inspired loyalty by his speeches playing on peoples fears and old resentments.

Answer 10

Eye contact with people (the camera), an interesting voice, an interesting speech.