Mark Carney’s speech in Davos earlier this week has been widely praised for its forceful lucidity. Rightly so. We haven’t heard such strong and clear rhetoric from a political leader for all too long. But what made it so successful, in terms of public speaking? Certainly, Mr Carney employed all the elements that I have … More The Hegemon & the Greengrocer – a storytelling masterclass
My public speaking clients all too often end their first rehearsal run-through with a limp “and that’s it”. It’s a big mistake. The closing moments of a speech are the last – and perhaps best – opportunity to consolidate your message and establish a bond with your audience. To achieve this, I recommend including four … More Ending your speech well: some (pale) inspiration from UK political party leaders
In 1787, Benjamin Franklin had recently returned from serving as American ambassador in France. Having been elected President of Pennsylvania, he served that year as the host at the Convention held in Philadelphia to draft the young republic’s Constitution. It was an often-contentious affair, with much arguing about fundamental issues such as the status of … More Benjamin Franklin’s pragmatic paean to humility
Many earnest articles have appeared over the last few years with titles such as: “What business leaders can learn about public speaking from Donald Trump”. I suggest you pay such articles no attention: they confuse his prowess at rabble rousing with the finer art of rhetoric. To make my point, here’s a brief assessment of … More Rabble-rousing or rhetoric: Trump’s negative contribution to the art of public speaking
Seventy-nine years ago today, the Second World War finally came to a close when General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender on board a US warship in Tokyo Bay. It was a momentous day, and the radio broadcast on 2nd September 1945 by General MacArthur was more than equal to the occasion. His address was … More VJ Day 1945 –MacArthur vs Truman announcing the end of WW2
I’m sure you all saw Joe Biden’s surprise tweet yesterday, renouncing his candidacy for the next US elections. It was brief and short on detail, but he promised that he will address the nation at greater length later this week. So here, in a modest spirit of cooperation, is a crib sheet for him and … More Bowing out, unbidden: Some lessons in recent renunciation rhetoric from Ireland, Denmark and NZ
Eight years ago to the day, British voters headed to the polls to deliver their fateful Brexit verdict. A few days earlier, I had written one of my articles* about public speaking to bemoan the Remain camp’s all-too-limp oratory and their tendency to focus on fear of failure, rather than offer any inspiring vision of … More “… but fear itself”: three degrees of fear-mongering by Sunak, Macron & FDR
Thirty-eight years ago this week, the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after blast-off, killing all seven astronauts on board. That evening, President Ronald Reagan, who had been due to deliver his annual State of the Union speech, addressed the nation about the tragedy. The four-minute eulogy, drafted by his young speechwriter Peggy Noonan, is today … More Showing compassion: Ronald Reagan’s Challenger eulogy
Nelson Mandela died 10 years ago today. In our currently war-torn world, it might be heartening to see how his powerful – yet often humble – rhetoric helped set his country on the difficult path out of its divisive racial history. His speech on South Africa’s first national Day of Reconciliation in 1995 is a … More The rhetoric of reconciliation: Nelson Mandela’s mastery of the timeline
The cacophony in Manchester among the UK’s Conservative government ministers and other party bigwigs at their annual conference is a case study of how not to prepare a team presentation. As with corporate showcase events – be it an Investor Day, a Shareholder Meeting or a Corporate Seminar – a party political conference is a … More Presenting like a team, not like a Tory
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