“The Dream”
By Drew D. Hansen
Harper Colllins Publishers, 2003
Is this the autumn of discontent in our political life as nation? Or, is there a sense of a joyous spring of hope that, one day, the Philippines will see a daybreak of redemption from its never-ending bout with crisis upon crisis?
If you sense something lyrical in the first paragraph (some would insist it is prosaic poetry), it is because some lyricism has rubbed off on me after reading “The Dream” – subtitled “Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation.”
Yes, an entire book of 293 pages has been devoted solely to one speech that lasted for less than 30 minutes only, before a crowd of 250,000 who converged at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The speech, delivered in 1963, was simply titled “I Have A Dream.” The dreamer was already felled by an assassin’s bullet, but the dream energized an entire community of blacks, joined by whites – and then consequently changed forever the destiny of African Americans in the “land of the free”: America.
I had read the speech long before I got hold of an audio-cassette tape that preserved the voice of the speaker – Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. There is really no substitute for listening to – not reading – a speech. All public speaking coaches or homiletic professors agree that a speech – or a sermon – must be delivered to really capture the passion and intensity it intends to convey.
This book, unlike other books on public speaking or speech writing, has combined the illuminating study of speech content and its strategy, on one hand, and a riveting account on how the speech is delivered or subsequently altered to suit “the moment,” on the other. From an academic standpoint, this is a “case study.”
A bonus is a retelling of a heartwarming history up close: black men, women and children taking the bus from various states; and then bursting into singing stirring negro spirituals; and finally puncturing the serene sky with a 250,000-voice unison crying for freedom!
The book begins with capturing the unfolding drama, including minor speakers that preceded the “main event.” Thankfully, not killing us with suspense, the book brings Martin Luther King to speak on page 51, with this line: “King grasped the podium with both hands, waited a moment, and then opened his mouth to speak.”
And, may I add, that from the “opened mouth” came forth one of the most glorious speeches delivered in all of human history. The book adds a sidelight: Former President John F. Kennedy, watching and listening to King on television a short distance away at the White House turned to one of his aides and said: “That guy is really good.” Coming from JFK, also known for speeches that have become memorable, that compliment spoke volumes of King’s talent.
This book demonstrates in action a lot of speech making theories. A chapter, for example, is devoted to “Composition.” A personal touch is volunteered that King began working on the draft four days before delivering it – and then when the moment came, half of the draft was not used, giving way to a stirring, very eloquent speech.
An instructive portion is an analysis showing the “prepared speech” in one column and the “delivered speech” in another column. Visually, it shows that King was improvising even while speaking – changing words, skipping whole phrases and omitting whole paragraphs and replacing them with words that simply came forth like torrents from a mighty stream.
A couple of speech writers helped him with the first draft, but the book reveals that King was the “sole authority on his speech’s content and language.” When an aide insisted on a phrase, King just smiled and said: “I don’t mind your criticizing my ideas. But I don’t like your criticizing my words, because I’m better at words than you are.” Try that on your speech writers – that is, if you really are better at words.
The speech, however, is not mere words strung together magnificently. It was a penultimate speech that communicated what King felt so deeply in his heart, fighting for equal rights for the black. It was delivered with great courage, but issuing from a fear for his wife and children – and for the entire nation. There is no doubt that every word came from a heart “seared by the flames of injustice.”
The rest of the book is a series of analyses that would be useful to speech writers, language teachers and speakers – who must know some rhetorical devices for impact and “effect.” As many books on public speaking are saying, however, there is no substitute for the authentic voice in the speaker. A speech that one does not believe in will not hold.
This is a timely thought as the political season has begun. Some commercials have already parodied the empty promises of politicians. Some are recycling movie scripts and are keeping people under the spell of myths and fiction. People have also lamented that even those who benefited from the destruction of our freedoms are seeking to benefit from the restored liberties they themselves systematically destroyed.
And yet there are new voices in the political scene. A kindred soul of Martin Luther King, himself trained in the passion and cadence of the Scriptures, is sending a message of hope “hewed from the mountain of despair” (King’s words). Maybe it’s time all our Presidentiables delivered a speech entitled “I Have a Dream.” And the people will listen – and find out who, indeed, speaks from heart and soul like Martin Luther King.
Meanwhile, we continue to dream, too, that our present crop of leaders speak once again like Martin Luther King. My father talked to me about the likes of Camilo Osias, Soc Rodrigo, et al. Of course, there was a Filipino hero in 1983 (assassinated too), Benigno Ninoy Aquino, who fired the imagination and rekindled the courage of the nation. It’s 2002, however, and the question is: Who is the next hero – one who has both vision and the eloquence to speak of the nation’s wounded heart? One who can hold more than a million listeners in rapt attention to what he says.
Whoever will be our next hero, alive preferably, he must draw inspiration from the closing statement of this book: “King’s legacy is the gift of prophecy: a vision of what a redeemed America might look like … The arc of the moral universe is indeed long, but it bends toward justice. This dream can sustain us yet.”
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Speakers: Appeal to loftier goals beyond self-interest
“Working the Room”
By Nick Morgan
Harvard Busienss School Press, 2004
The political season has begun. The May elections are only three months away. On television, you listen to previously low profile executives, administrators and even police chiefs being transformed from sedate characters to high profile firebrand speakers, trying the tricks of orators and introducing “fire and brimstone” in their speeches. That’s one side of the world we live in.
At the other side is the world of business, government bureaucracy and civil society. You attend a conference, a seminar or symposia – and what do you see and hear? You are ushered into a dark room, heads (hopefully, eyes too) transfixed on a giant screen, while the speaker intones a speech or what passes for it. You look around, and many eyes in the audience are heavy. Is there interaction between speaker and audience? Hardly. You sit down, and – soon enough – you join most of the audience in dreamland.
We have lost the art of great speech! “Our speaking styles have indeed become more conversational, but speakers in public spaces haven’t learned to deliver the physical closeness that mirrors the linguistic closeness on television.” Thus observed Nick Morgan, author of “Working the Room.”
He added that even in the relatively intimate setting of a small conference room, the typical speaker is disconnected. The author asks: “How can we change this sorry dynamic? His answer: “By developing the audience-centered rhetoric needed for the twenty first century.” At first glance, there seems to be nothing new with that statement.
When you read the book, you will understand why the author uses “rhetoric” (something absent in many business and other speeches) that goes all the way back to Greek and Macedonian orators, and “21st century” (which makes us instantly aware of combining rhetoric with “soundbites” on television).
Something got lost along the way, the book says. Speeches that moved great crowds of people in a face-to-face encounter between speaker and audience have given way to the television phenomenon where the speaker uses the “hot medium” (according to Marshall McLuhan) with a conversational style. On TV, the speaker “connects” to an audience, not in the same space where he is, but in some distant place.
Then, the same speaker is featured in a conference room, he brings the “tv style” -- which somehow “disconnects” him from an audience that expects more than sound bites. They expect to actively participate, to be looked in the eye, to be told that this speaker cares about them as listeners, their need to be moved to action.
The author shocks us with a speaker’s'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">speaker’s ambitious goal. He declares: “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world. If you are going to take all the trouble to prepare and deliver a speech, make it worthwhile.”
“Give your speech to members of the audience,” he points out, keeping us wondering – until he adds, “by allowing them, to be active.” He explains that many speakers refuse to “give” the speech.
The book has an understandable bias for a speech that “moves people.” So, the author stresses this central truth: “Ultimately, great public speaking comes from passion. Communicate enthusiasm… even if the topic is serious, underneath that emotion lies a real enthusiasm.”
This public speaking proverb is unforgettable – and useful: “If you are having a good time, the audience will, too.”
And how do you get listeners interested? The author devotes a section to the “elevator speech.” He actually means this. You meet someone at the elevator on your way to your public speaking event. He asks you: “I am supposed to enjoy a game of golf, but I have to listen to you. Tell me, what can I gain from your speech?” You are in the same elevator. You need to give the gist of your speech in one sentence. That “elevator speech” is a test whether you can get – then hold – your audience.
This book is one that gives insights, enumerates how to’s, and gives at least three great speeches to illustrate the finer points of public speaking. You will listen once again to John F. Kennedy’s speech at Berlin (which I heard on tape, where Kennedy’s pauses were filled by deafening applause and shouts), Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” (the world’s best), and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” (that used powerful Biblical phrases and moving national hymns).
The book also brings listeners to the loftier goals of speaking. The author advises: “Appeal to something larger than self-interest.” Thankfully, he elaborates: “The tendency to pander is what makes most political speeches today so forgettable. You have to show them how self-interest and larger principles coincide – so personal sacrifice is worth it if it becomes necessary!”
“If you develop the content around your heartfelt passion, rehearse the presentation to find the moments of connection with your audience, and then deliver it with energy and a respect and concern for the audience, you will bring the audience to its feet and to action. Yes, you will change the world.
By Nick Morgan
Harvard Busienss School Press, 2004
The political season has begun. The May elections are only three months away. On television, you listen to previously low profile executives, administrators and even police chiefs being transformed from sedate characters to high profile firebrand speakers, trying the tricks of orators and introducing “fire and brimstone” in their speeches. That’s one side of the world we live in.
At the other side is the world of business, government bureaucracy and civil society. You attend a conference, a seminar or symposia – and what do you see and hear? You are ushered into a dark room, heads (hopefully, eyes too) transfixed on a giant screen, while the speaker intones a speech or what passes for it. You look around, and many eyes in the audience are heavy. Is there interaction between speaker and audience? Hardly. You sit down, and – soon enough – you join most of the audience in dreamland.
We have lost the art of great speech! “Our speaking styles have indeed become more conversational, but speakers in public spaces haven’t learned to deliver the physical closeness that mirrors the linguistic closeness on television.” Thus observed Nick Morgan, author of “Working the Room.”
He added that even in the relatively intimate setting of a small conference room, the typical speaker is disconnected. The author asks: “How can we change this sorry dynamic? His answer: “By developing the audience-centered rhetoric needed for the twenty first century.” At first glance, there seems to be nothing new with that statement.
When you read the book, you will understand why the author uses “rhetoric” (something absent in many business and other speeches) that goes all the way back to Greek and Macedonian orators, and “21st century” (which makes us instantly aware of combining rhetoric with “soundbites” on television).
Something got lost along the way, the book says. Speeches that moved great crowds of people in a face-to-face encounter between speaker and audience have given way to the television phenomenon where the speaker uses the “hot medium” (according to Marshall McLuhan) with a conversational style. On TV, the speaker “connects” to an audience, not in the same space where he is, but in some distant place.
Then, the same speaker is featured in a conference room, he brings the “tv style” -- which somehow “disconnects” him from an audience that expects more than sound bites. They expect to actively participate, to be looked in the eye, to be told that this speaker cares about them as listeners, their need to be moved to action.
The author shocks us with a speaker’s'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">speaker’s ambitious goal. He declares: “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world. If you are going to take all the trouble to prepare and deliver a speech, make it worthwhile.”
“Give your speech to members of the audience,” he points out, keeping us wondering – until he adds, “by allowing them, to be active.” He explains that many speakers refuse to “give” the speech.
The book has an understandable bias for a speech that “moves people.” So, the author stresses this central truth: “Ultimately, great public speaking comes from passion. Communicate enthusiasm… even if the topic is serious, underneath that emotion lies a real enthusiasm.”
This public speaking proverb is unforgettable – and useful: “If you are having a good time, the audience will, too.”
And how do you get listeners interested? The author devotes a section to the “elevator speech.” He actually means this. You meet someone at the elevator on your way to your public speaking event. He asks you: “I am supposed to enjoy a game of golf, but I have to listen to you. Tell me, what can I gain from your speech?” You are in the same elevator. You need to give the gist of your speech in one sentence. That “elevator speech” is a test whether you can get – then hold – your audience.
This book is one that gives insights, enumerates how to’s, and gives at least three great speeches to illustrate the finer points of public speaking. You will listen once again to John F. Kennedy’s speech at Berlin (which I heard on tape, where Kennedy’s pauses were filled by deafening applause and shouts), Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” (the world’s best), and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” (that used powerful Biblical phrases and moving national hymns).
The book also brings listeners to the loftier goals of speaking. The author advises: “Appeal to something larger than self-interest.” Thankfully, he elaborates: “The tendency to pander is what makes most political speeches today so forgettable. You have to show them how self-interest and larger principles coincide – so personal sacrifice is worth it if it becomes necessary!”
“If you develop the content around your heartfelt passion, rehearse the presentation to find the moments of connection with your audience, and then deliver it with energy and a respect and concern for the audience, you will bring the audience to its feet and to action. Yes, you will change the world.
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