The power of a speech

Posted Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 9:46pm in PR General  | 

I recently attended a lecture at university on speeches and speech writing, and we were asked what are the most memorable speech(es) we could remember.

For me personally there were three: Winston Churchill’swe shall fight on the beaches, Martin Luther King’s I have a dream and Muhammad Ali’s rant at everyone who ever doubted him after knocking-out George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.

Although Ali’s wasn’t a prepared speech, or even something intended to be a speech it still made an impact.

Then only last night I heard another speech which again will be at the formidable forefront of my most memorable speeches. I attended a football dinner in honour of a Hartlepool United footballer who was celebrating his testimonial (10 years) at the club. Normally at these type of events a keynote speaker will be there congratulating the player and talking about his/her time in the sport.

Last night’s keynote was pretty special. It was Sir Bobby Robson, who in my opinion is one of the greatest football managers that has ever graced the sport. This man has done just about everything in football management. He led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, won FA and European silverware, managed the team he has supported since childhood - Newcastle United, managed top clubs abroad and has been voted European manager of the year.

Not to mention his record on the field and a personal battle with cancer.

The man is a pure gentleman. His speech lasted around the one hour mark and it pretty much encapsulated his professional life. The ups and the downs, the wins and the losses and the little anecdotes he managed to fit in between.

And although he had achieved all of the above in his 72 years, he still kept the modesty of the average Joe. Needless to say the audience was captivated (even the Sunderland fans) and when he had finished he was met with a standing ovation.

It’s incredible to see how much people can react to another person talking. What they say and how they say it can change or influence attitudes. Consider David Cameron, the Conservative MP who is running for the Tory leadership. The ex-PR guy who conducts his speeches without notes is clearly the favourite in the running. This is due to his strong speaking capabilities and PR skills and this is why he will be the next Conservative leader. Even rumours of him drug taking at university hasn’t dampened his support. The once favourite David Davis cannot conduct himself and doesn’t have the same young and fresh presence as Cameron.

Speaking and speech writing is an art and something that will take a long time to perfect. Some people would probably say you’ve got it or you haven’t. But the difference a good speaker or speech can make to an audience - be it a room full of football fanatics or the entire membership of a political party is one not to be underestimated.

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