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To our
mind, there’s nothing much more motivational than John
Belushi’s (aka Bluto Blutarski) famous speech at the end of
the movie “Animal House” when he is trying to motivate his
sad sack fraternity brothers.
"Over?
Did you say over? NOTHING is over until WE decide it is! Was
it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? HELL, NO!"
But that
is just one of the many motivational speeches reviewed in a
wonderful article by Christopher Hitchens on Forbes.com.
The article entitled, “You Can Do It! A History of the Pep
Talk”, can be found at
www.forbes.com/fyi/2003/1110/070.html.
The
article starts with great speeches from the Bible and
follows the tradition of motivational speaking all the way
through the present day.
It’s a
long article that doesn’t draw many conclusions about what
makes a great motivational speech. But it does include all
the wonderful excerpts from the great speeches that many of
us are always trying to remember.
Among the
highlights:
Roosevelt’s address to the nation following the bombing of
Pearl Harbor:
"We are
now in this war. We are in it--all the way. It will not
only be a long war, it will be a hard war....We don't like
it--we didn't want to get in it--but we are in it and we're
going to fight it with everything we've got."
Churchill’s address prior to the Battle of Britain:
The
Battle of Britain is about to begin. On this battle depends
the survival of Christian civilization...Hitler knows he
will have to break us in this island or lose the war.
If we can stand up to him all Europe may be freed and the
life of the world may move forward into broad sunlit
uplands; but if we fail, the whole world, including the
United States and all that we have known and cared for, will
sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and
perhaps more prolonged by the lights of a perverted science.
Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear
ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire last
for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their
finest hour."
From “Moby Dick” there's Stubb, the second mate, urging his
crew to row faster to catch up with the whale they were
hunting:
"Pull, pull, my fine hearts-alive; pull, my children; pull,
my little ones... Why don't you break your backbones, my
boys? What is it you stare at? Those chaps in yonder boat?
Tut! They are only five more hands come to help us--never
mind from where--the more the merrier. Pull, then, do pull;
never mind the brimstone--devils are good fellows enough.
So, so; there you are now; that's the stroke for a thousand
pounds; that's the stroke to sweep the stakes! Hurrah for
the gold cup of sperm oil, my heroes!...Pull, babes--pull,
suckings--pull, all...""
The tyrannical sales manager in David Mamet’s “Glengarry
Glen Ross” who tries to motivate his sorry sales team by
telling them about the new sales contest:
As you all
know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to
see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives.
Third prize is you're fired.
At
Speechworks we help our clients learn how to give
presentations that connect with the audience. If you’re
interested in becoming a great communicator give us a call
at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
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