|
One of the
joys of the internet is the ability to listen to some of the
famous old orators and compare them to today’s more
“conversational” speaking style. With that in mind, we urge
everyone to listen to Winston Churchill’s famous
“Never give in” speech, given at Harrow School on October 19,
1941. (The bottom of the web page includes a link to a
RealAudio recording of the speech).
Listening to
historical speeches out of context is a little cruel to the
speechmaker. Certainly Churchill’s delivery style reflects the
style of his time and is blander than what we’re used to
today. It sounds like he’s reading his text (as he probably
is) rather than delivering in the more extemporaneous,
energized style that today’s television generation favors.
But that
doesn’t diminish the speech. We can still feel the power of
his words. Perhaps most importantly, you have to admire the
simplicity of his message. Is there any doubt as to what he’s
trying to say? “Never give in.” A nice simple message.
Certainly
one of the biggest mistakes that business people today make is
muddling their message. So often, we will hear 20 minute
presentations and have no idea as to what the speaker wants us
to take away.
Keeping the
message simple avoids that problem. And Churchill did it
better than anyone.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to
communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a
great communicator give us a call at
404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
