Over the last two months we’ve visited several different countries, jumped into multiple centuries, and witnessed many moments in history, some known and others not so known.
In my first post on the “Learn from the Best”, I laid out my goals for this series of sorts: consider eight topics that make a good speech great. To be honest, it was a sort of challenge to myself — what would I learn, what would I discover? I knew some of it, but I wanted to find more.
“Knowing Your Audience” led us to President Reagan’s ability to meet his audience at their level and understand their thoughts and biases. He knew that there were “certain truths” every American would recognize and understand. And he knew that not everyone wanted to hear a State Department memo read to them. He knew they’d fall asleep.
“Tell Them, Tell Them, Tell Them Again” brought us to Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., two great orators who knew how to drive home a point. And they’re remembered for it.
George Washington was a master of “inserting the unexpected”. He was also a master at reading people and knowing how they would respond. And he was always one step ahead of them. Even when he had potential mutiny on his hands, he knew what to say and how to say it.
In “Address the Elephant” we saw Reagan’s wit as he touted his opponent’s “youth and inexperience” in response to the question of his age. And we looked at the delightfulness of a speaker who comes right out and says it like it is.
We heard from Russell Kirk on reading others and “standing on the shoulders of giants”. We saw how Whittaker Chambers deeply influenced Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy towards communism. And we saw how Reagan quoted both these men in his speeches.
General Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan showed how to inspire & challenge their listeners. And Reagan’s Pointe du Hoc speech made me want to become a rhetorician.
Sir Winston Churchill could serve as an example for all of these principles. But he showed us (along with Mark Twain and President Barack Obama) how to be real. This led to a “Churchill Detour” for quite a few posts as we visited Churchill’s Zoo, witnessed Churchill’s Courage, and saw the making of a man who wouldn’t give up.
And now here we are. So what’s next?
I’m taking the day off tomorrow to be with my 3L husband. We’ll rest and read and enjoy the spring that has finally come to our fair state. And then Monday will come and the week will commence. But I’m realizing that this love of rhetoric doesn’t stop. I don’t get tired of reading speeches or trying to discover why and how they move people. So even though I’m going to “stop talking” about this Learn from the Best series, there will be more to come.
I mean, I haven’t even started taking classes yet.
