First, we go back to our beloved Rex Ryan. Rex has sort of become a figure head in our class. I wish we could've had him in as a guest speaker. Following up with choosing certain words to propel your campaign or your speech, we also looked into speech-making styles.
An interviewer gave me this article from the New York Times after talking about Strategies of Leadership to him. Rex transformed the Jets through words just as much as his actions.
- The article notes that a good speech starts with a purpose.
- A good speech inspires, explains, and persuades.
- To achieve that purpose there must be an issue or something to overcome.
- Delivery, structure, and all the elements of a great speech mean nothing without a purpose.
- The words need to be believable and consistent with who the words are coming from.
After a loss, Rex looked to history and used Cortez's "Burn the Boats" slogan to tell the Jets that there was no going back unless we beat the enemy. If we beat the enemy we could take their boats and go home. It was do or die.
Most importantly, Rex's speeches are great because they are authentic and from the heart. People can read into fakeness. One of his players stated:
"All you need is to hear a coach once and know he's a fraud, to know he's never been in a fistfight in his life. I heard Rex once and I knew he would fight for me, that day."
With the help of student Jon Sheehan's father, Michael Sheehan, we moved on to evaluate three speeches. Mr. Sheehan is a professional speech coach who works with the likes of CEOs and politicians. His bio reads that he has worked with more "Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, Cabinet Secretaries, Governors, Mayors and Members of Congress than anyone else in the country." He led us to study President Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech, Bobby Kennedy's speech in Indianapolis the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, and Shakespeare's Henry V Feast of St. Crispin speech.
This speech put Obama on the map. We talk about being a great performer, well he is one here. He articulates so many great key phrases that a politician needs to these days. He talks about coming from nothing: "In no other country is my story even possible." "Believe in America," "possibilities for this nation," "lets face it," "we have more work to do."
"There is no liberal America or a conservative America - there is a United States of America." This is his most important point, because it's about bringing a nation together as one. When he wants to make certain points he speeds up and is more definitive. Study his body language, eye contact and use of hands - all great tactics that orators employ.
The Bobby Kennedy speech was written in the limo ride to the event he was speaking at. Indianapolis was the only city the night MLK was shot where there were no riots.
A strategy many speech writers use is to look to history for the answers. Kennedy talks about the Greeks and religion. He brings black and white together to understand that violence is not the answer. We talked about authenticity, and the way that Kennedy speaks is with pure emotion. He is visibly shaken. I also love his use of such strong words like division, hatred, violence, lawlessness, love, wisdom, compassion, and justice.
Finally, Shakespeare's Henry V Feast of St. Crispin speech was written 200 years after the battle, but is considered to be one of the best interpretations of leadership ever written.
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."
"He who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." Up against death Henry V gave his men the shared belief that they could win. He convinced them that if they survived and won they would be honored forever. A staple of leadership: convincing others to believe and do things that they otherwise wouldn't through convictions and a vision.
Thanks Mr. Sheehan!
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