Kenneth Andersen Among a speaker’s greatest roles is to call for moral renewal. Any democratic or republican form of government, indeed, any way of life that relies on people sharing a community, requires free, honest, respectful communication. Yet, Kenneth E. Andersen pointed out, in 2003, that we in the United States of America were already losing that sense of community and must work hard to regain it. He bemoaned the problem of the “free rider:” “Many aspects of what we are talking about are problematic. One of them is the issue of the free rider – the person that takes advantage ..read more

Ayanna Pressley In a brief speech on the United States House of Representatives floor, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley used a ceremonial occasion, the approaching Mother’s Day, to urge Congress to pass better policies for mothers. She used the rhetorical figure of anaphora to link a series of accusations. Anaphora means to link sentences with a common word or phrase, such as when Scotty on Star Trek said, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Pressley’s anaphora made her speech seem elegant and, well, rhetorical. The repeated phrases tie her points together.  Ne ..read more

Biden on Holocaust Remembrance Day “During these sacred Days of Remembrance, we grieve. We give voice to the 6 million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War Two.” Speaking in Emancipation Hall in the United States Capitol, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 7, 2024, United States President Joe Biden addressed the ongoing Gaza war with a classic persuasive speaking pattern: he started with the general theme, moved to the specific, and then shifted back to the general. Moving through that pattern, Biden placed the ongoing ..read more

Kamala Harris speaking at the 2021 Leaders' Summit Wildfires, heatwaves, cluttered islands, and hurricanes! If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will. On Earth Day, April 22, 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, a virtual meeting of dozens of world leaders. No part of a speech is more important than its beginning and end. Public speaking textbooks tell students to begin their speeches with an attention-getter. A stirring quotation, a story, a clever analogy, or, better yet, a startling fact can draw the audience’s attention to the speaker ..read more

Sojourner Truth “I feel,” said Sojourner Truth, “that if I have to answer for the deeds done in my body just as much as a man, I have a right to have just as much as a man.” On May 9, 1867, Sojourner Truth, a former slave and famous abolitionist speaker, pressed for women’s economic rights in a metaphor-filled speech. She was speaking at the First Annual Meeting of the American Equal Rights Association, held at the Church of the Puritans in New York City. She spoke in metaphors to accentuate women's rights. As she spoke, such metaphors as weeding the garden, riding horses, and ..read more

Mike Castle The Republican Party of old died on July 10, 2009, when Republican Congressional Representative Mike Castle made a routine campaign stop to speak to a group of elderly voters in Delaware. Castle was running for the United States Senate in a special election. A perfectly standard, old-school Republican, Castle came to discuss his usual platitudes. He then offered to answer questions. A woman in red raised her hand to ask Castle about Barack Obama’s birth certificate. She shouted: “I want to know. I have a birth certificate here from the United States of America saying ..read more

Joe Biden, 2024 State of the Union A good introduction sets a speech’s tone. In his March 7, 2024 State of the Union Address to Congress, President Joe Biden warned the members—and the nation—that our way of life was under assault: “… freedom and democracy are under attack at both at home and overseas at the very same time.” Biden painted a dark, dark picture: forces, domestic and foreign alike, threaten our way of life. Yes, a good introduction sets a speech’s tone. Beginning this speech, Biden laid out two historical analogies of times that the United States was attacked from withou ..read more

James Lankford A gentle heckle is worth a thousand shouts! Senator James Lankford whispered a heckle and shook up the United States’ border controversy. Biden Lashed Out at Republicans Making one of the first points in his March 7, 2024 State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden lashed out at the Republicans in Congress for defeating what appeared to be an extremely conservative border control bill. The bill was drafted by Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Republican James Lankford, and Democrat Chris Murphy. Murphy agreed to a conservative border bill as a compromise to incr ..read more

Barbara Jordan with the House Judiciary Committee Texas Congressional Representative Barbara Jordan mused that, when the Constitution of the United States was adopted, she (a Black woman), was not included in “we the people.” Jordan, one of the first African American women in Congress, began her speech by establishing her identity as a citizen of the United States. Jordan spoke on July 25, 1974, during the impeachment hearings of the House Judiciary Committee. The committee was reviewing evidence that President Richard Nixon had, among other offenses, committed obstruction of justice ..read more

Joe Biden, White House Photo “I’m more optimistic about this nation’s future than I’ve ever been.” So said United States President Joe Biden in a brief speech to the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting, delivered in the White House East Room on February 23, 2024. He offered a message of pride and optimism. He adapted to his audience to seek unity, encourage joint effort, overcome disagreements, and solve problems. Biden Reached Out to His Audience Biden’s audience was an assemblage of state governors. Many of them were Republicans, while Biden is a Democrat. Unlike Congr ..read more