Weekly Report 55: Speech, Obama Style

Last Monday, I gave my original work speech to my Independent Study and Mentorship class. The speech lasted sixteen minutes and covered my original work project of creating and analyzing a Liberty High School Campus crime map, research, research interviews, my mentor, my mentorship, and future aspirations. Overall, the speech went great!

But that's not what I want to talk about today. Due to my heavy involvement in a local Toastmaster's International daughter club, my speaking skills are exceptional. As a result, I wanted to challenge myself. I didn't want to simply give a good speech. No. I wanted to give a great speech. But how to go about doing that? Thats when I turned to President Barack Obama. I have always found President Obama's speeches captivating and always thought of him as a great orator. So, for my speech, I decided to channel him to a certain degree and incorporated stylistic techniques to elevate my speech. Here are a few of the things I learned about the 44th President's speaking style:

1. Using a dash of humor- Gets the audience engaged. Once their engaged, their more inclined to pay attention and listen.

2. More 'we' and 'you' than 'I'- Draws in the audience and makes them feel important

3. Anaphora- the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or sentences to reinforce a message.

4. Utilization of vocal variety- different speeds, and different volume!

5. Pauses are your new best friend- Pause for impact, to let the audience catch up with you and think, to let the message resonate, and to leave a sense of thoughtfulness.

6. Simple yet unusual starters- Use starters, such as 'listen' and 'look'.

Of course my speech wasn't anywhere near the levels of President Obama's. There is still much room for improvement. But by practicing the stylistic devices mentioned above and incorporating my own style, my speeches will hit the levels I hope to achieve.

~Shrinidhi Joshi

#OriginalWork #Speech