Speak Like Obama
You may not be able to speak like Obama. You may
not even want to speak like Obama. (After all, the surest way to sound fake or
phony is to imitate someone else, even someone whose speaking you admire.) But
you can learn from the way Obama speaks in order to influence and inspire your
audiences.
- Be yourself— your best self.
The way Obama speaks is very much like the way he presents himself
in interviews and unscripted conversations. That's because there's no way to
separate who he is from what he communicates. Obama comes across as
measured, thoughtful, and articulate. Which is fine for him. But not for you,
unless you are naturally measured, thoughtful, and articulate. The trick is not
to imitate Obama's style, but to inject your own character, values, personality,
experience, and style into every speech you give.
Speak for one — or maybe all — of three reasons.
In most of his speeches, Obama refrains from going into a great deal
of details. That's because he knows that his role as leader isn't primarily to
communicate information. His role as leader -- and yours, if you are leader or
aspire to be one is to:
A) IDENTIFY the audience: Tell or
remind the audience who they are, what unites them to each other and sets them
apart from others, what values and history they share),
B) INFLUENCE the audience: Shape the way
your audience thinks and feels about the big issues they face.
C) INSPIRE the audience. Don't imitate
motivational speakers or cheer leaders, people who act unnaturally positive in
order to make their audiences feel the same way. Instead, tap into your
audience's deeply-held values and desires to move them to action.
Develop your BIG IDEA — one idea per speech.
Obama builds his speeches around big ideas, not around applause lines
or media moments. The ides are sometimes multi-layered and complex. (See his
speech on race.) But they are always clearly explained. Make sure your BIG
IDEA is something something strong and clear enough to stand on its own two feet
without having to be propped up by an over reliance on jargon, buzzwords, and
corporate-speak.
Say it again.
Like every other political, Obama repeats himself a lot. When he was
on the campaign trail, he would develop a stump speech, which he gave and
perfected time and again in front of each new audience. (Of course, he also
created and delivered certain speeches — called policy speeches — for single
occasions.) If you're a leader or if you aspire to be one, you should have a few
stump speeches of your own. You should, for example, have a speech that talks
about your organization, its mission, and the challenges it faces. As long as
you're speaking to a new audience your speech, even if it is word for word the
same, is new. If it's worth saying, it's worth repeating.
Use memorable rhetorical devices.
Obama uses simple rhetorical devices to make his speeches easier to
listen to and remember. These devises don't call attention to themselves. They
don't make him sound old fashioned or highfalutin. They make him sound strong.
Try incorporating some of these devices in your speeches and see what happens:
Tricolon: Link together three words,
phrases, or clauses of equal length and increasing power. "Tonight, we
gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers,
or the power of our military, or the size of our economy...."
Repetition: Use the same word or word
pattern in quick succession. "It's the answer told by
lines that stretched around schools.... It's the answer spoken by young
and old.... It's the answer..."
Alliteration: Repeat the same consonants at
the beginning of two or more words. "...a place [America] where destiny was
not a destination, but a journey to be shared and shaped...."
Antithesis: Juxtapose contrasting words or
ideas. "Budget reform is not an option. It's a necessity."
Imagery: Use descriptive, concrete language
to evoke sensory experience. "It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire
singing freedom songs, the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores,
the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta, the
hope of a mill worker's son who dares to defy the odds, the hope of a skinny kid
with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.."
Obama doesn't try to sound like other leaders he admires, even though he
frequently quotes them or alludes to their messages. (He's got a particular
fondness for Lincoln.) So it would be a mistake for you to try to sound like
Obama when he speaks. Instead learn from how he does it. And make it your own.
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