Throughout American history, moments of triumph and tragedy have been commemorated through speeches. To celebrate our nation’s birthday, let’s look back at some of the speeches that shaped our history. Each holds a key ingredient to crafting a patriotic and impactful speech.
This video compiles clips of speeches from presidents and leaders of the free world. From Roosevelt’s uplifting words during the time of the Great Depression, to Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for peace during the civil rights movement. Each speaker captured a moment in time that shaped our future. These speeches have two common traits:
A Clear Message
A Call to Action
It takes a lot of preparation, practice, and audience engagement to create these points. Here’s a breakdown on how to do it.
The Key to Crafting a Patriotic and Impactful Speech
A Clear Message
Before you begin writing your speech, focus on the purpose of it. Try to narrow down the reason for your speech to just one sentence. Take that sentence and narrow that down to just one word. This is the foundation of the speech. This single word can serve as a theme to your entire speech, or can be part of a phrase that gets repeated or resonates throughout the speech.
By thoughtfully outlining your content, you can eliminate clutter from overtaking your message. Make sure each of your supporting points ties directly back to your main message. If it takes too long for you to connect all the dots, shorten the content or take the information out all together. This way you can focus on building up to your message and creating an impactful speech.
This key ingredient can be found in FDR’s speech in 1933. The country was facing the worst economic crisis in its history. Viewers may not remember every line from this address, but they do remember the main message. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is speech about the Great Depression, but what was the main message? If you broke it down into one sentence, it would be, “Don’t be fearful of your future during this difficult time.” Pull out the keyword of that sentence and you have, “fear.” This is the theme and foundation for the entire address, and served as the clear message that made this an impactful speech.
A Call to Action
Each of these historic speeches has a call to action. Writing an effective one also takes some preparation and involves audience engagement. What do you want your audience to do? Is it a physical activity or a way of thinking? Answering these questions will help you craft an inspiring ending to an impactful speech.
There are different approaches to making an effective call to action. This can involve pulling the heartstrings with an emotional tie. Tell a story or hardship and endurance to motivate your audience to act. Or make the message urgent. Set a deadline or give them a reason for why they need to act now. Action verbs are your greatest ally. Keep this message in the present tense to get a strong audience reaction. Eye contact and hand gestures are icing on the cake. This is the final act of your speech, so make sure it stands out by connecting with your audience.
Perhaps one of the greatest calls to action comes from JFK’s inaugural address. His call to action has gone down in history as one of the greatest political speeches from an American president. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This line is kept in the present tense and is direct. He also incorporates hand movements and eye contact as he delivers this line. This one phrase has made his inauguration an impactful speech.
A clear message and a call to action don’t only work for political speeches, but for every type of presentation. You can use these techniques to make your words impactful and unforgettable.
More from the Ethos3 Blog:
Do’s and Don’ts for Political Speeches
How to Give an Effective Call to Action
Meaningful Messages: 6 Tips for Editing Presentation Content
