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How to Write an Unforgettable Speech
Speeches are like flowers, or sonnets, for the most part — a moment’s monument. With a few exceptions, they are temporary, aimed at a moment, or a movement, or a situation that calls for public comment right now. When you study speeches from previous eras, you find that almost always a good deal of explication is required to understand the context and the topical references. Those same topical references that seem so lively and witty in the moment become dated over time.
To be sure, a speech like the Reverend Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” has considerable timeless appeal, but most of us aim for something a little more ephemeral whether we’re aware of it or not. We’re exploring the current wisdom on a topic we’re expert in, or persuading an audience of a position on an issue of the day, or inspiring a group of employees to greatness with a bit of our own story and a bit of theirs.
A speech that does any of those things is certainly all it should be. But if you aspire to something more, then there are four universal human themes that you might touch upon in order to reach beyond the moment, and the momentary issue, to the sublime.
