War speech rhetorical moves6/17/2023 Much like today, in Churchill’s time parliament was designed for a type of call and response dialogue, not a grand soapbox type speech that he was so fond of. It laughs when he would have it laugh, and it trembles when he would have it tremble… but it remains unconvinced, and in the end it votes against him.’ When he was an MP in 1935, his colleague Herbert Samuel reported, ‘The House always crowds in to hear him. Yet, for all the aspects of the ethos appeal which Churchill got right, on more than one occasion he didn’t judge his audience well and was unable to persuade them. It’s human nature to gravitate towards those people who are like us (see the principles of influence). A joke can help with this because humor is often based on joint assumptions and beliefs sharing a laugh with someone tends to make us feel closer to them. The joking and intimacy showed his prowess with another important rhetorical device, ethos.Įthos is about establishing a connection with your audience. Students of rhetoric recognise this as a device to keep your audience engaged, to surprise it. Stylistically, Churchill was known for building up to a great crescendo and then suddenly becoming gentle and quiet. He was a master of the sudden change of register – a joke, or a phrase of unexpected intimacy. But he added something of his own – and it was this that helped tether his high style to something more conversational. Churchill combined their example with his father Randolph’s gift for invective. To shape himself as an orator he learned by heart the speeches of Disraeli, Gladstone, Cromwell, Burke, and Pitt. In other words, one of history’s great orators painfully engaged himself in a process of trial, error, and practice. He would rehearse his speeches in the mirror, modify them as needed, and scribble meticulous notes including pauses and stage direction. To counter this he engaged in deliberate practice. Like many of us, Churchill would even get nervous to the point of nausea before addressing the public. While this impressive resume and history solidified his place on the throne of oratory excellence, it’s important to note that he wasn’t a “born speaker” - in fact, he made many mistakes. And they were not just speeches They carried some of the most famous sayings produced in the twentieth century:Īmong the phrases he minted were ‘blood, toil, tears, and sweat,’ ‘their finest hour,’ ‘the few,’ ‘the end of the beginning,’ ‘business as usual,’ ‘iron curtain,’ ‘summit meeting,’ and ‘peaceful coexistence.’ (That’s 2,860 speeches for those who like math). ChurchillĬhurchill was a prolific speaker: Between 19 he averaged one speech a week. The chapter comparing Adolf Hitler to Winston Churchill is particularly interesting. The book is laid out beautifully, with sections entitled ‘Champions of Rhetoric,’ in which he dissects the work of some of the most famous orators. Leith does an impressive job of unpacking rhetorical concepts while also providing all the knowledge and nuance required to be a powerful speaker. The book Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith is one tool to help navigate our choppy waters. We are in a golden age of information sharing, which means you are swimming in a pool of rhetoric every day, whether you realise it or not. Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, is an ancient topic that’s no less relevant today.
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