Saturday, September 4, 2010
Admired Speaker
Please post in this blog a name and explanation of one person that you admired for their speaking abilities. What about their abilities do you admire? Is it there delivery? What specific qualities and why? Is it their charisma? Do you they have a "wow" factor? In what ways? Please share at least 150 minimum in this post. Please include a link to a video clip illustrating this speaker in action. Post is due by our next class on Tuesday, Sept 14th.
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I admire Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs for his speaking abilities as Steve has this ability to connect with everyone in a large audience. Also, his inspirational style has a way to convert users who do not currently use Apple computers to a "Mac" platform. I'd argue that Jobs is creating a collective "Apple" culture; yet shows how people can maintain their individuality by using the products.
ReplyDeleteAs the links below show, Steve's presentations start out by sharing some of the company's successes of the past year - and carefully outlines the future in logical steps. While Steve appears to be relaxed and speaking impromptu, the opposite is true; his presentations are well rehearsed.
Additionally, Jobs does not take all the credit. In his "Macworld Convention" keynotes (see below link) he makes sure to acknowledge his executive team, other businesses who make products for Apple's platform and Apple customers.
Link to one of Steve Jobs Keynote Presentation - in this clip he introduces the iPad and starts out by showing what exists in the market and how Apple fills a special niche. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBhYxj2SvRI
Undoubtedly, I have to choose Barack Obama as the speaker I admire most. While President Obama certainly has charisma, the delivery of his speeches is what makes me admire him as a speaker.
ReplyDeleteAs demonstrated in the link below, President Obama keeps his speeches very organized and structured. For me, political speeches are sometimes hard to follow because of the complexity of the issues. However, Barack Obama’s speeches are usually easy to follow and structured, which I admire because it allows listeners to fully understand the message. Also, I admire the fact that President Obama is very passionate about the content of his speeches. His words are delivered strongly, yet not forceful to listeners.
In addition, when I listen to President Obama speak, I notice that he is extremely authentic with his delivery. He doesn’t seem to be dilute or emphasize his voice or speaking style. He effectively maintains his personality while still being professional yet charismatic. Also, as you can also see in his Inaugural Speech, President Obama’s authenticity makes him seem very natural while he is speaking. This type of delivery makes him seem approachable, which allows the audience to relate to his message. For this reason, I think that President Obama’s “wowful” quality is his authenticity.
President Obama’s “wowful” quality along with his structured speeches, passion, professionalism, and charisma allow him to convey strong messages that resonate with audiences.
Thanks for reading!
- Michelle Dutka
Link to President Obama’s Inauguration Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwfpQ89E2vI
Last semester in my Interpersonal Communication, we watched “The Last Lecture”, a speech given by Randy Pausch. Randy was a professor of computer science at Carnagie Melon, who gave one last lecture before he died of pancreatic cancer. His speech was supposed to be about achieving dreams, but it touched on so much more than that. What I like most about Randy’s speaking is that he is genuine. His tone wasn’t overly formal, and he spoke to the audience like he was talking to a friend. I could tell what he was saying really came from the heart, and he really cared about what he had to say. There was passion and sincerity in every word that he said in his speech, and it really shows. By the end of his speech I was almost in tears, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. I think that’s the ultimate goal of any public speaker – to be memorable, and Randy Pausch is definitely a memorable speaker.
ReplyDeleteI know this video is really long, but I highly recommend watching it if you have the time, or at least part of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
A speaker I admire would be Bobby Seale, a co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, which started in Oakland, CA but grew to a national movement. Seale delivered his speeches with simplicity, speaking on a level that those (at the time 1968) in his audience, mostly semi-illiterate blacks, could understand; but the educated person wouldn’t be bored. He doesn’t use big words but rather colloquial ones that were relevant at the time.
ReplyDeleteHe is a very good persuasive speaker. After listening to Seale, I felt a need to act. He proclaims action and that’s exactly what I felt the need to do, act on self-betterment. He’s tone is nice, making it easy to listen to him, and his delivery is great and he feeds off the energy of the audience; changing the pitch of his voice and appealing to the emotions of the crowd. Lastly, he speaks with authority and believability. I believed that he lived for the betterment of his people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPP0hiLuxdQ
Keep up the good thoughts here!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite speakers to listen to is Professor Michael Eric Dyson.
ReplyDeleteHe is widely known for his postures pertaining to social, economic and political issues. His credentials are no detriment but rather a reflection of his authoritative intellect- graduated from his college magna cum laude and went on to attend Princeton for his masters and PhD. Though I am noting this, it is important to concede that good schooling is not a necessary condition to be an effective public speaker.
Dr. Dyson's delivery is characterized by a zeal similar to that of Malcolm X and the candidness of a Reverend such as MLK. His tone, always dominating, varies slightly at times during his speeches but not too drastically that it impairs his message. His voice easily takes command of the whole room. People are more likely to embrace his ideas thanks to his credentials, reputation and delivery . For instance, please consider his defense of the N-word's usage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHaoZQx-VnE&feature=related
A public speaker that I personally admire is Tony Robbins.
ReplyDeleteTony Robbins is a life coach, and holds seminars with the intention to help transform people’s lives. Some of his seminars last up to four days, and include the participants participating in activities such as walking barefoot on hot coals. This may sound crazy, but the whole idea is that he shows his audience that you can achieve anything as long as you set your mind to it.
I first heard about Tony Robins through a leadership camp that I am a counselor for. My program coordinator is a big believer in goal setting and putting your mind in the right frame of thought in order to achieve those goals. After years of exposure to this type of thinking, I too am now a firm believer in it.
Tony Robbins helps others see the significance in this type of goal setting as well.
He is a dynamic speaker for many reasons. He knows how to connect with his audience. He has great eye contact with them. His examples include everyday situations that everyone can relate to. Another great aspect about his communication skills is the way he uses his voice. He does not remain monotone ever. His voice levels change at appropriate times and keeps his audience engaged. He also has a great sense of body language. He walks around the stage, connecting with different audience members. He also uses his arms and facial expressions to help emphasize what he is saying. As seen in chapter three of our text, he uses many illustrators while he speaks.
This clip is from one of his talks entitled, “What We Want to Do and How We Can Do It Better”. If you take the time to watch this clip, maybe you will come across tips to help improve your own life! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpc-t-Uwv1I
I admire the poetry slammer, Katie Makkai, for her emotional and influential speeches. She truly has mastered the art of communication, as she uses many different methods to captivate the audience. Rather than speaking in monotone, she varies her tone of voice. Beginning in a whisper to lure the audience, she will then crescendo to a shrill scream to demand their attention. She also changes her rate of speaking, inciting an emotional response within the audience. Pauses within her speeches are strategically placed to let a thought sink in, and increasing the pace of her speech builds suspense. In addition, she has purpose to her hand movements. While my hand gestures stem from nervous habit, Katie Makkai utilizes them to fortify a statement or emphasize a particular point.
ReplyDeleteKatie Makkai’s wow factor is passion. Her speeches are so empowering because of her fervent beliefs about women and society. She articulated these resolute beliefs in the speech, “Pretty”… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0
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ReplyDeleteWhen admired speakers are mentioned, the first person that comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. He has made plenty of speeches, and with them, has played a very crucial role in the advancement of African Americans during the civil rights movement. What made him so influential was not only the fact that he spoke very well and was highly educated, but also his appeal to his audiences morals while speaking of situations that most people could to relate to. Dr. King knew who his audience was and used that to his ability. He referenced everyday scenarios quite often to make his arguments irrefutable.
ReplyDeleteDr. King's speeches were also full of pathos, or appeal to emotion, and made them relative to his audiences. Also, he used imagery throughout his speeches, painting pictures with his words, and using this to engulf his audiences, he enabled a deeper connection between his words and the lives of his audience members. In addition, his dedication to the idea of equal rights was obvious through his speeches and made him more likable to his audience. These aspects made Dr. King very influential to the public and added to the appeal of his speeches.
Because of his eloquence and passion, even now, decades after his death, his speeches are still recognized and referenced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA
One person I admire for their speaking abilities is Joel Osteen. The abilities I admire with Mr. Osteen are the facts that he has the ability to encourage and motivate all who hear him. His delivery is so warm because he speaks with a smile on his face the whole time. His message is always hopeful and you never walk away feeling condemned. He gives personal stories to add to his message so people can relate to what he is saying. The sound and tone of his voice which is calm and soothing adds to the hopeful message he gives.
ReplyDeleteMr. Osteen is a Pastor and he definitely has a wow factor that separates him from other pastors when he give his message. This wow factor leaves you moved to be a better person and uplifted from a situation a person may be going through. I know for me personally I have gone through tough situations and after hearing Mr. Osteen I am encouraged.
Here is a clip of Mr. Osteen doing what he does best-Encouraging and Motivating:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-cpyeemBGQ&feature=related
Over the summer, I went to a town hall meeting in Randolph, NJ to see Governor Chris Christie speak. I didn’t attend for any specific reason, and I’m not really interested in politics, but my mom invited me to go. Since it had been several weeks since school let out, and several weeks until my summer job started, I was bored enough to go.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised by the town hall meeting. Dr. Sims tells us to “say what you mean and mean what you say,” and I think Governor Christie is a great example. Normally, when I think of politics, I think of boring, but Christie is so candid with his speeches that I can’t help but listen to what he has to say. He doesn’t beat around the bush—he knows that there are people out there who don’t like him or agree with his ideas, and he addresses their concerns, but he doesn’t try to appease them by telling them what they want to hear. Second, I like how clearly Christie explains his ideas. He explains things in a very logical way that makes it easier for a non-political person to understand. Thirdly, I admire how easy going Christie can be with his audience. At the town hall meeting, he didn’t speak with notes, which made his speech less formal and helped the audience connect with him. He also uses humor very well and connects with the audience by using examples they can all relate to.
I honestly do not know if I could say Governor Christie is the one person whose public speaking abilities I admire most, but after seeing him speak in person, I can definitely say that he is someone whose public speaking skills I would like to draw from.
The following is a link to footage of a town hall meeting where Christie responds to a teacher who doesn’t agree with his views. I wish I could have found footage from the town hall meeting I attended, but this was the best I could do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkuTm-ON904
I admire the speaking abilities of Matt Bellace. Matt Bellace is psychologist who travels to many high school s and colleges throughout the United States advocating sobriety. He graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in Biology and started a sober living house on campus which was called C.A.L.V.I.N &H.O.B.B.E.S., which stands for Creating A Lively Valuable Ingenious New Habit Of Being (at) Bucknell (and) Enjoying Sobriety.
ReplyDeleteMatt Bellace spoke to all of TCNJ’s incoming freshmen at welcome week. He is a very engaging because he understands his audience. His WOW factor is his humor. He uses comedy to engage the audience and explain more complicated topics without losing their attention. He also uses his life stories to explain his views and as away to show students that they can have a good time without abusing drugs and alcohol.
Another reason Matt Bellace is a good speaker is because he has a plan when speaking. He uses the acronym L.E.A.D to get his message across. This not only simplifies his message thus making it more memorable but it makes easier for him to cover all the topics he had planned to address.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7RexXcjcQ0&feature=related
In October of last year, TCNJ SGA hosted and event with Mayor Corey Booker in which he gave a speech to an auditorium filled with staff and students. His speech focused on the three themes he considered vital, love, vision and discipline. That day, I was one of those students sitting in the audience listening to his speech.
ReplyDeleteThough I am not a huge fan of politics and therefore also politicians, the way in which Mayor Corey Booker delivered his speech that day, made a difference in how I judge politicians. In other words, the way in which he spoke left a huge impression in me that I did not think he would. I believe that he has a way of expressing his thoughts in which he can relate to those who are listening. His word choice and how he delivers his thoughts is capturing in essence.
I feel that he has a very conversational tone in the sense even when he is not speaking to you directly, you feel as I he were speaking to you. Most importantly, he is very charismatic; he uses humor to convey some of his thoughts and appeal more to his audience. My most favorite quality of his speaking ability is he has the ability to motivated people, to encourage them to take action even if it is in the smallest of portions.
I have posted a link of one Mayor Booker's speeches to share with you all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khu6D3yIZLI&feature=related
To this day I still remember being a mere freshman in high school forced to attend another assembly put together by the PTA. Most of the guest speakers’ words washed right through hundreds of zoned-out pupils' ears; however, Jodee Blanco sparked our attention and captured the hearts of all of us sitting in the assembly room back in 2006.
ReplyDeleteJodee Blanco spoke about her experiences throughout high school and the pain she endured from malicious bullying. She knew her audience and was able to connect with them. She “wowed” them with graphically raw, attention-grabbing detail. Every student was able to relate to her horrific stories, whether it be the bully or the victim.
Students left the assembly room remembering the quote she so heavily stressed in response to the thousands of teens bullied and teased daily: “It’s not just joking around.” It takes a powerful speaker with a powerful message to leave such lasting impact all these years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eByfR2jeFtk&feature=related
Although writer J.K. Rowling is know across the world for the Harry Potter book series, her commencement speech for Harvard University’s Class of 2008 made me realize that her public speaking ability should also be noticed. In this speech, she discusses failure, both in her own life and in the lives of graduates. Her perfectly timed humor captivates the audience and adds insight about Rowling’s past. She speaks of a time when she found herself poor and turned to writing, eventually making a career of it. As anyone in the audience can see, her “wow” factor is her ability to make people laugh. She also reflects her ability to turn simple words into an artful performance. Though her speech is rather lengthy, Rowling manages to capture the audience’s attention throughout the entire performance. She also does an excellent job of telling viewers that overcoming failure and achieving success is always within reach.
ReplyDeleteThe video of Rowling’s commencement speech can be seen in multiple parts through the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkREt4ZB-ck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kh_tSiqL1U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kh_tSiqL1U&feature=related
Thanks for reading!
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ReplyDeleteI chose Joe Urbanski as the public speaker I admire. Joe is actually an alumni of The College and I’ve seen him present multiple times while I’ve been here. One of the lectures he gave was during my sophomore year business colloquium (a required seminar for all business majors) which was similar to the one shown in the video.
ReplyDeleteBefore he even starts the presentation, it’s easy to see Joe is extremely confident in himself and has an air of self assuredness. Once he actually opens his mouth, the energy that he gives off is truly captivating and stands out to me as his “wow” factor. He moves around the stage (and occasionally into the audience) to keep the momentum going rather than being the type of speaker that either stands at a podium or has a habit of nervously moving. It was also great to see the way he incorporated the PowerPoint into his lecture. He doesn’t use it as a crutch like I’ve often seen done nor does he simply let it stay in the background as “decoration.”
What also helps make Joe unique is his ability to engage the audience. As you can see in the video, Joe talks *to* the audience rather than *at* them. He even has catch phrases and motions he asks the audience to do upon request. The company he represents is “Collegiate EmPowerment” which as it implies, his lectures are very much geared towards college students. The pass/fail seminar I heard him speak at was on a Wednesday morning meaning most of the room was only there because they had to be and would much rather still be in bed.
Not only was his energy level enough to make the students take notice, he used humor to make the presentation more relatable as well as telling short anecdotes. (I still remember one he told about his time as a CA here and dealing with a freshman who was contemplating suicide late one night and he stayed up the whole night *listening* to what she had to say—there’s more to the story but that would be a post on its own and one I don’t think I’d do it justice).
Most of the lectures we would listen to in that class were where we sat, listened, and possibly asked questions. This was the first time the class had been told to stand up and be interactive with the presentation. Even when the occasional obnoxious comment would surface, Joe was not impeded and often would address the comment in the “adult” way. I know after the lecture was done, I heard a lot of people commenting on how different he was from any of the other speakers we had had and I saw a lot of people go up to him after to talk with him. It’s been two years since that lecture for me and even though the minute details have since escaped me, I still remember that lecture and many of the key “take away” points he made---Do It NOW!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoZd8U1wies
Personally, I haven’t really listened to many speakers, and if I have, I certainly do not remember their names. I also took the same class as Meg and was inspired by Randy Pausch. His speech “The Last Lecture” has stuck with me since the day I saw it. He spoke about achieving his childhood dreams how he helped his students achieve their dreams as well. Parts of the speech really stuck with me. One quote he said was “The brick walls are only there for people who don’t want things badly enough.” I live by this quote now. It pertains to so much in my life and reminding myself to keep pushing on keeps me positive in a lot of situations. Pausch has since passed since “The Last Lecture” but I looked up on YouTube if he had given any other speeches and I found one on time management. I wish I could have been in one of classes to be as inspired as his students were.
ReplyDelete-Aly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTugjssqOT0
My admired speaker is former Governor of Arkansas, Michael Huckabee. Huckabee, who also visited TCNJ last year, is an up and coming national politician. He was an older guy that was able to connect and joke around with college students. So in a way he was down to earth, but more specifically he was serious down to earth. What I mean by that is he was fun, but he had a nice logical flow of ideas while he giving a speech. He also is very respectful of others when he speaks, never bashing or degrading anyone, but rather in a respectful way, he sometimes disagrees.
ReplyDeleteDuring his talk last year there was something about him that made him sound very truthful and genuine that was extremely refreshing, something you don’t see much in politicians these days. I feel that was is wow factor. I also think that he was able to perceive his audience really well and that he told interesting stories of his campaign accordingly.
http://radio.mikehuckabee.com/Article.asp?id=1351801
One of the best speakers I have ever had the pleasure of listening to on multiple occasions is River Huston. She is a motivational speaker who travels all over the country.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I love about the way River speaks is that she is so full of life and energy, even though you learn that she has a terminal illness. She is bubbly, exciting to watch, and as a listener, one really gets swept up into whatever she is talking about.
River *knows* her audience. She speaks bluntly and has a ton of humor thrown in, both of these things attract the average college student. She snatches the students' attention with her manner of speech and keeps hold throughout her entire presentation, pulling the students along through her life's journey as well as informing them candidly of information they may not listen to from sources that do not have as much rapport with the students as Huston gains in a very short period of time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixa5A04CGzo