I’ve been listening to a biography of Churchill. From an early age, he had aspirations of influence on the political stage. An insatiable reader, he studied the masters of his age, consuming works on philosophy, religion, science, art, politics and war, history, and literature. He became convinced that persuasion and the power of language was his most powerful asset. He diligently studied the craft of oratory and at age 23, while on an Army assignment in India, wrote an essay of his thoughts. Entitled The Scaffolding of Rhetoric, it begins:

Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world. Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable.

Precision – he knew that some words are more powerful than others, and his large vocabulary and tireless editing created phrases that would be remembered and repeated… for generations.

Rhythm – he believed that the voice should embody “blank verse” more than prose. The command of voice is a key element to keeping audience attention. Not happy with his own voice, he tried (unsuccessfully) to get his doctor to perform surgery on his mouth to make him clearer.

Accumulation of Argument – a “series of facts is brought forward all pointing in a common direction.” He kept his speeches focused on a singular goal.

Analogy – “the unknown is only an extension of the known”, he wanted to connect with his audience’s current experience so they could adopt his views.

Wild Extravagance – the emotions of the speaker and the listeners are alike aroused and some expression must be found that will represent all they are feeling.

Powerful stuff from a guy with a speech impediment who often fought with a cigar to get words out. But Churchill used his words to inspire people. It does not escape my notice that a modern-day leader – trained to perform on the public stage -- is using similar techniques to keep his nation alive.

Churchill gave speeches totaling more than five MILLION words, and he wrote all of his speeches himself. For the first part of his career, he memorized every word of them as well. He estimated he spent an hour for every minute of speech he gave, which would mean he spent roughly 40,000 hours preparing speeches. That means he spent 20 YEARS of his life writing and delivering speeches. That’s a lot of time for a guy trying to run a country.  He wrote, “There are certain features common to all the fines speeches of the English language. Rhetorical power is neither holy bestowed nor holy acquired… but cultivated.”

You can listen to a collection of Churchill’s speeches here.  

Communication matters. What are you saying?

Yoodli is an AI-based tool that analyzes your speech and gives you real-time feedback on common mistakes speakers make. You can also share your speech and have peers (or your coach) review it. Click here for a sample of the Yoodli platform. I will be making mistakes to show you how it works (link compatible with Google Chrome and Firefox).

The 2022 dates for our public Powerful, Persuasive Speaking workshops have been set. We have one remaining scheduled workshop in Raleigh, NC on September 12-13. Visit https://millswyck.ticketleap.com/ to sign up. If you have a team in your organization that need advanced speaking skills, now is the time to schedule in-house training for them as well.