Six Qualities That Made Martin Luther King, Jr. a Great Speaker
Several years ago I was given the gift of the recordings of the sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. The sermon set is called "A Knock at Midnight," and the speeches set is titled "A Call to Conscience." There are companion books of the same title for each set. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I listened to every sermon and speech in the recordings. I learned a lot about King from that experience and came to some conclusions about what made him an effective speaker.
As we this week to recognize King's life and its impact on the world, I thought I'd share six qualities in his speaking that I think all leaders should emulate. If you're pressed for time as you read this, you can skip ahead to the list. If you have eleven minutes more, watch the You Tube clip of King's "I Have a Dream Speech". Most of the six qualities that I identified in listening to his recordings are illustrated in that speech.
Here's a quick synopsis of some of the qualities that King had as a speaker along with some questions to get you thinking about your own opportunities to be a more effective communicator.
Cadence - Because we usually only see King in 30 second clips of him at the climax of his speeches, we tend to think him of as a very forceful and passionate speaker. Clearly, he was that, but he was more than that. When you listen to the entirety of his speeches, you'll hear that he almost always started out at a slow, measured conversational pace and, over time, increased his pace and his volume as he drew the audience in. How can you use cadence to bring your audience along when you speak?
Context - King was a master of establishing the historical context for his message. He regularly started with stories from the Old Testament and modern history to make the point that the people in his movement were part of the broad sweep of history. That imbued them with a sense of mission. What do you need to say to establish the context for your audience and help them understand how they fit in it?
Authenticity - In his book, Leading Minds
Practice - It's well known that King delivered most of the "I Have a Dream" speech without any notes and that he improvised much of it on the spot. What's not as well known is that he had been working with much of the content of that speech in other addresses he gave months and years before the March on Washington. He took the time and opportunity to get very comfortable with his content and experimented with what worked and didn't work in venues that weren't as prominent as the National Mall. How much practice and preparation are you doing before you speak?
Repetition - King was also a master of using a simple, yet key phrase like "I have a dream," again and again in his speeches. That kind of repetitive structure enabled him to clearly make his main point and at the same time make it easy for the audience to come along with him. What's the essence of the message that you need to repeat again and again?
Connection - In his speaking, King allowed himself to have an almost symbiotic connection with his audience. They drew their energy from each other and he was very tuned into the level of energy in the room. That connection made the event more than a speech. It made it an experience that moved people to act. When you speak are you present enough to tune into the energy of the audience?
I'll be the first to acknowledge that very few leaders (certainly including me) are going to speak with the power of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, just because he set a high bar doesn't mean that we can't learn and improve ourselves from the way he practiced his craft. Of the qualities I noted above, which one would serve you and your organization the most if you were to practice it in your own presentations? What other lessons can we learn from King as a speaker that I haven't mentioned here?
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Executive coach Scott Eblin’s goal is to help you succeed at the next level of leadership. Throughout the week, he’ll offer his take on the leadership lessons in the news and his advice on your most pressing leadership questions. A former government executive, Scott is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is the author of The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success.
Over and over we hear that we must overcome complacency and help employees become engaged. We tout Leadership over Management, encourage goal setting, and offer three step solutions to get everyone focused on the objective. All of this is nice when we are moving forward in an organization to provide improved service driven by increased funding. Today, federal government is in retreat. The high-water mark of funding has passed and we are trying to maintain our success while watching desks empty out and equipment become sidelined due to inadequate funding. We are in a retreat that must not turn into a rout. As we attempt to figure out how to manage in this new reality, we must focus on those small things that can be done to lead our people in the direction of the best service we can provide with what we have.
John W. Davis Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:56 AMRef Practice - GEN Douglas MacArthur delivered his "Duty, Honor, Country" speech at West Point without notes. Luckily someone had set up a reel to reel tape recorder and caught every word. Only years later did Mrs. MacArthur tell people about the hours he spent practicing it - until then folks thought it was mostly improvised.
Pattie Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 5:11 PMI heard a member of my Toastmasters International club present the "I Have a Dream" speech recently and I felt the power of the words, the value of cadence, the clarity afforded by repetition, and the power of a connection between speaker and audience.
No method can help you speak on par with Martin Luther King Jr. However, it is interesting that all of the qualities Scott Eblin mentions here are developed in a Toastmasters International club near you.
It may be a more mundane method than watching video of historic speeches, but Toastmasters provides you a forum for building on your strengths, developing your skills, and above all, practicing. I myself presented a rendition of Patrick Henry's speech before the Virginia legislature and felt how a great speech is constructed.
I know that this forum has helped me in my career. I suggest you can build on the lesson Scott provides in this column through Toastmasters International.
Dave B. Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2010 5:41 PMAn interesting article and worth closing your door for 10 minutes to (re-)listen to the speech.
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Kris Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 9:16 AMScotts article on Dr. King is very well done and more information needs to go out to the American people in regard to recent history such as the civil rights movement. So much is not known of individuals who helped to make positive changes in the work for civil rights. As recent as the late 1960's during my first years in college, I still recall the news and demonstrations in regard to these important events in America. It is a great thing to education the young on the freedom and civil rights subject and most of all to celebrate a great man, a great leader and a great Amerian. To honor Dr. King with a national holiday is truly a major step for positive change needed in the future of America.
jesse mcgaha Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:14 AMThe same could be said of Adolf Hitler. Analyze his speeches.
Seen Too Much Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:54 AMI found Mr. Eblin’s discussion regarding cadence interesting. I appreciate that he discussed attributes of leadership. I distinctly remember that documentaries of Adolf Hitler also demonstrated an incredibly adept use of cadence in his public speaking that seemed to pull the audience into his hands. Hitler would wait as long as 3 minutes in stone silence after he was introduced before he would start speaking to a large audience. He would initiate his speeches in a low matter-of-fact tone, and as the speech progressed, and he would build up his voice and passion to a higher and higher crescendo. When people see just short clips of Hitler’s speeches they only see the last part where he appeared to be raving like a mad man. Generally, one does not have the opportunity to too view an historic speech in its entirety and learn to appreciate how a speaker can sway an audience. I remember taking a 500 level course in a graduate program where again we would view just short clips of leaders speaking. From those short clips we unfortunately did not have an opportunity to appreciate the full profile of a leader. Thank you Mr. Eblin for bringing excellent points our attention.
Bill Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:57 AMI appreciate the article and agree with the author. I do feel that there is one element one need not omit that was to me the real power behind MLK Jr's oration and that is the spiritual element. I believe that his influence was because he was a man that God simply used to accomplish wonderful things. God honored the word of God which he spoke and the life which he lived. He was not perfect, but God used him and God accomplished great things through him. I believe that Martin recognized that he was not the source of what he accomplished, it was God, and it is God who gets all the glory!
Ken Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 1:07 PMWhen it comes to changing your attitude and starting to think positively, just a few small changes can go a long way. Keep a list of things you are grateful for and reference this list when you need a "positivity boost".
Santo Smart Posted Friday, October 15, 2010 4:37 PMThis is a very interesting and important articles. If you didn't understand why Martin Luther King is considered a good public speaker, by reading this article it will help you to understand why he is considered to have good qualities of a public speaker
Gabrielle Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2011 12:00 AM