Exploring the dynamics of Obama’s speeches
by Vick Mickunas

It was on a spring day in Chicago. The year was 2004. I was strolling down the street when I spotted a yard sign. It read “Barack Obama for US Senate”. I turned to my friend and asked: “Who the heck is Mr Obama?” I had never heard of Mr Obama before that day.

On July 27, 2004, many Americans first noticed Mr Obama when he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. His marvelous speech served notice of a rising star in politics. He won that Senate seat in 2004. Last November Mr Obama was elected the US president. How did he do it? Well, one good reason why Mr Obama was able to overcome such incredible odds to attain the highest office in the land that he is one of the greatest public speakers of our generation.

A new book, Say It Like Obama – The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision by Shel Leanne, analyses exactly what it is that Mr Obama does when he makes his superb speeches.

Speeches are more than words. The words are important, of course, but the method of delivery is just as crucial. Leanne describes how “Barack Obama walks onto the stage with a brisk, purposeful, confident gait. He makes immediate contact with the audience, clapping his hands along with them”. His body language is as powerful as his rich baritone voice: “Obama makes his way to the lectern, possessing it – a posture of confidence and authority. With chin lifted, he bows ever-so-slightly to the audience, his gesture of appreciation and gratitude. As the applause continues, Obama folds his hands neatly on the lectern and smiles humbly, seeming to gain strength from the crowd’s enthusiasm.” Then Obama speaks and the real magic happens. Leanne examines all the subtle things that Mr Obama does when he makes his speeches from the way he says things to the gestures that he employs.

He possesses such rare charisma that he draws comparisons with great orators of the past: John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Roland Reagan. Leanne states that “the words often used to describe Barack Obama – magnetic, electrifying, energizing and inspiring – speak of his charisma as a leader. Obama has a presentation and style that enable him to earn the confidence of listeners, inspire them, and move them to action”.

It has been reported that Mr Obama has been paying close attention to how former US president Franklin D Roosevelt addressed the concerns of a nation mired in the Great Depression when FDR gave his first inaugural address.

Mr Obama recently admitted that he has been studying the speeches of another president who took the office in the midst of a crisis, Abraham Lincoln. – NYT