I came across this video a few days ago. Will.i.am, founding member and frontman of Black Eyed Peas, produced it because he was inspired by Barack Obama’s New Hampshire Primary speech.
Thanks to the power of social media, the video had reached two million people in only two short days, creating free publicity for the Obama campaign. But what I wanted to talk about today is why that particular presentation so powerful, it inspired the artist to take it to the next level!
Few weeks ago in Presentation Skills class, our professor Paul Koidis provided us eight techniques that can be used to write a powerful speech.
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Alliteration
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Tri-Colon: The rule of THREE
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Imagery
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Anaphora
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Balanced Phrase / Inversion of elements
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The Rhetorical Question
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Hyperbole
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Repetition
Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech is a perfect example of those techniques in use. By using anaphora, repetition and vivid imagery, Obama reached his target audiences and presented his key messages in a powerful and memorable way. (please comment if you think he used more then those three techniques)
When two people are trying to convey the same key messages, the one with enough charisma and a well structured speech would win people’s heart more easily. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair, but I guess that’s the cruel reality!
