Lessons Learned from a Speech by President Obama

Photo by ProgressOhio
The use of this photo is not a support for the ProgressOhio
movement, but rather I like their photo.

I watched, and I know this will surprise you, President Obama’s 2016 White House Correspondents’ Dinner from a few days ago.  Obviously, my politics and beliefs are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from President Obama.  As I watched the speech, however, I found myself becoming a student.  Not a student of his rhetoric, but of his delivery of the content.

Whatever I or others may say about this President, he is a great communicator.  He knows and understands how to move his audience to action.  Granted, I would have never been to one of his rally’s and I would never have been stirred to action because of our fundamental differences, but I can see how he moved a segment of the population two times.

He weaves stories and humor into his speeches.  He controls the audience and leads them where he wants them to go.  His speech was around thirty-three minutes long, yet, it felt as if he had only spoken ten to fifteen minutes.

What is his secret?  Is all the credit to be given to his speech writers?  Does the credit go to the video editors who pieced together his clips and pictures?  Obviously, these individuals have a part to play, but at the end of the day it really does come down to the charisma of the communicator.

So, what were some of the things I observed about this speech?  Firstly, he connected on a personal level.  He named specific people from a wide range of differing ideologies in the first few moments of his speech.  It was as if he were saying, “I know we are not on the same team, but if we can drop our guarded positions, then we might just be able to get something worthwhile done here.”

Secondly, as I have already mentioned, he used stories.  Stories have a way of helping us see what the communicator is trying to convey.  We can visualize the events taking place and can at some level say, “I relate to you.  I see what you are seeing.”  When the audience gets to this place they are then able to say, “I can join you in this journey.”  Just to reassure everyone, I am not joining him or any socialist on their journey.  The point I am trying to make is the importance of story.  When we communicate we need to put the person in the story on a personal level.

Thirdly, as I have also mentioned, he used humor.  On several occasions he brought up controversial topics, but when he did, he would quickly subvert the message with humor.  In other words, he had an agenda, but he would state his thought, then make you laugh so that the sting of what he had just said is softened.  Some might argue this technique is manipulation, but I would say it is good communication.  We need to set people at ease when we are trying to lead them to a specific destination and humor helps people to take a breath when they get nervous.

There are other things for which I could complement President Obama on regarding his oratory prowess, but I think you get the point.  We all need to improve our communication ability.  Language is the primary tool we use to influence people.  Let us learn to master the art of communication and by God’s grace lead them to Him.  Do you have any thoughts or opinions you would like to comment regarding this blog?  If so, please share them and let’s let the entire community benefit from your thoughts.

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