Simon Maier

John F. Kennedy’s phrase: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

It is to the interest of tyrants to cripple and debilitate every species of eloquence. They have no other safety.

rhetoric (the art of using language as a means to persuade)

Conversely, business speakers around the world seemed to be getting worse at making speeches.

very little care or due diligence about political, business or general public speaking.

They had little interest in the topic and even less in the audience.

They felt that speechmaking was an odious duty that got in the way of “proper work”. This view was shared, in the corporate world, by executive advisors and consultants, advertising agency representatives, PR specialists and indeed a whole gamut of people who we always thought would support the value of rhetoric and oratory.

speeches often fall short of audience aspirations or expectations.

While many speeches are weak, some are certainly good, but only a few are truly great.

This prompts the question then, of course: what is it that makes a speech great? And does it matter?