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Barak-a-Rock!

The Real Voice behind the Curtain

Who is the President’s REAL voice? His predecessor’s, some say, was Karl or Dick, but Mr. Obama’s REAL voice behind the curtain is a philosopher who lived 2,600 years ago—Aristotle. He can be YOUR voice behind the curtain, too, and even YOU can speak like Barak Obama!

Consider Aristotle’s assumptions:

•   A whole is that which has beginning, middle and end.
•   It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.
•  The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.

Aristotle also said “Evil draws men together.” Think of Hitler’s powerful rhetoric that brought us World War II and the slaughter of the innocents or think of those so-called “Town Hall Meetings” where the idea of health care reform is skewered by people carrying AK-47s and obese men yelling incoherent lies about “Death panels,” while their current Medicaid check is folded neatly in their shirt pockets.

So what makes Barak Obama a gifted speaker? It’s not just delivery– it’s presentation.

1. When he speaks, he looks like he believes what he is saying, so why shouldn’t you?
2. He stands tall (and tall he is), he doesn’t squirm or move around.
3. He’s very smart, but he makes you his ‘friends’ by throwing in anecdotes and jokes and ‘fun’ things—especially about him. Every time Obama is up and speaking, watch and wait – invariably he will tell a story that is uplifting, or a joke that makes you laugh, or do something personal that will get ‘familiarity’ resonating in the audience. This is a very successful technique –in finishing a speech, Obama is, again, different than his competitors. He ends on a tone of hope, just like he carries it through. He doesn’t end on a note of fear or threat.
4. On a basic language- use level, his speeches have some classic trademarks. Anaphora – repeating same words and expressions at the beginning of successive sentences. Martin Luther King Jr. did it with “I have a dream”. Epistrophe–the repeating of a word or phrase at the end of a sentence, also comes into play; most commonly with “Yes we can!” It’s was another of his campaign slogans, and something that the audience came to yell out on their own. It brings a new level of participation to his speeches – a level that his opponents didn’t have. A great example is in his concession speech from New Hampshire:

“It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out for distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.”5.

   5.    His pacing, and pauses, are perfect every time he has something to say. After rallying everyone to a cheer, he will wait long enough to let it die down, then a little longer to let everyone calm down, and then a little longer so that you know what he has to say now is serious. That’s when he brings out a story of the battle for hope, a story he heard ‘on the trail’, and how this person, or that story, is driving him further. He’ll tell the story slower, and more spaced out, than if he were on policy, and a different speed again he speaks of hope and change. And after this, after his personal tale, he will work the crowd up again to a cheer by adjusting his own volume. He gets louder so that the audience gets louder. And then he gets louder again, and the cheering follows in volume.

President Obama paid attention in his rhetoric classes. He learned the three principles laid down by Aristotle 2,600 years ago: ethos (we get our word ethics from it), pathos (empathy) and logos (logic).

In my opinion, as a former professor of public speaking and currently a presentation skills coach, President Obama’s speaking style is perfect. I hope I made a good case for it. When I see him, I’m inspired, as are millions of others. His policies have no immediate effect on me, and I have no part in the U.S. political system. So what about him appeals to me? The way he speaks.

Yes, YOU can!

Tom Roberts, M.A. is a former broadcast journalist and college professor. He has been speaking in public for more than four decades. He devotes his time now as a keynote speaker on mental health issues and is author of two books to be released in December: The Hall of Pain and Chewing through the Straps: Living Successfully with Bipolar Disorder. He is also an executive presentation skills coach and workshop leader. Email: tom@4clearcommunication.com or call 415-367-7505 for more information. URL: http://www.4clearcommunication.com