Obama’s Speech Making Strategies
ABSTRACT
One of the reasons Barack Hussein Obama won his presidential election of the United States of America is that he knows how to deliver a powerful speech. In 2004, when a little-known senator from Illinois gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention he started it all. That senator was Obama. It was a remarkable speech - poetic, and inspiring. The people who heard it would remember it for a long time.
This paper attempts to analyze the significant roles that ethical appeal, language appeal and gestural appeal play in English speeches. These three appeals serve to achieve the ultimate goal of strengthening the persuasive force of the speakers who aim to inform and persuade. The sample data has been collected from some keynote speeches of President Barack Obama and some personal experience that the author has had by taking part in some competitions and public presentations.
The sample analyses testify to the conclusion that ethical appeal, language appeal, and gestural appeal are very important parts for a successful public speaking; if used probably and creatively they can help establish the credibility of the speaker, arouse the desired emotions in the audience and get them around to accepting the speaker’s way of reasoning and eventually resonate the speaker with the audience. This paper has the practical purpose of offering some guidance in theory and practice to students interested in public speaking, an important skill in modern society.
Key words: Obama, appeal, speech, public speaking, body languge
奥巴马演讲策略
摘 要
巴拉克•奥巴马能成为当今美国总统,其中一个重要因素是他卓越的演讲策略。在2004年美国民主党全国代表大会上,一位鲜为人知的伊利诺斯州的参议员发表了一篇富有激情、振奋人心的演讲，为他铺垫了成功的道路,他就是巴拉克奥巴马。当场所有的人无不为之鼓舞、喝彩。
这篇论文主要借助美国现任总统巴拉克奥巴马的演讲案例来分析人格魅力，语言魅力和手势这三种魅力在英语演讲中所扮演的重要角色。这三者是每篇优秀演讲能最终用以打动和感染观众所必备的因素。本文主要是收集奥巴马一些主要的演讲，并结合作者亲身经历的一些演讲比赛经验和公共演讲的心得体会做题材。
所有的阐述都为表明，人格魅力、语言魅力和肢体语言的表达是成功演讲的重要因素；三者的巧妙结合可以使演讲者与观众建立一种互相的信任，并能引起观众的强烈共鸣。通过本文能使广大演讲爱好者和读者得到理论和实际的引导，帮助众多学生克服公共演讲中所遇到的困难，使我们掌握现代社会中这项必备的技能。
关键词：奥巴马，魅力，演讲稿，公共演讲，肢体语言
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT I
摘 要 II
Introduction 1
1 The Power of English Public Speaking 2
2 Biography of President Barack Obama 4
2.1 The Educational Experience That Led to Obama’s Success 4
2.2 The Life Experience That Established Obama’s Personal Appeal 5
3 Keynote Address at the 2004 Domecratic National Convention 7
4 Obama’s Speech Making Strategies 9
4.1 Verbal Strategies 9
4.1.1 The Words That Matter 9
4.1.2 The Power of Rhetorical Linguistics in Speaking 10
4.2 Non-Verbal Strategies 11
4.2.1 Obama’s Ways of Delivering 11
4.2.2 Gestures That Go with the Meaning of the Words 13
4.1.3 Voice and Intonation 15
5 Difficulties That Chinese Students Are Facing 16
6 Remedies for Poor Presentation 18
6.1 Choosing a Topic 18
6.2 Writing the speech 19
6.3 Controlling Nervousness 20
6.4 Presenting the speech 21
Conclusion 22
Bibliography 23
Acknowledgments 24
