HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world - (The Iron Lady) by Darren Kelly, Kellcomm, Blog - Day 31

Hi,

The movie ‘The Iron Lady’ will be released in cinemas from January 6th in the UK. It was Winston Churchill who coined the phrase, the ‘Iron Curtain’, and a Russian newspaper responded years later with the words ‘Iron Lady’ to describe Margaret Thatcher. Oscars winner Meryl Streep plays the Tory leader who was both loved and loathed.

While I believe Obama is the finest communicator of the last 30 years, I still believe that Thatcher had some brilliant traits too. She possessed the credibility and understanding of logic that Aristotle wrote about. However, her ability to empathise has been criticised. Her very first speech in The White House in 1979, during President Jimmy Carter's reign shows that she could possess empathy and humour when she wanted to. She is remembered though for the many speeches she gave with no empathy or humour.

In the book, I discuss how all great leaders borrow speaking skills from other leaders and other people. Thatcher’s famous phrase, ‘The lady’s not for turning’ was borrowed from a Christopher Fry novel called ‘The lady’s not for burning’. When I watched Obama deliver his ‘American Jobs Act’ speech this year, he possessed an air of authority and passion that brought back memories of Thatcher. He said, “Pass this jobs bill now,” 15 times. Obama, like Thatcher, understands the importance of repetition in a speech. When Thatcher spoke to The House of Commons in 1990 about Jacques Delors' desire to centralise power in Europe, she loudly proclaimed, “No, No.No." In 1997, Tony Blair looked John Major in the eye and said, “Weak, Weak, Weak.” Leaders are never afraid to cross sides when they spot a skill, phrase, word or style that can help them communicate their message.

Tomorrow, I will discuss the Thatcher speech that made America smile, and offer a deeper comparison to Obama.

Take care,

Darren.


PS: 'HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world' - is available on iTunes and Amazon NOW!
Audio Version only.
Text version in January 2012.

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