HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world - (The Iron Lady's Lesson from Labour) Darren Kelly, Kellcomm, Blog - Day 43

Hi,

I would like to share the former Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock’s words to the Welsh Labour Party conference in May 1987. Kinnock’s words hit me like an oncoming train because they brought realism, respect and understanding to my own life. I was a normal teenager in 1987 who thought that he could take on the world. I thought I knew it all, perhaps partly because I had achieved more schooling than my ancestors. My ancestors worked in the dockyards of Dublin and on farms across Ireland. They worked long hours for little pay and no security. As a teenager I wondered why they didn’t achieve more for their determination and skill.

Kinnock’s words made a silly teenager internalise the respect and gratitude that was owed to his parents and his ancestors. Kinnock's words also internalised my view that everybody should have access to a “platform.”

These are some of Kinnock’s words.

"Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because our predecessors were thick? Does anybody really think that they didn't get what we had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment? Of course not. It was because there was no platform upon which they could stand."

No matter how eloquent or skilful ‘The Iron Lady’ was, it was these particular words from Kinnock that made the biggest impression on me. Obama’s Vice President, Joe Biden was a Democratic presidential candidate for the 1988 U.S. election. Do you think his speech in 1987 was similar to Neil Kinnock’s speech?

These are some of Biden’s words.

"Why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? ……. Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? ...Is it because they didn't work hard? …….It's because they didn't have a platform on which to stand."

If you had heard Biden’s words, you would have been impressed. When you discovered the similarities to Kinnock’s, you would have thought differently. The lesson here is that when you copy another person’s words, it is only right that you acknowledge their work. The better option is to write and deliver your own words.

I would like to reiterate that my book on Obama is not a political book. Obama once said that America is divided into Republicans and Democrats, but the majority of people’s politics lies somewhere in between. This book analyses the speeches and words of leaders from many political ideologies.

Tomorrow, I will reveal ‘The Iron Lady’s’ humour during her Labour Party battles.

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 out January 31st.

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