Chapter 27 Brewing an Award-Winning Speech

Here we present to you a speech we gave at the National Association of Real Estate Boards many years ago.At that time, it competed with 27 speeches from other cities, and it was the champion—even if it is placed among the many speeches today, I believe it will stand out!This speech is well-conceived, with clear and substantial examples, vivid and interesting content, full of passion and momentum.Therefore, it is very worthwhile for us to read and study. Mr. Chairman, Friends: Dating back one hundred and forty-four years ago, our great motherland, the United States of America, was born in my hometown of Philadelphia.It goes without saying that this city with such a historic record has the strongest American spirit, and this spirit has made Philadelphia not only the largest industrial center in the country, but also the most beautiful and largest city in the world. city.

Philadelphia has a population of nearly 2 million, and its area is equivalent to the sum of the four cities of Milwaukee, Boston, Paris and Berlin. On a land of 130 square kilometers, we have opened up 8,000 acres of the best places to build a beautiful Parks, squares, and boulevards, so we have the best places for recreation and entertainment, and these also belong to every sacred American citizen. My friends, Philadelphia is not only a clean and beautiful big city, but also known as the "Giant Workshop of the World".The reason why we have the nickname "World Workshop" is that we have more than 400,000 workers and 9,200 factories, which can produce useful goods worth 100,000 US dollars every ten minutes, and, according to authoritative statistics, in In the country, Philadelphia's output of wool products, feather products, woven products, textiles, felt hats, hardware utensils, precision instruments, storage batteries, steel ships and many other commodities ranks first.We produce a railroad locomotive every two hours, and more than half the nation's population rides streetcars made in Philadelphia; every minute, we make a thousand cigars; Two pairs of socks were produced; we produced more rugs and rugs than the combined area of ​​England and Ireland.In fact, our commercial and industrial transactions last year were so prodigious that our bank clearings amounted to $37 billion, which is more than enough to cover the total amount of Liberty Bonds in the country.

Friends, when we are proud of our outstanding industrial achievements, we are also proud that Philadelphia is the largest center of medicine, art, and education in the country, and what makes us even more proud is that the number of families in Philadelphia is the highest in the world. Second to none in any city.In Philadelphia there are three hundred and ninety-seven thousand separate households, and if they were lined up twenty-five feet apart, this would pass through the convention hall of Kansas City to Dover, a total of eighteen hundred and eighty-one mile. Philadelphia is not a fertile ground for European anarchy, for our homes, our educational institutions, and our vast industries contain the true American spirit that originated in our city and is the legacy of our forefathers .Philadelphia is the mother city of our great country, the birthplace of American freedom.Here is where the first American flag was raised; where the first Congress met; where the Declaration of Independence was signed; and where America's most cherished relic, the Liberty Bell, awakened the American people , let us firmly believe that our sacred mission is not to worship the golden cow, but to spread the American spirit, and let the fire of freedom burn; let us, with the will of God, make the administration of Washington, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt The guiding light for all mankind.

Next, let's analyze the speech above to see how it was conceived and how it achieved its effect.First, the speech is echoed throughout, which is a very precious virtue—probably more precious than you think.After it opened, it went straight to the topic without any deviation and without wasting any time. It is novel and full of personality.The speaker started by talking about his own city, pointing out that Philadelphia is the birthplace of the entire country, which determines that it can never be the same as other speakers. Many speakers have claimed that Philadelphia is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world. This is just generality, nothing new, and empty preaching is not impressive.The speaker knew this well enough to visualize the size of Philadelphia as "equal to the combined size of the four cities of Milwaukee, Boston, Paris, and Berlin," in order to visualize his audience's senses.This makes the size of Philadelphia definite and specific.This expression is also full of wit and wit, which surprised people by the "big" area of ​​​​Philadelphia, which left a deep impression on the audience.Such a statement is far more convincing than citing figures throughout the article.

He then goes on to claim that Philadelphia is known as the "Giant Workshop of the World," which seems like an exaggeration. It sounds like mere publicity, but is it?If he stops here without proof, the answer is yes.But he didn't jump to the next topic, but listed the world's leading products in Philadelphia: wool products, feather products, weaving products, textiles, hardware utensils, precision instruments, storage batteries, steel ships.Now, does the name "Workshop of the World" still sound like a hype? Philadelphia "constructs a railroad locomotive every two hours, and more than half the nation's population rides on streetcars produced here".After reading this, we can't help falling into thinking: Oh, I didn't know this at all before. Maybe the tram I took when I arrived in the city yesterday was produced here. I have to pay attention when I ride again tomorrow. Also figuring out where we got these trams.

"A thousand cigars per minute—two pairs of socks per person".This made our impression even more impressive.Maybe my favorite cigars are made here, and these socks I wear... What did the speaker say next?Did he add some more material about the size of Philadelphia?it's not true. Whenever he mentioned a point, he always tried to be thorough and avoid repetition.This is exactly where we are grateful to this Mr. Speech.Otherwise, how confusing it would be if a speaker was as incoherent and clueless as a bat in flight at dusk.Unfortunately, however, this is exactly the case with many speakers who, instead of presenting their points in an orderly "first, second, third, fourth, fifth" approach, act like captains on a football field. , Calling numbers at random - "27, 34, 19, 2".

What's more, the speech appears random and repetitive, just as the numbers arranged in this way are generally identical-"27, 34, 27, 19, 2, 34, 19".But the speaker, like the railroad locomotive he was talking about, drove straight ahead on time, never stopping, turning, or turning. But here comes the weakest link in the entire speech: his declaration that Philadelphia is "one of the greatest centers of medicine, arts, and education in the nation."Without explaining anything, he immediately moved on to something else—in sixteen words trying to make this statement vivid, vivid, and impressive.In this eighty-character sentence, these sixteen characters seem insignificant and difficult to be effective.Because people's brains are not like steel tracks that leave sharp imprints later.Since he spent very little time and his expressions were general and vague, it seems that he has left no mark on himself, let alone the influence on the audience?

So, what should have been done?He knew that he should have argued this point in a similar way to the argument that "Philadelphia is a workshop of the world," but he also knew that he had five minutes left, either to stop here or to Ignoring it elsewhere, he had no choice. "Far more independent families live in Philadelphia than in any other city in the world."How did he impress and convince people on this topic?First, he cited the number: 397,000.Second, he visualized the figure: "If you lined them up twenty-five feet apart, that would pass through the convention hall in Kansas City to Dover, a total of eighteen hundred and eighty-one miles."

Perhaps, before he finished the sentence, the audience had already thrown the number into the sky, but would they forget the picture in which the speaker visualized the number?Absolutely not.We will analyze the objective factual materials of this speech.However, we know that it is impossible to create an eloquent momentum with only factual materials.So the speaker has been planning to push his speech to a climax that will shake the hearts and stir the emotions of his audience. So, at the end of the essay, he incorporates emotional material.He extolled Philadelphia as "the birthplace of American liberty."Freedom is a magic word, full of passion, and it is for this passion that millions of people have given their lives.The word, in itself, is only good, but if it is combined with an event of historical significance, a declaration, cherished, sacred, it will be a million times better, and it will arouse a strong resonance in the hearts of the audience. "This is where the first American flag was hoisted; where the first Congress met; where the Declaration of Independence was signed - the Bell of Liberty - the sacred mission - sow the spirit of America - let the fire of liberty burn; Let us, with the will of God, make the administration of Washington, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt a guiding light for all mankind."

We will analyze these for the composition of this speech.But we should also know that although it is admirable from the perspective of composition, if we express it with a calm voice and manner, without passion and vitality, this speech can also be an impressive speech. Disappointing or meaningless speeches.However, this speaker delivered with passion and loyalty, as if telling his own true feelings.Therefore, this speech finally won the first place.Getting the Chicago Cup should come as no surprise.