Why Give Speeches?

As I’ve written more and more posts for this blog, I’ve found myself asking one simple question. Why do people give speeches? I’ve considered, lately, the many type of speeches there are.

A handout on speeches states, “Most speeches invite audiences to react in one of three ways: feeling, thinking, or acting.”

Feeling? Most definitely. I think back to high school when my sister and I were particularly wrapped up in chick flicks. We were going to make a video that comprised only the “cute” speeches from all of our favorite films.

Noah’s famous speech from The Notebook was the first speech on our list: “So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday.”

In Moulin Rouge, Christian tries to convince Satin of a real love that exists outside the whore house. He says, “ But, a life without love, that's... terrible... No! Love is like oxygen!..Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!”

Why is it that these speeches attract us? They evoke emotion. They are given to make us feel.

As a college student, the type of speech I’m most familiar with is the college lecture. It is given to make us think, to help us learn.

I think these types of speeches are becoming less important because oftentimes, the classroom is becoming more interactive and less like a speech. Nonetheless, speeches to teach extend to religious forums, humanitarian promotion, and commercials on television.

I often picture Henry David Thoreau’s words from Walden in the form of a speech. His quotations are so memorable that many people quote them in speeches. “I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately…” Thoreau says. This speech promotes action. Who wouldn’t, after hearing these words, wish to find out what’s important about life, front only its essential parts, and live as deliberately as Thoreau himself lived.

Whether given to evoke emotion, promote thought, or ignite to action, speeches are unquestionably an important part of our current culture.