Avoid Giving a Speech at a Roast; Think of the Consequences

I have on other occasions warned public speakers never to speak at a roast. The recent election gives us one more illustration. What got Donald Trump interested in politics to start with? Maybe it was being humiliated at a roast. 

Indeed, at his recent CPAC panel, White House advisor Steve Bannon commented on President Trump's election victory, which overcome what Bannon called opposition from what he called the "mainstream media." Interpreting Bannon's comments, a recent article in the Guardian suggests that Trump had long resented being excluded from the mainstream. This exclusion hit a climax in 2011 when, during the White House Correspondents Dinner, President Barack Obama humilated Trump over his ridiculous birth certificate conspiracy theories.

Obama won round 1. Yes, speaking at the Correspondents Dinner, he humiliated Trump. He did a thorough job of it. Trump had been saying really, really silly things at Obama's expense, and Obama felt that it was right to retaliate. At the same time, sometimes it's better to let your opponent escape with some dignity. Making Trump angry was probably not a good idea. Making a powerful opponent angry leads to consequences, does it not?

So, to repeat: never speak at a roast, and never allow yourself to be roasted. Never. Trust me on this.

President Obama's Most Notable Speeches? Part 2, Charleston

Although it has been quite proper to discuss President Trump's speeches, I did promise a while back to write some more about President Obama's most notable speeches. On June 26, 2015, Obama eulogized Reverend Clementa Pinckney and the other victims of the massacre at Charleston, SC's Emanuel African Methodist Church. I have been fortunate enough to contribute a chapter about this speech to a forthcoming book edited by Sean Patrick O'Rourke and Melody Lehn, Was Blind but Now I See, which studies the rhetoric that surrounded the Charleston shooting.

Obama began the speech, which was, after all, a religious speech at a religious ceremony, with the phrase, "Giving all praise and honor to God." Although many recent presidents have been reluctant to talk in any depth about the Christian faith, Obama has often been willing to do so. His religious views, although consistent with the mainstream United Church of Christ (to which he belonged for many years), do differ from those that some conservative Protestants advocate. As a Wesleyan denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church has a long-standing commitment to tolerance, social action, and social justice. Accordingly, it is unlikely that they would share the negative attitudes toward Obama's religious beliefs that some of his more conservative Christian critics expressed. Obama neither argued with nor contradicted those who questioned his religion, he merely asserted his praise.

Obama's speech continued to discuss the church's importance in the African-American community:

Black churches served as “hush harbors” where slaves could worship in safety; praise houses where their free descendants could gather and shout hallelujah -- (applause) -- rest stops for the weary along the Underground Railroad; bunkers for the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement.  They have been, and continue to be, community centers where we organize for jobs and justice; places of scholarship and network; places where children are loved and fed and kept out of harm’s way, and told that they are beautiful and smart -- (applause) -- and taught that they matter. (WH Transcript)

Obama speaking in Charleston

In passages like this, Obama identified with the largely African-American audience, focusing on the religious tradition that he and they shared. He established his identification and unity with the audience. He drove that point home when he sang a verse from the old hymn "Amazing Grace" at the end of the speech. Knowing this famous song, his audience joined in the singing. Singing together is an act of unity in itself. By singing with the congregation, Obama conveyed that he did not attend as an outsider; he was actively joining in their worship service. Of course, this took much courage. Any beginning public speaking student will tell you that much courage is required simply to give a speech in front of a small group; for a non-musician to speak and sing on the world stage was something else entirely. Although it is fairly unusual for preachers or eulogists to break out into song in the churches that White Christians usually attend, singing in church is a long-standing practice in many African-American congregations.

The media described Obama's eulogy as "searing" and "Obama at his best." Kenneth Burke wrote that identification, not persuasion, as rhetoric's central term. Obama made little effort to persuade, but much effort to identify.


Here are my earlier comments about other Obama speeches.

Official White House photo by Lawrence Jackson, via Wikipedia

Made-Up Founding Fathers Quotations: A Free Article You Can Read

George Washington, LOC

My article, "The Illusion of Tradition: Spurious Quotations and the Gun Control Debate," was published in volume 52 of Argumentation and Advocacy. The article's point is that some (certainly not all) gun control opponents quote George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to support radical anti-government views. Some gun control opponents think that the Second Amendment's original purpose was to arm citizens against their own government, which is, of course, not true. Since these people have no evidence to support their opinion, they misquote Washington and Jefferson to say things that they never actually said.


Fake Founding Fathers quotations can be argument-stoppers. You might argue with a modern right-wing speaker, but no one wants to argue with Washington or Jefferson. Thus, made-up or misattributed quotations let gun control opponents support a radical position when they have no real proof.

Thomas Jefferson, LOC

The journal's publisher, Taylor and Francis, has given me 50 free e-prints of the article. So, if you would like to read the article at no charge, just click this link, which will work until the 50 free e-prints are gone:

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GWMdEEeprswhZZsCx4Un/full 

Also, USC Aiken students and faculty can read the article (and other articles in Argumentation and Advocacy) on Communication and Mass Media Complete, which is one of the Gregg-Graniteville Library's databases. Those special people can click on library.usca.edu and search on the database.

You can also read my earlier post about using quotations in a speech.

Warren Buffet Says It's True: Develop Public Speaking Skills

Financier Warren Buffett said that developing public speaking skills is a great investment. How right he is!

I've seen this many times. In business, of course. What would you expect? I once had a business student tell me that he was too nervous to take a public speaking class. I told him that maybe he should change majors. Instead, he decided to take the course. He did just fine.

Many generals and admirals would rather have a root canal than to give a public speech. All the same, pretty much all of them are very good public speakers. You simply cannot rise to that level of leadership unless you can explain your points and persuade people that they are true.

I've heard several top psychologists speak. Surely, yes, they published very good research. But, as far as I can can tell, all of the top psychologists are also fine speakers. If you want people to hear your ideas, you need to present them clearly and with effect, and there is no substitute for doing so orally in front of an audience. So, take it from Mr. Buffett: learn how to give a speech.

Free Speech on College Campuses, Follow-Up

It happened again. A protest shut down a controversial campus speaker; in this case, Milo Yiannopoulos.

I, for one, have no use for Milo Yiannopoulos. His opinions are wrong. The protestors who object to his speech are, however, only giving him more publicity.

Bill of Rights, Nat'l Archives

The protestors should have more confidence in their fellow students. Let them listen and make up their own minds.

That I listen to someone's speech does not mean that I agree with that person. It only means that I want to be informed. Freedom does not mean that only the popular people get heard. Freedom of speech also protects views that are unpopular, and it even protects people who are evil. As Thomas Jefferson said in his First Inaugural Address, "error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it."

If you don't like what someone has to say, then don't attend the speech. Or, better, listen to the speech, and then give a better speech on the other side of the topic. Shutting the other speaker down is the path to anarchy and tyranny. 

See my first post about this topic.