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Speeches from the 2012 Republican and Democratic National Conventions

Democratic and Republican Conventions

The hoopla is over, the streamers and confetti have been swept up and the delegates have returned home. Yes, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in the United States have concluded, but not before treating us to a Smörgåsbord of speeches.

The speeches were full of stories of personal triumph over adversity, rhetorical barbs directed at opponents, the occasional bending of the truth, and an overall trust-us-not-them flavour. There were good speeches, so-so speeches and slightly bizarre speeches—I’ll never look at an empty chair on a stage the same way again.

And through it all, the party faithful cheered like hyper-caffeinated college students who have just finished their final exams. In other words, it was pretty much par for the course.

The New York Times has done a wonderful job of assembling the main speeches of both conventions and analyzing the key ones. Here is an interactive analyses of:

Photos courtesy of DonkeyHotey / Flickr

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  1. I agree, the speeches made very interesting viewing. Even the one to an empty chair. I could just imagine Clint had the idea of how he was going to say everything when he went out and imagining the response, but yes, the rest is history.
    Even though I am not American (Australian) I particularly liked Clinton’s speech. Although he used a teleprompter it was described how he ad-libbed like a great jazz musician.
    http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-07/news/33651435_1_teleprompter-bill-clinton-nomination-speech
    Additionally, the use of metaphors, antithesis and repetition in the democratic speeches. This article here gives a great breakdown. I have already used some of those methods at my toastmaster’s club.
    http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/09/813021/how-to-give-a-winning-speech-like-obama-and-clinton/

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment, Greg. Like you, I am not American (Canadian) but found the speeches fascinating. And like you, I thought that Clinton shone above the others. Thank you also for sharing the links.
      John

      Reply

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John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

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I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

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John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

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After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

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Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

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HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

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John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

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Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

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CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

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Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

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Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International