By Victor Ochieng’
Some speeches delivered during the recent inauguration ceremony revealed glaring gaps in our understanding of the art and science of speech delivery. Somehow, the speakers failed to capture the zeitgeist — spirit of the moment.
No wonder, I think that those who pen speeches for them should get prime time and study the speeches of great orators such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Speeches delivered to usher in a new dispensation should win hearts and minds of plenty of people.
In the colourful ceremonies of coronation, it is advisable to be cautious, creative and sensitive. Sometimes, reading a well-written speech can save the speaker from saying what is anathema or what slips out in an unguarded moment.
Put aptly, that is not the time to lash and lambast the opponents. It is foolhardy to use such defining moments to belch bitter words or settle scores with foes. It is unwise to turn an inauguration ceremony into a campaign camp, where impolite politicians spew vile vitriol and venom.
It is utterly wrong to use such celebrations to wash dirty linen in public. More so, in the ubiquity of guests invited to grace the occasion from far-flung places.
In actual sense, a speech delivered during inauguration should create a good mood. Our national leaders should know that they are symbols of unity. Therefore, they should use such occasions to pacify, unite, reconcile, inspire and plant hope in people whose plight is pathetic. They need words that can repair their deep despair.
Such times, where predecessors pass buttons of power to their successors, they should use pleasant tones to mark transition. It is also misguided to disparage the out-going leadership. Use of a critical tone to receive or hand over the instruments of power depicts that we do not heed to the warning in the adage: ‘Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.’
Again, on this, any leader who purports to be a practising Christian should focus on the wise words of Apostle Paul of Tarsus. In his missive to the church at Colossi, in Colossians 4:6, he admonished, “Let your speech be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you know how to answer everyone.”
To put it bluntly, scribes who pen speeches for people in lofty levels should know that inaugural speeches should not be bitter like bile. Instead, they should be rife with life.
For instance, when Franklin D. Roosevelt ascended to power during the Great Depression, Americans were grappling with recession and inflation. His speech was both insightful and inspirational. No wonder, we still remember some powerful parts of it, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
Ipso facto, this is not far from what Kenyans are going through. These are tough times and climes. People are still reeling back from the devastating impacts of Covid-19 crisis. Kenya is also in the red — debt-ridden. On that backdrop, we need leaders who can act as pipes of hope through wise use of words.
In addition, we are in dire need of phenomenal speeches that can enthuse citizens to dream, dare and do. On this, we remember John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s We Choose to Go to the Moon speech, delivered in 1962 at Rice University. In his wonderful words full of hope, he posited, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…”
Somewhat, the speech invigorated American scientists to make a giant leap to the front. Neil Armstrong summarized it, “That was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Moreover, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Britain during the sad season of World War II. As an orator, he used his great gift of the gab to steady the nerves of strong soldiers who waged war with courage. In his soul-stimulating speech We Shall Fight on the Beaches, Churchill charged his compatriots to fight ferociously. In the whole scheme of things, he did not infuriate the country with cheap rhetoric.
Instead, he said, “We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is your policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime…”
Lastly, when we think of application of phenomenal speeches to plant hope in the hearts of people, we focus on I Have a Dream speech, delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963. My prose would posit that King rose to speak at a time that African-Americans suffered segregation due to the colour of their skins. In order to infuse their lives with hope, he chose his words with military precision. King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation, where they will not be judged by the colour of their skins, but by the content of their character.”
The writer is an editor, orator and author. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
