One of the most effective speakers of the past century, Martin Luther King Jr eloquently led and empowered his followers to multiple successes during the civil rights era. Today as we celebrate MLK Day, the 25th year since its official inception, there is no doubt that his words still hold significance and have the power to influence our generation to action. Andre Dlugan of Six Minutes blog analyzed King’s infamous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and provides the following five lessons for effective speech delivery which are of relevance to any and every speaker today and into the future:
- Emphasize phrases by repeating at the beginning of sentences
- Repeat key “theme” words throughout your speech
- Utilize appropriate quotations or allusions
- Use specific examples to “ground” your arguments
- Use metaphors to highlight contrasting concepts
