Written by Karen D. Swim
Last night I watched the President of the United States deliver his first address to the joint session of Congress. This President was applauded for his brilliant marketing tactics during the election so I am always eager to listen and pick up lessons that will help me engage my customers.
This post, however is not about politics, but rather the train of thought inspired by the words. Let me repeat this is not a political post.
I enjoy the artistry of speeches. It is a joy to listen to the structure and rhythm of the words and how they move the crowd. Like all speeches, last night a few of the passages really struck me. I read the words again as I considered their application to day to day business life and my own interactions with clients. Below I’ve listed a few that caught my attention along with my thoughts/questions for reflection.
“The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.”
What a great line! Many marketers have spun messages around the recession but lines like this inspire us to nod to reality but not allow it to define us for the future.
“The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.”
As entrepreneurs and marketers are we inclusive? Do we inspire everyone at our client and prospect companies that they are meaningful to the process? In our places of employment, does everyone feel connected to the vision and value of the company?
“In other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. “
When presenting solutions to clients are we simply satisfying short term goals or are we aligning with long term positioning? Asking the tough questions in these economic times, will certainly stand out to clients who need more than a message of hope for today but a plan of action that will stabilize their future.
“And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.
Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here.”
Okay, so we’ve made mistakes. There were things we should have done but it’s time to move past them and take charge of the future. How can we deliver that message to our clients and colleagues? What can we do to take charge now that the future is here?
Do you like speeches as much as I do? Are there any that are memorable for you?
Andrew says
Karen,
I agree with Joanna, Brad, Ulla, Alina and others in that you are being too hard on yourself, and there is no reason whatsoever that you shouldn’t have shared this with us.
As noted by some of the above commenters, you stated your intentions clearly from the beginning.
Although I do not typically follow speeches of a political nature, there are certainly some good ones out there and I don’t see any reason why marketers should indeed look at some of the more effective speeches in order to derive some valuable lessons about communication.
Andrew´s last blog post..Employee rights and responsibilities part 10: Same work, same pay
Roland Hesz says
Oh yes, memorable speech:
1989. Oct. 23.: It was given by the principal of the high-school, he said Hungary is a Republic now, and we can go home.
Thinking about it, I think it’s evident that like with Alina, there were no good speeches here either – well, we are neighbours, have the same curse I guess :))
Roland Hesz says
I find it interesting how a speech given by a politician can mean the exact opposite depending whether you like him or not.
And based on my observation it is usually personal dislike and prejudices, not facts or anything based on reality that makes someone agree with a politician.
I also find it interesting that we always think that the giver of the speech is who counts, his actions will determine anything and so on and not the listener.
But just for a moment, please, stop and think.
Let’s imagine that one person stands out in the spotlight and states:
“We are living in dark times. Doom is coming our way, our very existence is in danger. Thank you for listening” and then leaves the stage.
Does it matter what he said? Well, in a sense yes, but not really. What matters is what the listeners heard, and what conclusions they draw, what decisions they make.
The above lines can prompt people to roll on their back whining and crying “oh wailey, wailey, there will be reckoning, we gonna die, dree our weird, oh wailey wailey!!”. Doom comes, people get squashed, everyone dies. Not too productive, is it?
On the other hand it can prompt people to roll up their sleeves and say “oh yeah? let it come, we gonna kick the scuggan, no doom will make us give up” and then get to work and pull through the whole doom thing, as the poet wrote it over 150 years ago “fewer in numbers but never broken, the nation lives in our homeland”.
[Forgive me for the ‘wailey wailey’ and the ‘scuggan’, read too many Pratchett and the Wee Free man are funny :)]
The difference? The first bunch of people concentrated on the word doom, decided that the message of the speech is that there is no escape and acted accordingly.
The second group heard that there are tough times coming, and decided that the message of the speech is that they should prepare for a long and hard fight against heavy odds and acted like that.
In the communication course we learned when two people speak, there are actually 6 of them
The True Joe, Joe as he thinks of himself, and Joe as perceived by Julie. And of course the same for Julie.
Now imagine that someone gives a rousing speech to 100,000 people. There is the actual words spoken, with the real meaning, the meaning the speaker thinks he conveys, and then 100,000 meanings as the speech is interpreted by the audience, each meaning distorted by three filters:
the true listener, the listener as he thinks of himself, and the way the listener perceives the speaker.
People always bring up Martin L. King as an example. But lets not forget his speech is so inspiring and all because we see King as a hero, and we agree with him and our filters does not distort much on his speech.
Now if you play the same speech to a white-supremacist in 1914 I bet the speech would get a different rating for obvious reasons.
As for the actual speech given by Obama.
I doubt that anyone can seriously believe that the President of the US will and should solve the problem. I seriously doubt that out of 305,880,000 (that’s almost 306 million) people living in the US it is the President who will and should do the actual work.
No, he will give speeches, will smile in the camera, will encourage and cheer on, but the work will be done by the people. And the work the people will do will be based on how they interpret the situation, what they hear in the speeches and what they want to achieve.
Alina Popescu says
Hi Karen! I do not regret you posting this! Inspiration is a rare commodity and should be looked for everywhere 🙂
I am a big Obama fan. Not for political reason, but because of these wonderful speeches. Besides, it’s been centuries since I’ve last seen an articulate, charismatic politician in Romania, one that does not make a grammar mistake in every speech, or says something offensive for some people and so on. Plus, no matter if they’re the right or wrong choice, it’s important for people we hear of everyday to inspire us, rather than bore us to death and make us not care. It’s not about right or wrong, it’s about hope for me.
I loved your interpretation of the speech. Much needed in a time where negative news is all that we hear of!
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome says
Karen:
I hope my comment didn’t come across as negative. I love that you could pull things out of the speech and could draw inspiration from for yourself and for small businesses in general.
It’s not something I do but perhaps could learn from…
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post..Discipline is not enough – by Isabel Joely Black
Joanna Young says
Hear hear Ulla!
Joanna Young´s last blog post..Allowing Ourselves to be Successful – Guest Post by Alex Fayle
Ulla Hennig says
Karen and all the others,
may I throw my 2 cents in?
1. My admittedly very personal opinion is, that you are a bit too harsh on yourself. You made very clear in the beginning of your post that it is no political blog post – so I don’t see why you shouldn’t have published it.
2. As far as I know your blog community we all are able to have different views on politics and nevertheless communicate those views without intending to harm each other intentionally (and unintentionally, I would even say).
3. Having differing views on how the present economical and political situation in the States and in the world could be bettered an solved is one thing – but appreciating each other as a person and human being and friend, as we all do here – is another thing. If we who know each other and appreciate each other cannot exchange our – differing maybe – views, who could then?
Ulla Hennig´s last blog post..Scarborough Fair
Brad Shorr says
Hey Karen, don’t beat yourself up. You made your intentions very clear in the intro to the post, and I, more than the others, seized on the opportunity to change the subject. The fact you were inspired is a good thing. I’m looking for inspiration anywhere I can find it. Many days the news is gloomy everywhere you look and with every client you talk to. And that’s one thing we can always count on here – inspiration and positive thinking!
Brad Shorr´s last blog post..Exciting New Resource for Chicago Entrepreneurs
Joanna Young says
I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself Karen. Maybe it just needs a marketing postscript – best copy in the world won’t work if your product doesn’t deliver 😉
Karen Swim says
Alex, Robert, Joanna and Brad – Thank you so much for the comments. The rules are you don’t have to agree with me. I am always open to other opinions and it will never deter how much I like you all. (Brad, I could never hate you silly goose!).
I agree a great speech is meaningless if the actions don’t line up. I regretted publishing this post as soon as I woke up this morning. My own need to be inspired should have been worked out in my journal not my blog. It was not intended as a political analysis. In my own fierce determination to find joy amidst these difficult times this post was sorely misdirected. I needed those words but I did not need to share them. So, this is a lesson for me and I hope one that others can learn from and not repeat. If something is troubling you, let it sit, better to post nothing than to post something you will regret.
Brad Shorr says
Hi Karen, Robert said it well. When someone gives a rousing speech in support of ideas I believe in, I am thrilled. But it’s the ideas, not the words, that matter. Throughout history there have been many great speech givers who have led their populace down the road to ruin. What I find utterly amazing in our political arena is a vast reluctance to really scrutinize the principles behind the words we are putting into action. To take charge of our future, we have to think, and think hard. If Obama’s words inspire that, then we might be OK. If the words are used to soften us up for a preconceived set of policies, I think we’re in for a world of hurt. (I hope for the best, and for saying this, Karen, I hope you won’t hate me.)
Brad Shorr´s last blog post..Exciting New Resource for Chicago Entrepreneurs
Friar says
Meh. I don’t put too much emphasis on speeches…probably because I rarely see good ones in Canada.
I saw them replay Martin Luther King’s “I had a dream speech” on TV not too long ago…and I thought: “Now…THAT was a leader!…THAT was a man with a vision”.
Then I tried to remember the last time I felt that way about a fellow Canadian. And I couldn’t. We haven’t had a great leader in our country in decades.
If you don’t believe me, check out our last Prime MInister ‘s finest moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbaxSNh3KB4
Friar´s last blog post..Blogging Commenter Stereotypes
Joanna Young says
Karen, I do like listening to speeches and seeing how the langauge works (and doesn’t). Obama has a wonderful gift with rhetoric, and allowing people to feel involved and empowered. He’s arrived to a huge set of challenges though, and that’s going to demand action and proof of results much earlier than he might otherwise have hoped for…
Joanna Young´s last blog post..Allowing Ourselves to be Successful – Guest Post by Alex Fayle
Robert Hruzek says
Nobody doubts Mr. Obama’s ability to give a speech – the man has established that beyond measure! But what if, as over 45% of the folks here in the U.S. believe, he is leading us towards disaster and not rescue?
It’s not the words and how well they’re said that matters; it’s what we actually DO that counts. That’s why I’ve rarely been moved by political speeches.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome says
I don’t actually follow speeches but a good speech to me is one that uses simple language and looks at the reality of a situation (hence why I don’t listen to political speeches much) 😉