27. Advice from Three Powerful Speakers

“Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king.” -- Winston Churchill, British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (during the Second World War) and again from 1951 to 1955.

 

In this world of accelerating technological speed, it would be good if we stepped back in time instead of stepping forward to reveal what three legendary speakers can teach us about public speaking.

In this episode, we will briefly examine the public speaking wisdom of Cicero (106 – 43 BCE), Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965), and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968).

References

• Cicero, “De Oratore”
• Cicero, "On the Ideal Orator"
• Cicero, “Brutus”)
• William Manchester, “The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill”
• Winston Churchill, “The Second World War, Volume II”
• Richard Toye, “The Roar of the Lion: The Untold Story of Churchill’s World War II Speeches”
• Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream” Speech, August 28, 1963
• Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
• Martin Luther King, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” Speech, April 3, 1968