Speeches, great or less than great, are orations, a medieval English term that descends from the Latin "oracioun" for prayer and refers to formal addresses typically delivered to the public. Public speaking has been studied and practiced worldwide for thousands of years, going back at least to Mesopotamia's Sumerian and Akkadian empires. The practice's origins are often traced to ancient Greece, where early philosophers and educators coined the term rhetorike. The philosopher Plato described rhetoric as the art of winning the soul through discourse, but today it's often considered the study of persuasion in all its forms.
What makes a speech great is up for debate, though a strong metric is whether the speech's story transcends the moment it's delivered in and remains relevant for future generations.
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Clear and eloquent speech is valuable for people in all walks of life. Some tips for becoming an effective speaker include considering your audience and how to benefit them, defining the goals of your speech, and practicing.
Wallace, a university professor and famed author of "Infinite Jest," delivered this commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. Wallace sought to avoid the usual conventions and instead gave future grads honest, direct advice for navigating everyday life as white-collar workers and challenging one's own self-centeredness.
Delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. King’s speech tied civil rights demands to America’s founding ideals. It helped shape public memory of the movement before a crowd of more than 250,000 and millions watching nationwide.
Gehrig's diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that now bears his name, forced him to retire early. Weeks later, he spoke with gratitude and stated, "For the past two weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Gehrig died at the age of 37, about two years later.
Eleven months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt outlined four fundamental freedoms that, in his words, people “everywhere in the world” ought to enjoy—speech, worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Delivered to a joint session of Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Dec. 7 “a date which will live in infamy.” The speech, heard by tens of millions of Americans, helped consolidate national support for entering the war.
These political experts highlight standout State of the Union addresses that shaped the nation’s direction—from Washington’s first and Lincoln’s Civil War messages to FDR’s wartime resolve, LBJ’s Great Society launch, and Clinton’s scandal-shadowed 1998 speech.
On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy set forth this argument for the effort to land humans on the moon’s surface, casting the Apollo mission in terms of historic human ambitions.
Each year at the Academy Awards, winners of the highest achievements in film give speeches expressing their gratitude, while also venturing into politics, humor, and emotion. Some speeches are met with boos, including Littlefeather's message from Brando refusing the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans in film. Others have remained memorable for their brevity, like Joe Pesci's six-word acceptance.
Winston Churchill’s impassioned wartime oratory united Britain’s resolve, transforming fear into defiance and forging a path to continued resistance against Nazi aggression.