Good Speech Bad Speech

I’m a fan of great speeches. Whether real or fictional, great speeches have the capacity for informing and identifying. A good speech causes words to go beyond being mere words. They become a clarion call, a call to arms, not because they were just pretty words, but because they were delivered in such a way that they hit both the mind, and the heart.

In the modern classic movie “Independence Day” there was a speech that changed the whole presentation. The 1996 hit film was originally titled “Doomsday” but the screenwriters didn’t want that to be the message. Actor Bill Pullman played the President of the United States. Pullman is said to have researched great speeches of history and knew that delivery was important. Screenwriter Dean Devlin said he wrote the speech for Pullman’s character with intent to rally, encourage and inspire. But he said when Pullman delivered it everyone on set was taken aback, “staring in awe and wonder”.

Pullman stood in front of a tired, beleaguered group of Americans working to fight back against an invasion of advanced aliens. He stood on a platform with his words growing in their intensity. He delivered the speech not just in words, but in tone and timing.

 "…. should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!' Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"

The studio bosses heard the speech and the movie name was changed from “Doomsday” to “Independence Day”.  Was it a fictional speech? Sure….so what?. I would bet most audiences were ready to whip some aliens with a big stick.

President Trump recently delivered a speech to a joint session of the House and Senate. It marked the 5th time he has delivered such a speech to Congress, and set a record as the longest speech by a President from the floor of the House. Having been in office a little over a month it still took an hour and forty minutes to recite all that has been done in that short amount of time.

I could not help but remember the last such speech. It was Joe Biden in March 2024. The contrast between the two was stark.

I have distinct memories of traveling to the former West Germany, standing on the platform at Checkpoint Charlie, and looking over the Berlin Wall into East Berlin. Turning around to look back into West Berlin was like going from a black-and-white movie to a vibrant technicolor I-max. One was drab and fretful, the other was vibrant and full of life.

That my friends is exactly what it was like to watch Joe Biden a year ago and now compare speech to speech with Donald Trump. Drab and dreary and full of threats, versus optimism and hope and affirmation.

To be honest, the last State of the Union address by Biden was not at all about his policies. No one cared what he had to say. The world was on the edge of its proverbial seat back as to whether Biden would get through the hour without falling down. The relief on Democrat faces as he stepped away from the lectern was not because of positions he espoused. They were just relieved his brain didn’t malfunction in mid-sentence and he knew how to step away from the podium.

Contrast to the speech by Trump: he came on at 9pm eastern and spoke for nearly two hours nonstop. He cited facts, figures, and remembered names. He was relaxed and even delivered some zingers that were obviously not on his teleprompter. He did not put a lid on the day at lunchtime so he could prepare himself. Trump stamina versus Biden stamina are polar opposites.

But there was something else notable about last year’s Biden speech. In March ’24’s address Biden spent an hour scolding America. Raising his voice, shaking his fists, scrunching his face. You could imagine him yelling at those darn neighbor kids to get off his grass! The State of the Union is meant to rally public opinion and make a report to the nation. Biden’s handlers chose to browbeat anyone who dared to differ. For a man who claimed to be the great uniter Joe Biden gave us one of the most rancorously divisive speeches offered from the grand dais of the House.

Again, contrast that with Trump. He wasn’t afraid to call people out, but he did it with sarcasm and wit. And he spent a great deal of time affirming people. One young brain cancer survivor was honored with a Secret Service. Another was told that he will be going to West Point. Moms, athletes, law enforcement officers, and good hardworking folks, one of which was from right here in Alabama, were encouraged, recognized and loved on in stark contrast to Bidens tongue-lashing.

A good speech is as much about tone and delivery as it is about content. Even the best content can still lull an audience to sleep. The greatest diction and resonating voice, can still lack timing. Biden’s speech writers may have put together a litany of potentially strong liberal talking points but the man they wrote it for had no clue how to engage with his audience.

So what’s in a speech? A good speech is far more than just words. A good speech is about delivery as much as content. It rhetorically moves the hearts and minds with tones that invite listeners in, stories that identify with the audience, and timing that hits the mark at the right moment.

Donald Trump just spoke one for the ages. The only thing missing was a mic drop.