Tag Archives: Obama

Saying the Oath of Office Again

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Dear Mr. President (if he really were listening…),

Don’t worry about having to take the oath again. Even though both of you were understandably nervous during the inauguration, it was not your fault. If the other guy would have simply spoken 3-4 words only at a time, and waited for you to repeat them, then went on to the next 3-4 words (instead of saying sentences of 5-10 words at a time) it would have gone a lot smoother! Think of wedding vows – same rule applies, no matter how much you practice the vows ahead of time. Being nervous is natural and understandable, and that is why the lead-speaker needs to slow down, speak clearly and absolutely ‘chunk’ up the sentences to manageable small parts.

Common sense I know, yet…President Obama had to take the oath twice.  🙂

Obama’s Speech and the Use of Threes

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Like many of you, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Barack Obama give yet another powerful and persuasive speech today at his inauguration for presidency. He motivates, inspires and gives hope by using creative speech, story-telling devices and references to great people of the past. He also creates a vision in our heads of what a better future might actually look like and feel like. Truly uplifting and inspiring.

For those of you that missed it or want to hear it again, it is a mere Google search away. Here is one link out of many that you can follow to read and see his speech again.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Inauguration/story?id=6689022&page=1

He is a masterful speaker and I know we can learn from his style. Pay attention to his device of the use of three. He uses three adjectives, verbs or nouns often, as I did above, to speak more poetically and retain the interest of the audience. You too can do this. Sometimes use 2 descriptors or key words, mostly use 3, and you will notice that your public speaking is improved quickly, easily and with more added persuasion.
Enjoy!