Table of contents

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Abraham Lincoln

Selected Speeches by Abraham Lincoln
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lin ... speech.htm

Adolf Hitler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sp ... olf_Hitler

1933 - Adolf Hitler's first speech as the chancellor of Germany(?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHr2SNjbnc
- Goebbels makes a comment in his intro that's pretty haunting
2:30 - Hitler waits for total silence before beginning to speak. He waits 35 seconds after the clapping has stopped.
2:55 - He addresses the audience and then pauses a full 10 seconds.
3:10-3:20 - His first sentence starts out at a low tone of voice and then goes lower at the end of the sentence.
3:24-3:30 - His second sentence starts out with a higher starting tone of voice and then gradually goes lower, ending higher than the previous sentence.
3:30 - - His third sentence starts with an even higher tone of voice and goes higher at the middle of the sentence before dropping a little.

1936 - The Führer as a Speaker by Dr. Joseph Goebbels
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ahspeak.htm

2001 - Interview with Hitler's secretary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3I0pm14cRU&t=22m10s
22:10 - She talks about Hitler's rhetoric: rolling r's and clipped words
- She says he didn't talk like that in person.

Barack Obama

• 1990 - Footage from Obama's trip to Kenya
• 1991 - Protest speech at Harvard Law School
  • Comparing early performances to later performances is a great way to reverse-engineer what makes a person good at what they do.
  • His clothing doesn't fit well, and isn't expensive/formal, and his hair is longer. I've gotten the impression that you can come across as more impressive if you can make yourself look as different as possible from homeless people (eg shave or have clearly-well-groomed facial hair, have a easy-to-see good haircut or shaved head, have well-fit clothing).
  • he keeps sticking his hand in and out of his pocket, which is distracting
  • 0:24 - I can't understand what he says here: "Speaking the truth, and telling us that [???] to learn at this place." The confusion is right at a cut in the video, so maybe there's some missing audio?
  • 0:26 - He stutters on the word "carried", as if he was going to say "kept" and then switched to saying "carried" (both would work in the sentence he was saying)
  • the text of the speech isn't as good as his recent speeches, but it's hard for me to put my finger on why.
  • He doesn't seem to anticipate points of applause / laughter in the text of his speech, which leads him to continue a joke after people have laughed at it (so it weakens the punchline)
• 1994 - Delivering oral arguments (in court)
• 1995 - TV interview on Dreams from My Father
• 1995 - Cambridge Library - Barack Obama speaking about his book
  • This is a great example of him doing some public speaking.
• 1998 - Brookings Institution panel - The Wealth of Cities
  • Same strong voice and steady speaking pace as nowadays
  • He's got small uhh's (still has them today at times IIRC)
  • He does repeat words every so often, like a slight stutter or something
• 1999 - TV interview
• 2000 - TV appearance - Congressional primary debate
• 2002 Barack Obama Interview: Against Iraq
  • The interview is with Jeff Berkowitz
  • He has more 'uh's in his speech here than he does in later years.
  • It could be my imagination, but he seems to speak slightly more quickly here than in future years
  • It's amazing to watch this. Obama really hit the nail on the head here.
    • He says he would have voted against the resolution because he wouldn't want to set a precedent for allowing preemptive strikes.
• 2008? - Obama Corrects 'Obama bin Laden' Slip
  
  • He stays cool
• 2008.01.14 - Obama: Reagan Changed Direction; Bill Clinton Didn't
  
  • This is the interview referred to in the above videos.
• 2008.01.21 - Tensions Flare Between Obama and Clinton at SC Debate
• 2008.01.21 - Barack Obama on Good Morning America about Bill Clinton Attacks
• 2008.03 - Wikipedia - A More Perfect Union (speech)
• 2010? Obama on Palin: She's "Not Much of an Expert"
  
  • I think you can see him suppressing a smile when the interviewer brings up Sarah Palin
• 2015.07.15 - Obama Unloads On Major Garrett For Rude Question

Obama's Best Comebacks and Rebuttal Moments

• This is a pretty good compilation

His speechwriters

Jon Favreau

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Favreau_(speechwriter)

2014.03.21 - Jon Favreau - former chief speechwriter for President Obama | Q&A with UCD L&H Society

• He gives some insight at the beginning into his and Obama's speechwriting process.
• This is a pretty good talk.

Bill Clinton

2012.09.06 - The Wire - What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton Said
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2012/09 ... ote/56562/
- pretty interesting comparison of Clinton's prepared speech vs. what he actually said. It looks like the general trend is that he spoke more informally than the text of the speech would have had him speak.

Donald Trump

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-presidents-wingman-absent-in-the-west-wing-bannon-stays-close-to-trump/2017/10/20/85c45c3a-b4e0-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html
  • After appearing with Strange at their rally, according to two people familiar with the exchange, Trump privately leveled one of his most damning criticisms: The senator, he worried, lacked energy. He was, as the president phrased it, “low-key.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

1963 - "I Have A Dream" Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

Muhammad Ali

1960s - Mohammad Ali

Quote:

Wait till you see his blazing fast foot speed http://i.imgur.com/WGDJzHr.gif
Bonus1: the best Ali tribute video i have seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnzofi_QltI - [Nathan: This is a great video, it does a great job of showing Ali's rhetorical skill]
Bonus 2: if you want to get pumped up by Ali video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDok3kjB7c
BONUS 3: another favorite Ali tribute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De2McNcuV8E
EDIT:wow thank you kind stranger for GOLD!!! here is bonus video just for youhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU_dYowAmMw
EDIT: since many people liking these clips, I decided to add a funny interview clip of alihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEPvHaR ... ata_player
EDIT: someone asked for ali trash talking , here is best I found:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR52l7Y ... ata_player

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/1 ... 0_seconds/

Khizr Khan

• Dad of fallen Muslim soldier's powerful DNC speech (Khizr Khan full speech)
  
  • This is really a great speech for someone who's presumably never spoken in front of such a large audience. Is he a trial attorney? That might have given him some practice with preparing speeches.
  • He doesn't try to say too much. He doesn't need to spit out words to get everything across. IIRC Peter Thiel ran into that issue.
  • He speaks steadily, at a relaxed pace.
  • He starts by discussing his son, then switches to discussing the bad behavior of Trump, then...(fill this in)
  • 3:45 - He brings out his Constitution.

Steve Jobs

1980 - Steve Jobs talk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lvMgMrNDlg

• The actual talk is only the first 13:50. The rest of the time is for questions.
• He's eliminated most uhh's and umm's from his speech.
• He speaks at a relaxed pace; he doesn't seem to be rushing to say whatever he has to say.
• He pauses for a second after lots of his statements.
• This appears to be a speech he had given many times.
• He mixes in humorous comments.
• He doesn't totally avoid swearing (15:35 he says, "That wasn't just a bullshit slogan.").
• 16:10 - He dodges a question that would have him talk about his future products. "You're asking me to talk about future products...and I don't want to do that."

Winston Churchill

• "Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all."