 |
What's your favorite Winston Churchill speech?
Here are my first two examples, the first is Churchill's speech to the House of Commons on the outbreak of the second World War And the second example, from January 1940 is his Churchill's House of Many Mansions speech. Not a Natural It's hard to believe, but Churchill was not a natural-born orator. He suffered from both a slight stammer and a lisp: speech impediments that often lead him to be accused of being the worse for drink. After an early disaster, Churchill always chose to use notes and he would spend hours crafting the details and fluency of his major speeches. His great friend Lord Birkenhead said "Winston has spent the best years of his life writing impromptu speeches". He worked hard because he recognised the powerful effect he could have on a battered and nervous nation and because he was a perfectionist. The Winston Churchill speeches of May and June 1940 certainly achieved perfection! To illustrate the early part of his premiership, I have chosen, firstly Churchill's speech to the House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister. This speech is known for his "blood, toil, tears and sweat" line. Also have a look at his first broadcast to the British public, famous for the "Be ye men of valor" line. While some have criticised Churchill's speeches as being overly self-indulgent, they matched the mood of the time. We discuss "situational leadership" elsewhere on this site and one could use a similar analogy: these were "situational speeches", cometh the hour cometh the Winston Churchill speech! Perhaps these speeches were cathartic for Churchill, if so, surely one can forgive him this after his 10 years in the "wilderness". Defiance, History and Hope Churchill's great command of the English language (he went on to win the Nobel prize for literature) and sweeping turns of phrase were majestic. The growling tone of his voice added to the sheer defiance in the words. He never talked down to his audience - and unlike Hitler never used fearsome spin-doctors nor resorted to huge stage managed, special effect laden rallies to add panache. Instead he assumed an intelligent listener with a sound knowledge of British imperial history. Contrast this with the patronising, appeal to the lowest-common-denominator style of his modern day counterparts. One of the greatest, famous and most quoted Winston Churchill speech is the "Fight on the Beaches" speech.It'll bring a tear of pride to your eye! As will another great classic; his tribute to the brave young RAF pilots "The Few" in this speech from August 1940 His rhetorical style was a throwback to that of Gladstone and Bourke Cockran - the Irish-American politician who was a great influence. Churchill used historical references often to help boost the nations morale - evoking thoughts of great British heroes such as Drake, Nelson (Admiral Lord Nelson not Winston's pet cat!) and Wellington. Of course Churchill himself is similarly used by today's leaders in times of strife. This technique appealed to the hearts of the British. Churchill preached the hope that once again Britain would emerge victorious as she had done time and again before. The nation was not alone, rather she was walking with the great Britons of history. Britons would crowd round their wireless to hear every Winston Churchill speech. Have a read of another Churchill classic; "Their Finest Hour" It could be argued that he had no choice but to appeal to the hearts of his nation with a message of hope. All logic suggested that Britain was doomed - perhaps hope was all they had? That said the public had to feel that the war was winnable - and each man and woman would need to conquer their fears and fight on heroically. With Britain now standing alone, Churchill delivered his "War of the Unknown warriors" speech While Churchill preached Hope he never minimised the great dangers his country was in. This had two effects: Firstly, it cost the Nazis any potential propaganda victories they may have had as Churchill had already spelled out the facts to his nation. Secondly, this backs-up-against-the-wall defiance appealed greatly to the British tribal mentality, bringing out the best in his people. Good versus Evil Churchill never referred to being at war with Germany. Nor did he ever consider Britain to be at war with the German people - a people he greatly admired. Instead he tended to refer to being at war with Nazism (Or "Narrrrzism" as he would growl with contempt). Along with this he chose to consider the fight to be between Good and Evil or Right and Wrong. Once again his people began to believe that Good would triumph ... one day! Eventually, by 1944, with the military and economical power of the USA behind the allies, victory became increasingly inevitable and here is the speech that Churchill delivered on D-Day, 6th June 1944. The Speeches A Winston Churchill speech definitely loses something when one reads it: far better to hear it!. There are a number of excellent recordings. Of course you could also attend a Churchill Leadership Experience event to hear your favorite Winston Churchill speech performed live! That said I hope you are enjoying reading my selection. I'll leave you with Winston Churchill's speech on Victory in Europe from May 1945 and a speech he made after the war where he talked of the threat of an "Iron Curtain" of communism descending across Europe.
|
