But what does it take to make a great speech? Having given many speeches in the Army I understand that a powerful speech can urge soldiers to go forward by helping them realise that the shame of stepping back is far worse than anything that might happen by advancing. Churchill’s popularity grew from there with a Gallup poll conducted in July giving him an 88% approval rating. A Home Office report on public opinion conducted the following day found that the anxiously awaited speech was considered 'courageous and hopeful'. Churchill did the entire broadcast while smoking a cigar, which along with his lifelong difficulty in pronouncing the letter 's' might account for the impression that he was drunk.”ĭespite that initial scepticism, Churchill’s words inspired the British people. MP Harold Nicolson recorded that he thought Churchill sounded ‘ghastly’, while newspaper owner Cecil King thought he was either ill or drunk. His Private Secretary wrote that ‘he spoke less well than on the last occasion’. “Churchill gave his address in the Commons in the afternoon and then broadcast to the nation that evening. He knew how much was riding on this, but he is able to craft the oratory in this moment of extreme stress.”Īlthough it is now widely credited with galvanising the nation ahead of the invasion of the German Luftwaffe, the initial reaction to the speech in the Commons was less than enthusiastic, as author Dr Stephen Bungay explains: "The page is covered with his handwritten annotations. The archive’s director Allen Packwood explains how Churchill edited the speech until the last moment. Churchill had mastered the art of alliteration, often repeating the same sounding words for maximum impact.Īrguably Churchill’s most famous speech came on 18 June 1940, when Britain stood alone after the fall of France.Ĭopies of his 'Battle of Britain' speech held at Cambridge University’s Churchill Archives Centre reveal the amount of time Churchill spent drafting and redrafting it. He understood how to use words to let the listener’s imagination take over, transporting them to the scene of the battle. The phrased passages helped him to maintain the right cadence in his delivery, and he made use of rhythm and dramatic pauses.Ĭhurchill used emotive language, metaphor and powerful imagery, delivering his speeches with such authority that they strengthened the nation’s resolve during the darkest of days. He was a great writer, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953, and he spoke of how he wrote speeches like psalms, setting out his notes in a distinctive 'Psalm form'. He was his own spin-doctor, quipping that “history will be kind to me, for I intend to write it”. Unlike most modern politicians Churchill didn’t employ speech writers. But the dramatic events of the summer of 1940 rose to a level of drama that suited the Churchillian prose.Ĭhurchill’s speeches were not off-the-cuff, he spent much time preparing and practising saying them out loud, helping him overcome the nervousness he had felt about public speaking since his youth. He had to overcome criticism about his delivery and a vocabulary that was often seen as old-fashioned. When Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940 he was aware of the importance of oratory in inspiring a nation at war.
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