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Aside from having
the ability to touch the lives of people, good speeches tend to
find their ways into history books, giving the speaker a
permanent place in history. Here are some excerpts from famous
short speeches that are likely to be remembered forever.
Famous speeches of women
One of the most famous women to ever address an audience was
Hellen Keller. In her pro-peace address at Carnegie Hall in New
York City in 1916, the revered lady struck out at editors of
publications that had made doubted her motives. Helen’s speech
stressed on the fact that she had conducted a thorough research
on the subject of war and had personally read publications in
English, French, German and Austrian. |
She mocked the editors that had
disparaged her by saying that they had to use translators and hence did
not have first-hand information. Yet, by clarifying that she would not
blame such editors as they had a huge work load, she also earned the
respect of her audience.
Famous speeches of sports personalities
Legendary boxing champion, Muhammad Ali had a natural way with words and
his speeches, which sometimes centered on religion or politics, were
some of the best-written addresses in History. Ali, in addition had a
natural knack for speech delivery. You can just see his power and
attitude in this excerpt from one of his speeches from 1942, where he
makes references to some of the controversial issues that surrounded his
life like his conversion from Christianity and the fact that he changed
his name.
‘I am America.
I am the part you won't recognize, but get used to me.
My name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used
to me.’
Famous funny speeches
Humour is an important facet of a good speech and a great speaker should
know how to use it well. Take a tip from Jack Benny, famous American
entertainer in the 1940s and 50s. While accepting an award, late in
life, Jack remarked, ‘I don’t deserve this award, but I have arthritis
and I don’t deserve that either.’ That is the ideal kind of humour that
goes into crafting a perfect speech.
Famous movie speeches
Kramer vs Kramer, released in 1979, was an epoch marking film. The film
centers around the custody of a little boy and was full of short
speeches and invaluable quotes as it tackled a serious social issue.
Here is an excerpt from the father’s argument for his right to custody.
‘The only thing that's supposed to matter here is what's best for
Billy...When Joanna said Why shouldn't a woman have the same ambitions
as a man, I suppose she's right. But by the same token what law is it
that says a woman is a better parent simply by virtue of her sex?’
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