The Art of Public Speaking

Okay, so giving speeches is not near as easy as this video shows it but it gets the basic message across. There's a huge difference between giving a lecture speech in a classroom and giving an on-the-spot speech before masses of people. Nonetheless, the basic principles are there.

While writing books that are based on fighting and stopping a war that affects thousands, I've come to find the art of speaking requires immense research, training, and finally implementation. From rules of engaging the audience (basic) to the use of repetition (advanced) designing the perfect public speech is more an art than a skill.

Here are a few pieces of great speeches from a few books.

*Book 1- The "Our Country" Speech 
     “You’re giving your lives up for the Serpent but, more importantly, you’re giving them up for the chance at life and that’s the goal we have to focus on. We cannot allow the nation to suffer under the hand of a tyrant who refuses to hear our pleas. For too long we have suffered. For too long we have remained silent. For too long we have watched our mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, suffer while our children starve and our neighbors disappear. There’s a point where we have to do what’s best for our friends and family and, sometimes, doing what’s best is certainly not what’s easiest.”

*Book 2- The "Heathens on the Shrine" Speech

      “You do not seek Cal’adahin in the sky and the stars. You do not hear his voice on the wind or in the river. You hear the cry of your own transgressions. You have left the temples alone in the decades since the reign of the great Cal’Reno Moria. You do not come to the shrines with offerings. You keep the freshest of the fruit and the coolest of the water for your own fattened bellies. You do not deserve to stand on hallowed ground. You do not deserve this temple or the shrines your ancestors built centuries ago. You come here today because you think there is some hope for your future. You do not come here to worship Cal’adahin!"

*Book 2- The "Why We Battle" Speech

     “When Lock came here and spoke to me on the rim of the crater he said that none of you came because you had to. He said you came because you wanted to. He said none of you expected to walk away from this battle unscathed. He said you knew the danger.”
     “Well, we have been scathed. We have been oppressed, we have been ignored, and we have been left to die. But no more. Today, we prove that the Ial and Leahs will no longer roll over and allow the government and nations to take advantage of us. We who have been scorched will stand back to back to defend our honor and livelihood.”

*Book 3- "The Immortal Serpent" Speech

      “That fire isn’t just your power. It’s your spirit. It might flicker. It might die, but it is always smoldering. That’s the gift of the Serpent. You are both fire here,” Godra pointed at Roan’s hands, placing the stick in his grasp before pointing at his chest. “And in here. You are the immortal Serpent.”

*Book 4- The "Pacifist vs. Activist" Speech

     "I think the realms are caught between two positions. We want to live peacefully in the comfort we’ve known for years while we also want to frantically take up arms and fight. We want to remain peaceful and stay out of this war. The reality is we can’t let those warriors on the front lines be the only ones that fight. We can no longer be pacifists. We have to stand up for what we believe in even if that means we have to stand with a weapon in hand. The time has come for the citizens of this world to become the soldiers they trust so greatly. The time has come for us to look the enemy in the eye and refuse to allow him to intimidate us any longer. No longer can we read that newspaper. No longer can we eat our meals in solace. No longer can we go to work thinking it is just one more day at the office. No longer can we live life without feeling that an old era has passed and a new time has come; this is the time for action. This is the time for every citizen to become an activist and fight for what they believe in.”