I’m always on the lookout for speeches we can learn from. To tell the truth, most of the speeches I highlight harbor attributes that make them candidates for a “you-can-do-better-than-this” exposition: poor structure, too much hubris, confusing messages or lack of attention to the audience’s needs.
Then, once in awhile, something comes
along and restores my faith in the awesome power of a well-written
speech. This is such a case. The speech comes courtesy of the fine folks
at Vital Speeches of the Day who included it in their Speech of the
Week email. (It’s free. Sign up now.)
The source is an unlikely one, at least
for me. General Stanley McChrystal – often characterized in the media as
being blunt and direct – delivers a retirement speech that is not only a
model of eloquence but a great example of how to effectively deal with a
difficult subject. It’s an admirable speech in terms of the
circumstances in which it was delivered, but for students of
speechwriting, it’s also a model of structure and pacing.
You can find the speech here, topped by speeches at the same occasion by General George Casey and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
First, the setting. McChrystal is the former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force and Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan. He resigned those duties after being recalled to Washington by President Obama for making unflattering remarks about Vice President Biden and others in a recent Rolling Stones article.
Days later, he announced his retirement from the United States Army after 34 years of service.
In his retirement speech, McChrystal demonstrates what many PR veterans often advise their clients to do but rarely see in action: he deals with the elephant in the room quickly. Through humor and humility, he successfully defuses the tension the entire audience must have been feeling and captures an amazing sense of admiration.
He begins with a joke about wanting to exaggerate his accomplishments then follows it up with another that signals he’s not there to dodge the question of his retirement.
“ ... to those here tonight who feel the need to contradict my memories with the truth, remember I was there too. I have stories on all of you, photos on many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter.”
He follows it up immediately with a blunt admission and segues gracefully into the theme of his comments as he mentions his wife and their future together. As he does, notice how he signals the audience with such words as “still” and the stoic “that’s what I feel,” both important auditory clues for the audience. Plus you have to love the joke at the end of this section that keep things light:
“Look, this has the potential to be an awkward or even a sad occasion. With my resignation, I left a mission I feel strongly about. I ended a career I loved that began over 38 years ago. And I left unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight, commitments I hold sacred. My service did not end as I would have wished ...
“Still, Annie and I aren't approaching the future with sadness but with hope ...
“And my feelings for more than 34 years I spent as an Army officer are a combination of surprise that any experience could have been as rich and fulfilling as mine was and gratitude for the comrades and friends we were blessed with.
“That's what I feel. And if I fail to communicate that effectively tonight, I'll simply remind you that Secretary Gates once told me I was a modern Patton of strategic communications.”
The remainder of the speech is a model in structure. First, he divides the people he wants to thank into four groups – audiences love number structures because they’re so easy to follow – and then calls out a laundry list of individuals to thank individually. He ends that section – as the audience might expect – with his wife with some extremely poignant – and humorous – words.
He ends the speech with some words to the wise for the comrades in arms he’s leaving behind. Known widely as a leader who was a “soldier’s soldier” and who earned immense respect for his direct leadership and willingness to say what needed to be said, his words most likely carried additional meaning for the largely military audience.
“As I leave the Army,
to those with responsibility to carry on, I'd say, service in this
business is tough and often dangerous. It extracts a price for
participation, and that price can be high.
“It is tempting to protect yourself from the personal or professional
costs of loss by limiting how much you commit, how much of belief and
trust in people, and how deeply you care. Caution and cynicism are safe,
but soldiers don't want to follow cautious cynics. They follow leaders
who believe enough to risk failure or disappointment for a worthy cause.
“If I had it to do over again, I'd do some things in my career
differently but not many. I believed in people, and I still believe in
them. I trusted and I still trust. I cared and I still care. I wouldn't
have had it any other way.”
We can learn a lot from this speech.
- The power of dealing with a difficult subject up front, on your own terms. This was not only smart PR, I consider it an amazing gift to the audience which was most likely anxious about what he might say. Through directness and humor, he lets them off the hook early and gives them the opportunity to enjoy the remainder of his remarks.
- The power of structure. His use of numbers, his preciseness of thanking individuals near the end and his use of signaling phrases such as “as I leave the Army” help the audience follow along and anticipate the speech progress.
- The power of pacing. Review this from top to bottom and you can see that McChrystal deftly keeps the speech moving forward. His regular and consistent use of personal anecdotes, humor and quotes is extremely effective. Likewise, he varies his sentence patterns with great effect. The combination promotes active listening by giving the audience something fun to hear.
In all, this is a speech that was just right: right for the circumstances, right for the speaker and right for the audience. You simply can’t do better than that.
Very nice article! keep up the good work ,I will be back.
Posted by: hetty | June 21, 2011 at 06:24 PM