Posts Tagged ‘speech’

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Firth Class King’s Speech

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Colin Firth in the King's Speech

Colin Firth stars as the Duke of York, later King George VI in the film, The King's Speech.

Film previews of the King’s Speech reveal the extraordinary relationship between the future King George VI and his voice coach.

The film dramatizes the events leading up to the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 and the accession to the throne of George VI seen through the prism of George’s public speaking problems…a speech impediment, stutter and a shy, retiring nature.

His first public speech is a disaster and his wife, the Duchess of York, takes charge of the problem. After a string of unsuccessful coaches, the film tells how an out of work Australian actor, a voice coach, is eventually hired to get the Royal Duke (Bertie) ready for a speech…and then prepare him for all his future public speaking roles; no small amount of work with the looming war in Europe and the eventual abdication of Edward VIII.

It looks a fascinating film with starring performances from Colin Firth as George VI, Geoffrey Rush as the speech coach and Helena Bonham-Carter as Queen Elizabeth supported by Michael Gambon as George V and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill.

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Prince Charles Speech Signals Green For Whistle Stop Tour

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Prince Charles's speech

Prince Charles starts his whistle stop tour of the United Kingdom

The heir to the throne, Prince Charles, has started a Green campaigning whistle stop tour of the United Kingdom with a speech in Glasgow. The tour, known as Start, aims to promote a green way of living for the UK. Recognising that people are more likely to start doing some good than being hectored to stop something, the Start campaign aims to show people just what they can do.

Prince Charles will be accompanied by a party of 14 people on the 8-carriage Royal Train as it makes its way from Glasgow to Wales, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and then London.

It’s an ostentatious way to travel–costing the taxpayer some £50,000–but both his Start spokesman and good friend Tony Juniper were keen to point out that the Royal Train operates on recycled cooking oil, bio-diesel! Don’t get down wind of this Royal Train.

Whistle stop tours used to be a favoured way for political campaigns to be organised in both Britain and the USA. So, it’s a return to old-fashioned campaigning, old-fashioned transport and old-fashioned values. And that’s, perhaps, a key part of the Start programme. The tour is supported by many of the great and the good, knights of the realm such as Stuart Rose and many of Britain’s leading businesses, who no doubt sense some advantage.

The last whistle stop is London where the Start initiative combines with the IBM Summit at Start, a nine-day conference beginning on Wednesday 8th September. Prince Charles will give a speech at this conference on his return to London.

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Director General’s MacTaggart Speech Escapes the Editor’s Eye

Sunday, September 5th, 2010
Mark Thompson, BBC Director General

Mark Thompson Delivers the MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh

The annual MacTaggart lecture is often the highlight of the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Not least because the occasion is used by speakers to lambast the BBC.

Certainly that was the case last year when James Murdoch of Sky was the speaker.

This year’s speaker, Mark Thompson, the BBC Director General, took the opportunity to put things right and bash Sky.

This was a long speech by Thompson. Just like the BBC that he heads, he’s not short of material; much of it repeats. His approach, therefore, was to rush his way through his content speaking at a great pace. The result? many of his words were less than clear. Points were lost and arguments faltered as he rattled his way through the speech.

Reading mistakes were few. But his fast pace meant that his eyes typically looked at his script as he read the script aloud. He couldn’t look at his audience as he made each point.

I sensed that his speech would have been better with some editing. At 8,000 words this was a blockbuster of a speech. A BBC editor could have been commissioned to extract the nuggets and present a more worthwhile…and shorter whole.

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Clooney Speech Gives Hope For Hollywood Celebrities

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

George Clooney became the fourth recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2010 Emmys last weekend.

His acceptance speech was lucid, well-prepared and expertly delivered. He knew that his time on the podium was limited, but he didn’t rush. He paused for effect and it worked.

His speech mixed humour with due seriousness for the humanitarian causes he supports.

His message for the gathered celebrities at the Nokia theatre in downtown Los Angeles?

Don’t forget the disaster appeal once it’s no longer on the tv screen. Keep on giving. A sound message as news of disaster in Pakistan begins to recede from the rolling news.

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Lincoln Memorial Speech. Coincidence or Planned?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Martin Luther King

The Lincoln Memorial, August 28th 1963 or 2010

There’s a time and a place for everything. Saturday 28th August was the time and the Lincoln Memorial was the place. Are we discussing Dr. Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech?

No. Saturday 28th August 2010 was the date for speeches by Republican would-be Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the broadcaster Glenn Beck.

The speeches by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck’s from the Lincoln Memorial attracted a characteristic outcry beforehand. It does seem that whenever Sarah Palin is on the speaking podium she inspires criticism.

In the event her speech, and that of her fellow speaker, Glenn Beck who organised the restoring honor event were not the stuff of legend. Estimates for the size of the crowd ranged from 87,000 to 500,000. A big spread!

The time and place mean something for a lot of Americans. I can’t imagine that this event will upset the significance of the time and place in the annals of speech making, either.

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