6 public speaking lessons from “I have a dream”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was undoubtedly one of the greatest orators in history. Though his legacy is far more encompassing than his speaking proficiency (and we have yet to fully realize his dream), his ability to communicate that dream played an enormous part in the progress made toward it. 

His labors were tireless. He spoke often, in one-on-one conversations, smaller groups, and to the masses. Let’s refrain from reducing his effort to merely the most famous of his speeches while also learning what we can from its message (as people) and its content and delivery (as speakers).

Three things to learn from Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech content:

• He made ample use of metaphors: “seared in the flames of withering injustice,” “…the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” “…a lonely island of poverty amidst a vast ocean of material prosperity” were used in just a first few paragraphs. Dr. King had no slides; he painted some of the most poignant pictures of modern history with merely his words. 
• He used rhythm and repetition: “Now is the time,” “Let freedom ring,” and “I have a dream” each have four syllables (rhythm) and were repeated so often that these words are embedded in our collective psyche.
• He knew the audience and issued a clear call: The speech was delivered in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, harkening to the Emancipation Proclamation. King cast a vision of non-violence—but not submission to injustice—directly to those who would need to embody that call, saying, “There is something I must say to my people…” before outlining a plan to “not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”

Three things to learn from Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech delivery:

• He practiced: sections of the speech had been “road tested” for a couple of years. This not only gave him confidence that the content itself was resonant, it ensured he knew exactly how to deliver that content. 
• He responded to the audience and the moment: King paused for about 10 seconds during the speech (at about 10:53 in this recording) and went off script into an extemporaneous section—one that contains some of the most memorable phrases. He seems to have sensed the significance of the experience they, collectively, were sharing and responded to it with fervor.
• He leveraged pauses and changes in both pace and volume (paraverbal communication): he spoke faster and louder or softer and slower congruently with the content to create an emotional connection with the audience. 

How to apply these lessons to your presentation:

• Always start your content preparation by thinking about the audience and their needs. Craft content that meets those needs instead of merely offering what you want to say.
• Don’t assume you need to have a deck for every single communication scenario. Can you be more impactful with your words by using rhetorical devices? Many people start with the deck before they’ve even crafted their content, which means (often) that the content itself isn’t as well-honed as it might be and the deck—which might be polished—can’t be as effective when it’s not supporting great messaging. 
• Test your content with trusted people; ask for specific feedback on the content and fine-tune accordingly. Rehearse with live audiences even once the content is set. 
• Learn to “read the room” and become attuned to your audience; be sufficiently prepared that you can respond to whatever the moment seems to require—whether it’s different content, shorter time, or a deeper-dive than you’d originally planned. 
• Identify places in your content to leverage paraverbal communication (as well as non-verbal communication in the form of facial expressions, gestures, and movement). Do this purposefully and rehearse accordingly.

Whatever your dream is, your ability to communicate that dream—so that others grasp it—is integral to bringing it to reality. Whether that dream is big or small, your life’s work or this month’s task, be sure to craft (and deliver!) a message that helps your audience see, hear, and feel the future you envision.