The greatest Orators in History…what’s your top ten?
Posted on May 18th, 2009 in Uncategorized | 20 Comments »
As the biggest topic of today is THE Speaker……that set me off thinking who are the greatest speakers of all time. Not Speakers of the House of Commons…but orators.
Oratory is a gift…the ability to grab hold of an audience and emotionally connect them to your words, to inspire them, to laugh, to cry…but most of all to believe. The best orators can bring a nation with them….through good and bad times.
Remember, when reviewing this list…it’s the power of oratory that is important….this is not reviewing the content / text of speeches….
10 Roosevelt / Gandhi / Abraham Lincoln /Margaret Thatcher
It was tough leaving some out of the top 10, hence a wider inclusion. Margaret Thatcher was not a natural public speaker at the start of her time in power but through experience and coaching, developed into an accomplished orator, (her performance in the No Confidence debate post her resigning is the stuff of legend). Gandhi, through his skill inspired not only a nation but the world.
9 Charles de Gaulle
De Gaulle was a powerful orator. His speeches to the French people to rally them against the invading German troops are testament to the finest oratory of all time.
8 Tony Blair
Tony’s greatest asset was his gifted oratory. Against the monotone John Major, he was always going to come across stronger. This BBC montage of Tony Blair shows his mastery of the media and ability to craft and deliver a powerful soundbite……
7 Ronald Reagan
Of course it helped that Reagan was a former actor but the guy was gifted at making public speeches. Perhaps his finest speech was early on……take a listen to an excerpt of ‘A Time for Choosing’.
6 Barack Obama
For me, Obama is already in the top ten speakers in history. One of his best speeches…..so far……..was at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Founders Day Gala on Feb. 16. This is the last 10 minutes of speech, perhaps the best part. “Don’t tell me that words don’t matter,” Obama said, his voice rising with indignation and scorn. “I have a dream. JUST WORDS.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. JUST WORDS.” “We have nothing to fear but fear itself. JUST WORDS.”
5 Bill Clinton
Bill may have been a Lothario….but he was also a great public speaker. Here we see Bill addressing the National Democratic Convention. Check the way he taps into the audience and wins their hearts & minds.
4 Winston Churchill
In 1940 Winston Churchill made, what would be the defining speech of WW2′. A powerful piece of oratory, which inspired and gave the Great British people a sense of belief, a sense of purpose and motivated a nation in War. This speech was of course captured by the words…’we shall fight them on the beaches’……
3 John F Kennedy
JFK’s life was cut all too short. He was a gifted public speaker who was ‘believable’, ‘honest’, ‘man of the people’ and inspirational. He gave many memorable speeches including ‘Ich Bin Ein Berliner’. Arguably, the best was his Inaugural Address in which he asked: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you…..’
2 Adolf Hitler
There is no doubt Hitler was a tyrant. A mass murderer, a despicable figure that caused many many deaths across the world through his insane plans for world domination. But this list details the best orators and there is no doubting in Hitler’s ability to inspire a crowd….to move them in ways that many speakers have been unable to achieve in History. Yes, his elevation to power was due to a mixture of economic depression and the bullying of his opponents, but look at this video. The sheer emotion generated—the body language in full ‘audience grabbing mode’. The content may be disgusting but Hitler was a gifted orator.
1 Martin Luther King
I am sure many of you would agree and place MLK at number 1. A brilliant orator. His ‘I have a Dream’ speech still raises hairs on the back of the neck today.
Who is missing? Agree or disagree with this list?
20 Responses
I always have a soft spot for the 18th and 19th Century orators like Chatham, Pitt the Younger, Wilbeforce and Disraeli.
You can’t call this “greatest orators in history” and miss out names like Cicero and Demosthenes. These are men who moved nations with their words and on whose shoulders subsequent orators consciously stood.
Mr. Hannan, perhaps?
I should point out that that last post was intended to be mischievous. Wouldn’t want any indignant protests…
After 30 years of studying political speeches, I found this list very interesting, not least because I’m pretty comfortable with it, apart perhaps for the batting order.
In terms of his command over the key techniques of rhetoric and imagery, Obama is at least equal to Martin Luther King and I find myself increasingly coming to the view that he should already be in the number ONE position. Not only does he use language that clearly echoes (and therefore affiliates with MLK, not to mention other heroes like Lincoln and Roosevelt) but he has also ‘secularised’ it by stripping out explicitly religious references, thereby extending his appeal way beyond the black, preacher-led civil rights movement – e.g. compare “We as a people will get there” (Obama’s victory speech in Chicago) with “We as a people will get to the promised land” (MLK’s last ever speech).
I was also interested to see that the list includes Hitler, Churchill and Reagan, because I’m always saying that, when the history of political communication comes to be written, these three will come out as the top communicators of the 20th century – but each excelled with different key audiences.
The No 1 slot for live oratory at large scale rallies would go to Hitler, for effectiveness in radio addresses it would go to Churchill and, for mastery of television audiences (whether making a speech to a live audience or directly speaking to a camera), it would be Reagan.
hey max. Some great insight. oratory is such a fascinating area. Glad you agree with the top 10. Ordering them is tough. I agree with much of what you say. will be interesting to see where Obama places in a years time.
I totally disagree with your selection of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton over Ghandi and Lincohn. These were icons whose speeches moved nations, inspired hearts and changed the course of human history.The criteria for a great speech must be that it evokes emotions and stands true for all times. I dont see Blair or Clinton standing in the league of Ghandi, Lincohn etc.
How can you possibly put Obama and Clinton in the same league as people like Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and of course arcus tullius cicero. Im sorry but have you ever watched Obama when his teleprompter is not working properly? Just ask Mike Krzyzewski. I have to put Cicero, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and Reagan in my top 5.
thats *Marcus of course
I think this list is off. There are countless others not mentioned here and are just as powerful and prominent. W.E.B. Dubois, Frederick Douglas, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, just to name a few. Reagan?????
I think you forgot Jesus christ even dead a managed to lead a billion people
Do you think that this cms is good for my first site ?
I see a lot of interesting articles here. Bookmarked for future referrence.
I think Sukarno, the former President of Indonesia must be in the top three of the greatest orator of all time.
Very interesting blog, but you must improve your template graphics.
I’m sure that i will come back to your website soon. Keep us posting interesting articles
Thanks for writing this article. Now everything is clear for me.
Great info, thanks for useful post. I am waiting for more
Your write-up is seriously scary! How I desire they could have some actions to solve this. Got to go,decent article! Thank for the tips!Air Max TN and Nike Shox NZ with high quality and competitive price.
Very cool blog, but you must improve your header graphics.