The mojologic blog
Insights on communication, influence, sales and leadership
Playing With Presentation Structure
How to play with structure in your next speech or presentation Organising your ideas into a coherent structure can be a challenge. Great communicators know what works and they reach for tried and true techniques. It is not necessary to make the architecture of your speech obvious to the audience...
um, er, ah, oh… 5 Steps To Rid Your Presentation of Filler Words
Fillers — What are they?
The most common filler sounds are: ‘um’, ‘ah’, ‘oh’, ‘huh’, ‘mmmm’…
Then we advance to filler words, including: ‘yes’, ‘so’, ‘basically’, ‘absolutely’, ‘obviously’, ‘literally’…
And, for the experienced players an array of filler phrases: ‘you know’, ‘moving on’, ‘I think that’, ‘I guess’, ‘I’m just saying’, ‘to be honest’.
Hannah Gadsby – Douglas
“I’m not here to collect your pity, I’m here to disrupt your confidence”
Hannah Gadsby’s 2nd Netflix 75 minute comedy performance is not, strictly speaking, a speech. But, it’s not not a speech either. There are so many lessons for communicators in Douglas, that you might miss whilst you are busy being entertained by this master.
Douglas is a form-busting, trope-challenging romp of comedic prowess. Gadsby challenges rules for stand-up, social commentary and speech-making and it is marvellous.
Speech 40: Elie Wiesel: The Perils of Indifference
Elie Wiesel delivered a breathtaking speech at the White House on the 12th of April 1999. His message combined his own experience of the holocaust and the evil of apathy. “The opposite of love is not hatred, it’s indifference… Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce...
Speech 39: Nellie McClung (Should Men Vote?)
"Manhood suffrage would plunge our fair province into a perfect debauchery of extravagance, a perfect nightmare of expense..." Nellie McClung, the Canadian author and suffragist, delivered a satirical address in a mock parliament performance, turning the tables on the prevailing 'wisdom' of the...
Speech 38: Abraham Lincoln – Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered on the 19th of November 1863 remains one of the most impactful speeches of all time. Perhaps the most impressive use of so few words the world has ever seen. "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a...
Speech 37: Oprah Winfrey (their time is up)
Oprah Winfrey was given a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes on 7 January 2018. She used this occasion, and her powerful platform to make a stand.
“For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up.”
This is a speech for the history books and speech that helped shape history. At the time, the MeToo movement was rapidly gaining worldwide momentum. The genius of this speech is that Oprah nails the zeitgeist – the right message, to the right audience at the right time.
This short speech offers the everyday communicator some awesome lessons…
Speech 36: John F. Kennedy (we choose to go to the moon)
This iconic speech is a beautiful display of oratory and leadership. "We choose to go to the moon" On a baking hot day in September 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke to an assembled crowd at Rice Stadium in Houston Texas. His mission was to inspire the audience and a nation to...
Speech 35: Emma Watson (UN Women’s HeForShe Campaign)
Emma Watson, British actor and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, co-hosts a special event for UN Women’s HeForShe campaign in 2014. She delivered a heartfelt and well-considered address at the official UN event. As one YouTube commentator noted, 1000 points to Gryffindor! Using Her Platform At...
Speech 34: Nelson Mandela (An ideal for which I am prepared to die)
On the 20th of April 1964 Nelson Mandela delivered a powerful, restrained and poignant speech at his trial. "An ideal for which I am prepared to die" The words of Nelson Mandela's speech made at his own trial on April 20th 1964 are haunting. Not just because we know the ending to...
