The mojologic blog
Insights on communication, influence, sales and leadership
Speech 31: Nancy Astor (Maiden Speech)
Nancy Astor was the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, serving from 1919 to 1945. Her maiden speech was delivered on the 24th of February, 1920. "I know that it was very difficult for some honourable members to receive the first lady MP into the...
Speech 30: Joe Biden (a message of unity)
Joe Biden speaks at the 2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was the first to be delivered as a virtual event. There must have been hundreds of challenges to overcome - logistics, technology and participation. But the most...
Speech 29: Michelle Obama (Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country…)
This week, Michelle Obama delivered a keynote speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. A convention like no other. In the new world of virtual delivery, Obama spoke to camera whilst seated. The speech was just over 18 minutes long and...
Speech 28: Theodore Roosevelt (The Man in the Arena)
Words have power. This is the belief that has powered the Speech a Week series. There are many fine speeches that have captured the attention of the audience, inspired action and reverberated through the years. But few speeches punch quite so much power into every...
Speech 27: Amelia Earhart (A Woman’s Place in Science)
"Not only has applied science decreased the toil in the home, but it has provided undreamed of economic opportunities for women." Amelia Earhart delivered the speech; A Woman's Place in Science, as a radio broadcast in 1935. In 1928 Earhart was the first woman to...
Speech 26: Tim Minchin (9 Life Lessons)
The musings of Tim Minchin are genius. Irreverent, foul-mouthed and derisive, but genius.
Minchin bestows his advice on a group of graduates at his alma mater, The University of Western Australia. This is a familiar engagement for many celebrities including; Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Natalie Portman and even Kanye West. These are usually presentations worth watching – well crafted, polished, insightful and thought-provoking.
But none are quite like this.
Speech 25: Nora Ephron (be the heroine of your life)
“What I’m saying is, don’t delude yourself that the powerful cultural values that wrecked the lives of so many of my classmates have vanished from the earth.”
Nora Ephron is the writer that brought us such classics as When Harry Met Sally, Julie and Julia and Silkwood. So, we would expect sharp wit combined with humour and this speech delivers both. Ephron goes further in her delivery a compelling feminist message and a warning to the graduating class of Wellesley College in 1996.
Speech 24: Malcolm X (The Ballot or the Bullet)
The Ballot or the Bullet speech was delivered by American civil rights activist Malcolm X on 3rd April 1964 at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. "Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change...
Speech 23: Maya Angelou (On the Pulse of Morning)
Maya Angelou lived her life with the enduring belief that words are powerful.
On January 20th, 1993, Maya Angelou recited her poem, On the Pulse of Morning, at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton.
As a poet, author and activist she regularly spoke out on the issues that mattered most to her. In this post we celebrate the words she so masterfully assembled in the form of a poem.
Speech 22: Winston Churchill (On the beaches)
One of the most famous and often studied speeches of the 20th century is Winston Churchill’s address to the House of Commons on 4 June 1940; commonly titled; “We shall fight on the beaches”.
Churchill was a student of the classics, an expert in rhetorical technique and, by this stage in his career, a seasoned politician. This speech stands out as the manifestation of all his talents, delivered at precisely the right time to have maximum effect.
What lessons in persuasion can we glean for this call to arms, delivered 80 years ago?
