SpeakersMound SpeechSizzle Organization Delivery Conclusion CongressExamples ReferenceBooks

Getting on the Speakers' Mound?

The following guide is to help you plan and deliver a congressional speech during the American Government class' simulated 2nd session of the 107th Congress. Your speech cannot cover everything you learned in your research on the assigned committee bill, so cogently speak on the specifc points your party team decided that you should emphasize.

In committee meetings, you and your colleagues should have developed a strategy on how to best present your party's position on the bill and the team's major arguments for its passage or defeat. Like a champion debator or courtroom attorney, you should know both the bill's strong points and the measure's weaknesses or politial vulnerabilities. The party team should anticipate and counter major arguments advanced by the opposing party.

Keep in mind that C-SPAN will be televising your speech to voters "back home" in your congressional district. Adhere to traditional legislative courtesies. Begin your speech, "Mr. (or Madam) Speaker, my Distinguished Colleagues...." You want to impress the constituents with your in-depth knowledge of the topic, insightful analysis of the proposed legislation, and your poised, lucid and articulate address on the House floor. Manifest self-confidence and a clear mastery of your subject matter as their elected Representative. Make them proud. You want their vote!

 

 I. INTRODUCTION: "What's the Sizzle?"

Advertising firms emphasize the need to sell the sizzle, not the steak. Make your introduction provocative. Be confident and in control. Perhaps begin with an insightful quotation, anecdote or example to get the listener's attention. You might mention something relevant to the issue from "your" (the Member you represent) personal life or political career.

Roger Ailes, President Ronald Reagan's media consultant (You Are the Message, 1988), asserted that an audience forms a critical impression of a speaker within the first seven seconds of their presentation. Let the audience know what you will be discussing in your brief floor speech, providing them with a road map of the major points you will cover. As Winston Churchill might say: "never, never, never" apologize for what you are about to say.

II. ORGANIZATION: "Where's the Beef?"

Demonstrate a solid understanding of your subject, but don't overwhelm the audience with unnecessary facts. Present key information in an interesting and readily understandable manner. Don't stress background information that another teammate will cover unless it bears significantly on your key points. Avoid using a lot of statistics in oral reports; choose the figures that most accurately and dramatically make your point.

Clearly articulate a thesis, or central idea, that unifies your speech. Select no more than three or four key points to support your thesis, or you may lose the attention of your audience. Use strong and active verbs and vivid nouns. You may strengthen your address with the rhetorical tools of similes, metaphors and analogies.

On the floor of the House, you may not use slides or Powerpoint presentations. Carefuly select the words that paint the mental pictures you want your audience to remember. Think of good "sound bites" that the media might air or print from your speech. Give enough information about your key findings so that listeners understand the significance of your arguments. What you omit and what you highlight reflects your evaluation of what is important.

 

 III. DELIVERY: "Never Let Them See You Sweat."

Practice giving your House speech several times so it fits within the time limit specified by the House Rules Committee. Try not to simply read from your prepared address. Bring notes to the podium, but try to appear extemporaneous. Maintain eye contact with your audience and periodically smile to show that you are relaxed and confident. Some students recommended practicing floor speeches with teammates for comments and suggestions on how to improve the delivery to the House session.

Use good grammar and practice pronouncing words that give you trouble. Dress appropriately for a professional presentation. Look like a confident, knowledgeable and concerned Member of Congress. Research indicates that the impact of a speech on an audience depends upon visual impression (55%), voice quality (38%) and words (7%) [Hal Persons, The How-To of Great Speaking, l992].

Real estate agents say the keys to a sale are location, location and location. However, for a speaker, the keys to an effective oral presentation and a solid sale to an audience is PRACTICE, PRACTICE AND PRACTICE. Practice is also the antidote to overcome the natural nervousness that most speakers experience. The Book of Lists includes a list of the fourteen things Americans fear most. The fear of speaking ranked number one, while fear of sickness ad death appeared in sixth place.

 

 IV. CONCLUSION: "So What?"

Tie your findings to the core arguments of your party team. The speech should not be a boring narrative of research notes. Try to make your presention as interesting as possible. The floor address should reflect your unique perspectives on the bill, based upon your Member's political beliefs, district composition and the position of your party.

Sometimes, as a Representative, your beliefs and the District's feelings may conflict with your party's stance on the legislation. That may pose a political and ethical challenge, as noted in John F. Kennedy's book, Profiles in Courage (1956). In this course, I suggest you follow the advice of House Speaker Sam Rayburn, "Vote your district first." This counsel also reflects the observation of former Congressman Lee Hamilton, that for all members of Congress, "Their number one objective is to get reelected" (PS 2000, 761).

 

Examples of Congressional Speeches

Senator John McCaine (R-AZ)

"Only one bill bans unlimited contributions from corporations like Enron, labor unions and multimillionaire contributors: Shays-Meehan.

"Partially plugging one loophole in a dam and widely opening another does not stop the tidal wave of big money into political campaigns and the political influence those huge donations buy." (February 13, 2002)

[Notice Sen. McCaine's use of a dam metaphor to highlight key point.]

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

"Senior citizens have an average income of $15,000, and they spend an average of $2,000 of that limited income on prescription drugs. Too many of our elderly citizens must choose between food on the table and the medicine their doctors prescribe." (June 12, 2002)

[The sentence about elderly citizens forced to choose between food and medicine represents a likely media sound bite.]

Representative Dick Armey (R-TX), Majority Leader, 107th Congress

"The military force we had during Desert Storm no longer exists. In 1990, we had 18 Army divisions; now we have ten. We had 550 ships; now we have 350. We had 36 fighter wings; now we have only 20. The real combat power of the US military has dropped by a third." (June 19, 1997)

[Note Rep. Armey's use of key numbers contrasted with the successful Desert Storm force to bolster his argument. However, this speech against the Clinton defense budget ignored the end of the Cold War threat from the former USSR. All politicians and their speech writers select the facts that best support their political positions.]

 

Representative Richard Gephardt (D-MO), Minority Leader, 107th Congress

"We've been in session almost 200 days and Republicans have broken their promise to leave no child behind, making 28 education cuts including in the areas of technology training and after-school classes.

"We've been in session almost 200 days and they have passed fig leaves that fail to protect employeee pensions and impose tough criminal penalties on corporate wrongdoers; yet they found time in a stimulus bill to hand Enron $254 million in tax breaks."

"We've been in session almost 200 days and Republcans passed legislation rolling back 30 years of environmental progress and protections, deciding instead to turn our air and land and water over to the polluters who fund their campaigns." (May 15, 2002)

[Note the repetitive phrases (anaphora) to underscore a particular theme. Also observe the judicious use of key statistics]

Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), Republican Whip, 107th Congress

"Let every terrorist know, the American people will never abandon freedom, democracy, or Israel. America will never permit the Jewish State to fall to aggression.

"The search for peace cannot diminish and must not obscure a key lesson of the past forty years: Democracies must not negotiate with terrorists. For that reason, Yasser Arafat strikes many of us as a highly unreliable vessel to carry the hope of peace." (May 2, 2002)

[Congressman Delay employed a triad of three words--"freedom, democracy or Israel." Richard Dowis calls this The Rule of Three, which provides a positive cadence easy on the ear.]

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), DemocraticWhip, 107th Congress

"Mr. Speaker, those who oppose reform claim that reigning in corporate excess we will stamp out the entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country great. Coming from Californa, where the entrepreneurial spirit is in the air and in the water, I say that the spirit to innovate, orginate and invent will not be crushed by a ban on lying, cheating and stealing.

"One of our founding fathers, James Madison, once noted: 'If all men were angels, no government would be necessary.' Every day in the headlines, we see that we are not angels." (June 21, 2002)

[Notice how Rep. Pelosi makes her point while praising California voters back home. Also examine her use of a quote from one of America's Founders to support her thesis.]

Suggested Reading List

I would like to recommend a short list of books for you to review at your leisure--after this course. These books all offer some very useful suggestions on how to improve your speaking and writing abilities, which will be vital for your later career advancement. These experts emphasize that strong communication skills enhance your leadership image and effectiveness.

Roger Ailes, You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators,
Dow Jones-Irwin (Homewood, Illinois), l988.
Roger Ailes was the communications media advisor for both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. A key lesson he offers: audiences start to make up their minds about speakers within seven seconds of first meeting them.

James C. Humes, Standing Ovation: How to Be an Effective Speaker and Communicator, Harper & Row (New York, NY), l988.
James Humes worked as a White House speech writer. He published another book on Winston Churchill's speaking skills, which he cites throughout for lessons. You will find many of his suggestions parallel my guideline for your oral reports.

Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One, How to Deliver It , American Management Association (New York, NY), 2000. An excellent guide to writing and delivering a speech, with short examples demonstrating the use of various rhetorical techniques.

Hal Persons, The How-To of Great Speaking: Stage Techniques to Tame Those Butterflies, Black & Taylor (Austin, TX), 1992.
The author gives a lot of tips on how to relax and project energy and excitement in your delivery using dramatic techniques employed in theater workshops.

Marlene Caroselli, The Language of Leadership, Human Resource Development Press (Amherst, MA), l990. The author analyzes particular addresses of Lee Iacocca, Mario Cuomo, Tom Peters, Kitty Carlisle Hart and several other women to identify key aspects of their speaking style. Gives good tips and guidelines for "power" language presentations throughout the book. Note that the classical (Cicero) rhetoric techniques still work!

Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi, (Berrett-Koehler Publishers (San Francisco, CA), l994.
A well-received new book which applies Gandhi's ethical views to current leadership situations. A good example for all of us to follow: "Doing what we believe is right is what keeps us on the path toward the ideal."

Mail address: Dr. Bob Swansbrough, Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403. Tel: (423) 425-4635 or 425-4240.

Last updated: July 18, 2002