LibGuides: Great Speeches: Media

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The 5 Communication Secrets that Swept Obama to the Presidency (47:00) This program reveals a set of methods and attitudes at the core of successful communication. Presented by renowned public speaking coach Richard Greene, the video incorporates passages from many of President Obama’s finest speeches to explore tone of voice (varying volume, pace, pitch, and resonance); body language (improving eye contact, openness, and listening); verbal language (avoiding jargon and using sensory-specific words); message content (sharing feelings and heartfelt goals); and fluency in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic communication styles.
Great American Speeches: 80 Years of Political Oratory This unique, six-part series places students of public speaking, American history, and political science front row, center at key speeches by the most eloquent orators of the 20th century. FDR, Huey Long, Generals MacArthur and Patton, and JFK share the podium with Barbara Jordan, Ronald Reagan, Mario Cuomo, Jesse Jackson, and others. Rare archival footage combined with insightful commentary from host Jody Powell puts each speech into historical perspective. Featured on History’s Best on PBS. 6-part series, 39-53 minutes each.
Great Moments from Great Speeches (01:56:10) This narrative presentation of the greatest rhetorical moments of the 20th century introduces students to key history makers, including: Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr., Colin Powell, Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Harry S. Truman, Geraldine Ferraro, Nelson Mandela, Douglas MacArthur, Jesse Jackson, and Christopher Reeve. (118 minutes)
Great Speeches: The Presidents (02:33:38) Original—and often rare—audio and video footage brings these American leaders into your classroom: Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Great Speeches Series (30 Parts) This remarkable 30-part series features some of history’s most influential addresses—and continues to have a profound impact on the study of speech. With this classic archive, students can watch as FDR declares war, Churchill attacks Hitler, Harry Truman announces the bombing of Japan, Lou Gehrig bids farewell to baseball, Martin Luther King Jr. relays his dream, Nixon resigns the presidency, Reagan pleads the Berlin Wall be torn down, and a young Barack Obama ignites a 2004 convention in a speech that would change the course of the country. In their entirety, these speeches breathe life and relevancy into our history and clearly demonstrate the power of speech. Each is accompanied by a biography and analysis of both the event and the speech itself. As Walter Cronkite used to say, “You are there!” 30-part series, 70–160 minutes each.
Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural Address (11:25) The video presents a short, lively discussion between Richard Dreyfuss and Ronald White about President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
Winston Churchill, from The WPA Film Library Speeches Collection (29:24) This collection of significant speeches given by Winston Churchill covers the dark days of World War II when he was prime minister and the first decade of the post-war years.