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Great Speeches
I have a bit of a reading assignment, for those of you interested in really good reading.
Today as part of a training class I'm creating I'm searching for good speeches. It's all part of helping people take political or vague talk (like we'd get from a product owner) and translate these into workable user stories.
So I've been touring great speeches of the past.
I only have one thing to say --- wow.
I've noticed that great speeches usually happen at times of great stress. There's a cold war, there's civil unrest, the nation is at war, etc. People are scared, and unsure of themselves.
Then steps forward the right person at the right time, and they reassure us of a larger vision, of a greater future.
So here is your reading assignment. Don't worry -- it should only take 20 minutes or so. But it'll be some of the best reading you've had lately. I can guarantee that.
The first is the one Winston Churchill gave after Germany invaded France. People were in a panic, and most feared that England would soon be invaded. Authorities had already started planning to move the British gold reserve to Canada, although that's a fact not discussed much today. Today we look on how the war ended: with Germany surrendering. But at the time the most likely path seemed complete defeat.
Hope you like them. I know I did.
Thanks for the great links. I've only read Churchill's speech. I hope you find and share more like them. But please don't link whole paragraphs as it's very distracting to actually read them.
Thanks Basu,
I'll make the edit if I get time.
Churchill's is probably the longest read for modern people, as he goes down a list of things to make his countrymen feel better. MacArthur's is much more succinct (and you can listen to it on mp3 if you like from the site), and Henry's speech is just incredible.