What made Winston Churchill one of history's greatest orators?
I’m yet to find a historical figure that fascinates me more than Winston Churchill.
He was a family man and a statesman. He was a prisoner of war during the Second Anglo-Boer War, fought in World War I and was a crucial figure in toppling the wicked Nazi machine during World War II. He was no stranger to drink, and his morning baths were usually followed by what his daughter called the “Papa Cocktail”: a glass of water with a dash of Johnnie Walker. He valued hobbies. He sharpened his perception and perspective through painting and painted more than 500 paintings. In the slow and methodical process of bricklaying, he found an unconventional source of relaxation. He wrote more than 40 books for which he received the Nobel Prize in literature. But today, I’m focusing on only one aspect of this intriguing man: his skills as an orator.
Optional viewing - An extract of Chruchill’s renowned “Finest Hour” speech:
Public speaking bridges your ideas and the world, and it’s no coincidence that the most memorable people in history were great speakers. At the young age of 23, Churchill wrote in an article titled, The Scaffolding of Rhetoric:
“Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world. Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable”
But Churchill was not born a great orator. He had a slight stammer and a speech impediment and perfected the skill through practice, making over 2300 speeches during his lifetime. “Rhetorical power is neither wholly bestowed nor wholly acquired, but cultivated”, wrote Churchill in The Scaffolding of Rhetoric. The article outlines the five elements of great oratory that would serve as the blueprint for one of the greatest public speakers of all time.
Although he penned these tips in 1897, they are as relevant today as they were more than a hundred years ago. Grab a coffee ☕️, and enjoy today’s lesson on speaking and history.
As an avid reader and writer, Churchill obsessed over using the best possible word. He preferred “short, homely words of common usage” and believed that even if audiences had never heard a word before, if correctly used, they would understand its meaning.
“The Scotch have been described as a 'stern and dour' folk. 'Dour' is a rare and uncommon word: but what else could it convey to the AngloSaxon mind than the character of the people of a cold, grey land, severe, just, thrifty and religious.”
Churchill understood how sound influenced the human brain and relied on cadence and rhythm to lift his speeches. He used repetition, well-timed pauses and tempo changes and toyed with words to tickle listeners’ ears.
“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
To create rhythm, one of Churchill’s favourite tricks was the use of chiasmus: a two-part sentence or phrase, where the second part is a mirror image of the first. Examples used by Churchill include:
“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Chiasmus has since been used to great effect by the likes of John F Kennedy, Barack Obama and even Snoop Dogg:
“Ask not what your country can do for you— ask what you can do for your country.” - John F Kennedy
“My job is not to represent Washington to you,but to represent you to Washington.” - Barack Obama
“Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.” - Snoop Dogg, “Gin and Juice”
Churchill used facts and vivid images that all pointed in a common direction. “The end appears in view before it is reached. The crowd anticipate the conclusion, and the last words fall amid a thunder of assent,” he wrote.
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender.”
In 1919, Churchill gave this public speaking advice to the Prince of Wales:
“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time.”
Use colourful analogies to translate established truths into simple language. See, for example, how Churchill uses analogy to vividly praise the virtues of capitalism:
“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.”
It’s been argued that his use of the evocative reference to “an iron curtain” falling across Europe changed the West’s postwar perception of the Soviet Union from ally to enemy and marked the beginning of the Cold War.
Churchill recognized that the emotions of speakers and listeners were alike and that exaggerated and extreme language could have a powerful impact on audiences. Although the subject of criticism, Churchill’s ‘extravagances’, as he called them, were intended to win him notoriety and to keep him at the centre of the discussions. Churchill’s combined use of analogies and extravagant language was particularly useful during the Second World War. Of the expanding Nazi menace, he said:
“A baboon in a forest is a matter of legitimate speculation; a baboon in a Zoo is an object of public curiosity; but a baboon in your wife’s bed is a cause of the gravest concern.”
He also used humorous nicknames to great effect — a tactic employed by Donald Trump many years later. The Germans were “carnivorous sheep” and Hitler, the “Bloodthirsty Guttersnipe”. Aneurin Bevan, the Labour Minister of Health, was referred to as the “Minister of Disease” and, due to his lack of principle and wavering domestic policies, former Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald was dubbed the “Boneless Wonder”.
Optional viewing - Churchill’s reference to Hitler as a “Bloodthirsty Guttersnipe”:
Churchill followed his own advice throughout his career, and so too have some great orators since. Although it’s a skill that some are born with, it’s also one that you can perfect with practice. Churchill echoes this thought more poetically than I can in his closing remark of The Scaffolding of Rhetoric:
“The student of rhetoric may indulge in the hope that nature will finally yield to observation and perseverance, the key to the hearts of men.”
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Congratulations on this excellent piece of research Robert. Yes, he was a great orator who managed to stir up the stoic Brits. His sonorous voice added to it. However not my favourite historic figure. He badly blundered in the Dardanelles, his treatment of women was, to say the least disappointing... I recently read a biography of his long-suffering wife and only last week a biography on Nancy Astor - they could not tolerate one another. Keep up this very stimulating blog.