Famous Speech Critique free essay sample

In brainstorming ideas about what speech I could study in detail, I turned my attention to highly influential leaders in history. One of those people is Adolf Hitler. Even the greatest ideological enemies of Hitler can agree that he was an extremely gifted and prolific speaker. In â€Å"Triumph of the Will†, one of the most important films of documentation and propaganda which was directed by Leni Riefenstahl and sponsored by Hitler himself, many of Hitler’s speeches are shown. Not only can viewers study his style of speaking, but we can also learn much about his mannerisms—and in turn, the massive support he received as a leader. I decided to hand-transcribe one of the speeches shown in â€Å"Triumph of the Will†, as few speeches were videotaped and shown elsewhere. The speech I focused on was delivered to a group of young Germans in which Hitler attempts to rile them up to want to fight and sacrifice themselves for their country. We will write a custom essay sample on Famous Speech Critique or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While this topic is not a very unique theme for a country’s leader to give to his people, Hitler’s speech is unique in the way he delivers and persuades a group of people. Albeit, his audience was already a receptive, willing group of young minds (easy to mold), however what Hitler was asking his people to do was quite serious. In critiquing Hitler’s speech, it is important to note the history and environment of the time: this speech occurred during the third year Hitler’s leadership and Germany was ready to emerge itself in a full-fledged world war. When listening to his speech, I realized that the words he used made his speech was quite personable and easily relatable because he referred to himself and his ideas as â€Å"we† and made the audience feel as if they played a direct part in the glorification and success of their country. He used a lot of repetition and key words such as â€Å"courage† and â€Å"peace†. Also, Hitler really made his audience feel empowered—as if the future of their country being â€Å"for the people† lay in the hands of the youth of Germany. Many of the things he preached in his speech (i. e. to â€Å"be peace-loving and courageous at the same time† and having â€Å"inner resolve†) sounds much like a father speaking to his son, encouraging him to believe in himself in order to build a stronger, unified nation. With such encouraging and empowering words, it is not surprising that he had so many supporters. In his manner of speaking, he was quite passionate and enthused about his speech. However, he remained strong and leader-like by keeping relatively still unless he was trying to accentuate his words by jerking or nodding his head and making harsh movements with his hands. An aspect I did not enjoy about his presentation, however, is that he always seemed grumpy and angry, making it difficult for me to keep a straight face while watching him give his speeches. This could have been a result of his personality as a leader, or a way for him to maintain distance from his people. This could also be the reason why he almost never used personal anecdotes or personable stories. Although the issues Hitler discussed in his speech would not be well received today, his manner of speech can often be seen in rallies or protests today. Hitler was an influential leader regardless of his detrimental and horrible ideas because of the way he presented his ideas and persuaded his people to follow him.