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02.10

By Terrance Malkinson

Aristotle the ancient Greek philosopher and orator once said that there are three ways in which you can persuade people to your way of thinking. You can persuade people if you appeal to them logically with factual data, you can persuade people if you appeal to them by being emotionally likable, and you can persuade people if the audience believes you to be a credible person.

There are many nuances associated with speech. One of the most important of which is the choice of words and phrases and delivering them in a manner that makes them pleasant to the receivers’ ear.  One element necessary for a majestic speech is its rhythm or cadence.  Establishing the right rhythm will send a forceful message that listeners will attend to and comment that they “could not have said it better themselves.”

As discussed by Bruce Boston, the basic and natural rhythm of English is found in the simple declarative sentence from which simple variations called the double and the triple may be composed.

Examples of which we are all familiar of high impact simple declarative sentences include:

“I have a dream”   (Martin Luther King)

“But let us begin” (John F. Kennedy)

The opening line of Kennedy’s inaugural address provides an example of a set of three sets of doubles that provide the basic rhythm that extends throughout his speech:

“We observe today

not a victory of a party, but a declaration of freedom –

symbolizing an end as well as a beginning,

signifying renewal as well as change.”

Bruce Boston goes on to describe how elements can be added to extend the cadence, change the pace, and drive the speakers point to the audience as in the following use of the triple in Winston Churchill’s speech following Dunkirk:

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Look to the historical examples of recognized oratories of excellence as models for yourself to follow when you are asked to compose a speech.

For further information

Boston, Bruce, "Cadence: The Key to Effective Speech Writing," IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 30(4):227-228, 1987.

The Greatest Speeches of all Time, Jerden Records, SoundWorks, USA, JRCD 7700, 1996.

Other Bytes

Here are some of the things going on in and around the engineering community:

• Harvard Business Review in cooperation with the World Economic Forum provide their annual compilation of ten new solutions that they believe would make the world better in “Break-through Ideas for 2010” [Harvard Business Review, 88(1):41-57, January-February 2010, www.hbr.org ]. Each of the ten ideas is presented in a short essay under the headings of “the Problem,” “The Breakthrough Idea” and “The Promise.” Each essay is written by leading authorities on the subject. Topics include:
   

  • What really motivates workers?

  • The technology that can revolutionize health care

  • What the financial sector should borrow

  • Getting the drugs we need

  • A market solution for achieving “Green” 

  • A faster path from lab to market

  • Hacking work

  • Spotting bubbles on the rise

  • Creating more Hong Kong’s and

  • Independent diplomacy
     

• BusinessWeek in the article by Scott Shane “More Seniors are Choosing Self-Employment,” [BusinessWeek Online, 13 January 2010, www.businessweek.com ] examines the growth of entrepreneurship activity of Americans between the ages 55 and 64. The author presents data from a variety of sources.  One of the cited reports revealed that “in every year from 1996-2007, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20-34.”  The author speculates on some reasons for this and discusses the implications.
   

• According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the average worker will change jobs ten times during their career.  Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams discuss five common mistakes that many, including even experienced people, make when changing jobs in “Five Ways to Bungle a Job Change” [Harvard Business Review, 88(1):137-140,  January-February 2010]. Although focusing on executive careers, mistakes discussed are applicable to all job changes. An excellent experienced-based report based on an international survey of over 400 search consultants from more than 50 industries.
   

• Top-level support is vital to maintain a culture of learning in organizations. Jack Phillips and Patti Phillips discuss the information upper management wants and does not want for the measurement of the success of their employee learning and development expenditures [“Confronting CEO Expectations about the Value of Learning, “Training & Development,” 64(1):52-57, January 2010,  www.astd.org ]. An interesting table is provided that summarizes the findings as a results-based approach to learning and development.
   

• Joshua Margolis and Paul Stoltz provide a resilience regimen to help you to respond quickly and constructively to a crisis in “How to Bounce Back from Adversity” [Harvard Business Review, 88(1):86-92,  January-February 2010]. The authors believe that resilient managers look forward determining the best course of action in a traumatic situation.  The resilience regimen they describe consists of a series of questions designed to help you replace negative responses with creative and resourceful ones that will move everyone forward despite real or perceived obstacles.
   

• Ann Pace discusses the concept of “positive organizational scholarship” in “Unleashing Posi+ivi+ty in +he Workplace” [Training & Development, 64(1):40-44, January 2010]. This approach is based on a value orientation of abundance, elevation, and virtuousness based on positive organizational processes and rigorous scholarship.
   

• Entrepreneur Magazine provides its listing of the top entrepreneurs of 2009 and discusses their secrets to success in “Entrepreneur of 2009 Award Winners” [Entrepreneur, 38(1):23-26, January 2010, www.entrepreneur.com ].  Leading as entrepreneur of the year is Rick Alden the designer of the Skullcandy series of headphones and earbuds and is as an entrepreneur continuing on with developing new models of high-end headphones and starting new businesses. Other awards discussed include the winning emerging entrepreneur, and the college entrepreneur of 2009.
   

• A six week plan to help you “shape up your business” is provided by Gwen Moran in: Entrepreneur Magazine [“Six Weeks to a Better Bottom Line,” Entrepreneur, 38(1): 47-51, January 2010].  The author believes that in these lean times it is important to evaluate your business and look for areas of improvement. Interesting insights are provided in this article that discusses the opinions of business building experts on what to look for, how to set goals and measure progress, and how to get where you really want to be.

Terrance Malkinson is a communications specialist, business analyst and futurist. He is Vice-Chair of the IEEE-USA Communications Committee, an international correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer , editor-in-chief of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Digest, associate editor for IEEE Canadian Review, and a member of the editorial advisory board of IEEE The Institute.  He was an elected Senator of the University of Calgary and an elected Governor of the IEEE Engineering Management Society as well as an elected Administrative Committee member of the IEEE Professional Communication Society. He has been the editor of several IEEE conference proceedings, and past editor of IEEE Engineering Management. He is the author of more than 385 publications, and is an accomplished triathlete. His career path includes being an accomplished technical supervisor and medical researcher at the University of Calgary a business proposal manager for the General Electric Company, an associate for Sears Canada Inc. and research administrator with the School of Health and Public Safety/Applied Research and Innovation Services at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary Canada.

The author is grateful to the professional support of the Haskayne School of Business Library at the University of Calgary. He can be reached at todaysengineer@ieee.org.