Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention is earning high marks for its “emotion.” The word—“emotional”—appears in about half a million links to articles about the speech. There are several ways that speakers can incorporate emotion into their presentation, and Michelle Obama used every one of them.
The speech is short. It’s very hard to transfer emotion in lengthy speeches or presentations because people get bored and tune out. Michelle Obama’s speech is only 14 minutes, which is an ideal amount of time to transfer emotion to an audience without overstaying your welcome. There’s a reason why some of the most famous speeches in history fall within the 15- to 20-minute range. TED Talks, for example, are 18 minutes. TED organizers found that 18 minutes is an appropriate time to get your point across without putting people to sleep.
The speech is easy to read and easy to deliver. Michelle Obama’s speech has a readability score of 83.6, which means the sentences are short, the words are simple and it’s written in conversational English.
The speech is personalized with stories. Storytelling is the best rhetorical tool we have to make an emotional connection with one another. Michelle Obama told several personal stories about her husband, the democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and her daughters. For example,
During our time in the White House, we’ve had the joy of watching them grow from bubbly little girls into poised young women -– a journey that started soon after we arrived in Washington, when they set off for their first day at their new school. I will never forget that winter morning as I watched our girls, just seven and 10 years old, pile into those black SUVs with all those big men with guns. And I saw their little faces pressed up against the window, and the only thing I could think was, “What have we done?” See, because at that moment, I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who they would become, and how well we managed this experience could truly make or break them.”
The speech has time-tested rhetorical devices. My favorite speech tool is called “anaphora,” the repetition of the same word in successive sentences. It makes words easy on the ear. Michelle Obama used the device several times. For example,
I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children –- not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection but every child who needs a champion: Kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs. Kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college. Kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English but dream of a better life. Kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.”
When I think about the kind of President that I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want. I want someone with the proven strength to persevere… I want a President with a record of public service… And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth, a leader who is worthy of my girls’ promise and all our kids’ promise.”
The speech is delivered passionately. At the 11:30 mark in the speech Michelle Obama is clearly moved (and chokes back tears) when she delivers the paragraph that received the loudest applause. In the following sentences she brings it all together—story, rhetorical devices, simple and emotional word choices, and a passionate delivery:
That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done, so that today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves and I watch my daughters – two beautiful, intelligent, black young women – playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters – and all our sons and daughters – now take for granted that a woman can be President of the United States.”
Michelle Obama deserves the kudos she’s receiving for the speech. It was nicely constructed and powerfully delivered. Emotion doesn’t just happen in a speech; there’s a structure behind it.