In this blog post, we’ll examine the secrets of speeches that move people’s hearts and strategies for persuasive speaking through examples from Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Presidential Speeches: Capturing People’s Hearts Through Oratory

Whether it’s love, business, or politics, everything humans do is accomplished through “words.” To effectively convey our thoughts to others, we have no choice but to rely on spoken language and the written text that transcribes those words. The words of a leader who heads an organization comprising countless people are particularly important, as they set the direction the organization should take and outline the goals it must achieve. Perhaps for this reason, there are quite a few political leaders who have made their mark through outstanding oratory and eloquent writing. Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, who led the Allied victory in World War II, was a Nobel Prize-winning author despite his bulldog-like appearance, and John F. Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize, awarded to America’s finest writers.
The reason politicians’ speeches continue to move and inspire people even today, long after they were delivered, is not simply because of their superb and literary choice of words. Given the nature of their profession—addressing the public—their speeches are, in fact, composed of ordinary words and simple expressions. Yet the reason they are still talked about long after they were delivered lies in the messages they convey. Every era has faced its own national challenges, and to overcome such adversity, speeches were needed to present the public with tasks that simply had to be accomplished.

Leaders’ Speaking Strategies

In this blog post, we will examine how U.S. presidents—often referred to as the world’s most powerful leaders—conveyed their messages and what their speaking strategies were. If you lead an organization, large or small, or wish to win people over through more effective communication, there is much to learn from their speaking strategies.
Among the speeches of past U.S. presidents, the one most familiar to Koreans is likely President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This speech was delivered on November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during a memorial service held to honor soldiers who had fallen in the midst of the American Civil War. It is particularly famous for the phrase “Of the people, by the people, for the people,” which is often translated as “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
So, just how long is this speech, which was delivered over 150 years ago? Given that it is a timeless masterpiece, it’s easy to assume it must be quite long. However, that is not the case. The speech consists of only 266 words—a short text that barely fills half a page of A4 paper. The actual delivery time was just two minutes. It is a prime example demonstrating that one does not necessarily need to speak at length or in a flowery manner to move people’s hearts.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, delivered several memorable speeches that continue to inspire many people to this day. Taking office at the young age of 44, he won the public’s favor with his energetic demeanor. His inaugural address contained a message urging the young people of the United States at that time to serve their country. The line, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” remains etched in the memories of many to this day.
To most people, Kennedy is remembered as the ill-fated president who was assassinated just two years into his term. However, few people realize that, before he was a politician, he was an outstanding writer.
Kennedy began his career as a reporter at a newspaper in 1945, shortly after returning from World War II. Then, in 1957—four years before becoming president—he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book ‘Profiles in Courage’. First awarded in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize is still regarded today as the most prestigious award in the United States for journalism, literature, and music. ‘Profiles in Courage’ is a book that chronicles the lives and achievements of eight American politicians whom Kennedy held in high regard. The fact that he won the Pulitzer Prize alone gives a sense of just how exceptional his talent as a writer was.
Kennedy was well aware that, in order to effectively convey a message to the general public, one needed simple examples that anyone could understand. This talent is clearly evident in the 1961 speech he delivered before Congress, in which he articulated America’s commitment to space exploration.
At the time, the United States was lagging behind the Soviet Union in the space race. It was a period when the Cold War—in which the U.S. and the Soviet Union were competing for global hegemony—had reached its peak, and fierce competition was taking place not only in the political, military, and economic spheres but also in science and technology.
Four years before Kennedy’s speech, the United States was stunned when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The shock was all the greater because the United States had believed itself to be the world leader in technology. Although the United States soon launched its own satellite and set out to catch up, the Soviet Union consistently stayed one step ahead. In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yurii Gagarin became the world’s first person in space, while the American Alan Shepard did not succeed in his spaceflight until a month later.
Against this backdrop, Kennedy addressed Congress and, toward the end of his speech, presented a bold plan for space exploration. His description was so vivid that it seemed as if the scene were unfolding right before our eyes.

“The United States must now dedicate itself to a single goal: to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth within the next ten years. If we succeed, it will not be just one man who goes to the Moon, but the entire nation. We must all do our utmost to achieve this goal.”

While outlining America’s space exploration plans, Kennedy did not use a single technical term that the general public would find difficult to understand. Nor did he speak of defeating the Soviet Union in the space race to seize the lead in space development. He simply set forth the goal of “landing a man on the Moon within ten years.” As an accomplished writer, he judged that people could fully grasp the U.S. government’s ambitious plan simply by envisioning an astronaut walking on the Moon.
Let’s examine just how powerful vivid descriptions can be. To do so, I’ve prepared two versions of the opening lines of a speech I wrote on the same topic.

“Good afternoon. I am speaking to you live from the West Wing of the White House. It is a great honor to be able to share this historic moment with you via live broadcast today.”

“Eleven months ago, a 1,200-pound spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. And 18 hours ago, that spacecraft landed on Mars. You and I, along with 60,000 students across the nation, researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and NASA engineers in Houston, are now watching the view of Mars from the spacecraft together at the White House.”

Both of these introductory versions of a speech were written to simulate a scenario in which the U.S. President announces the spacecraft’s landing on Mars to the nation. These are not actual speeches but examples taken from a scene in a popular American TV drama from the early 2000s. They were drafts created as the President’s staff prepared a speech to commemorate the spacecraft’s landing.
A comparison of the two introductions clearly reveals the differences. The first introduction is plain and somewhat dull. Even though it describes a historic moment—the first time a spacecraft sent by humankind has landed on Mars—there is no actual description of the event itself. It merely expresses joy at being part of this historic occasion.
In contrast, the second introduction gives the audience the feeling that they are standing right beside the President, watching the landing unfold. It also includes specific details, such as the fact that the spacecraft was launched 11 months ago and landed on Mars 18 hours ago. As a result, the audience doesn’t just receive a simple recitation of facts; they feel a sense of immersion, as if they were experiencing the historic moment firsthand.
Ultimately, the president in the drama chooses the second introduction for his speech because it contained a much more vivid description and specific details.

Theory and statistics alone are not enough

Let’s now look at an example from a U.S. president who is a bit more familiar to us. Former U.S. President Barack Obama is also a figure who made his mark with outstanding speeches. He had a chief speechwriter named Cody Keenan, who was just 35 years old at the time he was drafting President Obama’s speeches. Cody Keenan frequently incorporated the stories of hardworking, ordinary Americans into the President’s speeches.
President Obama once explained that the reason he trusted Cody Keenan so much was “to tell the story of America.” He believed that the stories of ordinary people who live with integrity and care for their neighbors best exemplify the American spirit.
Using the extraordinary stories of ordinary people as material for speeches is a practice shared by both Democrats and Republicans. This was evident in the State of the Union address delivered by President Donald Trump before Congress in January 2018. During the speech, which lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, President Trump personally introduced more than 10 individuals. Each of them symbolized a key message the President sought to convey.
After a brief greeting, President Trump began his speech by introducing heroes who had dedicated themselves to the United States. He introduced a Coast Guard officer who rescued more than 40 people while braving a storm and a firefighter who saved 60 children trapped in a wildfire, and asked the members of Congress in attendance to applaud them on behalf of the American people. The lawmakers in the chamber also all rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation. He also did not forget to applaud and celebrate the return of the Republican Majority Leader, who had been injured in a shooting by a gunman during a baseball practice in June 2017.
After expressing his gratitude to those who had dedicated themselves to their communities, President Trump immediately moved on to highlighting his economic achievements. Throughout this portion of his speech, he actively drew on the stories of ordinary people. While explaining the effects of the corporate tax cut, he cited the example of a welder named Corey Adams.
What if President Trump had simply listed various numbers and statistics to explain the effects of the corporate tax cut, instead of citing the example of Corey Adams, an ordinary Black welder? For example, if he had said, “Thanks to this corporate tax cut, the average American’s disposable income has increased by about 4 million won,” how would the audience have reacted? It probably wouldn’t have resonated as vividly as when he introduced a real person like Cory Adams.
These aren’t the only people President Trump has cited as examples. When emphasizing patriotism toward the nation, he introduces a 12-year-old boy from California. This boy felt saddened when he saw that the Stars and Stripes were not flying at military cemeteries, so he started a “flag-raising campaign” with people around him. As a result, approximately 40,000 American flags were raised at the graves of fallen soldiers.
Which is more persuasive: simply stating, “We must improve the veterans’ benefits system for soldiers who died in war,” or sharing the story of a 12-year-old boy? Most people would relate more deeply to the latter.
The reason we remember case studies and examples—that is, stories—better than complex theories or numbers is related to human evolution. It was only thousands of years ago that humanity began conveying information and emotions through writing. Before that, people passed down information from generation to generation through speech, not writing. And when conveying information verbally, the format that stuck in people’s memories the longest was the story featuring a protagonist.
Our brains instinctively respond more sensitively to stories. Therefore, if you want to win people over, it’s essential to structure your speech and writing using vivid examples.
Let’s briefly summarize what we’ve covered so far.
First, if you want to convey a message effectively, you should first look for vivid, tangible examples rather than theories or statistical figures. Once you have the right examples and illustrations, conveying your message becomes much easier.
Second, when describing a situation, you must be specific and vivid enough to paint a clear picture in your audience’s mind. For example, when describing someone as diligent, it’s far more effective to say, “He’s the first to arrive at work every morning,” rather than simply stating, “He’s diligent.”