19th November 1863: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States of America, making his … [+] famous ‘Gettysburg Address’ speech. Original Artwork: Painting by Fletcher C Ransom (Photo by Library Of Congress/Getty Images)
One of the best books on public speaking does not have “public speaking” in its title. It’s Leadership in Turbulent Times by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin. The book draws insights from four presidents who Goodwin has studied the most closely: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson
Ideas don’t sell themselves. Ideas need a champion to advocate for them. And that’s why Goodwin believes that by honing the art of communication, these four presidents had an outsized impact on history.
Lincoln the Storyteller
Goodwin is the producer of Lincoln’s Dilemma, a three-night miniseries on History Channel that debuted on Sunday. In the series we learn that Lincoln was a skilled storyteller, a rhetorical ability he sharpened from connecting with different groups of people on the vast frontier.
“Lincoln commanded respect and attention with his never-ending stream of stories,” writes Goodwin. When he was running for president, Lincoln’s ability to captivate an audience drew thousands of people from the countryside who were “eager to be regaled and entertained” by a skilled communicator.
Lincoln realized that metaphor was a fundamental building block of storytelling, and one of the most persuasive elements of classic rhetoric. His campaign speech in 1858 included the now famous line, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Lincoln argued that the country could not endure half slave and half free. “I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.”
The “house” refers to the union—the United States at the time which was divided on the issue of slavery. By using recognizable figures of speech to explain his arguments, Lincoln caught the attention of the public and gave voice to those who opposed the institution of slavery.
Theodore Roosevelt the Reader
Storytelling also played a role in the formative years of Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. Roosevelt became a “ferocious reader,” writes Goodwin. Books transported Roosevelt into “the lives of the adventurous heroes he most admired.”
Roosevelt once said that leaders in every field need to understand human nature. The best way to know how people feel is to read the works of “great imaginative writers,” he advised.
Roosevelt’s love of reading and history would work to his advantage in helping to reach a peaceful solution during the six-month coal strike of 1902. By understanding the deep history of distrust between labor and management that had sparked the rebellion, he was able to empathize with everyday people and communicate with them plainly and simply.
Roosevelt’s knack for simplifying ideas grabbed the attention of the press and public. He was the first president to summarize his entire legislative agenda in three words: “The Square Deal.” It meant that government should pursue a fair playing field for corporations and the wage worker, the rich and the poor. In 1905, The Washington Post called Roosevelt’s explanation “entirely plain and understandable.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt The Explainer
At the age of 14, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sent to a boarding school where he found his niche as a member of the debate team, according to Goodwin. It was there that FDR “learned persuasive reasoning and to connect emotionally with his audience.”
Roosevelt understood that connecting emotionally would be impossible if jargon got in the way. In his famous fireside chats, Roosevelt would take arcane financial text his staff prepared for him and edit the copy to “demystify the language.”
By making even the driest subjects interesting and understandable, Roosevelt galvanized the public around his ideas, quelled rumors, and reassured the nation during time of war and uncertainty.
Lyndon Johnson the Connector
When president Roosevelt met a young congressman named Lyndon Johnson, Roosevelt was “enthralled by the gifts of a fellow storyteller,” writes Goodwin. “Storytelling played a central role in young Lyndon’s life, just as it had in the lives of young Abraham, Theodore, and Franklin,”
When Johnson was just 22-years-old, he gave a short speech to support a local man running for railroad commission. The event took place at a popular annual picnic in South-Central Texas where hundreds of citizens would come out to hear speeches from candidates for local offices.
Johnson stood on a wagon bed and started his speech by saying, “I’m a prairie dog lawyer from Johnson City, Texas.” According to Goodwin, his words were perfectly tailored to his audience. “Prairie Dog lawyers had little training in the law; they relied upon passionate advocacy rather than legal precedent to defend their clients before a jury.”
When Johnson finished his 10-minute speech, the crowd erupted into sustained applause. “His speech was considered the hit of the Henly picnic.”
Before he entered politics, Johnson taught public speaking and debate at a Houston high school. He once advised his students to connect with their listeners by using conversational language that illustrated points with concrete stories.
Johnson went on to build a legendary reputation for connecting with people from all walks of life. His talent for bringing partisan factions together to negotiate policies for the good of the nation culminated in his signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Leaders, by definition, must move followers to action and persuade them to follow a course of action. How? By sharpening their public speaking skills. Speaking to new lawyers, Lincoln once said that learning the art of communication is their “avenue to the public.”
The “avenue” to success is paved by rhetorical skills that leaders can and should learn if they hope to influence their audiences.
