Style In Political Speeches: "Tricolon"
"Tricolon" is the placement of three items in a list. Tricolon has been popular in Western culture from the time of the Greeks. Using tricolon is so common with us that we use it automatically, and since it satisfies both the speakers and of the listeners, it is ubiquitous in public speaking. Here are examples of tricolon in speeches delivered at the national conventions of the Republicans and Democrats.
Barack Obama: ... more Americans are out of work... More of you have lost your homes... More of you have cars you can't afford to drive...
Barack Obama: ...on health care and education and the economy...
Barack Obama: [that old, discredited Republican philosophy:] Out of work? Tough luck. You're on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You're on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps -- even if you don't have boots. You are on your own.
John McCain: that strategy succeeded, and it rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war, and threatened the security of all Americans.
John McCain: I know how the military works, .../ I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams.../ I know how to secure the peace.
John McCain: We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. There seems a required formula for ending a political speech. McCain: "Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America." Obama: "Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America." Hillary Clinton: "Thank you. God bless you, and Godspeed."
Don't avoid tricolon as overused. It satisfies a strong expectation in your listeners. Use it in your own speeches.
Pairing Opposites In a Speech
Antithesis is the placement of contrasting ideas close together,
particularly in the same positions of parallel phrases or clauses.
Antithesis is both easy to use and forceful. There are a number of
examples in the speeches presented in the Democratic and Republican
national conventions.
John McCain: I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
[Double antithesis: "I" vs. "He" and "cut government spending" vs.
"increase it." ]
John McCain: My tax cuts will create jobs; his tax increases will
eliminate them. [Double antithesis: "My" vs. "his" and "create jobs" vs.
"eliminate them." ]
John McCain: Now, my opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing
away the global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job
that won't come back find a new one that won't go away. [Two examples:
"my opponent promises..." vs. "We're going to..." and "a job that won't
come back" vs. "a new one that won't go away."]
Barack Obama: Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility...
Hillary Clinton:...change in this country must start from the ground up,
not the top down.
Hillary Clinton:[We don't need] more of a government where the
privileged come first and everyone else comes last.
Antithesis is popular, powerful, and easy. Try it yourself.
Style in Political Speeches: "Anaphora"
Dr. King's "I have a dream..." or Winston Churchill's "We shall fight them..." are both examples of the use of "anaphora." Anaphora occurs when you begin each of a sequence of paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases with the same word or words. Anaphora is to speaking what bullet points are to writing.
The speeches at the national conventions give many examples of the use of anaphora.
Barack Obama: America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend.
Hillary Clinton: No way. No how. No McCain.
Hillary Clinton: I will always remember the single mom .../ I will always remember the young man .../ I will always remember the young boy .../ I will always be grateful to everyone ...
Hillary Clinton did violate the rule to replace bullet points by anaphora in her speech: "But we don't need four more years of the last eight years./ More economic stagnation.../ More high gas prices.../ More jobs getting shipped overseas..." and on for several more. I'll bet in her script these had bullet points. In the CNN transcript, they were translated into paragraphs of sentence fragments.
John McCain: ... I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you.
John McCain: I know how the military works,.../ I know how to work with leaders.../ I know how to secure the peace.
John McCain: I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency, .../ I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea,...
Try adding anaphora to your own speeches. It is easy and powerful.
Labels: anaphora, national conventions, political speeches, rhetoric, speech, style
