No Substitute for Victory: Lessons in Strategy and Leadership from General Douglas Macarthur

Chapter 21. Make Compelling Speeches

Public speaking scares people. In fact, The Book of Lists ranks fear of speechmaking as our number one fear, above the fear of death. It is, nevertheless, a fear that leaders cannot afford to indulge. Leaders must be compelling orators who are capable of engaging intimately with groups and convincing those groups to act as needed.

MacArthur is remembered as one of history's great speechmakers. His public speaking has been accurately characterized as “grandiloquent,” a word that connotes a bombastic style of speechmaking that seems less relevant today than a century ago. At the same time, however, MacArthur was an extraordinarily effective speaker. Along with Roosevelt and Churchill, his words continue to highlight ...