Continuous with the American political oratory tradition, Ronald Reagan
joins Abraham Lincoln and Franklin
Roosevelt as one of American history's greatest orators. Earning the
nickname "The Great Communicator,"
Ronald Reagan's rhetorical skills propelled his political career,
contributing to his gubernatorial and presidential
election successes. As the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan
benefited from his great oratory talent to
guide the nation and advance his own popularity. By creating a
'rhetorical presidency,' Reagan used his speeches
to symbolize the actions that would lead the nation to prosperity
through the acceptance of his administration's
conservative ideologies.
Ronald Reagan's speaking skill traces its origins to his freshman year at
Eureka College, where he delivered a
speech concerning budget cuts and a proposed student strike. Later, as
a board member of the Screen Actors Guild
and co-chair of the Motion Picture Industry Council, Reagan delivered
speeches focusing on an alleged Communist
threat in the motion picture industry. Reagan spoke to audiences such
as Kiwanians, Rotarians, and American
Legionaries, developing a talent and love for evoking audience
reactions. As a representative of the General
Electric Corporation, Reagan had the opportunity to travel the country,
delivering speeches and refining his skills.
Before entering politics, Reagan delivered thousands of speeches,
preparing himself for a political career
dependent upon effective communication skills.
Reagan's political speeches assessed America’s unrealized potential.
Praising the nation and people, Reagan's
hopeful messages prophesied the realization of America's God-given
destiny through repentance and reformation.
Describing the speeches he made as President, Reagan himself argued that
"I wasn't just making speeches--I was
preaching a sermon." These "sermons" consistently contained underlying
references to God, freedom,
individualism, progress, and examples of real-life heroes embodying
moralistic values. Reagan's speeches
presented simple stories as the rationales for his beliefs and as the
summations of all the world's knowledge. By
delivering narratives climaxing in social, political and economic
morals, Reagan added elements of example,
creditability and entertainment into his speeches.
Ronald Reagan's acting skills certainly benefited his oratorical
successes, permitting him to rely upon his
television experience and understanding of the virtues of rehearsal.
Television allowed Reagan to rely upon his
expressive voice and emotional facial features. Reagan carefully
planned and rehearsed his speeches to create the
greatest impact upon his audience. Television viewers watched the
emotional reaction of Reagan’s live audience,
assessed the importance of the physical backdrop, such as the
Brandenburg Gate and Moscow University, and felt
the attentiveness of Ronald Reagan himself to the varying emotional
responses he evoked from them. Reagan
understood that rational appeals could not sway an audience, but that
emotions served as a common denominator to
all types and classes of people, emotions that Reagan could skillfully
elicit.
Reagan himself believed that the contents of his speeches explained his
success. "I wasn't a great
communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring
full bloom from my brow, they came from
the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and...the
principles that have guided us for two
centuries." Indeed, Reagan's greatest oratory achievements correlate
with the moments when he conveyed his
reverence and pride of American convictions and patriotism. Reagan's
effectiveness and creditability diminished
when he could not choose the themes of his speeches, forced instead to
address controversial and distressing topics,
epitomized in his speech concerning the Iran-Contra affair.
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