Why Martin Luther King's Speech Is Powerful

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In order to maintain a group of people’s attention to create an impact on their thoughts and feelings on a certain subject, a good speech must be given. What makes a good speech? A good speech is something that is memorable and shared continuously through the years because it was able to influence others positively. This is done through many characteristics that are essential to a well presented speech. An example of a good speech is the one presented by Martin Luther King Jr. His speech impacted millions of Americans and is still shared and remembered today. One of the main characteristics that stand out about his speech is his powerful, confident voice. It is loud, which grabs the listener’s attention immediately. He also combines a good use of word pronunciation and long, dramatic pauses which gives the listener time to process and take in what Martin Luther King Jr. is trying to say. The strength in his voice tells the listener that he is confident about what he is talking about which is very important or no one would listen to what he had to say. He also made good eye contact which showed a sense of emotion which goes deep into the hearts of the people. King’s speech is persuasive because he knows how to convince people what he is saying is right by relating it to them in a deep, personal way. He uses metaphors that help relate situations to all of the listeners. For example, King said, “America has given the negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘Insufficient funds.’” He is trying to point out that freedom for African Americans is something that was promised but never given. The metaphor is so people can relate to that because they know what it is like to not get money they were promised. King is able to incorporate his own experiences to gain respect. One example is how he has a title of “father” with his four kids, which he talks about
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