Death and life are in the power of the tongue (speeches) and those who love it will eat it's fruits (Proverbs 18:21).
The power in the spoken word has been recognized throughout human history. It may well be beyond the impact of an atomic bomb. Great monuments have been destroyed through the devastation of wars and other natural disasters. The spoken word has remained indestructible and enduring.
Since humanity, great endeavors and human thought have been preserved and persevered in folklore in all human societies. This means, the spoken word remains the most enduring legacy and a great facet of personality development. When people speak the choice of their words, including the time and place, they unleash great rhetoric whose effect in many instances has the capacity to change lives and alter the course of history. To be a great leader with a capacity to change things therefore, one must be able to communicate.
In truth, the tongue that foregrounds speech is a double edge sword. In the Bible, (James3:10) has recognized this aptly by saying...
"From the same mouth, springs a blessing and a curse".
Political campaigns are designed to persuade and convince voters to win majority votes. Political campaigns have existed since informed citizens sought to know why and the less privileged led mass campaign against established viewpoints and interests.
Since speeches are most convincing method to explain a candidate's position, planning their content and delivery is central to winning elections. The character and quality of candidates is most times defined in their speeches and so is the direction of their leadership.
George W. Bush in his campaign for the America presidency had pushed "Prosperity with purpose", while Barrack Obama focused on new generation of leadership. Mallam Aminu Kano, African revolutionary and Nigerian politician focused on the talakawa; the poor and down trodden, while Sir Ahmadu Bello insisted on retaining aristocracy in democracy. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was an action man who would define his objectives with statistical details, while Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was philosophic.
Thus, I believe that the study of speech is therefore, a significant genre that should concern anyone who is interested in the different pathways of history. It is of great impact to possibly go back and track great speeches in history and to even rank them including understudying their content and the strength of their rhetoric. We can even keep track of the greatest hate speeches in history, their effects and the skills deployed to give such hate push. Even where there are challenges in record keeping, important speeches are remembered through oral traditions, standard lines survived and are passed from one generation to the next.
Thus, the study of speech is of great impact and it creates the basis for politicians to be held to account for whatever they said while campaigning.
Thank you all for your time in going through my first work and I promise to give in my best. Watch out for my next post.