Charismatic Speech Analysis Exercise

Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership was a key driver of the civil rights movement in the US
in the 1960s. In this exercise, you will analyze one of Dr. King’s most famous speeches to
understand how rhetorical and framing elements can help leaders articulate their vision.

Below is an explanation of different ways in which you can craft a message that resonates
with your audience. You don’t have to be a leader on the world stage to do this – any time
you’re leading a team of people you can incorporate these speech elements into the way
you share your vision with your team.

Framing involves selecting a framework for the message around certain goals. For example,
the two statements “our company’s goal is to build communication devices,” and “our
company’s goal is to connect human beings to one another” deliver the same basic message
with very different frames. Some methods for framing are:
• Amplify values and beliefs: Select values and stories that illustrate the core higher
values that appeal to the audience.
• Bring out the importance of the mission: Emphasize and exaggerate the need for
change and the attractiveness of the solution.
• Clarify the need to accomplish the mission: Focus on the “good” of the mission and
the dangers of not accomplishing it.
• Focus on the efficacy of the mission: Provide examples of how the mission will work
in order to build the audience’s confidence in the correctness of the selected path.

All of the above techniques are designed to provide the audience of followers with a reason
for accepting the proposed change or idea.

Rhetorical techniques are used to further emphasize the message. These include:
• Use of metaphors, analogies, and brief stories to make the mission and goals
concrete, set them apart for undesirable things or events that the audience is likely
to know, and create the needed emotional reactions in followers.
• Use of language that the audience will understand is key to an effective message.
• Repetition of the key message through various means emphasizes its importance.
• Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonants sounds (e.g., mighty mountains of
Montana) which provide a pleasing cadence to the speech.
• Rhythm is the pattern of sounds used in speech based on balancing stressed and
unstressed words. Maintaining a rhythm when speaking makes the delivery sound
natural, fluent, and is more likely to hold an audience’s attention.
• Nonverbal messages need to be consistent and support the spoken words. For
example, style of dress, using a clear and confident voice, and a lack of hesitation
can all be used to further send a message of confidence.

Source: Nahavandi 7th edition

Activity 9 Instructions:
1. Follow the link on the course site and watch the Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a
Dream video excerpt
o This is posted in the Activity instructions (found under the ‘Activity’ tab in the
Week 9 content section of CourseLink).

2. Using the ‘Table of Charismatic Qualities' below, indicate which number (1-3) best
reflects the extent to which Dr. King’s speech includes these 10 elements of framing
and rhetorical techniques.
o You can fill this out by either:
i. Copying and pasting the table into your own document and
circling/highlighting the values from 1-3
ii. Creating a table of your own and circling/highlighting the values from 1-3
iii. Writing a list of the 10 elements/techniques and indicating what number
(1-3) you’ve assigned for each of them. For example:
1. Amplify values and beliefs – 2 (to some extent)
2. Bring out the importance of the mission – 3 (to a large extent)
3. Etc… for all 10 elements/techniques in the table
o Please include this in the same document with the rest of your Activity

Table of Charismatic Qualities:

**Activity instructions continue on the next page**

 3. Provide examples of at least 5 different elements and/or techniques as they occur
in Dr. King’s speech (using the elements/techniques from the ‘Table of Charismatic
Qualities’).
o To do this, first write down a quote from Dr. King’s speech.
o Next, indicate the corresponding element or technique used in that quote.
i. For instance, if you think Dr. King said something that “brought out the
importance of the mission” you would indicate that by first providing a
quote from his speech and then labelling this element/technique
represented in the quote.
ii. Do this for 5 of the elements/techniques in the table (i.e., there should be
5 different quotes and 5 different elements/techniques listed).
o An example might look something like:
Quote: [write quote from speech]
Element/Technique: [write which one of the
elements/techniques is reflected in this quote]

4. Imagine that you are part of a group project and some of your team members are
not participating. Provide 5 examples of how you could use some of the
elements/techniques from the table to motivate your team members. Explain why
these examples would be effective.
o To do this, first write down 5 of your own quotes that you could say to your
team members to try and convince them to participate in the group project.
Note: These should NOT be quotes from Dr. King’s speech or quotes you’ve
taken from other sources. Come up with your own statements that you
might say in the situation.
o Indicate what element of framing or rhetorical technique is being used for each
of your quotes.
o Explain why each of your quotes would be effective in this context, based on the
framing/technique used.
o An example might look something like:
Quote: [write quote you would say to team members]
Element/Technique: [write which one of the
elements/techniques is reflected in this quote]
Why this is effective: [write your explanation for why this
quote aligns with the element/technique you’ve indicated,
and explain why this would be an effective way to motivate
your team members to participate]

NOTE: You are not expected to cite the textbook or any additional sources for this activity. Just
use the information from this worksheet to support your answers – i.e., when discussing the
‘charismatic qualities’ used in both Dr. King’s speech and your own quotes, please only refer to
the ‘Elements of Framing’ and ‘Rhetorical Techniques’ provided in this worksheet.