Irishman Speaks

Irishman Speaks


As a professional speaker on Business, Motivation and communication, I like to study and appreciate good communication.
One of the most impressive speeches I have heard in recent times is Irish rock star Bono's recent speech at the National Prayer Breakfast 02/02/06. This breakfast was attended by President Bush.
You can get speech text at http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php
The combination of a great artist who definitely has "the gift of the gab" with a powerful compelling message on Africa is what makes this speech compelling.

Good speech development included
* Personal anecdotes
"I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God."

*Powerful evocative phrasing
"But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy (he is referring to AIDS) of our age.
Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move."

AND

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

AND

"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.
Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do."

I am lucky to have seen video of the actual speech. The visual obviously reinforces the message because of the true emotion Bono feels and communicates with wonderful Irish passion. I do admit to bias.I happen to think Bono is the 21st century version of Mother Teresa, a person with great vision who not only talks but walks the talk. Indeed, George Bush commended Bono after the speech with a very humorous joke highlighting that the rock star was a "doer."

posted by Conor Cunneen @ 11:33 AM 0 comments


As a professional speaker on Business, Motivation and communication, I like to study and appreciate good communication.
One of the most impressive speeches I have heard in recent times is Irish rock star Bono's recent speech at the National Prayer Breakfast 02/02/06. This breakfast was attended by President Bush.
You can get speech text at http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php
The combination of a great artist who definitely has "the gift of the gab" with a powerful compelling message on Africa is what makes this speech compelling.

Good speech development included
* Personal anecdotes
"I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God."

*Powerful evocative phrasing
"But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy (he is referring to AIDS) of our age.
Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move."

AND

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

AND

"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.
Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do."

I am lucky to have seen video of the actual speech. The visual obviously reinforces the message because of the true emotion Bono feels and communicates with wonderful Irish passion. I do admit to bias.I happen to think Bono is the 21st century version of Mother Teresa, a person with great vision who not only talks but walks the talk. Indeed, George Bush commended Bono after the speech with a very humorous joke highlighting that the rock star was a "doer."