Continued from page 1
6. Introduction
A well constructed introduction helped build empathy and highlighted that Clinton's life had not all been plain sailing. The fact that his father died when he was young, his mother was a nursing assistant and he was born in Hope, a town of 10,000 people, helped put his success and achievements in context.
7. Building on
sense of destiny
A strong personal brand is built on stories. The story of Clinton meeting President Kennedy when on a youth leadership camp was used to great effect. Not only was it mentioned in
introduction but that famous photo of Clinton shaking JFK's hand was also used in
marketing materials. Other brand building shots included an intimate moment with Hilary, a shot of him playing
saxophone, a jogging photo, one with Chelsea and one featuring Clinton lined up with 3 past Presidents. They all helped to define Clinton
man.
8. Customising
message
Clinton's speech in Perth was customised to include stories relevant to a Perth market, including his memories of Perth switching on its lights at night for a US space mission re-entry and comments on a former US President's career as a mining engineer in Kalgoorlie.
9. Using humour
Clinton had some great lines about how he could have helped previous Presidents in dealing with
media in tricky situations.
10. Memorable one liners using opposites
This can be very effective. When talking about possible solutions to
war against terrorism, Clinton said "most of
big things in life are simple".
11. Repetition
Clinton used this proven speechwriting technique to great effect.
12. Using metaphors
Clinton used
metaphor of
gap between
invention of
club and
shield to describe
present situation in
war against terrorism. He said "this gap needs to closed". Metaphors can give intangible concepts more impact with an audience.
13. Develop empathy with
audience
Clinton told
story of how he was in Australia at Port Douglas on September 11th and how his daughter Chelsea was in downtown New York. He connected with every parent in
room when he talked about his feelings when he couldn't contact his daughter for three hours on that day.
14. A call to action
The aim of
event was to raise money for a Children's hospital. Clinton's final words were "I want you to help". Simple, direct and powerful.
I hope you have enjoyed this analysis. I certainly learnt a lot by seeing one of
world's great communicators in action. Whatever your personal views on Clinton are ... his personal warmth, ability to connect with an audience and presentation skills are outstanding.

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