They start with the after and leave it at that.Д«ut people are most likely to embrace a solution when theyвЂ™re emotionally invested in doing so. Most influencers, be they in politics, in business, or another field entirely, seek to inspire and therefore focus only on what we want and what we must do to get it. But because his parents made certain decisions in life вЂ“ because they embraced AmericaвЂ™s hope - his вЂњskinny kid with a funny nameвЂќ line landed when he stood before them as the embodiment of the after picture. He explained the struggle and pain of going through life without the solution вЂ“ in this case the hope inspired by living in America. It doesnвЂ™t seem like much.Д«ut remember, 15 minutes into the speech the entire room screamed, yelled, and applauded when he mentioned the hope of вЂњa skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.вЂќД«y describing his parentsвЂ™ plight, he provided the before picture. It would be easy to overlook this device.

He mentioned the lives led by his parents as they grew up and the struggles they faced to lead a better life. He zeroed in on a specific boy named Seamus who had joined the Marines rather than describing enlisted men as a generalized demographic.Д«ut only 48 seconds into his speech, he did something else. President Obama spoke to specific pain points of union workers fighting for jobs and parents struggling to cover medical costs rather than just generically describing our problems. The вЂњAudacity of HopeвЂќ speech exhibits many examples of how itвЂ™s effective content. They find themselves looking out into a crowd of people who would much rather futz with their phones than listen to anything they have to say.ДЄnd yet, in 2008, President Obama received more votes than any candidate had ever earned in United States history вЂ“ or has earned since.Д«ut why did his speech land as it did? Why did this speech launch a brand that would eventually earn him the presidency?

More often than not they hear little more than polite applause at the end.

But this isnвЂ™t usually what happens for most speakers.

Audacity of hope