There is a speech that Abraham Lincoln made that, probably more than anything else, got him the Republican nomination and eventual election as president.
Which led to the Civil War, the strengthening of democracy and the end of slavery in the United States.
Unquestionably, a world changing speech.
It wasn’t the Gettysburg address, of course. That short classic was delivered during the War.
It was his famous Cooper Union Address, in New York City. One of his longest speeches ever.
That presumably cold February day in 1860 was the first time many of the eastern elite were exposed to this tall and awkward country lawyer from the mid-west.
And it turned out to be a masterpiece.
It had meticulously researched facts.
It had unassailable logic.
But it also had drama and show.
150+ years later, we can only imagine the drama. The theater. The performance.
But reading the words, you can see how it most certainly was there.
Did Lincoln know then how important that single speech would have been for his future, the future of the United States and the world?
He knew it would be important.
But he probably never imagined what the following years would bring.
What if you and I viewed everything we do as potentially world changing?
You’d put in a bit more effort.
You’d feel more confident because of the importance of what you’re doing.
And you’d learn from the best.
Which is why you should get a copy of Michael Port’s new free ebook:
Heroic Public Speaking: The Guide to Making World Saving Speeches.
Dov Gordon
PS – The most famous excerpt from Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address is one you’ve probably heard before:
“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”
Almost takes your breath away – and certainly makes you want to march, right?
It also underscores that it’s not enough to be good, factual and logical.
You need show.
Well march on over here and make your next speech a performance.
