A lot of clients ask me for examples of great speeches. Jimmy Valvano’s 1993 Espy speech is a brilliant example. Notice how loose he is… he works off a structure, yes, but no reading. He’s working moment by moment off of his audience. Notice the patterns he uses to shape the speech; first a time pattern, he talks of the past, the present and the future, then a topic pattern, he talks of what to do every day, laugh, feel and think. Notice the beautiful personal details he shares to make a connection with his audience. The speech has great, humorous stories in it’s discussion section, the lifeblood of good speech-making, and a knock-out call to action for a conclusion. This is public speaking at it’s finest.

Jeffrey Davis is the owner of Speak Clear Communications. He is an executive public speaking coach and accent reduction coach in New York City.

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