Introduction
Communication is the critical aspect and a great ingredient for success. Despite being an effective communicator, Dr. King was also a great, effective leader. Communication is considered one of the primary components of leadership, and it was necessary in order for Dr. King to be the effective leader that he was. Dr. King was also highly courageous, determined, intelligent and also ambitious. King left a legacy and he is currently celebrated globally as one of the greatest leader in the US and across the world (Honey, 2011). There is a lot that can be learned from Dr. King in his capacities as a great communicator and a public relation professional. Care communication in addition to crisis communication has been established to be critical to influencing of public opinion and thus, there is the need for the communicator to identify stakeholder perceptions and concerns in order to determine the influence that the speech will have. Most of Dr. King’s speeches entailed information aimed at developing critical and specific messages that were in one way to inform his audience and further, to encourage them to be willing to take the course of action to fight for their rights (Lundgren & McMakin, 2013). Based on existing literature, it is clear that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest leaders to have ever existed based on his great communication skills and the track record that he established regarding getting people to do things. It is worth noting that Martin Luther King, even though he remains a renowned leader, did not partake leadership entirely for personal gain. However, he became a renowned leader because he was able to see and call for reformation on account of the huge injustices that were being systematically inflicted on the people of all the races.
During his time, there existed enormous sufferings, and a great number of individuals were being hurt, therefore; he decided to be a leader of a greater movement that would at the end help these people. Communication is paramount to effective leadership; therefore, an effective leader must invest in practice, making use of appropriate metaphors to connect with the audience. It is also critical for one to apply real life examples especially those that people can relate with easily in his communication. Across the globe, current speakers tend to honor the legacy left by King (Jones, 2016). He held the belief that men and women despite their racial origins were born to the same rights and freedoms. He used effective communication skills to fight for these rights and freedom for his audience. The essay will, therefore, focus on Dr. MLK’s great communication skills, and his track record in getting people to do things.
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Background
Studies have pointed out that communication was King’s forte. This is because is currently known as one of America’s greatest, most influential speakers. Martin Luther King evidently had a compelling vision that enabled him to attract approximately 200,000 people to participate in what is considered a historic march in Washington specifically; for Jobs and Freedom in the year August 28, 1963 (DeFelice, 2011). The most memorable of all the speeches that he presented was, “I Have a Dream” (Godwin et al..., 2011). During this the presentation of this speech, Luther successfully captivated his entire audience with rich poetic language in addition to his thought-provoking ideas. Risk communication has been argued to encompass various messaging processes and this necessitates the development of effective communication risk management (Lundgren & McMakin, 2013).Throughout his speeches, he tactfully painted a clear picture of inequality in America, with a main focus on racial prejudice.
For instance, in one of his most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream”, he clearly described his vision and one of his most succinct and compelling statements was, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (Godwin et al., 2011). Therefore, based on this statement, Dr. MLK was able to figure out clearly the preoccupation of his leadership and then took his time to expand and even craft a vision from it. This directed his leadership. He exhibited a tenacious perseverance, unwavering passion in addition to an unshakable conviction that he was doing the right thing. First and foremost, his speeches comprised his life experiences. It is clear that, in the course of his lifetime, he faced numerous injustices and harassment from the Ku Klux Klan. The vision he developed enabled him to stand tall with respect to whatever he was willing to accomplish as a leader.
Dr. MLK clearly understood the power of communication in his leadership. As such he noted in his famous speech, “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” that, “people in most instances tend to hate one another majorly because they tend fear one another; and further, they often fear one another because they do not know each other; additionally, they do not know one another because they fail to communicate effectively; and they cannot effectively communicate because they are in most instances separated” (Godwin et al., 2011). Today, most communicators have been able to learn rich public speaking lessons and skills from his famous speeches including but not limited to the use of positive language and the tactical application of words to create a clear visual description. Throughout most of his speeches, King successfully used rich communication oratorical strategies and stylistic devices. He is also believed to have had an exemplary command of grammar in addition to a comprehensive understanding of how to design a speech in order to derive maximum impact. Further, in most of his speeches, repetition as a style is deeply employed. Other important speechmaking styles that King adopted include analogy, metaphor, and imagery in addition to alliteration. Usually, these generated a positive effect on the audience.
Current Thinking
Evidently, Dr. MLK had unique qualities which defined him as a very great speaker and made him an excellent communicator. King understood clearly the aspect of consensus in communication and ways through which to manage risks in communication. To this end, he ensured stakeholder involvement, focusing on informing his audiences rather than on persuading them. The following are among the great communication skills that made Dr. King a great speaker and communicator and further, enabled him to win the attention of his audiences (Bridges et al., 2011).
Cadence: Focusing on most of the clips particularly at the climax of his speech, it can be established that Dr. MLK was a forceful and a passionate speaker. This was a strategy that he often employed to win the attention of his audiences and to leave them in a position whereby they usually were ready for action (Honey, 2011). When considering the entirety of his speeches, Dr. MLK often began his speeches at a slow, measured conversational pace, and then he would gradually increase the pace and volume in order to draw his audience in. In this way, it is evident that Luther strategically used cadence to draw in the audiences to which he was communicating.
Context: In most of his speeches, it has since been established that King was a great master in regards to the establishment of historical context for the intended message. For instance, when communicating, he would begin his speeches with various Old Testament stories then would proceed to more modern stories with the aim of making the point that his people in the movement were a part of the greater sweep of history. For instance, to stimulate his audience’s emotions, Dr. King in his speech, “I Have a Dream,” quoted a text from the Bible, "My Country Tis of Thee" (Godwin et al., 2011). Studies have shown that by immersing his audience into the context, it imbued them with what he believed to be a sense of mission.
Emotional appeal: This is a great skill that has dominated most of King’s speeches. It is another great communication skill that King consistently employed in his speechmaking. Most of the speeches presented by Dr. MLK, for instance, “I Have Dream,” can be argued as having a great emotional component (Godwin et al., 2011). Rather than holding firmly to facts and to logic, King often used his speeches to persuade his audiences towards action. When giving a speech that will be considered effective and powerful, it is important to integrate aspects such as emotion and enthusiasm as shown in Dr. King’s speeches.
Authenticity: Howard Gardner puts it clearly in his work, “Leading Minds,” that a great leader must possess two core common things including; overarching story and then their life tends to embody that particular story (Honey, 2011). Dr. MLK as a historic leader met these two primary leadership qualities. For instance, when speaking, he often owned the stories that he told. Most of his audience knew exactly that King was living that particular story before and even after the speech. In most of the speech, he would relate the story to his personal experience so as to enable the audience to relate their situation to the story. This communication strategy was effective since it enabled him to win the attention of the audience. Moreover, this encouraged his audiences to participate in the mass action for deliberation actively.
Practice: Most of the existing literature have pointed out that Luther often put a lot of practice into his speeches. For instance, Dr. MLK delivered the speech, “I Have a Dream,” clearly without any notes. Further, he improvised much of the speech on the spot. However, it is worth noting that King had been working with the content of the speech in several of his addresses months before the great speech in Washington. Therefore, as a leader, King would take his time to familiarize himself with the content to ensure that he is comfortable and further, he experimented with what he believed worked and what did not work in several venues especially those that were not very prominent.
Repetition: Dr. MLK in most of his speeches used simple phrases repeatedly such as the word "I have a dream." Using this kind of repetitive structure, King was able to pass across his main points while at the same time made it easy for his entire audience to be dragged into the topical discussions. As a great speaker, Dr. MLK carefully used repetition in his speeches to set the mood of the speech and to involve his audiences (Jones, 2016). Therefore, in his speech, he often reinforced the major points using repetition. Repetition in most instances helps the intended message to stick while at the time helps to enhance the rhythm of presentation, the speech structure, and the flow. For instance, one of his crucial ideas was emphasized in the following statement, “now is the time for action” (Godwin et al., 2011) as indicated in the following part of his speech:
"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children" (Godwin et al., 2011). It is clear that the message seeped into the audience’s consciousness and this application of expressive repetition fostered the messages.
Connection: In most of King’s speech, he often allowed himself to develop a symbiotic connection with the audience so as to ensure that the communication is effective and that the desired message is delivered appropriately. This aspect enabled him to draw his energy from the audience hence allowing him to be tuned into the energy in the room. It can be said that by developing a connection with his audience, he was actually able to communicate because; he gained energy from his audience. Therefore, the connection developed often made the speechmaking event greater than just a speech. Further, this connection made the event an experience that specifically moved the audience to act (Bridges et al., 2011).
In his speeches, King often uses vivid and metaphorical language to pass his messages across to the audience. He always tackled topics focusing on real life issues affecting the society, metaphorically and without getting lost in the complexity of the facts. He carefully used evocative and vivid language when communicating to the audience hence creating strong and memorable images. For instance, in his speech, “I Have a Dream,” King does not just address that aspect of gradualism rather he also warns that audience on a tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Further, Dr. MLK painted a vivid picture revolving around the African-American plight by stating that, "living on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity" (Godwin et al., 2011). Evidently, the vivid imagery, the evocative language in addition to his on-point metaphors are among the major communication skills that he applied to speeches to make them clear and memorable. DR. MLK had the finesse for poetic language and used storytelling to transform all the dull experiences into exciting events hence capturing his audience’s attention. In of his greatest speeches, King uses metaphor to win the attention of his audience as follows: “In a sense, we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds” (Godwin et al., 2011).
In most of his speeches, Dr. King used communication to paint colorful pictures using words. Studies have pointed out that a majority of his speeches were very vivid and this was because he integrated the skills of colorful language to paint a perfect picture in the minds of his audiences. For instance, the use of metaphors was the most effective of the tools that he used to color his speech while at the same time bringing very simple sentences to real life, for instance, where he compared the aspect of segregation to a “dark and desolate valley”, while on the other hand comparing the ideas of “racial justice to a sunlit path” (Jones, 2016). It is evident that a comparison that is highly crafted can help liven one’s presentation and at the same time help the listeners to understand the message.
According to Honey (2011), King was a great civil rights leader and an equally great activist with a great influence in the American society across the years in the 1950s and 1960s. He invested heavily in a nonviolent protest that helped to set the movement in motion. There are numerous protests, marches and even boycotts that were effective as a result of King’s effective communication, which usually pointed out the plight of the oppressed and the need for them to stand out for their rights. He was assassinated in the year 1968, but his life was filled with numerous significant accomplishments that got people into action. He was focused on promoting racial equality through nonviolent protest. According to Rowland & Jones (2011), King was successful because of his effective communication skills. Dr. MLK’s call to action is believed to be highly clear and compelling such as to get people to do things. Most of the speeches that he presented, were designed in such a way as to inspire mass action or even to effect change.
Dr. King articulated his speeches in lucid detail, focusing on the specific action that people should take and the potential consequences that would emerge if the action were to be taken, for instance, in one of his speeches he stated, "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment" (Godwin et al., 2011). He often wanted his audiences to conduct themselves with high integrity even as they took action and stated that “Let us not try to find our thirst satisfaction for freedom by drinking from the bitterness’s cup or hatred” (Godwin et al., 2011). Therefore, it can be argued that King’s sense of urgency for action in the society was palpable, but on the other hand, his instructions were profoundly clear. Based on this, it is evident that his compelling call to deliberate action amongst people in the US cannot be ignored.
Usually, when giving out speeches to his audiences, Dr. King would often end the speeches on a hopeful note to get people to do things. Dr. MLK in most instances traverses an intense emotional territory in his speeches, specifically from what can be considered as a flame of contemptuous injustice to those who are often persecuted and experience police brutality. At the end of the speech, he introduces a forward-looking statement with an inspirational message, stating that "there will come a day in Alabama when young black boys and girls will be in a position to join hands with the young white boys and girls as sisters and brothers" (Godwin et al., 2011). Further, in one of his speeches, he stated that he had a dream that one day, his four children will live in a country where they will live happily without being judged based on their skin color but by the content of their character. He, therefore, knew how to arouse the willingness of people to take action.
King often demonstrated faith in his audience as a means to get them to action. He saw the need to believe in his people as the only way to convince them to take action to liberate themselves (Bridges et al., 2011). For people to stand up for their rights, there is the need to surround themselves with an effective leader like King who is determined to maximize the efforts of the people to pursue their mission and goals. His determination influenced the willingness of individuals to participate in the mass action. He often fostered collaboration in his speeches so as to get people to quit fighting and instead, to start working as one towards the attainment of a given vision (Jones, 2016). As a leader he was always quiet, listened attentively and would calmly summarize the message passed across whilst at the same time, identifying the right path forward. Being a leader, King often listened more than he talked. He exercised active and deep listening skills to foster mass unity.
Similarly, Dr. MLK got his audiences to action through acknowledging and rewarding his followers for the good work that they had done. In most of his speeches, he often took great amounts of time to acknowledge various sacrifices that were being made by his followers. He always acknowledged people’s efforts, the persecutions, and tribulations that they were forced to go through as they fought for their rights, for instance, he stated that “Continue to work ceaselessly with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive” (Godwin et al., 2011). King is noted to have taken the moral high ground when calling people to action and at the same time managed always to check his anger, being the effective leader with great communication skills that he was. It has been established that nonviolence was the best approach to civil justice, seeing as it minimized confrontations with the state and therefore, limited casualties (Rowland & Jones, 2011).
He utilized positive language to communicate clearly to his audience. Despite the massive violence that was being meted out on the Black body throughout America, Luther advocated for positive outcomes through his dream for an equal society (DeFelice, 2011). Further, his tone was never accusatory nor did he ever encourage retaliation. Positive language was thus, the most effective tool that King used in his speeches and this made his messages clear to the audience. According to King, the best and most effective communication had a narrow focus. He retained only a single goal in most of his speeches. This was majorly focused on influencing the public opinion in order to create a society founded on equal justice for all races. Dr. MLK’s speeches were often written in common language that was meant for the average American citizen. He extensively used plain language when delivering his message and this made it possible for them to be understood by everyone (DeFelice, 2011).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been established that Dr. MLK is one of the best communicators in modern history. Consequently, he is believed to have had the potential to accomplish so much only in a single line. Throughout history, his speeches have echoed across generations and currently, his words continue to be relevant. It is important that any individual who intends to be a great communicator evaluates the potential risk communication effort so as to determine potential successes and failures. It is technically impossible for an individual to become a successful leader without necessarily being a great communicator. King has left a legacy that’s rich in the nuances of great oratory skills, some of which are contemporarily applied by modern leaders. It is crucial for one to develop an external awareness that separates great communicators from those individuals who are believed to muddle through their interaction with other people. A great leader often talks about great ideas, but at the same time, does this in a way that often speaks to the emotions and aspirations of the target audience. In the event the message fails to register itself in the hearts of the audience, then it is probable that the message will not be clearly understood (Honey, 2011).
Effective communication is thus considered an essential component of being a successful communicator whether focusing on an interpersonal or even on an inter-group level. It is worth noting that great communicators are in most instances, great listeners. A great leader such as King was able to read his environment very well. Additionally, he possessed a unique ability to effectively adapt his intended messages to a particular environment without the risk of missing out on any vital point. Having clear purposes is also critical, and Dr. King in his speech had very clear purposes which usually drove his speeches. He clearly understood whatever it is that he wanted to achieve through his speeches. It is also important to develop a clear organizational plan when planning to give a speech. King often focused on an in-depth historical arc, talked plainly about the past and current situations and the future also. The visualization of speeches is also critical for an effective communicator. It is evident that Dr. King did not use PowerPoint presentation when delivering his speech, but on the other hand, the speech was delivered in such a way that it created powerful mental images. Lastly, for one to be an effective and great leader, it is important for precision to be maintained in speechmaking. Even though most of King’s speeches rarely ever extended for over an hour, they have evidently remained relevant for a very long time.
References
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Honey, M. K. (2011). Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign . WW Norton & Company.
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Rowland, R. C., & Jones, J. M. (2011). One dream: Barack Obama, race, and the American dream. Rhetoric & Public Affairs , 14 (1), 125-154.
