How inspiring words can lift our spirits

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column.

Michael Commane

It was this time four years ago, Joe Biden had won the nomination at the Democratic National Convention to be their candidate for the US presidential election in November 2020. 

He had picked Kamala Harris as his running mate. Some days later I heard her giving a speech. I thought she was a great speaker. I found myself listening to every word she said. 

Over the next four years it seemed she had disappeared. And then just some short few weeks ago she’s back on the stage, and with a vengeance. I listened to her DNC speech on YouTube. It was inspiring. I can still remember that brilliant quote she gave from her mother: ‘Never let anyone tell you who you are, tell them who you are.’ 

The previous day Bill Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Again, his was a class act. It seemed he was not reading from the teleprompter, rather using notes in front of him on the podium. I had the good fortune to hear him in the flesh when he spoke in Dublin Castle in 2011. I got the impression he was directly speaking to me. 

It’s a rear gift and of course not many people can speak like Bill Clinton, Michelle and Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, or the Irish politicians O’Donovan Rossa or Michael Collins.

Listening to Michelle and Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Bill Clinton at the DNC in Chicago I was thinking how on message they were. Not a wasted word and all the time they were engaging with their audiences.

It certainly is an art form to hold the attention of your listener. It’s a great gift. Is it something learned or is it a natural talent?

It’s a mix of both and like all skills and talents, we have to work hard to bring out the innate potential we have.

The football coach has to use the right words to push the team on. Those words said at half time are always vital words and it’s not just the words but how they are said. 

And the same goes for the teacher. So often a student takes a liking to a particular subject on the strength of the teacher’s enthusiasm and interest in her or his subject. Again, so much hangs or depends on how the teacher expresses their ideas and interest in the words they use.

I think it’s fair to say the Catholic Church is guilty of not delivering its message in a way that inspires and connects with people. 

Not everyone has the talents and abilities of a Bill Clinton or Michelle Obama, but surely for someone talking about good news they have a significant advantage over politicians, teachers or football coaches.

Think about it, the Gospel is the story of Good News. Imagine having the privilege to talk to people about a good story. It is so powerful and inspiring, simple too, it should be a joy to talk about it. I’m forever confused why it is so often mangled and lost in delivery.

William Hazlitt is worth quoting: ‘An orator can hardly get beyond commonplaces: if he does he gets beyond his hearers’.