In our lives, we hear many speeches or parts of them, hopefully the best parts of them for there is only a limited time on the news hour. Sometimes the speeches are delivered by managers or executives or outsiders. The problem is most are not classic or telling you anything. Often times speeches are given which do not seem to project the sincerity or honesty of the speaker, the speech was scheduled but it is not to offend or jeopardize a person’s position in the company or political party. There are methods which the speeches could be better and the book Classic Speeches edited by Richard Crisscup published by The Citadel Press, NY, 1965 can help. The book is an anthology of speeches that have been monumental, both in their impact on their times and in their influence on history. One good thing about this anthology is there are speeches by a wide variety of speakers – hopefully some you would disagree with.

The aspect of reading classic speeches is to review the ones that resonate with you and ask yourself why? In this case, classic speeches do not have to be long, but they have to an opening, body and conclusion. The speech must reflect the sincerity and passion of the individual and it has to offer some sort of hope. Hope for the listener something will be better in the future.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the words the President says about the company are taken seriously and when he/she says the wrong thing, stocks changed hands. As dividend holders we want to hear the company has another successful year to stay profitable and pay the dividend (that is a good speech in itself); afterwards we want to hear hope for the future. Why will the company continue to be profitable? Shareholders reports are rarely classic speeches in the vein the Classic Speeches book categories them, but we can hope.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.