If you have not seen all of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” talk, take 17 minutes and watch one of the greatest oratory moments in our countries history.  Following the video I have a couple thoughts below.

I watch this message usually a couple times a year.  I watch it for several reasons first because the power of the message still needs to resonate in my moral conscience 48 years later.  I watch because in this message Martin Luther King Jr. teaches those of us who cast vision, how to really cast a vision with words in less than 20 minutes.  Finally, I will admit I watch because I want to be a better preacher.  You see I believe that pastors or anyone that speaks publicly on a regular basis need to listen to great orators.  Most of us are not that good of speakers and if we are only listening to ourselves, we may become fooled and begin to think we can really preach, when our congregations or audiences or classrooms have but one wish: “Please Stop Talking!”  So I encourage y’all to listen to great orators, read great orators (yes even reading some of the great talks of yester year are of benefit), and become a better speaker. 

Here are few that I really enjoy listening to:

Dwight K. Nelson

David Asscherick

Martin Luther King Jr.

Billy Graham (especially his campaigns from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s)

Ronald Reagan

Bill Clinton

Tim Keller

Bill Hybels

C.D. Brooks

Haddon W. Robinson

Some to read:

Abraham Lincoln

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Winston Churchill (Probably listen to some of his as well)

Dwight L. Moody

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

You can find a couple of these individuals on the American Rhetoric site