Imagine A Year From Now
A powerful way to influence an audience is to show them a brighter future. If they genuinely embrace your vision of a better tomorrow, they’ll help you turn it into a reality. On the flip side, you can also influence people by describing darker days ahead.
Let’s look at examples of both.
President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is, no doubt, one of the most memorable speeches ever given. Much of his remarks are grave and sobering. He was, after all, dedicating Soldiers’ National Cemetery where, some four months earlier, the bloody battle of Gettysburg had been fought. After talking about the past and present, Lincoln ends his speech by turning to the future. He calls for “a new birth of freedom,” uplifting and optimistic language … and a brilliant way to conclude.
Presidents Reagan and Obama were also big fans of turning Americans toward a brighter future. Reagan’s famous ad, “Morning in America,” paints an optimistic portrait of life in America with low unemployment and a strong economy. After doing so, he assures voters that could be THEIR lives — if only they vote for him. Another example is President Obama’s aspirational refrain that we’re not made up of red states or blue states … we’re the united states. The theme of hope arose in many of his speeches as a way to leave Americans with a positive, aspirational goal.
In contrast, this technique can also serve as a deterrent. VOTE FOR X. CHANGE Y. DONATE TO Z. Unless you do these things, this is where we’re headed … off a cliff!
Pete Buttigieg, the former Secretary of Transportation, often used this technique on the campaign trail. When running against Donald Trump, for example, then-Mayor Pete said the following to a packed house in Iowa: “Think about it. The sun’s coming up that day over a country that’ll be even more divided than we are today, even more torn up over politics, even more exhausted from fighting than we are right now.”
MSNBC reporter Katy Tur asked Buttigieg directly about this rhetorical technique. He explained, “Part of why I ask people to visualize that day is not only that it’s a day we’ve got to work hard to bring about, but also to realize that a lot of our problems will be with us on that day too. This isn’t just about the nominee who can defeat Donald Trump. It’s about the president who can lead us through the era that’s got to come next … it is our chance to set a different course ….” What was Buttigieg’s point? We have problems today and, if you elect Trump, we’ll be wrestling with the same problems tomorrow.
To summarize, you can move an audience to action by painting a positive or negative picture of the future. And it’s an effective technique that you can use in just about any persuasive talk of, frankly, any length. Some argue — and I agree — that speakers should include this technique in every speech. In fact, it’s the fourth step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, a framework developed by Professor Alan Monroe of Purdue University in the1930s:
Step one - grab the audience’s attention.
Step two - describe a problem.
Step three - offer a solution.
Step four - help the audience visualize the future.
Step five - call to action.
(You can learn much more about Monroe’s Motivated Sequence here.)
According to Monroe, the fourth step is vital. If you can help your audience “see” or imagine your solution, you’ll have a better chance of them getting up from their chair and taking action. Opening their checkbooks. Calling their Senator. Signing your petition. In short, doing what you’re asking them to do.
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To learn more, reach out to me at rose@rosespeechwriter.com.