August 28, 1963: It was 100 years after the United States President Abraham Lincoln had issued a Presidential Executive order called as the Emancipation Proclamation that changed the status of millions of enslaved African-Americans in the US Confederate States from slave to free. But unfortunately the American Civil Rights movement was still fighting against legalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement and varied forms of racial segregation.
Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist and a Christian minister, was leading the March on Washington and delivered an address at the iconic Lincoln Memorial to around 250,000 supporters. And to this date, this speech famously known as the “I have a Dream” speech is one of the most iconic speeches in history and is considered the defining moment of the American Civil rights movement. In case, you have not watched this speech yet please do so here. Video
Scores (yes scores) of critics have analyzed this speech over the years and have distilled some very essential ingredients that made this speech so impactful
- Rhetoric – Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and as per ancient wisdom of discourse it is the most nuanced skill after the basic skills of discourse namely, Grammar and Logic. “I have a Dream” is a master piece of Rhetoric wherein King makes historical references to the Emancipation Proclamation and says: "It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity." In the very beginning he uses the phrase “Five Score years ago” in Lincoln style. Most importantly he is at Lincoln memorial making this speech and hence it becomes that much more poignant
- Reality – King in his narrative made sure that he explains clearly the current situation of the African Americans in the country. More importantly the speech very clearly discusses the gap between the American dream and the reality on the ground. He beautifully states how the rights of Americans were a promissory note on which America failed for her citizens of color.
- Repetition – King uses repetition very powerfully in this speech to emphasize the value of the vision he was painting for the future of America. The phrase “I have a Dream” is stated eight times and so is “Let freedom ring”; “Now is the time”, “With this faith” and “Free at last” are said three times each all of which lead to a very strong
- Relevance – And most importantly, King ensured that the “I have a Dream” speech would connect with fellow African Americans in every part of the country. In order to make that happen he built a narrative taking as example situations and his vision for Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina and Louisiana. By bringing in real places and real situation brought the relevance and relatability to everyone concerned.
Such was the power this speech that he could deliver so much impact despite being the sixteenth out of eighteen speakers who spoke at the Lincoln Memorial that day. The speech was so transformative that King was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine for 1963, and in 1964, he was the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Personally, the best part of the speech for me was when he said “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. I have a dream ... I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
And in my view, it is really these four ingredients of Martin Luther King’s speech that are critical when a Change Management practitioner has to build a strong narrative to urge his/her team towards change
- Rhetoric – Your organizational context determines how you will build the right Rhetoric. While you may not have a Lincoln Memorial, there is always this powerful setting in your workplace which is sometimes a specific leadership meeting/event and, in many cases, even involves a specific meeting venue as well. Latch on to that and make sure that your message will appeal to the Logos (Logic), Pathos (Emotion) and Ethos (values) of every stakeholder that you wish to impact with the real vision of the change program that you are leading.
- Reality – Sounds very simple but not the easiest thing to do as part of your narrative. This is the step when stakeholders can get defensive and even go negative and so you will need to craft your message very carefully. And it is never a bad idea to take an end customer view or a third party perspective so that you can share the brutal reality while ensuring everyone remains on board.
- Repetition – Repeating the message is something that most of underestimate and also struggle to execute. The change narrative in almost every situation is never fully understood when it is first stated. You may never be able to do poetic justice to King, but you need to be prepared to repeat the message over and over again in your planned speech and over the course of your many change conversations that you will have drive as part of the change program.
- Relevance – And finally build the relevance through multiple actual examples. This one really boils down to the homework you have done. If you have done enough field trips or have gone through the real experience yourself, you will be able to offer credible examples that are both relevant and relatable. And that will definitely set you in good footing to engage your organization to imagine the new world with the change you are championing.
With this faith, let me wish that all of us change practitioners can ring the bells of change with much better narratives powered by Rhetoric, Reality, Repetition and Relevance. Amen !
References:
https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
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