https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2009/12/26/speeches-without-words/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usFri, 12 Jun 2026 08:25:07 -0400<![CDATA[The most effective speeches in political history are rarely orations. Truly great speeches do not communicate ideas to an audience so much gather and punctuate sentences that are already half-formed in everyone&#8217;s thoughts. A truly great orator does not manufacture a moment. He is part of it and consequently knows when to step aside and give voice to the event itself.  Then the speech becomes part of the action rather than a substitute for the actions themselves. Really powerful speeches are astonishingly obvious, brief to the point of curtness and remarkably, entirely devoid of the word &#8220;I&#8221;.]]>Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:07:14 -0500<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2009/12/26/speeches-without-words-n189494