Responsive Menu
Add more content here...

IT’S CELEBRITY SPEECHMATCH!

In the Blue Corner: Winston (Bulldog) Churchill

In the Red Corner: Martin Luther (The Reverend) King

Best known for (Churchill): Winning WWII

Best known for (King): Changing America

Celebrity Name if they got married: ChurKing

Their Lovechild would be: Barack Obama

Best Speech (Churchill):‘Finest Hour’ Speech

Best Speech (King):I Have a Dream’ Speech

Best quote (Churchill): “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”

Best quote (King): “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Best portrayal by an actor (Churchill): John Lithgow in ‘The Crown’

Best portrayal by an actor (King): David Oyelowo in ‘Selma’

Public Speaking Scores (out of 5)

Churchill

Significance of speeches: 5; Eloquence & Articulacy: 5;Use of body language & gestures: 2; Voice quality, variation & intonation: 4; Use of vivid imagery: 5; Use of humour: 5; Speaking with passion: 4; Use of storytelling: 3; Improvisation: 5; Charisma: 5

Churchill Total score (out of 50): 43

King

Significance of speeches: 5; Eloquence & Articulacy: 5; Use of body language & gestures: 4; Voice quality, variation & intonation: 5; Use of vivid imagery: 5; Use of humour: 1; Speaking with passion: 5; Use of storytelling: 3; Improvisation: 5; Charisma: 5

King Total score (out of 50): 43

Tie-breaker question: Whose best speech is most often referenced throughout the world?

Answer: Martin Luther King “I have a dream”

Verdict

King wins on points (but some cry fix and demand a rematch!)

There is pretty much nothing to choose between those two great public speakers. Both highly eloquent, both excellent at using imagery to bring their words to life, both gave hugely significant speeches that basically changed the course of the world.

You’d have to give Churchill a big advantage on humour on account of his legendary wit which helped him get his audience on side with ease, whilst there is little that comes to mind in this regard for King. But King shaves it on passionate oratory, gesturing & body language and voice variation.

With equal scores, we were forced into a tie-breaker, simply judged on the significance and influence of their most famous speech on the rest of the world and on this, I think the ‘I have a dream’ speech wins quite comfortably. It is the most referenced speech in history, and all the more remarkable because the ‘I have a dream’ part of the speech was not even scripted but improvised.

There really could be no other choice on their hypothetical love-child though: Barack Obama combines the two men almost perfectly in many elements.

One thing for sure, ChurKing are two of the greatest, if not the greatest ever speech makers in history.

Next Celebrity Match Up: Margaret Thatcher v Michelle Obama

Kolarele Sonaike

Founder, Elevator Pitch School

Pin It on Pinterest

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close