Zelenskyy and Carney: Two Leaders, One Compelling Speaking Template

In my recent article, I spoke to you about Mark Carney’s wonderful talk at Davos and explained the structure he used to deliver it. 

Now let me tell you about how Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s talk used the same format in his emotional appeal to Europe and the World for help for his people. 

His opening lines followed a classic format used by all good speakers. He speaks about something familiar to the audience that would immediately get their attention.

Then he proceeded to talk about something that would gain their interest. See how he did this below:

Attention:

“Dear friends, everyone remembers the great American film, “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, yes, but no one would want to live like that, repeating the same thing for weeks, months, and, of course, for years.”

Interest:

“And yet, that’s exactly how we live now. It’s our life and every Forum like this one proves it. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words, Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed and nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words, but why?”

Main Body of the talk:

This would be what I call the conviction part of the talk. 

He then provided examples of where countries could take action.

• A year has passed and nothing has happened

• Things move faster than Europe’s decision making

• Europe must build a better world

• Without action there is no tomorrow

Zelenskyy provides lots of examples of how support could be provided to Ukraine, and I will leave it to you to listen to his speech after reading this article.

In my view, he provided too many suggestions, which often leads people to think this is insurmountable and so end up doing nothing.

There is an old Irish proverb which says  

‘Do not send a man into a shed full of shovels and ask him to take his pick.’  

Suggesting a desired outcome is a critical part of all speeches that call for Action 

Desirable Outcome: 

“Ukraine is ready to help with anything that is needed to guarantee peace and prevent destruction. We are ready to help others become stronger than they are now. We are ready to be part of a Europe that truly matters, a Europe of real power,

Today, we need that power to protect our own independence, but you need Ukraine’s independence too, because tomorrow, you may have to defend your way of life, and when Ukraine is with you, no one will wipe their feet on you and you will always have a way to act and act in time.”

Call for Action: 

Here, Zelenskyy is pleading with powerful people to take action, and he ends his speech by bringing us back to where he started, appealing to leaders to act. 

“This is very important, act in time. Dear friends, today is one of the last days of Davos, though definitely not the last Davos, of course, and everyone agrees on that and many people believe that somehow things will work out on their own, but we cannot rely on ‘somehow’ for real security.”

“Faith is not enough. Faith in a partner in a lucky turn of events, no intellectual discussions are capable of stopping wars, we need action, world order comes from action and we just need the courage to act. Without action now, there is no tomorrow. Let’s end this Groundhog Day, and yes, it’s possible.”

Zelenskyy brought his speech full circle in referring to Groundhog Day at the end, ensuring his audience would remember his Call for Action.

By Executive Coach Andrew Keogh of Aristo.ie