Great Speeches - Full Transcripts of My Favorite Inspiring Talks

I gave my first speech in May, 2010.

It was at my hometown public library and half a dozen people came out. I just kind of stood there and rambled. There were a lot of awkward silences. One guy clapped.

Since then I’ve given over 500 keynote speeches. I am still getting better. I have a long way to go. One thing I’ve always done is collect speech transcripts and bits of poetry. I study them—inhale them—to see greatness in action. How do they build connection? How do they structure their messages? What’s the science? What’s the art?

This is a page of my favorite speech transcripts:

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness” by George Saunders

Mississippi Testimony by Brandon Boulware

“What, to the slave, is the fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass

Post-Game Speech on Jacob Blake and Culture of Fear by Coach Doc Rivers

“The Other America” by Dr Martin Luther King Jr

“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” by Martin Luther King Jr

“68 bits of unsolicited advice” by Kevin Kelly

I believe in superheroes by IN-Q

“Why did I say “yes” to speak here” by Malcolm Gladwell

2020 Screen Actors Guild Acceptance Speech by Brad Pitt

“On the age of computers” by Jiddu Krishnamurti