Imagine somebody is accused of a murder, but the suspect does not admit himself as guilty or not guilty. The police try to persuade him into telling saying he has to go to jail and pay fines, but nothing seems to work. The police then proceeds to tell the accused that they will ask his children if he murdered someone, and it is now that the suspect turns himself in. This is just one example of the power of emotion. Love, hope, nostalgia, and friendship are a few of the most persuasive emotions known to mankind, and they can be used to create extremely compelling speeches. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech was persuasive because he used imagery and also delivered his speech with a powerful voice.
Imagery is a powerful persuasion tool. By applying imagery, the audience will feel more connected to the speaker and also feel emotional. Connecting more to the speaker allows one to truly understand how one feels. This can put the listener inside the speaker’s shoes, which allows one to see the situation on both perspectives. MLK connected to the audience by mentioning how wonderful it would be if children of all colors from all different states could be united. He also emphasized the situation of segregation in each state, which helps connect even more, and explained how much better each state would be if segregation was eliminated. This would also make the audience want to experience such wonders, which in return can persuade the opposing side. Imagery can also induce emotion to the audience, which will persuade them even more. Four of the common persuasive methods one learns in school are Logos, using numbers and statistics. Ethos, building trust and reliability; Kairos, telling them that this “deal” with go away soon; Pathos, using emotion to persuade. Many English teachers would always that Pathos is the most powerful one yet, and MLK uses pathos inside of his I Have a Dream speech. The power of imagery can only be limited by one’s imagination.
Not only did MLK use imagery, he also spoke very powerfully and strategically. MLK spoke with a unique strong vocal inflection and also used repetition. Most speakers do not speak with such a special accent, and if one compares MLK’s I Have a Dream speech to other speeches, there is an obvious difference. His accent, or voice, was unique, confident, hopeful, compelling, and clearly emotional, which are required in persuasion. Additionally, he also spoke louder and emphasized on certain regions, which helped inform the audience these regions were more important. The strategy behind MLK’s voice was to use repetition, or repeating phrases. This can not only tell the audience that the repeated phrase is important, it will also help the phrase get stuck in their heads. MLK repeated the phrase “I Have a Dream” many times during his speech. Usually, a dream symbolizes something that one wishes for. In this case, MLK dreams that people of all colors can unite. Additionally, a dream is also seen as emotional, which add on even more persuasion power. MLK engraved this emotional phrase into the audience’s minds by using repetition. Many restaurants such as McDonalds use repetition in order to make customers remember them. Some uses of repetition are “I’m lovin’ it”, and “Geico, get 15% off on car insurance in just 15 minutes.” Nobody would want to listen to a boring emotion-less talking robot.
MLK’s I Have a Dream speech was extremely powerful because he used imagery and had a compelling voice. Imagery was used to help create a connection with the audience and also induce strong emotional. A powerful voice also is emotional, and repetition can be used to highlight important details. Daniel Goleman, an author, once said that, “In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels.” Many speakers manage to convince the mind that thinks, but fail to convince the mind that feels. MLK convinced both minds, of millions of individuals living in the most powerful nation.