An Exploration of Entertaining Speeches Across Different Media

This essay delves into the captivating world of entertaining speeches, highlighting their significance across various contexts, from social and political events to theatrical productions and cinematic masterpieces. The essay explores the different types of speeches, including informative, demonstrative, persuasive, and, most importantly, entertaining ones, emphasizing the power of humor and storytelling in captivating audiences. It traces the historical roots of entertaining speeches, from ancient morality plays and epic poems to the works of Shakespeare and modern film, providing examples from 'Clueless', 'The Scent of a Woman', and Mark Twain's public speaking anecdotes. The essay underscores the enduring impact of entertaining speeches in sparking emotions, illuminating mundane occasions, and leaving a lasting impression on listeners, making it clear that a good speaker makes himself heard and remembered. The essay concludes by reflecting on the importance and enduring power of entertaining speeches.

Running Head: SPEECH
SPEECH
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SPEECH
Speeches have been the highlight of countless events all over the world. From social
to political events, they compose the very core of propaganda. Speeches brings together
everything that needs to be communicated to the onlookers and attendees to make sure that
the spirit of the ceremonies are maintained. They are the very crux of every event and without
them, nothing is complete. My speech is about speeches and how very entertaining they can
get and have been over the ages. With the right amount of humor, it spices up the story that
has to be communicated, captures the attention of people and enraptures the audience enough
to make sure they cheer unanimously and become a part of a greater cause.
Speeches can be of countless kinds, they embody the very spirit and emotion behind
the event. They can be informative, demonstrative, persuasive or even entertaining.
Informative speeches disperse information, almost all kinds of speeches are informative in
some way, and it talks about new things and discoveries that add to the knowledge of the
people. Educational speeches and lectures at universities are informative in nature, the
famous Ted Talks that happen throughout the globe are hugely informative and influential in
nature as people give away the stories of their lives and successes and tell us about all the
paths they took to reach a certain point in life. The demonstrative speeches demonstrate a
point or a product, these speeches happen at product launches and sales demonstrations. The
persuasive speeches are a characteristic of every speech during the election season when the
candidates pursue the voters to vote for their party through their slogans and promises for a
better future. The entertaining speeches are a characteristic is most events because humor
inevitably incites more emotions than any ordinary speech. Even if a little humor is
inculcated within a speech it will be engraved within the minds of the listener. Entertaining
speeches are an integral part of human entertainment and recreation.
Storytelling is an integral part of entertaining speeches. It originates well back in time
when the morality plays employed entertaining speeches to impart morals to the people in the

2SPEECH
audience. The epics like Paradise lost by Milton and the Iliad were epic forms of entertaining
story telling that began with the invocation of the muses of poetry and employed elevated
language to talk of celestial and the origin of mankind. The figures of the devil, angels,
warriors, kings and queens were very integral to the fabric and captured the attention of
countless people through the fantastical narrative and language. They were works of
evergreen art that are recounted even today in classes and daily life by people who are still
mesmerized by what the stories have to offer.
Theatre employs entertaining storytelling. It all begun with Sophocles and Euripides
with their tragic plays that captured the attention of the spectators in the arena. With electric
speeches like “Oh my love take me there. Let me dwell where you are. I am already nothing,
I am already burning. Oh my love, I was once part of you—take me too!” The audience
would cheer and get a glimpse into the integral feelings of the main characters. The speeches
of the central characters were to be marveled at. This is followed by Shakespeare in his
theatrical productions, many of his characters have entertaining soliloquies like the
soliloquies of the protagonists like Benedick form Much Ado about Nothing or Romeo from
Romeo and Juliet to the soliloquies of touchstone and other motely fools in various plays.
Speeches have long been a weapon of mass happiness and intrigue that is very necessary for
the success of any play.
Speeches have been employed in various films to entertain the audience like in the
movie ‘Clueless’, the speech about the Haitian Immigrant situation is assembled by a chef in
the following sentences, “ if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some
things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion, may I please remind
you that it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty?” Similar entertaining speeches
have been a part of serious movies as well like the speech of Al Pacino in the movie, The
Scent of a Woman, in which he rails against wrong school systems, There was a time I could

3SPEECH
see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs
ripped off. But there is nothin' like the sight... of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic
for that. You think you're merely sendin' this splendid foot soldier...back home to Oregon
with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executin' his soul!”
Mark Twain the author of brilliant books like Tom Sawyer and the adventures of
Huckleberry Finn once made a very entertaining speech about public speaking which I found
very relatable, ended with the brilliant lines, “Well, after the first agonizing five minutes, my
stage fright left me, never to return. I know if I was going to be hanged I could get up and
make a good showing, and I intend to. But I shall never forget my feelings just before the
agony left me, and I got up here to thank you for helping my daughter, by your kindness, to
live through her first appearance. And I want to thank you for your appreciation of her
singing, which is, by the way, hereditary.”
Entertaining speeches have for so long captured the attention of countless listeners.
Speeches light up mundane occasions brilliantly and they have always brought a smile or tear
to the audience. It is necessary that a good speaker makes himself heard. While every other
kind of speeches might get monotonous after a while, the entertaining speeches stay for longa
and ensure that the audience is left thinking about it even later. I hope my speech was
informative, interesting, a reminder of beautiful things from the past and most importantly
entertaining, so that it stays with you just like this experience will stay with me, for a long,
long, time.