I choose John F. Kennedy to write about as he epitomizes a great speaker to me. As I learned in class and in reading the textbook, credibility is key for any speaker to be fully respected. I believe that John F. Kennedy not only meets this qualification but surpasses it. Over the years I have looked at his speaking methodology and tried to follow his direction in speaking with knowledge, truth, and having the credibility on the subject matter.
After being sworn into office, one of the best speeches was given by John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech gripped the whole nation, and it was so powerful that people still quote it to this day. It is one of the greatest speeches of all time that was ever written. The
Soviets sent the first man out to space on April 26, 1961. This success was used by Khrushchev as prime evidence of the superiority of communism over decadent capitalism. Ashamed, the US worried it was behind the Russians and not winning the race to get into space. After speaking with political types and NASA workers, Kennedy thought the US should bravely go ahead and put a man on the moon. The United States, after this feat, would not only surpass the Soviet Union by far, but, in the words of Neil Armstrong, accomplish "one giant leap" for humankind's knowledge of science and space. And by the end of the '60s, it would be "mission accomplished." Kennedy set timeline for its success and was straightforward and strong with his goal that was ambitious. By offering a notable speech imploring Americans to put the effort in to be the first to put a man on the moon, Kennedy contributed a huge force towards the success of this space exploration program goal (Heath, 1976).
Kennedy stated,” I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." Kennedy also said, at the time of the Berlin wall problem, "All free men, wherever they may live, are