Comparison Speech

Effective Speaking: From Hippies to the Devout.

Mother Teresa is a woman that devoted her life to the helping of others. Through service projects and teaching by example, Mother Teresa was and is a symbol of utmost benevolence and sheer altruism. On the other hand, we have Charles Manson—a man known to the world as an extremist hippie that held beliefs that were impressionistic on his young followers. These two leaders in their own right have both similarities and differences that one may not expect. To exemplify these, we will take a look at two of their speeches, Mother Teresa’s address to the United Nations on its fortieth anniversary and Charles Manson’s testimony to the open court during the Tate-LaBianca trial.

In terms of effectiveness, both speeches were given in a manner that was “effective” to their situation. I view “effectiveness” when pertaining to speeches and whatnot as getting the point across—did the audience understand what you were telling them and why you were telling them that. Mother Teresa’s speech was written to address the United Nations at the fortieth anniversary celebration, an organization dedicated to keeping the peace throughout the world. Because of their mantra and the peacefulness they strive for, Mother Teresa emphasized how one can achieve peace through love. Charles Manson was presenting his “speech” to an open court during the trials of the Tate-LaBianca murders. These gruesome murders were premeditated my Manson and fulfilled by his “family.” The speech he gave to the court was effective in that it allowed him to speak his peace, but ineffective because his sentencing he received was still quite harsh.

The locations of these speeches were detrimental in the successes of both. Manson presented his speech within a courtroom during strenuous trials to all who normally inhabited the courtroom except the jury. The murders that were committed were gruesome and some of the worst ones to be seen at that time. By being carried...