Sanjay Gurung
Few people in this country, let alone the world, can bring a crowd alive like Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States is able to. His unique ability to hypnotize a crowd though his charisma and vocal ability is second to none. This was notably evident in the speech he gave in the 2012 Democratic national convention where he made astounding case for President Barack Obama’s reelection.
In that speech, the former President achieves the task of exciting the crowd and setting President Obama on course for a second term through his vocal and physical actions. He understood what his audience wanted and set his words fittingly. In a political convention, where your audience is not just those physically in front of you but also watching from home or elsewhere, this is difficult to achieve. But by utilizing his personality and addressing what the people wanted to hear, Bill Clinton manages to do exactly what he set out to do and that is convincing the people of President Obama’s ability to govern the nation successfully. Bill Clinton also uses his remarkable skill of synchronizing his words with hand gestures to gain the reactions that he wants from the crowd. His hand movements generates an image of openness and credibility. In this particular speech, he attracts the audience’s attention and emotions by extending his palms facing upwards or outwards.
The image above shows the former president justifying why President Obama should be reelected. In one statement, he talks about his belief in President Obama’s ability and brings a personal touch to his speech. He says “Folks, whether the American people believe what I just said or not may be the whole election. I just want you to know that I believe it. With my heart, I believe it.” By doing so, he brings a sincerity tone and portrays an image that he is speaking from his heart which manages to bring a positive reaction from the audience. The former president ends his speech to great acclaim and standing ovations from the audience. It only shows that Bill Clinton is not just any ordinary speaker but a phenomenal speaker and person.