More Epitaphios Logos After Lincoln

A speech can be made either more or less powerful through its delivery. With more formal speeches, the written form often seems more eloquent because a written piece of work can be edited, virtually eliminating the chance of human error. When a speech is delivered, the speaker may stumble over their words, lose their place, have to cough, etc, and these things distract a listener, interrupt the word flow, and diminish the words' effect. Less formal speeches, however, are often more effective when spoken. When delivering a speech, the speaker has the ability to pause, to interact with the audience, to alter their tone of voice. The speaker has more power to over how the audience takes in the message. The delivery of jokes, for example, is very important to how they are received, and tend to be much more successful when spoken than when written.
I found all except Clinton's D-Day Anniversary speech to be more effective when delivered than when read. I found Clinton's speech hard to listen to because the delivery was not as smooth as the written words, and the audio from his microphone created a sort of echo. These are small things but when someone is giving a long speech, little details like this really impact how intently the audience listens and how they perceive the message. Reagan's speech was effective because he had a very steady, pleasant voice - the tone of which he would alter just slightly for emphasis. Though he was a good public speaker, even his delivery had a few slip-ups. Both Bush and Obama included a joke or funny comment in their speeches, and these were much better suited to the spoken word. I also found that when they used quotations, I preferred hearing those quotations than reading them. Perhaps this is because many of them were spoken when they were first said, or because their content was often less formal. Even in Clinton's speech, I found the quotations to be more effective when spoken. In comparison to the Gettysburg Address and Pericles's Funeral Oration, the D-Day speeches are fairly informal.