Effective Communication in Politics. Barack Obama’s Inspirational Speeches

Laura IRIMIEȘ, Cosmin IRIMIEȘ


Abstract:

Mastering effective communication skills has become, over the last decades, one of the most important features of the contemporary social animal that is the human being. Not accidentally have we chosen this particular definition of human being, but with the clear intention of underlining and emphasizing the importance communication has in the modern social construction. As a social animal, the human being is subject to power relations that either raise or destroy him. And the place each human claims within the social hierarchy directly depends on the particular level of mastering effective communication. Effective communication is more important, even vital in politics, where everything is directly depending on message, meanings and ways of expressing and exposing them. We chose to focus on political and electoral communication, narrowing the study cases to one of the outstanding speeches of the American President Barack Obama’s, as it reflects not only all theories on effectiveness in communication, but proved to be of major impact on the American society, leading to the repeated election of the first African American president of the United States of America. The study case primarily approaches the meanings that gave relevance to Barack Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, a speech that is considered decisive for his presidential career.

Keywords: Communication; Public speaking; Speech; Effectiveness; Message; Meaning; Impact

DOI: 10.24193/jmr.29.9

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