Scratch the surface of an oustanding speaker, and you find a rather lonely person. Most of the greats I wrote speeches, scripts, and PowerPoint presentations for could simulate the attributes of the gregarious but essentially they were on the introspective side - and plenty lonely. Incidentally, soaring oratory is part of 12-step meetings and most got into "the rooms" because they attempted to deal with their aloneness with booze and other substances.
Perhaps in their apartness from the group, the lonely take advantage of studying other people and therefore figuring out what kind of tone and content will transport them. In her recent book "Lonely: Learning to Live with Solitude," Emily White takes us on a journey into what it's like to be looking in instead of being inside. White is awfully analytical. In fact her first career was law.
Given the stigma still surrounding being lonely, few successful people likely even contemplate if they suffer from this affliction. White reports that some scientists do classify it as a disease. Therefore, not many top speakers are going to step forward and out themselves as lonely sorts.
However, when helping our clients through through rhetorical exercises, we might look for that lonely spot in them. That's where we can extract the best speech-giving.
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