GESC2190
Great People and Great Speech
Lecture Time:
Friday 3:30 pm - 6:15 pm
Lecturer:
Sung Jao-yiu, Joseph
Tel. No:
E-mail:
26098600
js_vcoffice@cuhk.edu.hk
Lecturer:
Choy Chi-keung, Ivan
Tel. No:
26097529
E-mail:
Office:
ivanchoy@cuhk.edu.hk
UCC Rm.310
Venue:
LSB
LT4
沈祖堯
蔡子強
1. Introduction
Since the beginning of time, great leaders have used their power of oratory to win and inspire
followers. These great people and their stories have made history. Their speeches capture the
truth of life, the nature of mankind and uplifted the spirit, not just for their contemporaries,
but also that of generations to come. This course aims to inspire candidates with
thought-provoking speeches and brave stories from a wide range of historical eras and
nations, so that they become leaders of tomorrow, with a soul and a heart. People (and their
speeches) in modern history have been chosen, for their contributions to human right, to
peace and love, and to wellness of mankind.
2. Course Aims and Objectives:
By the end of the course, students are expected to
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have a glimpse of idea of important moments in modern history e.g. the fight for human
rights of the African-American in the 60’s, the Cold War in the 70’s and 80’s, the
anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa from 1964-1994, the among others
Have an opportunities to discuss important issues such as human right, sovereignty,
social injustice, economic crisis, political turmoils… so that they are sensitized to
national and international affairs and become cognizant to their social responsibilities
Have an understanding of various speech writing and delivering skills.
Have a chance to write a speech, and speak before an audience. This is a unique
opportunity for students who may not have any chance to stand up in the crowd.
3. Assesssment:
Assignment
Book Report
Tutorial
Final Examination
5%
25%
30%
40%
Book Report
Each student is requested to review a biography of any one of the following great leaders:
1) John F Kennedy
2) Martin Luther King
3) Winston Churchill
4) Nelson Mandela
5) Mahatma Gandhi
6) Mother Teresa
7) Barack Obama
and submit a book report. In this report, he/she needs to sum up and explore the ideas,
practices and experiences of this leader. Finally, relevant lessons are also requested to draw
and suggest to Hong Kong.
The length of the report is advised to be 8,000 words in Chinese or 4,000 words in English.
4. Lecture Plan
Jan 13
Introduction (1 hr session)
Joseph Sung
Jan 20
Great People and their Speeches I: Gandhi (3 hrs session)
Joseph Sung and Guest from the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong
Jan 27
Chinese New Year Holiday
Feb 3
Writing a Speech: Context, Structure, and Story Telling (2 hrs session)
Ivan Choy
Feb 10
Writing a Speech: Style and Selected Rhetorical Tactics (2 hrs session)
Ivan Choy
Feb 17
Writing a Speech: Speech Delivery (2 hrs session)
Ivan Choy
Feb 24
Political Communication: (2 hrs session)
Ivan Choy
March 2
Great People and their Speeches II: John Kennedy (90 mins session)
Joseph Sung
(followed by 90 mins tutorial)
March 9
Great People and their Speeches III: Nelson Mandela (90 mins session)
Joseph Sung
(followed by 90 mins tutorial)
March 16
Great People and their Speeches IV: Winston Churchill (90 mins session)
Joseph Sung
(followed by 90 mins tutorial)
March 23
Great People and their Speeches V: Barack Obama (90 mins session)
Selected Topic: Election Speeches (90 mins)
Ivan Choy
March 30
Great People and their Speeches VI: Martin Luther King (90 mins session)
Joseph Sung
(followed by 90 mins tutorial)
April 6
Easter Holiday
April 13
Great People and their Speeches VII: Mother Teresa (90 mins session)
Joseph Sung
(followed by 90 mins tutorial)
April 20
Wrap up: (2 hrs session)
Ivan Choy
5. Tutorial Plan
Each student is requested to write a speech of about 1,000 words in English or 2,000 words
in Chinese, and deliver it in the tutorial. The context of the speech can be constructed by
the student himself/herself. It can be an education, political and social campaign, business
and commercial, athletic, inauguration, wedding, farewell, etc. occasion. Students are
requested to apply the theories and techniques he/she learn from the class into the drafting
and delivering of this speech.
The whole class would be divided into two groups. One group would be guided by Joseph
and the other group by Ivan. There would be totally seven sessions for the tutorials. Five
of them are 90 minutes after lecture sessions while the remaining two are 2 1/2 hours
Saturday morning sessions in March (concrete dates to be arranged).
For each presentation, it would be assigned 30 minutes: 15 minutes for the student’s delivery
of the speech while the remaining 15 minutes for the floor discussion and the teacher’s
comments.
For the 30% tutorial marks, they would be distributed as following:
15%
10%
5%
content of the speech
delivery of the speech
attendance and floor participation
The three students with the top scores in each group would be invited to participate in a
competition conducted in the last lecture. They would be invited to give their speeches
again before the whole class. An award would be granted to the one with the best
performances judged by the two teachers as well as the whole class.
6. Text Book


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James C. Hume, Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of
History's Greatest Speakers, Three Rivers Press, 2002.
Richard Dowis, The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One and How to
Deliver It, AMACOM, 2000.
Robert Lehrman, The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A Guide for Writers and
Speakers, CQ Press, 2010
More References:


Michael E. Eidenmuller, Great Speeches for Better Speaking: Listen and Learn from
History’s Most Memorable Speeches, McGraw Hill, 2008.
Max Atkinson, Lend Me Your Ears, All you Need to Know about Making Speeches and
Presentations, Oxford University Press
Readings for the Leaders:


Gandhi: an autobiography. The Story of My Experiments with Truth.
Clayborne Carson (ed), The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, JR, USA: Grand
Central Publishing, 1998



John A. Barnes, John F. Kennedy on Leadership, USA: Amacom, 2005
Joseph Langford, Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire, USA: Our Sunday Victor, 2008
David Cannadine (ed.), Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Winston Churchill’s Famous
Speeches, UK: Cassell, 1989.

Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, USA:
Back Bay Books, 1994

Richard Greene and Florie Brizel, Words That Shook the World: 100 Years of
Unforgettable Speeches and Events, USA: Prentice Hall, 2002
7. Useful Sources
Website
American Rhetoric
(a useful speech database with audio and video clips)
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/
Books of Speech Collections

Brian MacArthur (ed.), The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches, Penguin.

William Safire (ed.), Lend Me Your Ear: Great Speeches in History, W. W. Norton.
Quotations Book


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Antony Jay (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations, Oxford University
Press.
Lewis D. Eigen & Johnthan P. Siegel (eds.), Dictionary of Political Quotations, Robert
Hale, Ltd..
Daniel B. Baker (ed.), Political Quotations : A Collection of Notable Sayings on
Politics from Antiquity Through 1989, Gale Research Inc.
Eugene Ehrlich and Marshall DeBruhl (eds.), The International Thesaurus of
Quotations, Harper Perennial (A Division of Harper Collins Publishers).
John Bartlett and Justin Kaplan (eds.), Familiar Quotations, Little, Brown and
Company.
The Big Book of Business Quotations, 2003, Basic Books.
Henry Ehrlich (ed.), The Wiley Book of Business Quotations, John Wiley & Sons.
Stories Book


James C. Humes, The Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill, Harper Perennial, 1994.
James C. Humes, The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reaganl, Regnery Publishing Inc.,
2007.
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Kiron K. Skinner et al. (eds.)，Stories in his on Hand: the Everyday Wisdom of Ronald
Reagan，Free Press，2007.
任仲倫編著，《林肯的幽默與智慧》，台北：明日世紀，2005。
Donald T. Philips, Lincoln Stories for Leaders, Arlington: Summit Publishing Group,
1997。
James C. Humes, Instant Eloquence: A Lazy Man’s Guide to Public Speaking, New
York: Harper & Row, 1973.
史源，《改變名人一生的小故事》，台北：海鷗文化，2003。
史源，《可以改變你一生的小故事》，台北：海鷗文化，2003。
歐陽峻山，《大人的故事書》，台北：海鷗文化，2004。
歐陽峻山，《一定要感動你的小故事》，台北：海鷗文化，2004。
陳平，《最偉大的勵志故事》，台北：海鷗文化，2006。
米歇爾，皮格馬(Michel Piquemal)，《聰明是看故事學來的》，台北方智，2005zd1