
'Should auld acquaintance be forgot' ... 'Auld Lang Syne' has become synonymous with the passing of the old year and Presidential Inauguration speeches from Abraham Lincoln, FDR to JFK still resonant today. Our workshop focussed on the works of Robert Burns with Burns Night celebrations on 25 January, and with the recent Presidential Inauguration, the power of speeches and the word - both language use and vocabulary choice - in public speaking more generally, and in a debating format, as well as for interview work.
Tasks included incorporating Scottish words into a short poem or sentence; trying to translate the original Scots into modern day English, picking out the power of language from Presidential speeches and why certain words or phrases resonate; and writing a short 2-3 sentence opening for an Inaugural speech.
We were hugely impressed with the efforts of all and impressive use of vocabulary!
We concluded with a debate on whether 'Actions matter more than Words?'
The majority at both tellings (67% and then 75%) voted in favour of Actions over Words, nevertheless, many felt that public speaking was an essential element for any politician to galvanize the public before Action would or could take place.
This was an excellent workshop and a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the history of both the recent Presidential Inauguration and Burns Night, and why words matter.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Abraham Lincoln (1865)
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