Category Archives: historical example

On a Clear Day

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I first heard this story from Carl Hurley years ago and I still find this geographical and time phenomenon fascinating.

In the Bering Strait, two small islands lie about two miles apart. Between them is the United States/Russian boundary, which coincides with the International Date Line. These islands are known as Big Diomede and Little Diomede. Big Diomede belongs to Russia and Little Diomede belongs to the U. S. Russia has an important weather station on their island and Little Diomede Island is a part of Alaska, which is inhabited by Chukchi people.

This has created an interesting situation. As you are there on the shore of Little Diomede looking over at Big Diomede, you are not only looking over into another country, but you are looking over into another time. And on a clear day, you can see tomorrow.

Anticipation: When the Impossible Becomes the Possible

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Anticipation is a great trait of any effective presentation. This rhetorical technique can be found in many places. One that excited me was the announcement on May 6, 1954, that Roger Bannister had broken the four-minute mile record. Here is the way Neil Bascomb, author of “The Perfect Mile,” recounted the public announcement that the record had been broken:

“Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of Event Number Nine, the One Mile:

First, Number Forty-One, R. G. Bannister, of the Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, with a time which is a new meeting and track record, and which subject to ratification will be a new English Native, British National, British All-Comers, European, British Empire and WORLD’S RECORD, the time is THREE…”

The actual time of 3:59.4 was drowned out by the joyous cries of the crowd.

Losing Your Marbles

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Demosthenes, the great Greek orator, was also a stutterer. As a child, he was weak and unhealthy and children mocked him for his stuttering and called him Battalus. During that time in history, the term Battalus was used as a nickname for stutterers. One way he learned to cope with stuttering was to practice his speaking by putting pebbles in his mouth.

One public speaking instructor that I read about followed his example and would have his students practice speaking by putting marbles in their mouths. They began with six marbles and he permitted them to reduce the number by one each day. Finally, when they had lost of their marbles, they became effective public speakers.

I’m not sure the marble part will add anything to one’s skills, but I do know that practicing new material several times will help you overcome anxiety besides making you a more effective speaker.

A Time to Laugh

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Practical jokes can cause serious consequences. In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.

Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke.

The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

This touch of humor broke the tension caused by this practical joke.

Look for the humor in frustrating situations.

 

Intensity!

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One of the most successful coaches in the NBA is Jerry Sloan. He is the fourth winningest coach in the NBA with a record of 1,221 wins and 803 losses. He was the first coach to record 1,000 wins with the same club, the Utah Jazz. He was the longest-tenured coach in any of the top four American sports.

One of the traits he was known for as a coach and player was his intensity. One of his star players, Karl Malone, said about him when he was in one of his “intense” moods: “I just say, ‘Hi Coach’ just to let him know I’m around.”

He gives new meaning to the word “intense.” Once as a player for the Chicago Bulls, he got a technical foul for arguing with a referee during pre-game warm-ups.

He was so single-minded about the game that his Chicago coach, Dick Motta, suggested he get a hobby, which he did. With the same intensity, he began collecting antiques and pursued it so avidly that he needed annexes at his home to store them. According to the Wall Street Journal, He called them his “Sanford and Son” hoard.

I’m not suggesting that we carry the trait of intensity to the lengths that Jerry Sloan did. I do believe his success in a profession where the average length of an NBA coach is a little over three years underscores the value of adding intensity to our efforts.

 

William Henry Harrison

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The following story is good to tell if you are discussing the importance of limiting your speaking time when delivering a presentation. We are very time- conscious in our culture and as a speaker you want to know how much time you have to speak. Staying within that time limit or perhaps even stopping a couple of minutes under the allotted time enhances your credibility.

The shortest presidency was that of William Henry Harrison who was elected in 1840. He delivered the longest inaugural address of any president—nearly two hours long. Unfortunately, he was not dressed for the cold and rain of March and came down with a cold. He became progressively ill and died on April 4, 1841, due to complications of pneumonia. His presidency lasted only 32 days. One might say he talked himself to death!

You could certainly add more detail if you needed to, but the brevity allows you to stress the point simply, humorously, and then move on.

The value of the historical example is that it gives your idea legitimacy and credibility and shows you can apply your expertise to other environments to make your point. As you read, look for events which you might develop into a historical story.