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IQ2: Words That Changed The World at Emmanuel Centre

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Time 19:00
Date 30/11/17
Price £50

Join a collection of speakers and actors as they discuss how great speeches have swayed the course of history and demonstrate how, more than ever, we need them to help define our values and who we are

For 15 years, Intelligence Squared has vigorously championed the spoken word. The finest speakers from across the globe have come to our stage — to argue, to move, to persuade and change minds. Their speeches epitomise the vital role that public speaking plays in our lives.

For this special event, Barack Obama’s director of speechwriting, Cody Keenan, will be sharing his experience of helping craft the presidential speeches that moved the hearts and minds of millions around the world. Alongside him will be Philip Collins, Tony Blair’s former speechwriter and Times columnist, whose new book argues for the importance of speeches in protecting and promoting democracy. With Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in the chair, Keenan and Collins will unpack the tricks and techniques that have been used by the most brilliant orators down the centuries and which are still working their magic today. Bringing this all to life will be star actors Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Irons and Simon Russell Beale, who will perform extracts from remarkable speeches – some familiar, others that will surprise – from different continents and eras.

What is it about a great speech that can give voice to people’s intense but unarticulated feelings? What is that special alchemy of words and personal charisma that makes us as susceptible to dangerous demagogues as to the morally uplifting oratory of a Mandela, a Martin Luther King or a JFK?

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