History stands as a testament to the fact that the world has had some of the greatest orators who have delivered speeches that we still quote. Whether it was John F. Kennedy’s “Ask Not” speech or Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” or Ronald Reagan’s “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” the world has had its fair share of words of wisdom from these legends. In the 20th century, speeches were predominantly restricted to prominent and political leaders. But in the age of digitisation, it has become bog standard.

Digitisation has given the youth a platform to present their opinions. Today, the world is your oyster. But sometimes it is difficult to understand which information is relevant and which is not. Because, guess what, everybody is a content creator and self-acclaimed influencer these days. You look for motivation and YouTube is filled with bogus videos in the name of motivation. Everybody and anybody is motivating others. But today we will talk about some of the greatest speeches about motivation, equality, human personality, and much more. But mind you, we will hear only from the experts.

Let’s dig in and hear from Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Gilbert, Emma Watson, and others.

Remembering The Greatest Speeches

1. Steve Jobs: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Steve Jobs’ speech “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” sounds a little dramatic when you hear it but eventually, it gives you goosebumps as well as a reality check on what is life and death. It puts the whole thing together. In the speech, Jobs talks about his three life-changing events. One, when he had to drop out of college due to financial constraints and he opted for calligraphy classes.

Second, he talks about love and loss. He speaks about how he was kicked out of his own company and how that helped him to launch two more. He says,

“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

And the third, when he got cancer which was eventually cured (much to the doctor’s surprise as well). Here he talks about living each day as if it was your last and following the heart. To quote,

“And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Other popular speeches by Steve Jobs are:

• Steve Jobs’ 2005 Commencement Speech
• You’ve got to find what you love

2. Elizabeth Gilbert: Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating

Elizabeth Gilbert, as we all know her, is the beloved author of the book “Eat, Pray, Love”. In her speech “Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating”, she talks about her journey while she was working on the book and what the future held for her. She talks about how she was sceptical about if she should quit writing because her next book can not be as good as “Eat, Pray, Love”. But she also says that she should always go back to writing because it’s home to her. And eventually she gatherers the courage to write her next book.

To quote her, “I had to find a way to make sure that my creativity survived its own success.” And guess what, she bombed her next book. But that did not pull her down because she believes “Your home is whatever in this world you love more than you love yourself.”

With her speech, Gilbert wanted to share just that message.

Other popular speeches by Elizabeth Gilbert are:

• Your Elusive Creative Genius
• It’s OK to feel overwhelmed
• Here’s what to do next

3. Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts

Susan Cain in her speech “The Power of Introverts” shares some of her personal stories and narrates how, at some point in her life, she succumbed to society’s opinion of becoming an extrovert. So much so that she became a Wall Street Lawyer instead of becoming a Writer. Cain talks about some research that reflects that introverts are more knowledgeable, and have great leadership qualities. In fact, some of the popular people are Steve Wozniak, Darvin, Dr. Seuss, and others.

She also points out some reasons why society prefers extroverts. According to Cain, “One answer lies deep in our cultural history. Western societies, and in particular the U.S., have always favoured the man of action over the “man” of contemplation.”

At the end of her speech, she shares three tips to create the perfect balance between introverts and extroverts; yin and yan:

• Stop the madness of constant group work.
• Go to the wilderness. Be like Buddha, and have your own revelations.
• Take a good look at what’s inside your own suitcase and why you put it there.

Other popular speeches by Susan Cain are:

• The hidden power of sad songs and rainy days

4. Emma Watson: Gender Equality is Your Issue Too

“If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.”

Emma Watson’s UN speech is considered to be revolutionary. As a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN, she presented the new movement, that is, HeForShe whose core focus is on gender equality. She says that the more she speaks about feminism, the more the world sees it as men-hating, which according to her is preposterous and needs to stop immediately. Watson also shares some of her personal childhood stories because of which she became a feminist.

Additionally, she also talks about the contribution of her parents, her school, and her mentors in making her what she is today. She says that she wants to make the most out of the prestigious position that she is given. Hence, she emphasises the fact that gender equality is not only prevalent for women but also for men. With her zest for change, Watson says that if she is in doubt then she thinks of “If not me, who? If not now, when?” and this is what she urges to believe in because “Gender equality is your issue too”

Other popular speeches by Emma Watson are:

• Find Your Tribe

5. Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Did you know that more than 2,50,000 people showed up to listen to Martin Luther King Jr. That’s huge, isn’t it? Especially, in the era when technology was not very great neither there were websites to check the location and date of the event. Then how? Because Dr. King told people what he believed in and the people who resonated with him told others. This is called the law of diffusion of innovation, as Simon Sinek says in his speech.

He also quotes other prominent brands that have the same ideology such as Apple, and the Wright brothers. Sinek says that all these great minds have one thing in common, that is, The Golden Circle.

Image source: Betterup

He says that businesses that move from in to out will never be successful but the ones that moved from Why to What will make a mark. Because

“The goal is not just to sell to people who need what you have; the goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe. The goal is not just to hire people who need a job; it’s to hire people who believe what you believe.”

The focus of his speech is how some people are greater at marketing their business than others despite all of them having the same resources, same social media channels, same agencies, etc. Sinek says that the answer is buried in biology, yes, you heard it right, biology!

Other popular speeches by Simon Sinek are:

• Why good leaders make you feel safe
• How to discover your “why” in difficult times