We shall fight them on the beaches

Introduction

“We shall fight on the beaches” is a speech that was given by Winston Churchill on 4th of June 1940. Churchill gave this particular speech to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom Parliament addressing the war front progress despite the intense efforts made by England’s armed forces (Churchill, 2013). Deducing from history, the speech is undeniably one among the most inspiring speeches that have ever been given especially during the World War II. Winston Churchill gave the speech almost a month after being sworn in as England’s prime minister. Before the speech, he was perceived as a war leader with extensive experience. In the speech, he described the significant military disaster that befell England and gave a warning regarding a possibility of an attack from Nazi, Germany. However, he gave an indistinguishable hope that they were going to emerge victors. In the speech, he also prepared the audience that France was not going to participate. Even though he drove this message well, he employed oratory skills not to make the Republic of France realize what was happening (Churchill, 2013).  

Its audience well received the speech. The good reception of the speech was noted from the responses just after Churchill was done. One of his secretaries is noted to have recorded in his diary that it was a magnificent oration. The secretary also recognized that the speech must have moved the entire house. Also, a conservative member of parliament wrote again in his diary that Churchill was eloquent and oratorical apart from employing the use of magnificent English. During the narration of the speech, a few labor members cried, this is a sign that the speech was touching and obviously great.

Theories that have informed the project

Two theories inform this particular project. The first theory is the Amplification hypothesis. According to this theory, when a persuasive speaker expresses their opinions with certainty regarding a certain issue or attitude, that issue or attitude hardens among the minds of the audience (Clarkson, Tormala & Rucker 2015). When Winston Churchill was talking, he was so certain and was sure that they were going to win the war that was about to happen. He drove his point home regarding the possibility of the war and explained to them that they had to fight will all that they had to attain victory. This certainty made the audience believe in his words making others cry and many siding with his opinion. Tbormala and Rucker first developed the theory after discovering that a rise in attitude certainty strengthened the attitudes of the audience (Clarkson, Tormala & Rucker 2015).

Another theory that informs this project is Elaboration likelihood model. The theory was founded by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo in the year 1986. This particular approach is essential to this project as it explores the different mechanisms of processing stimuli and the results that the stimuli have on the change in attitude among the audience. The theory also tries to understand the fundamental processes that form the efficiency of persuasive communication (White, 2013).

An evaluation of the audience for the message

This particular persuasive message is intended to target people who are on the verge of losing hope. These kind of audience are usually afraid of the outcomes and thus need something to motivate them and give them hopes to be strong while facing a crisis. In the case of England, they were afraid of an invasion, and at the time they did not have a leader who will see them through the war. Winston Churchill’s leadership is surfaced through his speech “We shall fight on the beaches” that seems to have rekindled the hopes of those who heard him. Through the speech, it is evident that the audience did not have much insight regarding wars and this is the particular reason Churchill employed certainty in his speech (Churchill, 2013).

An analysis of the persuasive strategies used in Winston Churchill’s speech

There are several persuasive strategies or rather techniques that were employed by Winston Churchill in his speech, “We shall fight on the beaches”. The first speech that he used is repetition (O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy 2014). Within the speech, he often repeated the words ‘we shall fight’ to instill confidence and certainty among the audience. Studies have indicated that repeating something has the capability of making it compelling and memorable. Another strategy that he used is developing a good rapport with the audience. This is evidence as he kept on referring to them as ‘we’ meaning that he was also affected by the situation and this was a matter to be handled by all of them. In addition to this, he also used hypophora in his speech (O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy 2014).  Hypophora entails asking a question and then answer it almost immediately. Churchill kept on asking questions and answering them immediately, this is an effective persuasive technique as it makes the audience feel there is an understanding among all of them; the speaker and the audience (O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Winston Churchill's speech is undeniably one of the most influential speeches in the history of the world. He gave a great speaker majorly due to the mastery of oratory skills inclusive of persuasive strategies. From the analysis of his speech, a good and efficient Public service announcement (PSA) can be crafted and create an effect among the targeted audience. 

References

Churchill, W. (2013). We shall fight on the beaches. Chicoutimi: J.-M. Tremblay.

Clarkson, J. J., Tormala, Z. L., & Rucker, D. D. (2015). A new look at the consequences of attitude certainty: the amplification hypothesis. Journal of personality and social psychology, 95(4), 810.

O'Shaughnessy, J., & O'Shaughnessy, N. J. (2014). Persuasion in advertising. New York, N.Y. ; London: Routledge.

White, H. A. (2013). Elaboration likelihood model. New York: Oxford University Press.