Sunday, 21 June 2020

How Did Hitler's Speaking Skills Help Him Come To Power?




“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” —Adolf Hitler 

During the global lockdown on June 21, 2020, I viewed the movie ‘Hitler - A Career’ on Netflix to understand Adolf Hitler’s strategy, leadership, and speaking style to share with my readers. The movie is a long compilation of documentary footage. I read his autobiography Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) when I served as a corporal in the Indian Air Force in 1988. I viewed some of his videos on speaking before I authored my award-winning book on public speaking titled, ‘Secrets of Successful Public Speaking: How to Become a Great Speaker.’ URL: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Successful-Public-Speaking-Speaker/dp/1628656107.

Adolf Hitler was a master strategist, great orator, and an expert in the propagation of his ideals and ideas. He had suicidal tendencies when he was young. He served in the German army as a corporal. He exploited each crisis. He manipulated people with his rhetoric for his political and ideological ends. He was impatient and hungry for power. He was constantly on the move. He played double games. He made major decisions when he was in the mountains.  He felt loneliness in the end.


Adolf Hitler—A Great Orator

No leader is entirely good and no leader is entirely bad. There is always something to learn even from bad leaders. Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. He was an energetic and inspiring speaker. He was a crowd captivator and knew how to mobilize masses. He talked about national pride and persuaded his people in the name of nationalism. He knew how to adapt to his audiences. He was an expert in body language and knew how to give pauses to enable his audiences to understand the essence and applaud. His content was crisp and communication was clear. He wrote his speeches and edited them several times to drive home his ideologies and messages. He rehearsed his prepared speeches, delivery, hand gestures, and body language. He included animation to convey his ideologies emphatically. He took feedback from his facial expressions, vocal expressions, and body expressions to improve his oratory. He perfected the art and craft of public speaking by emphasizing excellence. He created a unique brand by including in his speeches the words such as “sword”, “fire”, and “blood” and he relied on symbolism, with metaphors such as the eagle and swastika featuring heavily.


Emphasize Character, not Charisma

Adolf Hitler was a charismatic and visionary leader with a vision of 1000 years for Germany. But he failed to accept the realities and refused to take feedback from his generals. At times, he made poor decisions thus losing in World War II. As successes come in battalions the failures also come in battalions. He enjoyed both successes and failures one after another. He was unable to reconcile the failures that came in battalions and committed suicide finally in 1945. He left behind a shameful legacy for his nation.

Greatness comes from character, not charisma. To conclude, emphasize the right means to achieve your ends. Emphasize humanity and serve global societies to leave your everlasting legacy.


"When you are in the light, everything will follow you. But when you enter dark, even your own shadow will not follow you, that is life.” —Adolf Hitler

References


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Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India


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