An exploration of the qualities needed for an effective speech (using Henry V and MLK)

Three elements are needed for one to perform an effective speech: speaker, audience, and, most importantly, the gift of rhetoric. The speaker must know what his audience wants to hear. The speaker must play off the audience's emotions to inspire and convince the audience of his words. Not only does the speaker have to know about his audience, he must also have the ability of great rhetoric. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, rhetoric is "the art of using language so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that he may…