The Tone in Speech Making Leaders Get Their Authority

The tone used by an author has a significant influence on the behavior of the audience. The tone used can be severe, sad, humorous, joyful, informal, threatening, or optimistic. The tone when used they carry the same effect to the audience. For example, if the tone of the speaker is joyful, the audience will be carried by the joyful nature which is exhibited by the author. Also, threatening tone, on the other hand, can make the spectators very frightened. For that reason, the author can use a tone with the intention of getting the target or achieve the set goal while administering a speech. The use of tone can be used by many people to manipulate their audience and pass the message regardless of the state of the message. Thesis statement: The tone in speech making leaders get their authority.

The results of moving masses using speeches can uplift people from low level to high level in a society in the political world. People have been able to solve challenges by using expressions and get into authoritative offices. People ask questions how a particular person came to be in a specific office of the ruling class or how did she win to be in the level she is? Through the surprising ways of how they use tone in a speech to become leaders, it can indicate how a lunatic person can get in power by use of her statements and become highly revered in the society and people may be willing to follow at the expense of their lives. The essay will cover two speeches of Osama bin Laden and Joseph McCarthy to illustrate the tones used to get into authority.

The life of Osama bin Laden began in Saudi Arabia where he was born. The exact year as when he was born is not known, but there are two possible years either in 1957 or 1958. His father was known as Mohamed bin Laden and had 52 children: Osama was the 17th

child. In the early years of Osama, his father owned a company in the Saudi Kingdom, and it was the largest construction firm. In that regard, his father was able to educate his siblings in the west, but Osama remained at home. He learned at the Jeddah from where he later joined the Brotherhood of Islamic Muslim. Osama put religion at his forefront in everything that he did. With a lot of attachment to religion: the faith shaped the decisions he made and the political life he lived. He became a follower of an Islamic scholar Azzam who believed that all Muslims should join together in a war that would make the whole world a single state of Islamic. The young Osama who was a great follower of the scholar and became very interested and appealed with the resentments made.

Osama was very angry when he saw how the Growing Western culture was influencing the Middle Eastern Life. The Soviet Troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979 which made bin Laden and Azzam leave for Peshawar to join resistance on the border of the nation. The two did not join the fighters, but instead, they got financial assistance to fund the resistance from the Middle East. The opposition went to convert the people globally, and Osama bin Laden and his associates believed in making pan- Islamism into work.

Osama came up to start building the Al-Qaida. In his speeches, “In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” and quoted the Quran 22:39 ”Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (supporters) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah can give them (supporters) victory,” he was able to move masses to follow him. The people thought that for sure, Islamic religion was the solution to their problems and also to end the western influence in the Middle East. In 1988, Al Qaida group was created, and its central core was not a military campaign but to act on terrorism. The speech fueled the people to follow his steps, and when the war ended, and the troops withdrew from Afghanistan, bin Laden went to Saudi Arabia and continued to raise finance to fund his new Al Qaida.

The steps which taken by Osama bin Laden are the same which the people can use to manipulate a group of people to follow a given leader. Osama bin Laden became the leader of Al-Qaida, and massive destructions followed after his actions. In his efforts by the Al-Qaida group, Osama bin Laden vowed that it was the Al-Qaida who prove to be the ”master of this world” and not the American. Osama bin Laden began to tour many nations and began to influence them to join the group. The Sudan in which traveled, he came up with the plans for a bomb explosion in Yemen which occurred in a hotel.

The author uses the speeches by Osama which are used at the appropriate time and suit the occasion. The use of tone by the author in his writing provokes that audience to follow keenly and participate to ensure that the outcome is by their demand. A speech with art and eloquence used causes the audience to be very keen and the emphasis used makes the message to be understood well. The use of useful language also makes the message to be understood very well. The tones which are described by the author used by Osama were able to convince the masses to follow him and even help him to carry out his plans to Pan-Islamism known to all. Through the tone used by the author to describe the characters by Osama bin Laden. The speeches from Osama to go against the oppressors and make the Al-Qaida the world champions instilled strength to the followers hence consolidating his work to work against the western influence. The effectiveness of the tone used the author it makes the audience believe the solution to their problem is close. The author makes the speech of Osama to reveal the terrorism behind him and also makes it known of the next move and the repercussions. The people who followed Osama could dare lose their lives through the bombing of buildings such as the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.  From the infamous speech by Osama bin Laden, it influenced many people to follow him, and they were able to carry many activities. The activities were so daring that even some of the member lost their lives. 

In addition to Osama bin Laden’s speech is Joseph McCarthy who proclaimed that a particular number of Americans were supporting the communism and that they were in the state departments. Joseph McCarthy was republican, and that time he was state of confusion in the nation of rumors that some of the citizens were supporting the communism. The public was eager to know the names of those who were helping the move and Joseph came with claims in his speech,

”I have here in my hand a list of 205 (State Department Employees) that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.”

The speech terrified many as they were hunting for the supporters of the Communist Party. The speech was delivered in Wheeling, west of Virginia before the Ohio County Women’s Republican club. The statement was published by the then only newspaper that spread and reached to many people. The country was terrified and people wondered how people could support the nation to move in that direction when the country was struggling for capitalism. After a couple of weeks after his speech, McCarthy insisted that the number was reduced with time and that it had reached ten. The interesting of the claim is that Joseph was not in a position to provide any documents showing the names of those who supported the communists. The American people were struck with his inability to produce any paper that had the names of the communist supporters.

The cold war had to strike the Americans, and the policies which they had put in place was to ensure no one supports the communists. China was at that time helping the communists and when the Soviets produced an atomic bomb. In the state of confusion Joseph claimed to give the list of the supporters in the nations, it proved that foreign master was invading the land. Initially, the claims had been investigated earlier, and the state had some clues that there were communists in the country; however, Joseph’s claim went at a higher level than the supporters were in the Government Department. The American Government was shocked by the move and caused many injuries and gagging debates on cold war issues. The speech led to his downfall when he went ahead to accuse the army of indulging the communists in 1954.

Joseph’s speech was appropriate, and he delivered at the time when it could make sense or meaning. The articulation exhibited by the author made it more effective in convincing the audience. The speech stirred confusion and debate in many homes in the US. Everyone wanted to know the people who were supporting the communists but could not be given out. Joseph communicated effectively, and the language was convincing which made him be believed. The speech by Joseph aimed to instill fear to those who were supporting the communist whether working for the government or not.  And indeed, fear was instilled; thus gaining the primary purpose for his speech.

From the two speeches by Osama bin Laden and Joseph McCarthy, the audience was able to follow and because of the one which was registered in the addresses. The two leaders understood the aim of the addresses and prepared for them adequately. For the case of Bin Laden, was able to move a significant number of people because his speech was touching the problem which they were suffering. At that time the Middle East was ‘suffering’ of oppression from the west. The people wanted someone to deliver them from the abuse. When Osama came up with the formation of the Al-Qaida to be the superpower, he was believed and got many supporters from the Arabs worldwide. The speech instilled hope to the Middle East and they worked very hard towards deliberation from the oppression.

Similarly, Joseph also checked on the purpose of his speech. He wanted to instill fear to the people so that whoever was engaging or was part of the upcoming communism to stop. The speech made the people panic and disturbed. The Cold War issues were on board, and the US was planning for ways to curb the situation. The speech made many people fear since they did not know if they were on the list which the senator had claimed to have more than two hundred people. The speech was delivered at the right time and with the right person whom people thought he had all the information.  

The speech by Osama was a joyous one who gave people hope for the good life. They dare sacrificed their lives because they believed that dying while fighting the oppressor was beneficial than dying a normal life. The followers began to carry out activities to show loyalties to Osama bin Laden and even lost their lives as they carried out the Al-Qaida terrorism to bring America down. On the other hand, Joseph’s speech carried a sad tone which was not to the expectation of the people to hear that their leaders were supporting the communist activities. The effect was felt by all the citizens who and the nation at large due to the impact of the Cold War. Therefore, a joyous tone used by the author brings hope, and people become energized to carry out duties effectively while a sad tone kills the morale of the people as depicted by Osama and Joseph respectively.

From the two speeches, they prove that a person who understands the situation prevailing at a particular time and place, then the person can easily convince the public to elect him to be the leader. A lunatic person needs to understand what the audience wants to hear and provide a speech in that line. The person giving a speech should highly consider the tone to be used. For the reasons, people can get the authority and eventually become leaders.

The tone used in the speech is critical, the tone may be sad, joyous, threatening among others. The use of appropriate tone and delivered at the right time purposely, it makes people win the hearts of many who endorse them as their leaders. Osama bin Laden and Joseph McCarthy were able to move people because they understood their audience very well. The timing of when to deliver the speeches was done appropriately to that enabled them to be believed and also to act appropriately. Therefore, a person who understands very well the needs of the people knows how to use the right tone and delivers it in a manipulative way she or can rise to authority very fast: she or he can solve the problem which the people were facing.