An illustration of how the slogan "We Are the 99%" from the Occupy Wall Street movement can teach us effective Public Speaking skills.
Citation preview
How to Occupy the Minds
of Your Audience?
Public Speaking Lessons from OccupyWallStreet
What’s the message? Clutter = Confusion
1. Charts, Graphs and Facts may help?
How To Make a Complicated Message
Less Blurry?
U.S.A. $10 for the employee
$4,750 for the CEO
• $17,530 = average salary. • (p.s. $1,820 below the poverty
line for a family of 4). • IRONY: 5 of 10 US richest
people are Wal-Mart heirs.
Hmm, I find numbers hard to remember!
2. Maybe we can use Quotes & Slogans?
How To Make a Complicated Message
Less Blurry?
(17 Words)
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(9 Words)
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(9 Words)
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(8 Words)
(6 Words)
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(5 Words)
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(4¾ Words)
(4 Words)
(3 Words)
Hmmm, slogans can be too wordy!
3. How about trying some cartoons?
How To Make a Complicated Message
Less Blurry?
Funny, but not very memorable!
4. Okay, Let’s try images & symbols!
How To Make a Complicated Message
Less Blurry?
p.s. Against the death penalty???
Images are confusing without words!
Okay, how did OWS solve this challenge…
…of moving from confusion to clarity…
…and Occupying the Minds of the World?
How OWS occupied the minds of a
global audience!
The OccupyWallStreet Message Concept
• Inspired by the Social Media Arab Spring Revolution, on 23 August 2011, a 28-year-old NYC activist named Chris came up with a unique but simple idea.
• “The truth is that it was just one of those random, simple thoughts”, said Chris.
1. Take a photograph of yourself holding a sign 2. Explain how the financial crisis has affected you
3. Sign anonymously with “We are the 99%” 4. Post it online. • 2,000 profiles were uploaded in 2 months. • The phrase quickly went viral around the world. • Soon it was adopted as “the” global protest slogan!
Protestors Since the start of the Occupy Wall Street protest on Saturday, at least five people have been cited for violating a little-known New York law that bans masks at gatherings of two or more people unless it's "a masquerade party or like entertainment."
Unfortunately, the establishment can also be very clever…
“We are the 99%” was so simple…
It was commercialised for
T-shirts, caps and…
… buttons!
“We are the 99%”
was so simple even children understood the message!
“We are the 99%” group action
The simplicity offered…
unique variations
From confusion emerged… …clarity
And even new charts…
Even the 1% understood!
But, no matter how simple the “99%” message is, some will never understand!
Imbedded video: (copy & paste to view) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAWv9gV8Cxo