3 things from Biden’s inaugural address you can use as a speaker

I don’t know about you, but I spent January 20th glued to C-SPAN watching 3 hours straight of the Inauguration. 👀

I felt joy and relief, along with a renewed vigor in the work we do.

Naturally, I took notes during President Joe Biden’s inaugural address (speeches are my thing 🤓).

Here are 3 things that stood out to me in particular that could be helpful to you as you create your own talks and content:

#1 = Biden cited St. Augustine’s definition of what makes a people: it’s those who are “united by the common objects of our love.”

President Biden went on to say that for Americans, those common objects of our love are “opportunity, security, liberty, respect… and the truth.”

It reminded me of my history studies: a nation is an “imagined community,” bound by shared values, shared interests, shared rituals, a shared past, and a shared future.

This doesn’t apply only to nations; it’s relevant to the communities we’re creating as well.

💡 When you’re speaking to your audiences and to your community, how can you remind them of your shared values and interests and the future you want to build with them?

#2 = President Biden talked about America as a story, a story that guides and inspires us, one that we’ll continue to write together, one that depends on all of us. 

Providing guidance and inspiration is one of the most important qualities of a speaker.

💡 What story do you want to tell that can guide and inspire your audiences? How can you get your audience involved in writing that story together?

Here at Speaking Your Brand, the story we tell and write with you, our community, is the importance and power of women like you using your voice, telling the stories that need to be told.

As Kamala Harris said when she was running for president:

“What I want for women and girls to know is that you are powerful and your voice matters.”

I’m thrilled beyond words that our shared future is now led by our first woman and first woman of color Vice President Kamala Harris.

#3 = Towards the end of his speech, President Biden declared, “It’s time for boldness.”

Of course, I love the word “bold,” which is why we named our event Brave. Bold. Beyond.

I decided to look up the definitions and here’s what I found:

• necessitating courage and daring; challenging
• beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative

This is also the definition of a leader: having courage, being willing to challenge oneself and others, and putting forth ideas and initiatives that are beyond what’s being talked about or worked on.

This is what the women are doing in our Thought Leader Academy with their thought leadership projects and signature talks.

💡 How do you want to show up boldly as a leader?

Finally, I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention the incredible Amanda Gorman, the youngest U.S. Poet Laureate ever, who performed her poem “The Hill We Climb.”

I was spellbound as I listened to her wise words and watched her powerful presence.

Here’s a snippet of her poem:

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn’t always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished

Here’s to our unfinished nation, once again reaching towards a more perfect union.