Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Fred RogersFred RogersBorn 20 Mar 1928Fred Rogers's six-minute testimony to a US Senate subcommittee in May 1969 is the model of quiet persuasion. Facing a sceptical chairman ready to cut public television funding, he talked simply about helping children manage anger and feelings, then recited a song lyric. The chairman said he had…0i
  2. 2Lou GehrigLou GehrigBorn 19 Jun 1903Lou Gehrig's farewell at Yankee Stadium on 4 July 1939, weeks after being diagnosed with the disease that now carries his name, lasts barely two minutes. Instead of self-pity he thanks teammates, groundskeepers and his family, and calls himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth". Its power…0i
  3. 3Jim ValvanoJim ValvanoJim Valvano, the basketball coach who won the 1983 NCAA title, gave his speech at the first ESPY awards in March 1993 while dying of cancer. He is very funny, waving away the teleprompter's countdown, then urges the audience to laugh, think and cry every day, and announces the V Foundation for…0i
  4. 4David LettermanDavid LettermanDavid Letterman's opening monologue on 17 September 2001, the first Late Show after the attacks on New York, has no jokes. He speaks for several minutes about grief, courage and whether it was right to come back on air, then hands over to Dan Rather. It showed how an entertainer could help a…0i
  5. 5Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Colbert stayed in character as his right-wing pundit persona for his 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner speech, praising President George W. Bush to his face in terms that were really an indictment of the press and the administration. The room barely laughed; online, it became a…0i
  6. 6Conan O'BrienConan O'BrienConan O'Brien's 2011 commencement address at Dartmouth College came a year after he lost The Tonight Show, and he turns that public failure into the speech's subject. After twenty minutes of excellent jokes he argues that disappointment can free you to discover who you really are. It is the best…0i
  7. 7Jim CarreyJim CarreyBorn 17 Jan 1962Jim Carrey's 2014 commencement speech at the Maharishi University of Management mixes physical comedy with a story about his father, a talented musician who took a safe accounting job and was laid off anyway. His conclusion, that you can fail at what you don't want so you might as well take a…0i
  8. 8Emma WatsonEmma WatsonBorn 15 Apr 1990Emma Watson's speech launching UN Women's HeForShe campaign in September 2014 is carefully argued rather than rousing: she addresses men directly, describes how gender stereotypes harm them too, and admits her nervousness about using the word feminist. Some critics found it too gentle. Its strength…0i
  9. 9Lupita Nyong'oLupita Nyong'oBorn 1 Mar 1983Lupita Nyong'o's speech at Essence's Black Women in Hollywood luncheon in February 2014 reads a letter from a girl who had been about to buy skin-lightening cream, then recounts her own childhood wish to be lighter. She moves from beauty to compassion with real precision. It is personal without…0i
  10. 10Viola DavisViola DavisBorn 11 Aug 1965Viola Davis became the first Black woman to win the Emmy for lead actress in a drama in 2015, and opened her acceptance with words attributed to Harriet Tubman before stating plainly that the only thing separating women of colour from anyone else is opportunity. In under two minutes she thanked the…0i