My previous post on June 11, 2025 titled Kairos is a Greek
word about timing that speechwriters should know linked to an article by David Murray
at Pro Rhetoric on May 25, 2023 titled “The Lehrman Landing” – and Other Jargon
Speechwriters Should Use Constantly.
How does David describe The Lehrman Landing? He says:
“This is a term we’re trying to popularize ourselves –
renaming of the ‘Four Part Close,’ a type of elaborate and effective speech
conclusion that speechwriter Robert Lehrman has been teaching since he learned
it himself, under the tutelage of Kurt Vonnegut at the University of Iowa in
about 1967. Don’t you think Bob deserves to have it named after him?”
But what’s in it, and is there a great example of this
ending? There indeed is one in Robert A. Lehrman’s 2010 book, The Political Speechwriter’s
Companion: A guide for writers and speakers, in his section on THE FOUR-PART CLOSE
beginning on page 203. He talks about the Inspirational Example, the Lesson
Drawn, the Call to Action, and the Clincher:
“Kennedy’s inaugural speech – along with King’s – has been
analyzed in great detail. Here we look only at the conclusion, as full of
famous lines as a Shakespearean soliloquy.
Sorenson’s conclusion clearly relies on the devices of
language we reviewed earlier, especially litany and antithesis. And like King’s
[I Have a Dream], it follows the four-part structure so useful for speech,
which seeks to inspire an audience to act. Read through this annotated version
to see how they fit together. Then listen to it, using the link on page 205.
INSPIRATIONAL EXAMPLE
It might be a quote, story, series of examples, montage, or
poem. Often taken from history, an inspirational example might feature
sacrifice, or someone succeeding against odds. As Kennedy’s example of
sacrifice, Sorensen chose the graves of American soldiers to remind the
audience that other generations fought to keep America free [my italics]:
Since the country was founded, each generation of
Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves
of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
LESSON DRAWN
Having moved the audience, speakers draw a lesson from it –
an analogy, making the example relevant for today. Sometimes the lesson may
mean you should imitate the example. (What they did we can do!)
Sometimes speakers will pose a question or paint two views of the future, thus
creating a moment of suspense. (Will we choose correctly?)
Kennedy’s lesson: We must act like those brave ‘young
Americans.’ The ‘trumpet’ that summons them, he says, summons us to ‘defend
freedom.’ Note how this step intertwines with Monroe. Kennedy asks his
listeners if they will join them (but doesn’t urge – that comes later). Then he
outlines a vision of the success that can – not will – happen if they do.
[Italics mine]
Now the trumpet summons us again. Can we forge against
these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that
can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join me in that
historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations
have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to
this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it – and the glow from
that fire can truly light the world.
CALL TO ACTION
What next? As Monroe suggests, don’t let your audience off
the hook Make the sale. What is it you want your audience to do? Having asked
if they will join him, Kennedy launches into a third step, a call-to-action
litany appealing to what alert or obsessive readers will remember formed the
highest step in Maslow’s pyramid: self-fulfillment. [My italics]
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country
can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man ….
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens
of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice
which we ask of you.
Could he end there? It would seem abrupt. And so this
four-part close involves a final step – the very last line.
CLINCHER
Clinchers usually remind listeners of the larger
implications of their actions. By now speakers have moved beyond the mundane
issues of which bills to pass or which candidates to support. They end by
urging audiences to take action because that action will bring a noble
end. And what is that noble end? Often it’s freedom, the American dream, a
better future for our children, or some other abstraction Americans value.
Kennedy’s is unusual – he promises only one ‘sure reward’ [italics mine]
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history
the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking
his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly
be our own.
The language of Kennedy’s clincher is less concrete than
other sections, and more hackneyed (‘the land we love’). Kennedy is careful to
hew to the prerequisite of important political speeches by invoking God, which
he refers to as a male. But his final sentence remains unusual in political
life for three things he doesn’t do. Kennedy doesn’t promise success. He doesn’t assure his audience of the
rightness of their actions, since ‘history’ is the final judge. And while
invoking God, he doesn’t simply say what has become the fashion today (God
bless you, and God bless America!). Instead, he takes sides in one of the great
debates of contemporary religion, reminding his listeners that good works, not
just faith, will save them.
But by inverting the usual grammatical structure to create
suspense, by using alliteration, repetition, and antithesis, his clincher
surprises his audience, becomes memorable, and justifies its position as
Kennedy’s final sentence.”
I quoted from the first edition of Lehrman’s book because I
could find it at the Boise State University library. There is a second edition
in 2019 with Eric L. Schnure as the co-author. The book grew from 362 pages to
536 pages.
The image was modified from this jigsaw puzzle at OpenClipArt.
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