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Talk Show Audience Applaud Obama's Presidential Advice to Romney

I may have been rather critical of President Obama's rather uninspiring (for him) acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, but was rather more impressed by his performance on the.
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Freelance researcher and consultant who runs courses, coaches, writes books and blogs on public speaking, presentation and speechwriting

Freelance researcher and consultant who runs courses, coaches, writes books and blogs on public speaking, presentation and speechwriting
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President Barack Obama talks with David Letterman on the set of the "Late Show With David Letterman" at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama talks with David Letterman on the set of the "Late Show With David Letterman" at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

I may have been rather critical of President Obama's rather uninspiring (for him) acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, but was rather more impressed by his performance on the David Letterman Show the other night, prompting as it did an interruptive burst of applause (scroll in 40 seconds) -- just after he'd used a nice simple contrast:

"My expectation is that, if you want to be president, you got to work for everyone, not just for some, [APPLAUSE STARTS] "and the uh--"[APPLAUSE CONTINUES]

As noted elsewhere on this blog (and in my books), the contrast is one of the most important rhetorical devices for triggering applause in political speeches. And, as is evident from this example, it can work in the same way in other settings too (e.g. TV interviews).

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