HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Joaquin Phoenix accepts the Actor In A Leading Role award for ... [+]
Aaron Beverly, the reigning Toastmasters World Champion of Public speaking, said there was much to be learned about public speaking by watching the Oscar acceptance speeches at the 92nd Academy Awards.
“My favorite all-time Academy Award speech is Jamie Fox when he won the Oscar for best actor in 2005 for the movie, Ray,” says Beverly. “I loved his humorous line about how his mom was his first acting teacher, ‘You better act like you got some sense.’”
Beverly says beyond having a solid speech structure and fluid thoughts, what makes a great acceptance speech is twofold. For one, you need to express gratitude for the people who helped you achieve your success. Success is rarely a solitary effort. “Two, and this is huge, is authenticity,” says Beverly. “Even if you don’t have great speaking fundamentals, if your authenticity shines through, you can win most audiences.”
Another stand out for Beverly was Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2016 speech.
“It wasn’t his words but the moment itself,” said Beverly. “He had been nominated so many times and lost out. But he never let his performances suffer and kept giving stellar efforts on screen. When he finally won in 2016, it didn’t matter what he said because everybody was on his side already.”
Beverly highlighted several acceptance speeches from the 2020 awards.
“Joaquin Phoenix had the most memorable speech,” said Beverly. “His speech was the one that touched me most. In an acceptance speech you don't typically speak on issues of the world, but Joaquin did this and to great effect. I loved his talk about the commonality that we have to stand against injustices. I appreciated his comments about giving 2nd chances acknowledging his own past faults and subsequent redemption.
Beverly also sympathized with him as he fought back tears when he ended his speech with a heart-warming tribute to his brother, actor and musician River Phoenix, who died in 1993.
“What keeps me from giving Joaquin the title of best acceptance speech however is that his speech wasn't very fluid as the points he made throughout didn't fit together,” said Beverly. “There also was not much appreciation for the award that he was winning. It was a touching and powerful speech, but not what is typically expected of an acceptance speech for an award.”
For Beverly the best speech of the night went to Donald Sylvester due to the fluid structure of his speech.
“I loved his clear opening, ‘Ford vs. Ferrari was a marriage of sound and picture,’” said Beverly. “Sylvester then transitioned seamlessly into thanking his team, he touched on one of the monumental shifts in cinema by referring to his movie being the last from 20th Century Fox which was recently bought by Disney, transitioned smoothly into thanking his wife for sacrificing her own career to support his, which was a nod I feel to one of the underlying themes of the night of acknowledging the work of women in the film industry.”
But wait, there’s more to praise.
“On top of all of that, he flowed right into a well-timed politician joke, thanked the academy and ended on time,” said Beverly. “A perfect example of a great acceptance speech.”
For most sincere speech, Beverly selected Bong Joon Ho, director of the movie Parasite and winner of four Oscars in the night.
“Out of Bong Joon Ho's four wins it was his third speech, for best director, that I thought was the most sincere,” said Beverly.
“Ho, who is Korean, spoke mainly through a translator; however, as he was talking, you could see through his body language and expressions that the weight of his historical accomplishment was not lost upon him,” said Beverly. “He also showed his gratitude to his directing mentors, both of whom he beat to win the Oscar. He made sure to acknowledge the support of his directing mentors and added his desire to share his award with all of the nominees. His sincerity I believe won over the crowd and made him a fan favorite of the night.”
How did Beverly become World Champion? With a suspenseful and entertaining speech titled “An Unbelievable Story,” Beverly, a 30-year-old JP Morgan project manager from Philadelphia, won the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking in August of 2019.
His winning speech was about acceptance despite difference and told the story of his humorous adventure as the only African-American in attendance at his friend’s wedding in India.
Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators and leaders. Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization's membership exceeds 358,000 in more than 16,800 clubs.
