Adolf Hitler - A Great Orator

Adolf Hitler was a wonderful speaker.  He was able to move and manipulate audiences like no other.   But, when most people think of an Adolf Hitler speech, they think of him ranting and raving, screaming, and shaking his fist.  While it is true that he did sometimes go into a fury, he could be quite calm and always very convincing. 

Hitler's speeches were designed to "arouse and mobilize" emotions.  His aim was not for good humor or intelligence.  He also knew about mass psychology.  Man can sometimes exhibit primitive instincts, and these can easily be brought out and manipulated at mass meetings, and in the evening, "when mental resistance is low". 

Further demonstrating the idea that Hitler knew about mass psychology, he writes in Mein Kampf:

"When from his little workshop or big factory in which he [the individual] feels very small, he steps for the first time into a mass meeting and has thousands and thousands of people of the same opinion around him . . . he is swept away by three or four thousand others into the mighty effect of suggestive intoxication and enthusiasm, when the visible success and agreement of thousands confirm to him the rightness of the new doctrine and for the first time arouse doubt in the truth of his previous conviction-then he himself has succumbed to the magic influence of mass . . . suggestion.  The will, the longing and also the power of thousands are accumulated in every individual.  The man who enters such a meeting doubting and wavering leaves it inwardly reinforced: he has become a link in the community."

Hitler did not read out his speeches word for word.  He only had a few notes that he could use a guide and so his speeches sounded spontaneous.  This gave people the impression that he was extremely serious about his beliefs. 

Another thing that made his speeches so new and exciting was gestures.  Previously, most prominent German orators used little or no gestures.  This was not the way with Adolf.  It is said that he studied a popular Munich comedian and learned how to capture an audience's attention with gestures.  Hitler had friends and party members take photos of himself while speaking, and so he was able to study how he looked and moved, and improve upon it.  Adolf also studied the acoustics of the beer halls when he first started speaking, and he would adjust his voice to each one.   Truly, he was an experienced and manipulative speaker (Compton 64). 

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