Analysis of Mary Fisher's RNC Address

 "Coiffed".

That was the word that stuck with me the most as I reviewed the recording of Mary Fisher's addressing the RNC.

At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but everything about her speech seemed structured towards eliciting the greatest affect towards a turn dowm- from her somber tonality maintained throughout her speech, to her attire fit for a funeral, to her "being one" with "little Black babies", I soon saw that Mary Fisher's address of RNC is indeed worthy of analysis by anyone wanting to get better at public speaking.

And that's the purpose of this analysis, to dissect what was obviously an earnest effort by Ms. Fisher to draw national attention o her personal plight and the plight of so many others at the time against what was then viewed as oncoming epidemic of HIV and aids. 

Regardless of the subject matter, Mary Fisher's addressing RNC provides excellent fodder for the ambitious public speaker to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of her speech so as to help oneself to be a better public speaker.

Here are what I considered the strengths and weaknesses of her speech:

Strengths:

1. Mary Fisher's tone of her speech was eloquently matched by her attire. Dressed in a black dress with white bodice dawned with a cross ribbon lapel that was the symbol for HIV awareness. Mary Fisher easily could have been attending a funeral and from the onslaught of her speech she help deaden the convention floor by stating from go "I don't want your applause". While that statement did help set the tone of the address, it also endured she would face minimal interruptions during her addressd- and was thus a fine way of subtlely presenting herself as the speaker to be heard unabatedly. Afterall, what better way to set the tone than to control the sympathy?

2. Mary Fisher managed to artfully associate herself as the de facto figure to annihilate the prevailing stereotypes images surrounding AIDS/HIV. By referencing those stereotypes on the grand stage of the RNC, Mary Fisher essentially threw herself under the bus of public comsideration. She stood before the convention and easily drew sympathy for her cause despite the fact that there was no outward signs of health issues. The fact that she so easily described herself as being "one" with "little Black babies" inflicted with HIV despite that she was the starkest contrast of such speaks volumes of the prework she put into crafting her speech.

3. Mary Fisher delivered her speech seemingly without notes, and ,seemingly, from nothing but memory. Which lends itself to the adage of internalization: How can we expect others to internalize a written speech when the speaker himself/herself hasn't internalized the intended message themselves because had they actually internalized the intended message then a prewritten speech wouldn't be the route. Espe when we consider that nothing is ever more internalized by an audience than when the speaker herself delivers her speech from an internalized place herself.

Weaknesses:

1. Mary Fisher's address of RNC seemed eloquently somber towards no agenda. In fact, she spoke seemingly to draw sympathy more so than to "create awareness". Listening to her speech left me wondering early on what was her intentions as she ran the gamut from "little black boys" to "no one is safe" without a specific call to action towards any goal or out come.

2. Mary Fisher's worked both for and against her in this setting. This wasn't a funeral, it was otherwise a convention with an agenda. But watching her on stage I couldn't help but think that she had gone too far for dramatic affect condidering that she showed no outward didplay of malady.

3. If ever there was an example of one pleaing for sympathy this was it. Mary Fisher used the terms HIV, AIDS repeatedly- essentially bludgeoning and beating a captive audience over the head in casting herself as the wielder of the tyrannical issue of the day. There was no message of hope in her delivery and instead one couldn't help but wonder if Mary Fisher is still alive after all this time. Then the farce seemed revealed in the fact that. despite her somber and bleak concerns that she would not be there for her family.

For anyone interested in public speaking its important to review how others have done in that arena of public appeal. Mary Fisher' s address of the RNC is great for analysis towards the purpose of becoming a better public speaker. But with such a sensitive subject matter as her platform,I found that its best to keep any analysis of her speech strictly objective. One thing tbat helped in remaining objective is the awareness that despite her somber delivery at the RNC- Mary Fisher is still alive and healthy today- even if not as coiffed and coordinated towards a sympathy plea as much as before.