What Can we Learn from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech?

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

To celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, let's revisit his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Did you know his original script didn’t contain the words “I have a dream?”

He improvised that on the spot.

As journalist Rick Hampson pointed out in a USA TODAY article, King was “about 10 minutes into his talk when he looked up. 

He put aside his text for he had seen – and sensed – an opportunity.

Mahalia Jackson, who had performed earlier, was in the audience near the front of the crowd. She wanted him to go deeper and share what she felt people needed to hear.

She cried out, "Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin!’”

In that moment, he took a risk, abandoned his prepared script and spoke from his heart.

"I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

 It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. 

It is a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.

 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that some day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

In Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today."

He ended with, ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty – we are free at last.’

For a moment, the audience was stunned, silent. Then, they rose together in a roaring ovation to honor the transcendent moment they had just experienced.

Ralph Abernathy, King’s deputy, embraced him after the speech, ‘Leader, you swept today.”

His wife Coretta said it seemed "as if he had forgotten time itself, that his words flowed from some higher place."

Reporter Hampson pointed out, “It was as if once King was up there, gazing out, and could see a future many that day could not."

What can we learn from King’s inspired and inspiring message?

1. When you give presentations, do you always stick to your script? Do you keep your head down and read your prepared notes - no matter what?

2. Or, do you keep your anntenna up for what's happening in the room that might resonate more deeply with people? Are you open to the flow from some higher place?

3. When you feel something rise up in you, do you have the courage to say what wants to be said?

Next time you speak:

* Understand that the BEST speeches are ALIVE. They are a blend of prep and impromptu.

* Circumstances change. What you wrote a day or a week ago may not be relevant to what's happening right here, right now, in this room.

* Being open to the alchemy of what arises in the moment can be more powerful than what you had planned to say.

* LOOK UP. Raise your head and look into the eyes of your audience. What do THEY need to hear? What could you say that might elevate them, give them a vision of what's possible?

* Our goal (and responsibility) as speakers is not to deliver a canned speech that lands on uninterested ears. It is to add value, to serve, to elevate.

We may not be able to see the whole staircase, but when we have the faith to partner with the moment and intuitively connect the dots of what wants to be expressed; magic happens.

When will you be speaking next?

What are you going to do? Stick to your script? Read your power point slides out loud?

Or will you look up, see the opportunity, speak from the heart, and share a message and vision that connects with people and positively impacts them for years to come?

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Sam Horn, Intrigue Expert and 3 time TEDx speaker, is a communication strategist who is hired by organizations (e.g., NASA, Accenture, Cisco, Capital One, Intel, Accenture, EO) and individuals to craft one-of-a-kind presentations, pitches, TED talks and books that scale their impact - for good.  Her books Tongue Fu!, POP!  IDEApreneur and Washington Post bestseller Got Your Attention?  have been featured in NY Times and on NPR.