Oral language that is artfully arranged and infused with rhythm draws listeners in and leaves a lasting impression on audience members. You can create the cadenced arrangement of language through rhetorical devices such as repetition, alliteration, and parallelism.

Use Repetition for Rhythm and Reinforcement

One of the most effective strategies for creating a lasting impression in a speech is repetition. Repeating key words, phrases, or even sentences at various intervals throughout a speech creates a distinctive rhythm and thereby implants important ideas in listeners’ minds. Repetition works particularly well when delivered with the appropriate voice inflections and pauses.

In a form of repetition called anaphora, the speaker repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. For example, in his speech delivered in 1963 in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. repeated the phrase “I have a dream” eleven times in eight successive sentences, each with an upward inflection followed by a pause. President Obama makes frequent use of anaphora in his speeches, as in this excerpt from his second inaugural address (italics added):

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still.¹⁵

Speakers have used anaphora since early times. For example, Jesus preached:

Blessed are the poor in spirit. . . . Blessed are the meek. . . . Blessed are the peacemakers. . . .¹⁶

In addition to reinforcing key ideas and imbuing a speech with unmistakable rhythm, repetition can help you create a thematic focus. Speakers often do this by using both anaphora and epiphora in the same speech. Rather than at the beginning of successive statements, in epiphora (also called epistrophe) the repetition of a word or phrase appears at the end of them. In a speech to his New Hampshire supporters, President Obama used both anaphora and epiphora to establish a theme of empowerment (italics added):

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes we can.¹⁷

Use Alliteration for a Poetic Quality

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in two or more neighboring words or syllables. Classic examples of alliteration in speeches include phrases such as Jesse Jackson’s “Down with dope, up with hope” and former U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew’s disdainful reference to the U.S. press as “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Alliteration lends speech a poetic, musical rhythm. When used well, it drives home themes and leaves listeners with a lasting impression. When alliteration is poorly crafted or hackneyed, it can distract from a message.

Experiment with Parallelism

The arrangement of words, phrases, or sentences in a similar form is known as parallelism. Parallel structure can help the speaker emphasize important ideas, and can be as simple as orally numbering points (“first, second, and third”). Like repetition, parallelism creates a sense of steady or building rhythm. Speakers often make use of three parallel elements, called a triad:

. . . of the people, by the people, and for the people. —Abraham Lincoln

Parallelism in speeches often makes use of antithesis—setting off two ideas in balanced (parallel) opposition to each other to create a powerful effect:

One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. —Neil Armstrong on the moon, 1969

To err is human, to forgive divine. —Alexander Pope, 1711

For many are called, but few are chosen. —Matthew 22:14