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The King’s Speech

At the beginning of the chapter, we talked about Britain’s king George VI, or Albert, who was thrust into a position that demanded public speaking skills even though he struggled with a challenging stutter. In light of what we’ve learned in this chapter, let’s think about Albert’s journey, as well as that of David Seidler, who was inspired by Albert’s story and eventually brought it to the screen with The King’s Speech.

  • Given his royal position, Albert knew that public speaking would be a part of his life. As such, part of his preparation was to build confidence and overcome anxiety by addressing his stutter through prolonged, and somewhat experimental, speech therapy. Had he not been a prince (and, later, a king), he might never have addressed his fear.
  • As a king in the early twentieth century, Albert had to contend with emerging media—particularly radio—when giving speeches. While he still had to contend with the transactional nature of public speeches (in which he had to interact with and adust to the audience), radio gave him the opportunity to gain confidence and practice: the radio audience’s feedback was limited by its linear model of communication.
  • The audience plays a role in the success of any speech, and it is likely that British citizens, facing the uncertainty of world war, wanted the king to succeed. As actor Colin Firth noted, “People knew this man was facing his demons just by speaking to them. I think there was a sense that it cost him something. They found it valiant” (CBS News, 2010).