What were the best speeches of 2021?

What makes a good speech? There is much to say about that, but one thing is indispensable in my opinion: originality. Evoking recognition from your audience is important, but a speech becomes special when it contains a unique or deeply personal angle. Through which we as an audience hear something new and get a glimpse of the person behind the speaker. At the same time, this personal connection makes it easier for the speaker to show himself or herself and deliver the story with conviction. Or, as the Americans call it: to own your speech.

With the Speech of the Month panel of Radio 1's News BV , we discussed the best speeches of 2021 at the end of December. Together we came up with a top 3, with Pieter Omtzigt's impassioned speech in the House of Representatives during the Supplementary Benefits Affair debate at number 1.

But here I'd like to share with you my personal three favorites; all speeches with originality, each delivered in a different way.

3. Humberto Tan with his fierce and impactful statement on Thierry Baudet: personal and outspoken

Thierry Baudet had said at a speech that the chance of getting AIDS is virtually zero for "heterosexual white men. A falsehood, because AIDS does still pose a danger to everyone, see the figures from the AIDS Fund.

What made Tan's monologue so strong in the first place was its excellent structure. He gets right to the point, sweeping the lies off the table. In addition, he makes it personal by referring to his own brother and that of Mark Rutte, who died of the disease. But above all, he dares to name what is really happening here: "Baudet finds it necessary to trivialize AIDS suffering and to pour over it with a racist homophobic sauce." An important message that needs to be heard. Because more and more lies are being spread through social media channels, about the U.S. election, about corona, about the Holocaust. That is why it is necessary for people to speak out. Not only politicians, but also people you might not expect it from, like a presenter on RTL.


2.André van Duin on Dam Square at Remembrance of the Dead: surprising

Nice to see the excited clown from my youth telling a subdued story here. That alone provides surprise. But the story itself also has a few (especially for that place) unique elements. Like his personal attachment to the Gay Monument, which he colors with striking imagery: "Three big pink triangles on the ground, are the symbol of discrimination and humiliation. There are always flowers there, all year round.' Refreshing is the gratitude he expresses for all that we have, rather than the eternal blaming and finger-pointing. And the strong contrast and image in one is a beautiful, concluding find: 'Free with war as the negative, of the color picture of peace.'


1

. Mia Mottley, the President of Barbados, at the Glasgow Climate Conference: deeply felt need

There were many speakers at the Glasgow Climate Conference, but none of those stories really touched. Until Mia Mottley took the stage. With a charisma hewn from deep necessity and ironclad rhetorical ingenuity, she fought like a lioness for her country and all those at risk of becoming victims of global warming. "For those who have eyes to see, for those who have ears to listen, for those who have a heart to feel: 1.5 is what we need to survive. Two degrees, yes SG, is a death sentence for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, [...] and yes, for the people of Samoa and Barbados." I liked best the original take she made by drawing a comparison to the Corona policy ("Code Red!") and all the money spent on it. If all that money had been spent to promote the energy transition, the world would be a much better place.

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