This past May, Donovan Livingston delivered one of the most talked about commencement speeches in recent history. His piece, “Lift Off”, written in the form of a spoken word poem, encouraged his fellow Harvard Graduate School of Education classmates to be the best version of themselves in the face of doubt and adversity. Since then, Livingston’s piece has gone viral and has inspired students all over the world.
This week, we’re pleased to share Donovan’s tips for conquering our October Speech Writing Competition. Donovan offers advice on how to write persuasively, tips on how to enhance delivery, and his thoughts on how writing from your own life experiences is the key to connecting with your audience in an impactful way.
In May 2016 you delivered your speech “Lift Off” to your graduating class at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It ended up going viral and was picked up by news outlets everywhere. Why do you think this speech resonated with so many people?
I think people gravitated toward the speech because I had the chance to do something different and unique and I took that opportunity. When most people think of commencement ceremonies, there is a very distinct way in which speakers address the audience. I wanted to be my most authentic self and that came out in the form of a spoken word poem. I think that authenticity was something that people could really appreciate.
As far as the content itself goes, it was a true representation of the things I had learned not only as a student at HGSE but as an educator. I have been doing college access and success work for almost eight years. It blows my mind because a lot of my former students have college degrees and a lot of them are in graduate programs themselves. Many of them are doing wonderful things so I’ve seen the fullness of what sowing the seeds early on in a child’s life can mean for them in the long run.
I do all of this work so that other people can find their purpose in the classroom. I think [my speech] spoke to something a lot of teachers and students might have felt. It’s amazing to see how it’s taken off.
Speeches like “Lift Off” have the ability to galvanize people into action. Do you have any advice on how to write persuasively?
I would argue that I am not so much a poet, but more of a storyteller. While I do embrace the poet identity, a lot of what I do is steeped in storytelling.
I think being able to pinpoint certain experiences in your life to further a cause, or find the meaning behind why things happen in your life, is essential to understanding how to appeal to someone else’s sensibilities.
The human experience is unique to each of us but it’s also the thing that makes us relate to one another. And so we could’ve grown up in different places with different upbringings and different backgrounds but there’s something about our experiences as humans that makes us relate to one another.
I’m interested in finding new ways to connect with people so I’m always trying to find a story from my life that can relate to what someone else might be going through. If you can appeal to those sensibilities I think that your speech will hit on all persuasive points.
We’re giving away a prize for best delivery of a speech. Do you have any tips on delivery for someone who’s never performed their own writing?
The way I prepare to deliver a speech or poem has changed throughout my life as a writer. More recently, as I prepare for upcoming talks and lectures, I’m trying to be less encumbered by the page. I want to be able to connect with the audience. Being able to look up and out into the audience is really important.
Even in an audio recording, you can tell whether someone is reading from a paper or speaking from a place of sincerity where the words are internalized, not memorized.
One of the things that has helped me as of late, is printing out my speeches and poems and taping them to a mirror. I look out and recite the words into the mirror so that I can see my hands, facial expressions, and how I’m engaging with not just the text but the audience as well.
And so when I get in front of a group, I already know what messages my body is sending to the crowd. When I look out to the audience, I’m not just seeing people and faces–I’m also seeing reflections of myself.
Do you write a poem with the performative element in mind or does that come later?
For me, I am a sucker for rhythm. All of my storytelling and poetic sensibilities are rooted in hip-hop and rap music. As a rapper, I’ve always gravitated towards some sort of rhythmic element in my poetry.
Growing up, when I started writing, it was almost a crutch and now it’s become something that I do when I feel it’s right for a point of interest. So to say I don’t think about the performance element and what it sounds like when I’m reading it out loud would not be true.
But, I also don’t want to be handicapped by only thinking of poems in their performative state. If I do that, I’ve subsequently handicapped myself as an artist because all of my work can only exist in one space.
So I’m actively trying to learn that not every piece is meant for the stage. I want my work to look better on paper and that’s one of the things I’m working on.
We are all works in progress and I think that speaks to the greater idea that you won’t be the poet, speaker, or artist you were when you started this work–and that’s the beautiful thing about art in the first place.
Do you have any recommendations for famous (or not so famous!) speeches or speech writers our community can look to for inspiration?
Honestly, I think that inspiration already lies within the student. I don’t want to project what I think students should be reading or listening to to prepare. I think that they already know what inspires them. That’s what’s going to help them tap into their authentic voice.
But I will say, we are products of the things that we listen to. So, be intentional about the works you’re reading, the songs you are listening to–it’ll say a lot about what’s going to come out when you get on stage.
Any final words of advice?
Have fun! Being able to tell your story in front of an audience that might not have listened had you not had this opportunity is going to teach you about yourself and inspire you to continue to create regardless of the outcome.
About Donovan
Donovan Livingston is an award-winning educator, spoken word poet, and public speaker. In 2016, his Harvard Graduate School of Education convocation address “Lift Off” went viral, reaching over thirteen million views and prompting Hillary Clinton to praise, “It’s young graduates like [Livingston] who make it clear that America’s best days are still ahead.” Since his pivotal speech, Livingston has been featured on CNN, NPR, BBC, Good Morning America, and in news outlets across Europe, Australia, India, and South Africa. His convocation address will be published as a book by Spiegel & Grau in 2017.
A believer in the enormous opportunities that education provides, Livingston inspires students, educators, and communities with his conviction that every child has the right to “lift off” and achieve their dreams. Drawing on personal experiences as well as scholarship, Livingston examines the legacy of social inequalities in America’s school system and encourages educational reform as a means to greater change. An impassioned and dynamic speaker, he incorporates creative elements into his lectures such as spoken word poetry and audience collaboration.
Livingston has earned master’s degrees from Columbia University and Harvard University, and is now a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
