Wellspoken Index breakdowns
Famous speakers, scored.
What does it sound like when someone scores in the top decile of the Wellspoken Index? These pages run the same six-dimension breakdown on speeches you've probably already heard, with transcript-level annotations so the patterns are visible.
Steve Jobs
Co-founder and CEO of Apple, 1955-2011
Steve Jobs built his speaking style on three habits that hold up under scrutiny: lead with one clear line, prepare every transition, and stop talking when the point lands. The Wellspoken Index reading below uses a 30-second excerpt from his 2005 Stanford commencement address.
Barack Obama
44th President of the United States, b. 1961
Barack Obama's speaking style is built on rhythm. He uses repeated sentence openers, paired clauses, and long pauses that the audience reads as gravity rather than hesitation. The Wellspoken Index reading uses a 45-second excerpt from his 2008 Iowa caucus victory speech.
Martin Luther King Jr.
American civil rights leader, 1929-1968
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speaking style fuses the cadence of Black Baptist preaching with classical rhetorical structures. The Wellspoken Index reading uses a 30-second excerpt from the closing of the 'I Have a Dream' speech (August 28, 1963).
Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister and wartime orator, 1874-1965
Winston Churchill turned plain Anglo-Saxon words and mounting repetition into national resolve. The Wellspoken Index reading below uses an excerpt from his 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' address to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940.
John F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States, 1917-1963
John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address packed antithesis and parallel structure into under fifteen minutes. The Wellspoken Index reading uses its most quoted lines.
Simon Sinek
Author and leadership speaker, b. 1973
Simon Sinek's 2009 TED talk introduced the Golden Circle and one of the most quoted lines in business speaking. The Wellspoken Index reading uses the talk's central claim.
Amy Cuddy
Social psychologist and author, b. 1972
Amy Cuddy's 2012 TED talk on body language became one of the most viewed talks of all time, carried as much by its personal story as by its delivery. The Wellspoken Index reading uses its closing line.