{"id":830,"date":"2020-05-04T06:46:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T06:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.speakersinstitute.com\/?p=711"},"modified":"2020-05-04T06:46:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T06:46:12","slug":"aint-i-a-woman-how-sojourner-truths-techniques-challenged-old-prejudices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speakersinstitute.com\/online\/aint-i-a-woman-how-sojourner-truths-techniques-challenged-old-prejudices\/","title":{"rendered":"Ain’t I a Woman?: How Sojourner Truth’s Techniques Challenged Old Prejudices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sojourner Truth challenged prejudice on all fronts in the 19th<\/sup> century. She was a remarkable speaker. This is what you can learn from her \u201cAin\u2019t I a Woman?\u201d speech.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to imagine a time when women did not have the vote. It seems like such a common sense thing that all should have an equal say in the governance of a country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that has not always been the case. In fact, women had to fight tooth and nail throughout the 19th<\/sup> century and early-20th<\/sup> century to receive the rights they deserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is to the 19th<\/sup> century that we head to examine one of the most remarkable speeches of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker was Sojourner Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A noted speaker of the time, Sojourner has an amazing story. This article delves into that story before looking at what made her so influential when she stood up and spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who Was Sojourner Truth?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Born into slavery in 1797, Isabella Baumfree never knew a life without discrimination. For almost 30 years, she toiled in unjust servitude before finally making her bold escape. With her daughter in tow, she hoped to finally achieve the freedom that she\u2019d never tasted before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, discrimination has many faces. After escaping slavery, Baumfree faced backlash both for the colour of her skin and the fact that she was a woman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that didn\u2019t stop her from achieving remarkable things. In 1828, just two years after escaping slavery, she stood in a courtroom to argue for the return of her son. It was here that many first discovered the eloquence and influence of the words that Baumfree spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a landmark victory, she became the first black person to ever win such a case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in life, Baumfree converted to Methodism. And it was her faith that drove her to become one of the most influential women of her time. She believed that her newfound faith called on her to \u201c<testify> the hope that was in her.\u201d<\/em> It was after this conversion that Isabella Baumfree became Sojourner Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, it was during her mission to spread hope that she gave the \u201cAin\u2019t I a Woman?\u201d speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joining up with abolitionist George Thompson, she began touring the United States as a speaker. In 1851, she stood on the stage at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention and delivered her most famous speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAin\u2019t I a Woman?\u201d isn\u2019t only interesting because of the impact that it had on those who saw Truth speak. There\u2019s some debate over whether Truth even asked the titular question while on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speech itself wasn\u2019t transcribed and published for 12 years after she gave it. That means there\u2019s potential for embellishments and false recall. Even so, this is the version of the speech that historians most commonly analyse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you could argue that what the speech represents is more important than its word-for-word accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still one of the most influential speeches of the 19th<\/sup> century. And it was speeches like this that led to Smithsonian Magazine naming her on its list of \u201c100 Most Significant Americans of All Time\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Techniques that She Used in Her Speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no denying that Sojourner Truth was an amazing woman, even if you don\u2019t take her speaking into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few can match the bravery that she showed in the early parts of her life. The fact that she continued her fight after escaping slavery speaks volumes about her character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for budding influencers, it\u2019s her most famous speech that holds the most interest. These are the three techniques that she used to make it so effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique #1 \u2013 She Spoke Directly to Her Audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the first part of her speech, Truth speaks to the audience directly about the struggles that she\u2019s faced in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll look at how effective that technique proved to be a little later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s interesting about Truth\u2019s speech is the number of narrative transitions she makes. After asking the pivotal question that gave the speech its name, she started talking directly to the audience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? [member of audience whispers, \u2018intellect\u2019] That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with women’s rights or negroes’ rights?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Truth didn\u2019t directly invite audience participation, she welcomed it and took it in stride. The words \u201cThat\u2019s it, honey\u201d created an instant connection with her audience. She made it clear that she wasn\u2019t just talking for herself. She spoke on behalf of all of the women in the audience that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking directly to your audience engages them on an emotional level. You don\u2019t necessarily have to make them a part of the show. But you have to make it clear that you\u2019re not standing on stage to satiate your own ego. You\u2019re sharing your story but you\u2019re also looking to influence others. Moments of direct connection, such as this, help you to build a connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique #2 \u2013 She Showed No Fear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sojourner Truth had every reason to feel fearful. As an escaped female slave, there were likely many who knew of her that would see her returned to her captors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in this speech, Truth has a single mission \u2013 to fight for the rights of women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She approached that mission with no fear. In fact, she directly challenged that thought processes of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing from her faith, she said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth recognised that she spoke to a Christian audience, which allowed her to draw on what they already knew. She brings up a common objection to women\u2019s rights and challenges it immediately. The repeating of the question \u201cWhere did your Christ come from?\u201d hammers home the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a woman, Christ could not possibly exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She drives the point home with the direct challenge that man didn\u2019t contribute at all to the birth of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This passage destroys the objection with a logic that all in the audience could relate to. However, it\u2019s the directness of the statements that really stands out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth was not a woman who minced words and danced around her points. She drove them home and challenged her audience. This made her as authentic as they come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson here is that you cannot compromise your beliefs in an effort to keep others happy. Truth knew she\u2019d face objections, even in her own audience, to her speech. Instead of compromising herself, she used those objections to reinforce her own points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fear did not exist in Truth\u2019s world. She had the bravery to show her story and to use it to inspire others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique #3 \u2013 Repetition as an Influencing Device<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now, we come to the key question that Truth asked during her speech \u2013 Ain\u2019t I a woman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth asks this question four times during her speech. Each time, she uses it as an introduction to a different story that shows she\u2019s every bit as powerful as a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the first asking of the question as an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, you see the direct challenge to a common argument. Sojourner uses her own story to shoot down the idea that women are dainty creatures with no strength of their own. She drives that point home when she says that no man could do what she did better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She followed the second use of the pivotal question by pointing out that she could \u201cwork and eat as much as a man.\u201d The third use of the question speaks directly to the strength of women. She talks about the 13 children she bore and the grief she carried after seeing so many of them carried into slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth and final asking of the question has no follow-up. Truth leaves it to hand in the minds of her audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth\u2019s use of repetition ensured that her key thread stood the test of time. If the audience remembered nothing else from the speech, they\u2019d remember this passage. Better yet, she used her own story to reinforce the point that she wanted to make. She defined herself as an equal to both the men and the women in the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In doing so, she helped other women recognise the true strength that they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Express Your Truth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sojourner Truth\u2019s amazing speaking career saw her become an influential figure in the women\u2019s rights movement. She personified the very strength that she spoke about, which meant that no man could deny her words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She provides us with plenty of examples of how to use your story to engage an audience. Tragedy defined so much of Truth\u2019s life. Yet, she had a talent for showing how that tragedy could inspire change in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s much that you can learn from her. And with Speakers Institute, you can discover how to put Truth\u2019s techniques into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to express your truth and unlock the power in your words, we recommend that you do the following:
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