I have often found that this "
truism" is completely false.
In my fraternity, we have elections each semester to determine who
will be on Executive Board for the next six months.
The speeches matter. They shouldn't, they do. I've always
believed that actions do speak louder than words, and so I largely ignore
what the candidates say during their alloted time. I feel that if
I haven't formed my opinion already about the election based on what I've
seen them do in the years since they joined the fraternity, the fault is
mine--I haven't done my homework in being an active member of the fraternity
and seeing who the next leaders of the house are going to be. To
be swayed by a five-minute speech when I already have years of hands-on
experience with these individuals seems short-sighted and preposterous
to me.
Alas, too many times I have my more easily-swayed brothers be awed by
a particularly stunning speech delivered by someone who has performed horribly
at the positions he has held. Likewise, I have seen these same people
convince themselves not to vote for an obviously superior candidate simply
because their speech was sub-par.
This happens every semester; these people do not learn
from their mistakes--even after watching people they've previously elected crash and burn. Sometimes the more easily agitatable of us resort
to jumping on tables, screaming, "Do you REMEMBER when this person failed
MISERABLY at everything he tried to do for the past TWO YEARS?" The
response is always, "Well yeah, but did you hear his speech? He's
got some great ideas!" Or, when someone screams, "This guy has DEDICATED
THE LAST TWO YEARS to helping this fraternity!" it's followed by "Well
yeah, but he just didn't sound motivated in his speech."
Actions should speak louder than words, but, especially in a
public arena, it is not often the case.