Direct, Amused, but Serious

Ursula Le Guin's tone for her Left-Handed Address struck such a perfect note, most won't even notice it. This is remarkable because she achieved a sense of balance between seriousness and amusement, and she did so by speaking directly yet vaguely.

"Uh, you're talking in oxymorons again," you might be thinking. But hear us out:

Often, these types of speeches can veer towards the preachy end of "inspirational," leaving the audience feeling like they've just been lectured for doing something wrong. That not only leaves a sour taste in their mouths, but it can put people on the defensive pretty quickly.

But somehow, Le Guin found a way to talk about the various ills of society and solidly place some blame on the unfairness of a patriarchal system, without making it sound like she hates men, or like one specific subgroup is at fault. There's a hint of bitterness, but because it's not directed at anyone other than a society that doesn't seem to know any better, it dissipates quickly.

Then she goes on, using gorgeous imagery and metaphorical language to present an argument as to how women can go about achieving equality – and none of it is confrontational at all. For example, she says,

Because you are human beings you are going to meet failure. You are going to meet disappointment, injustice, betrayal, and irreparable loss. You will find you're weak where you thought yourself strong. You'll work for possessions and then find they possess you. (33-36)

That statement could be pretty accusatory, right? Change the words "human beings" to "women" and it's another declaration entirely. But the way that she tells them that they will encounter failure isn't in such a way to rub it in; it's part of life. It's a matter of fact that these things will happen; it's not men's fault, or anyone's fault at all, really.

She then talks about embracing and nurturing their natural strengths, and essentially getting comfortable with being women, not "taking down the man", or anything aggressive like that. So, while she is issuing, in a sense, a challenge to the women who are in her audience to take her message and do something about it, it's not done in such a way as to be combative.

This is why tone can be so critical, because change a few words here and there and the entire message of a speech—and how it is received—could be completely different.