May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications

One of my favorite examples of public speaking is Mr. Rogers testifying before a Senate subcommittee in support of funding for national public television. He is calm, thoughtful and thorough through the entire process, speaking simply and without grandeur. It's a small wonder he found such success, and a great example of the importance of clear communication. [VIDEO]

If you haven't seen it before, Fred Rogers' 1969 testimony before the Senate in defense of PBS funding is very moving. He was able to prevent a $10M cut to their $20M funding. [VIDEO]

> Doesn't look like he recorded much (outside the show), but definitely will be looking into what he has recorded. For anyone who hasn't seen it, one must-see video outside the show is Fred Rogers testifying before the Senate in 1969, in order to defend funding for public television. He is able to win over an incredibly rude and hostile senator in just a few minutes. [VIDEO]

> Mister Rogers For those who didn't grow up with Mister Rogers, I encourage you to watch this, [VIDEO] , to get a sense of how effective he was as a speaker.

That's very well articulated. He had no pretense and never came across as patronizing, at least in my (admittedly limited) sampling of old episodes via YouTube. The "take others for exactly who they are" mentality captures his earnestness and utter lack of guile in his interactions. I'm sure you've seen him testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications to maintain funding for PBS [0], but I'll leave this link here anyway, for others who might not have seen this. [0] [VIDEO]

Incase anyone hasn’t seen this video of him presenting before the senate committee in 1969, in support of national public television. [VIDEO]

There was a documentary about him released this year I highly recommend called Won't You Be My Neighbor. [LINK] As far as examples, here's an episode about divorce that I remember helping me deal with my parents' divorce when I was little. [LINK] Or here's his speech to Congress fighting for funding for public television (it's more complicated than just funding for public television, but that's the basic idea). [VIDEO] Or one of my favorites, his acceptance speech for his lifetime achievement Emmy Award. [LINK]

As a European I never grew up with Mister Rogers, but his testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications is very impressive to me. [VIDEO]