Reinhold Niebuhr - Personal Style

Personal Style

Niebuhr was often described as a charismatic speaker. The journalist Alden Whitman wrote of his speaking style:

"He possessed a deep voice and large blue eyes. He used his arms as though he were an orchestra conductor. Occasionally one hand would strike out, with a pointed finger at the end, to accent a trenchant sentence. He talked rapidly and (because he disliked to wear spectacles for his far-sightedness) without notes; yet he was adroit at building logical climaxes and in communicating a sense of passionate involvement in what he was saying."