My speech last week at the annual Speechwriters Conference in Washington, D.C. was on how to turn your speaker’s liabilities into assets.

The original draft included a story that I later took out because of length considerations. But since it’s too good a story to waste, I’m sharing it today with readers of this blog.

This story comes from Steel Titan, Dr. Robert Hessen’s excellent biography of Charles Schwab. Schwab was one of Andrew Carnegie’s lieutenants, who went on to become a steel magnate in his own right.

After America’s entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson “conscripted” Schwab to head the nation’s shipbuilding efforts. He did a superb job, but not everyone appreciated his work.

In 1918, while making a speaking tour of the nation’s West Coast shipyards, he encountered a hostile crowd in Seattle. Many of the workers at this particular site were members of the I.W.W. – the Industrial Workers of the World. The I.W.W.s, or “Wobblies” as they were known, were a radical labor group that had bitterly opposed America’s involvement in the war.

The owners of the shipyard agreed to assemble the workers so Schwab could speak to them about the need to increase ship production to win the war. But, given the presence of the Wobblies, it appeared likely that Schwab would be shouted down before he could utter a word. Schwab, after all, was not only a plutocrat, but a man who had made much of his fortune by manufacturing armaments. His very name was anathema to socialists and pacifists.

But Schwab met the problem head on. He began by stating the single fact that was most obvious to the workers, but was the last thing that they expected him to mention. “Now boys,” he said, “I’m a very rich man…”

The workers, taken completely by surprise, laughed, applauded and allowed Schwab to make his speech without interruption. When he finished, a group of them offered him an honorary membership in the I.W.W. – and he accepted.

Humor, candor and courage should be among the qualities possessed by every speaker. Used effectively, they can win over even the toughest crowds.