A Speechwriter’s Guide to Game of Thrones, Part I: Lyanna Mormont

Winter is here. Game of Thrones, Season 7 premiered today — and not a moment too soon.

After all, Game of Thrones may be one of our few escapes from our own terrible world — where “winter is coming” is a talking point for climate change deniers and the President of the United States exhibits the same leadership qualities as King Joffrey.

Of course, the President could never actually be a Lannister. A Lannister always pays his debts.

He’s certainly no Jon Snow either, but he does know nothing and talk about a wall a whole lot.

To mark the occasion, I’m starting a series on the speeches of Game of Thrones from a speechwriter’s perspective — looking at the rhetorical choices that make these speeches interesting (or not) and what these speeches tell us about persuasion in real life.

For now, let me start with the speech most people reference when I ask about their favorite speeches in the series.

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s this: Lyanna Mormont is a badass. The appeal of her character and the incredible delivery by Bella Ramsey is a big part of why Lyanna’s “King in the North” speech after the Battle of the Bastards ranks at the top. But here’s the main reason I rank this speech so high: in less than one minute, this speech offers a whole playbook in how to outmaneuver a hostile audience.

Structure: From De-Legitimizing the Opposition to Offering A Way Out

If you’re going to box someone into a corner, you have to give them a way out — even if it’s a purely cosmetic compromise or exit ramp. Isolated foes are likely to become more belligerent rather than completely sacrifice pride and dignity.

Lyanna’s two-part structure handles the task with ruthless efficiency. In the first section, Lyanna addresses lords in the room directly, discrediting those who’ve “refused the call.” The simple rhythm and repetition (almost a call and response) make her statements more powerful.

In the second section, having discredited the opposition, she changes pronouns from “you” to “we” and offers an exit ramp — an appeal to shared identity and a call to reaffirm the values of the North. Without the rallying cry at the end, her attack on the lords wouldn’t have done the trick; it might even have backfired.

Incidentally, switching pronouns and target audiences — especially from “we” to “you” and vice versa — in a speech can be incredibly powerful. Perhaps the best example in real life is Ronald Reagan’s 1986 Oval Office address, penned by Peggy Noonan, after the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Take a look at how he switches between perspectives and directly addresses different audiences.

Reframing Values: Packaging an Unfamiliar Plan in Familiar Terms

Too often, we try to persuade hostile audiences to change course using the logic and language that makes sense to us. But as a recent piece in The Atlantic highlighted, people often base their policies on the values they believe that policy represents. The language we use to argue our case often comes loaded with value indicators that turn the other side off. One study found that conservatives were more likely to find environmental protections — generally associated with liberals — more appealing when framed in terms of “purity.” On the other hand, the argument for making English the official U.S. language — generally associated with conservatives — got more support among liberals when framed in terms of “fairness.”

This “moral reframing” is what Lyanna uses to change the debate. Here, the scene starts Jon Snow making an argument that makes total sense to him — and viewers of the show. We’ve seen the White Walkers in action. We’ve come to sympathize with the wildlings. But others in the room have seen no empirical evidence to support Jon’s claims about the White Walkers, have only joined forces with the wildlings once, and are recovering from a massive battle that left huge heaps of the dead. No wonder Jon’s arguments fall flat.

Lyanna doesn’t try to change anyone’s mind. Instead, she appeals to deeply embedded, traditional values. Loyalty to the Starks. Loyalty to the North. “The North Remembers.” By reframing the debate as one of loyalty and honor, she uses tradition to support a policy that actually marks a radical departure.

Logic, Character, Emotion Working Together

Aristotle famously identified three types of rhetorical appeals. First, logos, an appeal to reason. Then, pathos, an appeal to emotion. Finally, ethos, an appeal to character. This scene shows why all three approaches need to work together, especially when logos isn’t compelling enough to stand on its own. Jon is asking the Northerners to support a course of action based on evidence only he and a few others in the room have seen. Lyanna’s speech plays to the sentiments and values of the Northerners. It separates bad character (those who “refused the call”) from the good (those who are loyal, those who defend the North).

From Conversations to Speeches

“A wise man once said, ‘a true history of the world is a history of great conversation in elegant rooms,’” Tyrion Lannister remarks in Season 6. “Who said this?” Missandei asks. “Me, just now,” Tyrion replies.

Awkward silence ensues.

Tyrion’s comment reflects his privileged upbringing. Westeros is a society where history truly is a “history of great conversation in elegant rooms” — where nobles make all the decisions and the “smallfolk” rarely matter.

But the coming conflict isn’t just another battle for the Iron Throne. Ultimately, the peripheral forces — the smallfolk, the religions, the White Walkers — will threaten the integrity and legitimacy of the system itself. This is the real tension of Game of Thrones, and that’s why speeches are such important plot points. Every occasion when conversations are forced out of elegant rooms and into the realm of public persuasion, is a preview of the conflict to come (minus the White Walkers, who, like many Americans, display a mob mentality and seem impervious to persuasion).

Lyanna Mormont’s speech, too, is a reflection of this conflict. Sure, she must reaffirm the existing system and its values to convince the nobles of the North. But she uses these tactics on behalf of a plan premised on the existential threat posed by the White Walkers.

In my next post, I’ll extend the theme of a deeper tension in the series to Tyrion’s speech at the Battle of the Blackwater, where he convinces common soldiers to fight to defend King’s Landing.