Sultan Qaboos made nearly 100 official speeches and various pronouncements throughout his reign from 1970 to 2020. These were awaited, social events, especially in the early years, with Omanis gathering around the one TV in town or hearing his voice over the radio. In addition to moments of soaring rhetoric, his conversational style and engagement, detailing means of increasing oil production, or drip irrigation systems for date palms, seemed to involve the public even in the minutiae of governing. He reached out to Omanis on both a practical and emotional level by speaking to the people, addressing their concerns in their everyday lives, much as he would during his many driving trips around the country when he met with Omanis from various backgrounds one-on-one. He also created a sense of a shared plan, a common framework, especially during longer national day speeches that went into great detail, committing government departments in ways that would be remembered by the people. A message seemed to unite all his speeches: he could not do this alone. He empowered Omanis in the building of modern Oman a process of social transformation that he and Omanis labeled “The Blessed Renaissance.” In 1974, “the success we see in the sectors of both our local and international policies is the true reflection of the efforts of our people …” Sometimes, his speech seemed familiar, relatable. In 1975, as if to speak directly to Omanis who were experiencing the marvels of color vision, he said, “Today I am happy to be addressing you on Oman Color TV …” In 1980, on the tenth anniversary of National Day, he reiterated that the achievements of the Omani Renaissance, the building of roads, schools, and hospitals, the creation of opportunities when “we were poor in everything except in the strength of our Omani traditions …” was not his effort, or that of his government alone. Rather, “every Omani can hold up his head with pride at our achievements. The benefits of modern medicine are available to everyone; schools have been built. We now have 100,000 boys and girls receiving education.”