Powerful Public Speaking: The Art of Rhetoric

Powerful Public Speaking: The Art of Rhetoric

Rhetoric: The Tools to Speak Well

Rhetoric is simply the art of persuasion through effective speaking and writing.

For many in our modern world, the word “rhetoric” has a pejorative meaning. They see rhetoric as the manipulation of truth or associate it with an overly fastidious concern with how things are said over what is said. But from ancient times up through the early 20th century, men believed learning the art of rhetoric was a noble pursuit and considered it an essential element of a well-rounded education. They saw rhetoric as a vital tool to teach truth more effectively and as a weapon to protect themselves from those who argued unfairly and for nefarious purposes.

Multiple Choice

Judging from context, what do you think Pejorative means?

• expressing admiration or approval

• expressing apathy

• expressing contempt or disapproval.

Multiple Choice

Judging from context, what do you think nefarious means?

• righteous or good

• wicked or criminal

• apathetic or uncaring

What are the benefits of rhetoric?

I had a classics professor that said, “Advertising is the tool of the despot.” That idea really stuck with me. Since ancient times, powerful men have used propaganda to maintain control over their subjects. According to my professor, advertising is just a benign name for propaganda. Both rely on emotional appeals to change our ideas and feelings about a cause, position, or product.

When we allow ourselves to be easily swayed by advertising, whether political or commercial, we give another person control over our minds. Studying rhetoric puts up a defensive shield around your brain (no tin foil necessary!), allowing you to see through the smoke and mirrors, filter out external messages and follow your own inner compass.

Multiple Choice

A despot is "a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way." which one of these is not a synonym?

• Benevolent Dictator

• Tyrant

• Totalitarian

• Authoritarian

Empowers you for rigorous and constructive debate

A person should know how to discuss and debate with vigor, intelligence, and civility. Sadly, many today never learned this essential and awesome skill. Just visit any blog or internet forum and you’ll see how debate and discussion has devolved into petty name calling and reductio ad Hitlerums. Learning the basics of rhetoric will give you the tools you need to take part in more constructive discussions on the web and in your daily life.

Additionally, having a firm understanding of rhetoric will help prevent you from getting sucked into flame wars. You’ll be able to spot when a troll is using logical fallacies or unsound arguments. Instead of wasting your time fruitlessly and frustratingly engaging one, you can go do more important things in your life.

Open Ended

What is an internet troll, and what is the best way to deal with them?

Where did it begin?

Many historians credit the ancient city-state of Athens as the birthplace of classical rhetoric. Because Athenian democracy marshaled every free male into politics, every Athenian man had to be ready to stand in the Assembly and speak to persuade his countrymen to vote for or against a particular piece of legislation. A man’s success and influence in ancient Athens depended on his rhetorical ability. Consequently, small schools dedicated to teaching rhetoric began to form. The first of these schools began in the 5th century B.C. among an itinerant group of teachers called the Sophists.

Enter Aristotle

In his treatise, The Art of Rhetoric, Aristotle established a system of understanding and teaching rhetoric.

Aristotle defines rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” While Aristotle favored persuasion through reason alone, he recognized that at times an audience would not be sophisticated enough to follow arguments based solely on scientific and logical principles. In those instances, persuasive language and techniques were necessary for truth to be taught. Moreover, rhetoric armed a man with the weapons to refute demagogues (who appeal to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than using rational argument). Sometimes you had to fight fire with fire.

Open Ended

When is it necessary to use rhetoric (rather than just pure reason alone?)

From Greece to Rome

Rhetoric was slow to develop in ancient Rome, but it started to flourish when that empire conquered Greece and began to be influenced by its traditions. While ancient Romans incorporated many of the rhetorical elements established by the Greeks, they diverged from the Grecian tradition in many ways. For example, orators and writers in ancient Rome depended more on stylistic flourishes, riveting stories, and compelling metaphors and less on logical reasoning than their ancient Greek counterparts.

The first master rhetorician Rome produced was the great statesman Cicero. During his career he wrote several treatises on the subject including On Invention, On Oration, and Topics. His writings on rhetoric guided schools on the subject well into Renaissance

Multiple Choice

Who was the first master Roman rhetorician?

• Julius Caesar

• Cicero

• Plato

• Socrates

• Aristotle

Cicero's Key To Persuasion

Cicero’s approach to rhetoric emphasized the importance of a liberal education. According to Cicero, to be persuasive a man needed knowledge in history, politics, art, literature, ethics, law, and medicine. By being liberally educated, a man would be able to connect with any audience he addressed.

The 5 Canons of Rhetoric

inventio (invention): The process of developing and refining your arguments.

dispositio (arrangement): The process of arranging and organizing your arguments for maximum impact.

elocutio (style): The process of determining how you present your arguments using figures of speech and other rhetorical techniques. memoria (memory): The process of learning and memorizing your speech so you can deliver it without the use of notes. Memory-work not only consisted of memorizing the words of a specific speech, but also storing up famous quotes, literary references, and other facts that could be used in impromptu speeches.

actio (delivery): The process of practicing how you deliver your speech using gestures, pronunciation, and tone of voice.

Tools of Rhetoric: Analogy

a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

"an analogy between the workings of nature and those of human societies"

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

Open Ended

Write an analogy to explain how to speak well. Eg. To speak well you need to use _____, just like a ________

Simile

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g. as brave as a lion ).

Open Ended

Write a simile about speaking well

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.

Open Ended

Write a metaphor about speaking well

Multiple Choice

A despot is "a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way." which one of these is not a synonym?

• Benevolent Dictator

• Tyrant

• Totalitarian

• Authoritarian

Multiple Choice

Judging from context, what do you think Pejorative means?

• expressing admiration or approval

• expressing apathy

• expressing contempt or disapproval.