GETTING TO KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT PUBLIK SPEAKING
Wakatsuki Reijirō speaking at the London Naval Conference in 1930
Public speaking is the practice of delivering speeches to a live
audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural,
religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective
rhetorical skills. It allows individuals to connect with a group of people to
discuss any topic. The goal as a public speaker may be to educate, teach, or
influence an audience. Public speakers often utilize visual aids like a
slideshow, pictures, and short videos to get their point across.
The ancient Chinese
philosopher Confucius, a key figure in the study of public speaking, advocated
for speeches that could profoundly affect individuals, including those not
present in the audience. He believed that words possess the power to inspire
actions capable of changing the world. In the Western tradition, public
speaking was extensively studied in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where it was a fundamental component of rhetoric,
analyzed by prominent thinkers.
Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, identified three types
of speeches: deliberative (political), forensic (judicial), and epideictic (ceremonial or demonstrative). Similarly, the
Roman philosopher and orator Cicero categorized public speaking into three purposes:
judicial (courtroom), deliberative (political), and demonstrative (ceremonial),
closely aligning with Aristotle's classifications.
In modern times,
public speaking remains a highly valued skill in various sectors, including
government, industry, and advocacy. It has also evolved with the advent of
digital technologies, incorporating video conferencing, multimedia presentations, and other innovative forms of
communication.
Purposes
The main objective
of public speaking is to inform or change the audience's thoughts and
actions. The function of public speaking is determined by the speaker's
intent, but it is possible for the same speaker, with the same intent, to
deliver substantially different speeches to different audiences.
Public speaking is
frequently directed at a select and sometimes restricted audience, consisting
of individuals who may hold different perspectives. This audience can encompass
enthusiastic supporters of the speaker, reluctant attendees with opposing
views, or strangers with varying levels of interest in the speaker's topic.
Proficient speakers recognize that even a modest-sized audience is not a
uniform entity but rather a diverse assembly of individuals.
Public speaking aims
to either reassure an anxious audience or to alert a complacent audience of
something important. Once the speaker has determined which of these approaches
is required, they will use a combination of storytelling and informational
approaches to achieve their goals.
The purposes of
speech can vary depending on the targeted audience. Speeches during ceremonies
may incorporate humor or stories shared from moments in the life of the person
celebrated. Speeches focusing on politics will use persuasion that listeners
take a course of action, and forensic speeches are debates in which
participants take sides, defend certain beliefs, and are judged on how well
they can support their argument.
Persuasion
Duration:
27 seconds.0:27Subtitles available.CCA
1935 video of Adolf Hitler, who served as Führer of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in
1945. Hitler's mannerisms, expressions, and public speaking are commonly cited
as examples of persuasive public speaking.
Persuasion is a term that is derived from the Latin word
"persuadere." Persuasive speaking aims to change the audience's
beliefs and is commonly used in political debates. Leaders use such public
forums in an attempt to persuade their audience, whether they be the general
public or government officials.
Persuasive speaking
involves four essential elements: (i) the speaker or persuader; (ii) the
audience; (iii) the speaking method; and (iv) the message the speaker is trying
to convey. When attempting to persuade an audience to change their opinions, a
speaker appeals to their emotions and beliefs.
Various techniques
exist for speakers to gain audience support. Speakers can demand action from
the audience, use inclusive language like 'we' and 'us' to create unity between
the speaker and the audience, and choose words with strong connotations to
intensify a message's impact. Rhetorical questions, anecdotes,
generalizations, exaggerations, metaphors, and irony may be employed to
increase the likelihood of persuading an audience.
Though historically
uncommon, speakers today are enabled to utilise statistics, data as well as other sources of information, such
as the internet, in order to strengthen their argument, stance or
proposal; This has only evolved during the modern era, having been generally
unavailable at the current rate in the years beforehand with the exception
of media via newspapers, television, although claims given by speakers have often been subject to
inaccurate information provided by the aforementioned, often in direct correlation
with the big lie means of oratory. This has been further intensified
through the recent evolution of mass media in most nations.
Education
Public speaking can
often take an educational form, where the speaker transfers knowledge to an
audience. TED Talks are an example of educational public speaking. The
speakers inform their audience about different topics, such as science,
technology, religion, economics, human society, and psychology. TED speakers can use the platform to share personal
experiences with traumatic events, such as abuse, bullying, grief, assault, suicidal ideation, near-death encounters, and mental illness. They may
attempt to raise awareness and acceptance of stigmatizing issues, such as
disabilities, racial differences, LGBTQ rights, children's rights, and women's rights.
TED Conferences,
LLC, is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution
under the slogan: "ideas worth spreading". TED was originally built
by Richard Saul Furman in February 1984 as a conference and has been held
annually since 1990. Talks delivered in these conferences are usually posted
online. The videos of these recorded speeches and talks inspire native and
non-native speakers of English to learn the language and presentation style
that is used. As such, TED Talk videos can help improve speaking skills and
vocabulary retention.
There have been many
studies that have proven the benefits of teaching public speaking strategies to
students in an academic setting, including a higher level of self-confidence
and helping to render community well-being with access to a variety of
information. Harvard University offers a range of courses in public speaking,
including persuasive communication and personal narratives. With the
continued popularity of academic conferences and TED talks taking place
worldwide, public speaking has become an essential subject in academia for
scholarly and professional advancement. Additionally, work meetings and
presentations require proficiency in public speaking to actively formulate
ideas and solutions, and modern technology helps companies release information
to a wider audience.
Intervention
The intervention style of speaking is a relatively new method proposed by rhetorical
theorist William R. Brown. This style revolves around the theory of idealism, which holds that humans create a symbolic meaning for
life and the things around them. Due to this, the symbolic meaning of
everything changes based on the way one communicates. When approaching
communication with an intervention style, communication is understood to be responsible
for the constant changes in society, behaviors, and how one considers the
meaning behind objects, ideologies, and everyday life.
From an
interventional perspective, when individuals communicate, they are intervening
with what is already a reality and might "shift symbolic
reality." This approach to communication encompasses the possibility
or idea that one may be responsible for unexpected outcomes due to what and how
one communicates.
This perspective widens the scope of focus from a single
speaker who is intervening to a multitude of speakers all communicating and
intervening, simultaneously affecting the world around us.
History
India
The literature
of Ancient India is richly endowed with contributions to the
development of a sui generis theory of rhetoric. In
ancient India, around 700 BCE, public debates by Indian rhetors on the topic of
religion were a popular form of entertainment. The Vedic hymns, composed over three millennia ago, demonstrate a
refined sense of rhetoric possessed by the intellectual stratum of the society,
as seen in their effective employment of similes.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, India's iconic epics, provide valuable insights into
the country's ancient rhetorical traditions, featuring numerous speeches and
debates that employ sophisticated systems of categorization. The Upanishads, a seminal work of Vedic philosophical dialogues,
exhibit a thoughtful approach to categorizing technical terms, underscoring the
value of clear classification. The famed Hindu discourse known as the Bhagavad Gita (in the Mahabharata) serves as a classic example
of deliberative rhetoric.
The Buddhist tradition of India places emphasis on the value of engaging in calm
and humorous discourse.
China
In Ancient China, the use of rhetoric was delayed, largely because the
country then lacked rhetoricians who could train students. It was
understood that Chinese rhetoric was part of Chinese philosophy, which schools
taught focusing on two concepts: "Wen" (rhetoric); and
"Zhi" (thoughtful content). Ancient Chinese rhetoric shows
strong connections with modern public speaking, as Chinese rhetoric placed a
high value on ethics.
Ancient Chinese
rhetoric had three objectives: (i) using language to reflect people's feelings;
(ii) using language to be more pointed, effective, and impactful; and (iii)
using rhetoric as an "aesthetic tool." Chinese rhetoric
traditionally focused more on the written than the spoken word, but both share
similar characteristics of construction.
A unique and key
difference between Chinese and Western rhetoric is the audience targeted for
persuasion. In Chinese rhetoric, state rulers were the audience, whereas
Western rhetoric targets the public. Another difference between Chinese
and Western rhetoric practices is how a speaker establishes credibility
or Ethos. In Chinese rhetoric, the speaker does not focus on
individual credibility, like Western rhetoric. Instead, the speaker focuses on
collectivism[20] by sharing personal experiences and establishing a
connection between the speaker's concern and the audience's interest.
Chinese employs three standards in assessing public
rhetoric:
·
Tracing: This standard evaluates how well the speaker is doing
compared to traditional speaking practices.
·
Examination: This standard evaluates how well the speaker considers
the audience's daily lives.
·
Practice: This standard evaluates how relevant the topic or
argument is to the "state, society, and people."
Greece
The Orator, a c. 100 BCE Etrusco-Roman bronze sculpture depicting Aule Metele, an Etruscan man
wearing a Roman toga while engaged in rhetoric. The statue features an
inscription in the Etruscan
alphabet.
Although evidence of
public speaking training exists in ancient Egypt, the first known writing on oratory is 2,000
years old from ancient Greece. This work elaborates on principles drawn from the
practices and experiences of ancient Greek orators.
Aristotle, one of the first oratory teachers to use definitive
rules and models, believed that successful speakers combined, to varying
degrees, three qualities in their speech: reasoning, which he called Logos;
credentials, which he called Ethos; and emotion, which he called
Pathos. Aristotle's work became an essential part of a liberal arts education during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The classical antiquity works by the ancient Greeks capture how they taught
and developed the art of public speaking thousands of years ago.
In classical Greece
and Rome, rhetoric was the main component of composition and speech delivery, both critical skills for use
in public and private life. In ancient Greece, citizens spoke for themselves
rather than having professionals, such as modern lawyers, speak for them.
Any citizen who wished to succeed in court, politics, or social
life had to learn public speaking techniques. Rhetorical tools were first
taught by a group of teachers called Sophists,
who taught paying students how to speak effectively using their methods.
Separately from the
Sophists, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle developed their theories of public
speaking, teaching these principles to students interested in learning
rhetorical skills. Plato founded The Academy and Aristotle founded The Lyceum to teach these skills.
Demosthenes was a well-known orator from Athens. After his father
died when he was 7, he had three legal guardians: Aphobus, Demophon, and
Theryppides. His inspiration for public speaking came from learning that
his guardians had robbed him of the money his father left for his
education. His first public speech was in the court proceeding he brought
against his three guardians. After that, Demosthenes continued to practice
public speaking. He is known for sticking pebbles into his mouth to improve his
pronunciation, talking while running so that he would not lose his breath, and
practicing speaking in front of a mirror to improve his delivery.
When Philip II, the
ruler of Macedon, tried to conquer the Greeks, Demosthenes made a speech
called Kata Philippou A. In this speech, he spoke about why he
opposed Philip II as a threat to all of Greece. This was the first of
several speeches known as the Philippics. He made other speeches known as
the Olynthiacs. Both series of speeches favored independence and
rallied Athenians against Philip II.
Rome
A
portrait of Cicero, an orator during the Roman Empire, addressing the Roman Senate, depicted in Cicero Denounces Catiline, an
1889 fresco by Cesare Maccari
During the political
rise of the Roman Republic, Roman orators copied and modified the ancient Greek
techniques of public speaking. Instruction in rhetoric developed into a full
curriculum, including instruction in grammar (study of the poets), preliminary
exercises (progymnasmata), and
preparation of public speeches (declamation) in both forensic and deliberative genres.
In Latin, rhetoric was heavily influenced by Cicero, an orator during the Roman Empire, and emphasized a broad education in all areas of
the humanities. Other areas of rhetorical study included the use of wit
and humor, the appeal to the
listener's emotions,
and the use of digressions. Oratory in the Roman Empire, though less central to political life than during the
Republic, remained important in law and entertainment. Famous orators were
celebrities in ancient Rome, becoming wealthy and prominent in society.
The ornate Latin
style was the primary form of oration through the mid-20th century. After World War II and the increased use of film and television, the
Latin oration style began to fall out of favor. This cultural change likely had
to do with the rise of the scientific method and the emphasis on a "plain" style of
speaking and writing. Even today's formal oratory is much less ornate than in
the Classical Era.
Theorists
Aristotle's "Rhetoric"
In one of his most
famed writings, "Rhetoric",
written in 350 BCE, Aristotle described mastering the art of public speaking. In
this and other works by Aristotle, rhetoric is the act of publicly persuading
an audience. Rhetoric is similar to dialect:
he defines both as being acts of persuasion. However, dialect is the act of
persuading someone in private, whereas rhetoric is about persuading people in a
public setting. Aristotle defines someone who practices rhetoric or a
"rhetorician" as an individual who can comprehend persuasion and how
it is applied.
Aristotle divides
rhetoric into three elements: (i) the speaker; (ii) the topic or point of the
speech; and (iii) the audience. Aristotle also classifies oration into
three types: (i) political, used to convince people to take or not take action;
(ii) forensic, usually used in law related to accusing or defending someone;
and (iii) ceremonial, which recognizes someone positively or negatively.
Aristotle breaks
down the political category into five focuses or themes: "ways and means,
war and peace, national defense, imports and exports, and
legislation." These focuses are broken down into detail so that the
speaker can effectively influence an audience to agree and support the
speaker's ideas.
·
The
focus of "ways and means" deals with economic aspects of how the
country is spending money.
·
"Peace
and War" focuses on what the country has to offer in terms of military
power, how war has been conducted, how war has affected the country in the
past, and how other countries have conducted war.
·
"National
defense" deals with considering a country's position and strength in the
event of an invasion. Fortifying structures and points with a strategic
advantage should all be considered.
·
"Food
supply" is concerned with the ability to support a country in regards to
food, importing and exporting food, and carefully making decisions to arrange
agreements with other countries.
·
"Legislation"
is the most important to Aristotle. The legislation of a country is the most
crucial aspect because everything is affected by the policies and laws set by
the people in power.
In Aristotle's
"Rhetoric" writing, he mentions three strategies someone can use to
try to persuade an audience: Establishing the character of a speaker (Ethos), influencing the emotional element of the audience (Pathos), and focusing on the argument specifically (Logos). Aristotle believes establishing the character of
a speaker is effective in persuasion because the audience will believe what the
speaker is saying to be true if the speaker is credible and
trustworthy. With the audience's emotional state, Aristotle believes that
individuals do not make the same decisions when in different
moods. Because of this, one needs to try to influence the audience by
being in control of one's emotions, making persuasion effective. The
argument itself can affect the attempt to persuade by making the argument of
the case so clear and valid that the audience will understand and believe that
the speaker's point is real.
In the last part of
"Rhetoric", Aristotle mentions that the most critical piece of
persuasion is to know in detail what makes up government and to attack what
makes it unique: "customs, institutions, and
interest". Aristotle also states that everyone is persuaded by
considering people's interests and how the society in which they live
influences their interests.
Cicero's Five Canons of Rhetoric
In his writing De Inventione, Cicero explained the five canons or tenets of rhetoric.
The five canons apply to rhetoric and public speaking. The five canons are
invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.
Invention is the
process of coming up with what to say to persuade the audience of the key
points. Individuals will need to understand their topic, brainstorm their
ideas, and discover effective research strategies that they can use to get
their point across. Arrangement is the process of structuring ideas together.
Cicero and the Roman rhetorician Quintilian identified the structure of a text
as Exordium, Narrative, Partition, Confirmation, Refutation, and Peroration (or
conclusion). In today's text, the structure has been reduced to introduction,
body, and conclusion. Style is the process of choosing language and
constructing your presentation to create an emotional response from the audience.
Individuals can achieve this by using language and rhetoric devices like
analogy, allusion and alliteration.
Memory is
remembering enough so that individuals are able to fully and fluently present
without reading off a paper or note cards. This includes figures of speech,
which can be used to improve memory. Roman rhetoricians made a distinction
between natural memory (an innate ability) and artificial memory (particular
techniques that enhanced natural abilities). Delivery is the last of
the five canons of rhetoric. It Involves using all the tools available to
effectively communicate. Methods and tools like tone of voice, change of pace,
pauses, volume, body language, positioning and props are all effective in
delivering the point.
Glossophobia
The fear of speaking
in public, known as glossophobia or public speaking anxiety, is often mentioned as
one of the most common phobias. The reason is uncertain, but it has been
speculated that this fear is primal, similar to how animals fear being seen by
predators.
The apprehension
experienced when speaking in public can have several causes, such as social anxiety disorder, or a prior experience of public humiliation. This can
be related to stage fright.
Training
Effective public
speaking can be developed by joining a club such as Rostrum, Toastmasters International, Association of Speakers Clubs (ASC), or Speaking Circles, in which members are assigned exercises to improve
their speaking skills. Members learn by observation and practice and hone their
skills by listening to constructive suggestions, followed by new public
speaking exercises.
Tips for improving public speaking:
1.
Rehearse
2.
Craft
speech that targets audience.
3.
Organize
it in a way that attracts audience attention.
4.
Adapt
to audiences' reaction.
5.
Make
your speech interesting through use of language.
6.
Use
tone and body language.
7.
Refrain
from script and make an outline
8.
Refrain
from making gestures that distract audience.
9.
Make
your intro interesting and leave audience with something to think about at
ending.
10. Use audiovisual aids that enhance or clarify your speech.
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters
International is a public speaking organization with over 15,000 clubs
worldwide and more than 300,000 members. This organization helps
individuals with their public speaking skills, as well as leadership skills
necessary to become effective public speakers such as content development, club
development, and speech contests. Members of the club meet and work
together on their skills; each member practices giving speeches, while the
other members evaluate and provide feedback. A typical meeting also
includes Table Topics, which refers to impromptu speaking, that is, talking about different topics without having
anything planned. Members can volunteer to serve as a meeting functionary
to help facilitate the meeting using their public speaking and leadership
skills. The functionary roles enable each member the opportunity to speak at
least one time at the meetings. Members can participate in a variety of
speech contests, in which the winners can compete in the annual World Championship of Public Speaking.
Australian Rostrum
Rostrum is another
public speaking organization, founded in Australia,
with more than 100 clubs all over the country. This organization aims at
helping people become better communicators, no matter the occasion. At the
meetings, speakers can gain skills by presenting speeches, while members
provide feedback to those presenting. Qualified speaking trainers attend
these meetings as well, and provide professional feedback at the end of the
meetings. There are competitions that are held for members to participate
in. An online club is also available for members, no matter where they live.
Self-training solutions
The new millennium
has seen a notable increase in the number of training solutions, offered in the
form of video and online courses. Videos can provide simulated examples of
behaviors to emulate. Professional public speakers often engage in ongoing
training and education to refine their craft. This may include seeking guidance
to improve their speaking skills, such as learning better storytelling
techniques, learning how to use humor as a communication tool effectively, and
continuously researching their topic area of focus. They also recognize
that content is king and advocate writing as
a self-training exercise because it requires a speaker to focus on developing
the content, not just speaking techniques.
Professional speakers
Public speaking for
business and commercial events is often done by professionals, whose expertise
is well established. These speakers can be contracted independently, through representation
by a speakers bureau, or by other means. Public speaking plays a large role
in the professional world. It is believed that 70 percent of all jobs involve
some form of public speaking. Most professional roles require some sort of
public speaking skills. Individuals will often be expected to perform tasks
like training staff, leading meetings, and pitching proposals.
Modern
Technology
A TED Talk
New technology has
opened different forms of public speaking that are non-traditional such
as TED Talks, which are conferences that are broadcast globally. This
form of public speaking has created a wider audience base because public
speaking can now reach both physical and virtual audiences. These
audiences can be watching from all around the world. YouTube is another platform that allows public speaking to
reach a larger audience. On YouTube, people can post videos of themselves.
Audiences can watch these videos for all types of purposes.
Multimedia
presentations can contain different video clips, sound effects, animation,
laser pointers, remote control clickers, and endless bullet points. All
adding to the presentation and evolving our traditional views of public
speaking.
Public speakers may
use audience response systems. For large assemblies, the speaker will usually speak
with the aid of a public address system or microphone and loudspeaker.
Telecommunication
Sputnik
Launched by Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, invoking competition Between U.S.
as a race to space which further innovation and Technology especially in
communication.
Telecommunication and videoconferencing are also forms of public speaking. David M.
Fetterman of Stanford University wrote in his 1997 article Videoconferencing
over the Internet: "Videoconferencing technology allows geographically
disparate parties to hear and see each other usually through satellite or
telephone communication systems." This technology is helpful for
large conference meetings and face-to-face communication between parties
without demanding the inconvenience of travel.
Notable modern theorists
·
Harold Lasswell developed Lasswell's model of
communication. Five basic elements of public speaking are described
in this theory: the communicator, message, medium, audience, and effect. In
short, the speaker should be answering the question "who says what in
which channel to whom with what effect?"
·
Several
other other models and theories were
created in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. These tend to include emphasis on feedback from listeners, as well as understandings of context, shared knowledge
and shared experience between people, and communication noise.
Women and public speaking
Australia
An organization
called the Penguin Club of Australia was founded in Sydney in 1937 and aimed at developing women's
communication skills. Led by Jean Ellis, the organization spread to other territories of Australia and current-day Papua New Guinea over time. A main premise of the organization
was that it was created "for women by women." They renamed to
"Speaking Made Easy" in 2020.
Great Britain
The British
political activist, Emmeline Pankhurst, founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) on October 10, 1903. The organization
was aimed towards fighting for women's right to a parliamentary vote, which
only men were granted at the time. Emmeline was known for being a powerful
orator, who led many women to rebel through militant forms until the outbreak
of World War I in 1914.
Japan
Kishida Toshiko (1861–1901) was a female speaker during the Meiji era in Japan. In October 1883, she publicly delivered a speech
entitled 'Hakoiri Musume' (Daughters Kept in Boxes) in front of approximately
600 people. Presented in Yotsu no Miya Theater in Kyoto, she criticized the action of parents that shelter their
daughters from the outside world. Despite her prompt arrest, Kishida
demonstrated the ability of Japanese women to evoke women's issues,
experiences, and liberation in public spaces, through the use of public
speaking.
Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai, an educational activist from Pakistan, speaking
Malala Yousafzai, a public speaker born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, is an educational activist for women and
girls. After the Taliban restricted the educational rights of women in the
Swat Valley, Yousafzai presented her first speech, How Dare the Taliban
Take Away My Basic Right to Education?, in which she protested the
shutdowns of the schools. She presented this speech to the press in Peshawar, bringing more awareness to the situation in
Pakistan. She is known for her "inspiring and passionate speech"
about educational rights given at the United Nations. She is the youngest person ever to receive
the Nobel Peace
Prize, at the age of 17,
which was awarded to her in 2014. Her public speaking has brought
worldwide attention to the difficulties of young girls in Pakistan. She
continues to advocate for educational rights for women and girls worldwide
through the Malala Fund, to help girls around the world receive 12 years of
education.
United States
During the 18th and
19th centuries in the United States, a prohibition was instituted whereby women
were precluded from engaging in public discourse within the confines of the
courtroom, the Senate floor, and the pulpit. It was deemed improper for a
woman to be heard in a public setting. Exceptions existed for women from
the Quaker religion, allowing them to speak publicly in
meetings of the church.
Frances
Wright was an abolitionist, feminist, freethinker, and social reformer who
advocated for many injustices.
Frances Wright was one of the first female public speakers in the
United States, advocating equal education for both women and men through large
audiences and the press. Maria Stewart, a woman of African American descent, was also one of
the first female speakers of the United States, lecturing in Boston in front of
both men and women just four years after Wright, in 1832 and 1833, on
educational opportunities and abolition for young girls.
The first female
agents and sisters of the American Anti-Slavery Society Angelina Grimké and Sarah Grimké created a platform for public lectures to women and
conducted tours between 1837 and 1839. The sisters advocated that slavery
relates to women's rights and that women need equality. They came to a
disagreement with churches that did not want the two speaking publicly due to
them being women.
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