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Learning More about the Intellectual Tradition of Public Speaking.Some people are surprised to discover that the study and practice of public speaking rests upon a rich intellectual history that extends back over two thousand years to the ancient Greeks the same people credited with introducing democracy to Western civilization. In an age long before the printing press, Internet, and 24-hour cable-news service, public speaking served as the major means of disseminating ideas and information, resolving legal disputes, and debating political issues. Oratory even served as popular entertainment. In those long-ago years, there were no professional lawyers and politicians, and citizens were expected to speak for themselves in legal proceedings and as active participants in the deliberations that shaped public policy. Most of all, the Greeks considered the power and eloquence of the spoken word as necessary to virtuous behavior.5 One of their greatest leaders, Pericles, reflects this attitude in a much celebrated speech: For we alone think that a man that does not take part in public affairs is good for nothing, while others only say that he is minding his own business. We are the ones who develop policy, or at least decide what is to be done, for we believe that what spoils action is not speeches, but going into action without first being instructed through speeches. In this too we excel over others: ours is the bravery of people who think through what they will take in hand, and discuss it thoroughly; with other men, ignorance makes them brave and thinking makes them cowards.6 We are heirs to this tradition and shall draw upon it constantly in this book. We are concerned especially with two themes: first, the effort to understand the nature and Public speaking is vital to the maintenance of a free society. The right to assemble and speak on public issues is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1 Public Speaking and You 9 practicality of communicating through the public speech, and second, the ethical issues that can arise in connection with the public speech. The ancient Greek who organized and systematized the study of public speaking was the famous philosopher Aristotle. In his Rhetoric, Aristotle described the type of reasoning used in public speaking. He recognized that unlike pure logic, reasoning on public problems usually involves uncertainties and probabilities. Thus, the public speaker helps her or his listeners arrive at an informed judgment on issues. On such issues, the speaker works from what we call responsible knowledge. Responsible knowledge is not perfect or exact, but it is the best that might reasonably be expected given the situation. Aristotle described three prominent forms of speaking: political, legal, and ceremonial. We still write about and teach these forms today. Finally, he identified three major forms of persuasive proof: appealing to reason, appealing to audience emotions, and appealing to the speaker s own personal qualities of character, competence, and good will. Again, we still discuss these forms today. Aristotle s Rhetoric laid the groundwork for the Romans, who would further explore the role of public speaking in legal and then religious settings.7 Cicero, one of the most celebrated orators of antiquity, described rhetoric as an art made up of five great arts. In his greatest work, De Oratore, he concentrated on how to think through and defend positions, how to arrange and organize arguments, how to use language effectively, how to store ideas in the mind for recall during speaking, and how to present a speech effectively.8 He stressed that the ideal speaker would be broadly educated and would understand the culture and values of those to whom she or he speaks. Raphael s painting shows The School of Athens where rhetorical skills were part of the basic curriculum. The second great theme of the ancient intellectuals is concern for the power of public speaking and how it should be managed ethically. Here the leader was Plato, who wrote two classic dialogues that deal specifically with the power of the public oration. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. 10 Part One The Foundations of Public Speaking @InterConnections. LearnMore 1.2 Classical Origins of Public Speaking Aristotle s Rhetoric http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.html The first, and some still think finest, comprehensive inquiry into how public speaking can shape the public mind. The W. Rhys Roberts translation of the full text of this document is made available through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plato s Phaedrus http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/phaedrus.html Offers Plato s vision of the ethical foundations of rhetoric. Also offers his account of the art of the oration. The B. Jowett translation is made available through the University of Pennsylvania. Plato s Gorgias http://philosophy.eserver.org/plato/gorgias.txt Plato s dark reflection of the public speaking he saw practiced around him in the Athens of his day. Offers disturbing similarities to some of the public communication of our own time. Rhetoric and Composition http://eserver.org/rhetoric/ Offers a variety of resources relevant to classical rhetoric, including texts of Plato s Gorgias and Phaedrus, Aristotle s Rhetoric, and selections from Cicero. The Gorgias is Plato s scathing indictment of the public mind and how it distorts the search for truth. Quintilian s Institutes of Oratory http://honeyl.public.iastate.edu/quintilian/index.html Offers the masterwork of the greatest teacher of speech of the Roman world and perhaps of all time. Quintilian developed his thoughts on educating the ideal orator from cradle to old age in twelve books. The first, the Gorgias, expresses Plato s dark vision of the subject. He noted that the statesmen of his time too often pandered to the ignorance and prejudices of the masses instead of advancing their own visions of what was right. These orators too often told their listeners what they wanted to hear rather than what they needed to hear in order to advance the speakers own self-centered and often tragically misguided agendas.9 The second dialogue, the Phaedrus, paints Plato s ideal of the virtuous speaker, one whose words will help his or her listeners become better citizens and people.10 But how can one avoid the cynical, depressing reality of the one vision and nurture the second ideal into being? Plato left this question as a puzzle and challenge for the ages that would follow. Quintilian, perhaps the greatest speech teacher of all time, offered one answer to this challenge. This Roman writer insisted that immediate effect and gratification fade quickly, and the career of the speaker who builds on such shifting sands will soon collapse. To be a good speaker whose influence endures, he argued, one must also be a good person.11 We strongly agree. These two themes from antiquity, focusing on What works? and What s right? , will occupy us throughout this book. Expanding Cultural Horizons. A third personal growth benefit is what you gain from direct exposure to various cultures and lifestyles in the public speaking classroom. Today s typical classroom audience is increasingly diverse, often offering Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Old wisdom is sometimes the best wisdom, especially when it has been tested repeatedly and confirmed time and again in human experience. Here are ten gold nuggets of advice for the public speaker, mined from ancient writings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. If you want to convince listeners that you have a good message for them, you must first convince them that you are a good person. If you want strong commitment from an audience, you must engage strong feelings. If you want commitment to last, you must be able to show that your arguments are based on sound, logical interpretations of reality. When speaking on matters of guilt or innocence, you must emphasize the morality of past actions. When speaking on matters of future policy, you must stress the practical advantages of proposed plans of action. When celebrating great achievements, you must emphasize the values that make them great. Your speech should be based on a thorough investigation of a topic, so that you have the widest possible range of choices as you select ideas and materials for emphasis. You should follow an order of ideas that leads listeners to greater illumination and stronger conviction as you speak. The right words will make your points come to life in images that your audience will easily remember. The more you can speak in a direct, conversational way from a pattern of ideas imprinted in your mind, rather than by reading a prepared text or reciting a memorized script, the better the quality of communication you will achieve. Chapter 1 Public Speaking and You 11 a sampling of various races, religions, and cultural backgrounds. We have much to teach each other! What barriers may stand in the way of expanding our cultural horizons as we listen to others in classroom speeches? Problems may originate, as Shakespeare observed, not in our stars, but in ourselves. One such problem may be ethnocentrism, the tendency to presume that one s own culturally defined way of Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1611
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