Public speaking and rhetoric

Public speaking and rhetoric

Rhetoric • How Does it Relate to Public Speaking? • Rhetoric is the foundation for public speaking • Definitions • Plato: Rhetoric is "the art of winning the soul by discourse." • Aristotle:Rhetoric is "the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion. • Kenneth Burke: "Rhetoric is rooted in an essential function of language itself, afunction that is wholly realistic and continually born anew: the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols." "Wherever there is persuasion, there is rhetoric, and wherever there is rhetoric, there is meaning.“ • Krisita Radcliffe "the study of how we use language and how language uses us."

Rhetoric • “Rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, it was a central Part of Western education, filling the need to train public speakers and writers to move audiences to action with arguments.” • “As a course of study, rhetoric trains students to speak and/or write effectively. The rhetorical curriculum is nearly as old as the rhetorical tradition itself. ”

How Does it Relate to me? • Rhetoric is every in every movie you’ve seen, lecture you’ve listened to, every news conference you’ve watched, every speech you’ve heard and every advertisement you’ve viewed • Public Speaking is not only about learning to become a better communicator but also about learning to analyze the messages that you send and that others send to you • It asks for an awareness of those sending and receiving messages

Rhetoric and Public Speaking • In this class you will learn: • How to effectively and persuasively convey a message • How to analyze a message • How to be aware of unethical messages • How the power of rhetoric has had an impact on history and your everyday world • Two Major Goals • Learn to construct your own rhetoric • Learn to deconstruct the rhetoric of others

Being an Effective Rhetorician • FIVE CANNONS: • 1. Invention, the search for persuasive ways to present information and formulate arguments - Deduction and Induction • 2. Arrangement, the organization of the parts of a presentation to ensure that all the means of persuasion are present and properly disposed • 3. Style, the use of correct, appropriate, and remarkable language throughout the speech • 4. Memory, the use of mnemonics and practice, practice, practice • 5. Delivery, presenting the message with effective gestures and vocal modulation

The Five Cannons of Rhetoric • Inventio/Invention • This cannon is a system or method for the discovery of arguments. It is the most central and indispensable cannon that gives the speaker necessary tools to find arguments for different situations. • Disposition/Arrangement • This cannon is the organization of selected arguments that will be used in the speech.Cicero and Quintilian developed this cannon into six different parts which include: • Exordium, the introduction of the case. • Narratio, the statement or thesis of the case. • Divisioor partitio, the outline of the case(preview). • Confirmation, the proofs of the case (body). • Confutatio, the denial of any possible opposing arguments. • Peroration, the conclusion of the case.

The Five Cannons of Rhetoric • Elecutio/Style • This cannon applies when deciding to make the speech plain, poetic, expressive, etc. The style depends on the audience and the nature of the speech. There are four ingredients of style; correctness, clearness, appropriateness and ornamentation. • Memoria/Memory. • This applies when making the speech memorable without memorizing by using memory techniques for the speaker. • Pronuntiatio/Delivery • This applies to the voice, volume, pitch, posture, gestures and facial expressions of the speaker.

Being an Effective Rhetorician • To be an effective speaker, rhetoricians must include rhetorical proofs which is part of arrangement • Rhetorical proofs are three tools that speakers can use in any speech to persuade and engage the audience • They are: • Ethos • Pathos • Logos

Rhetorical Proofs • Ethos: how the character and credibility of a speaker can influence an audience to consider him to be believable • Pathos: the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience's judgment, this proof can play on anything from pity to fear • Logos: the use of reasoning, either inductive or deductive, to construct an argument

Rhetorical Proofs • If you need to get an extension on an assignment: • Pathos • I had a death in the family. I was very close to this person and am so consumed by grief that I have been unable to keep up with my studies. • Ethos • I’ve always been a good student and have completed everything on time. I’m not the type of students that slacks off and asks for an extension at the last minute. Right now I’m dealing with extenuating circumstances. • Logos • I know that you don’t normally accept late work but I was hoping that I would be able to turn this in late and get points taken off. If you will let me turn it in late I promise to come to some extra study sessions and participate in class a lot more.

Rhetorical Proofs in Movies Remember the Titans: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E_HFCYz4x6o&feature=PlayList&p=B74267552A5AF49F&playnext=1&index=52 Monty Python: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU Elizabeth: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechelizabeth.html

First Speech Assignment Self Introduction Speech • Objective: To give a short speech that introduces you to the class as a unique individual. • You will need to choose one specific aspect of yourself to focus on and tell the audience how it represents who you are as an individual. • Try to think of something that makes you different from other people. If you feel your topic may be too personal or too sensitive, discuss this with the instructor.

First Assignment • Consider experiences relating to: • a hobby or activity that adds meaning to your life • a career or life goal • a social purpose or cause that impassions you, • a group or political affiliation, • something about your background or cultural heritage • a person or experience that influenced you • Do not tell your life story in the time given; instead, use this opportunity to introduce yourself to the class in whatever way you feel is most effective.

The Point of the Assignment • This speech works as a foundation for future speeches • It helps you to become comfortable speaking in front of the class without having to worry about using research (which is required for future speeches)

First Speech Assignment • Requirements: • 3-5 minutes (given a 30 second leeway) • MUST HAVE TYPED OUTLINE • Outline needs to be in correct format • Within speech: • Attention getter • Thesis • Preview • Clearly organized body • Conclusion

Speech Ideas • What makes me different from my peers? • An experience I had? • My transition to college? • Non traditional college student? • Group I am involved with? • What makes me interesting? • Trip I’ve taken? • Accomplishment? • Unique hobby? • Odd talent? • Something important I’ve learned?

Examples of Speech Topics • Topic: Why I like soccer • Topic: How I joined a sorority • Topic: My family

Examples of Speech Topics • Topic: Why I Like Soccer • This is not a good topic because it does not move beyond the basics. • It does not show how you are unique individual • Correction: How soccer helped to become confident and brought me out of my shell • This examples shows how a hobby of yours reflects who you are now, which is a more confident and extroverted individual

Example of Speech Topics • Topic: My Family • This topic is inappropriate because it does not express who you are • This topic does not express who YOU are • Correction: What I have learned from each of my parents • Be careful with this topic because students have a tendency to focus on their parents but then not relate it directly to how this has changed them as an individual

Grading • I will be looking for the requirements of the speech and my grading will focus on three areas: • Substance • Organization • Delivery *** I will also be looking for you to develop rhetorical proofs in your speech as practice for future speeches****

What Makes a Good Speech? 1) A good speech is substantive. • It addresses important, timely, and focused topics with effective and responsible use of information, reasoning, and language use. Substantive speeches are tailored to a given audience and situation. Submitted written work is polished, computer-generated, and meets the criteria stipulated for the assignment.

What Makes a Good Speech? 2) A good speech is well-organized. • Especially with oral presentations, it is crucial to be as clear and comprehensible as possible with word choice and arrangement of main ideas and supporting information. Central and supporting ideas should be easily distinguished, reflect a clear sense of purpose, and developed using a sensible design scheme. Clearly discernible introductions, bodies, conclusions and transitions should make it easy for your audience to follow your message.

What Makes a Good Speech? 3) A good speech is well-presented. • An extemporaneous presentation emphasizes eye contact and audience interaction over exact wording, and demonstrates a sense of commitment to the audience, the topic, and the situation. The speaker does not read from notes while speaking. Moves, gestures, and voice should compliment the speaker’s message. A little nervousness early on is not only acceptable, but expected with most student speakers.

Speech Structure • Categorical • Based on natural divisions of topic • Based on customary divisions of topic • Narrative • Develops as a story • Series of events of scenes

Grade: C (low C) Critique Link • This speech is poorly organized. She discusses three issues but doesn't connect them with a cohesive thesis. This doesn’t represent her as a unique individual. Even though she is discussing some interesting things (i.e. running and being in the military), she doesn’t engage the audience and add details that makes the speech interesting. She also doesn’t sound passionate. Even when she discusses her children, she sounds bored and unattached. This speech fails in all area. The organization doesn’t connect anything and the transitions are weak. She lacks emotion and is very monotone, and her details don’t make the speech interesting. • http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4068168640916318784&ei=jHJaSbXzB5KwqwLKwb3gDg&q=self+introductory+speeches&hl=en#

Pointers Do’s Don’ts • Start with catchy attention getter • Do have a clear and short thesis • Rely on your outline • Add stories and examples that are relevant • Have a conclusion that refers back to your attention getter and clearly ends your speech • Start with “Hi my name is…” • Don’t expect your audience to know your topic • Read off your outline the whole time • Don’t make your speech a list of many things with no development • Say “I’m done” or “That’s it”

Grade: B (high B) Critique Link • She starts out with a rhetorical question. She has direct and clear thesis and clear preview. Her topic is creative and focuses on how they reflect her as an individual. However, while she starts out strong, much of the substance of her speech focus more on the bands as opposed to her. She also is very nervous (which is normal!), but she lets this hurt her performance. She is very organized. This is a major strength of her speech. It’s clear and straight to the point, and she fully develops her topic, but her speech needs to focus more on her. This and her delivery are what bump her grade down. I love her creativity and passion. Good ending. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jp83rrK9WQ&feature=related

Grade: A Critique Link • While the speech is not perfect, she tells an interesting story that demonstrates how she changed as an individual. She has transitions and a clear thesis. She uses a narrative format that is clear and succinct. She gives details that are relevant, and she doesn’t focus on unnecessary details. Notice the difference between how she discusses her daughter versus the previous speaker. She effectively uses pathos. She seems natural and confident. She presents her speech extemporaneously by relying on notes but also ad-libbing. She has a good ending. She also refers back to the beginning of her speech by saying “I’m not laughing now” She looks down a lot, but overall her delivery is good. • http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5903898253498505556&ei=snRaSbn1O4nWqQKQiNWLBw&q=self+introductory+speeches&hl=en#

Grade: A Critique Link • His attention getter is excellent. He starts out strong and clearly is passionate about his topic. He has great energy and seems very natural and confident. He develops his speech well by using humorous stories (i.e. wanting to create a studio and having a boom box). He also handles interruptions very well. He moves through his points well and develops them fully. He has a clear thesis, but his thesis is not as direct as the other examples (which is fine). He really works to engage his audience both in delivery and content. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=q6wkWA-4hNI

Public speaking and rhetoric