Rhetoric is the science of speech, correct and beautiful methods of communication that can convince anyone that the speaker is right and create the ground for further convictions. This art is studied in modern educational institutions because the word is a powerful tool if used correctly. The main goal of rhetoric is to teach how to communicate in order to feel confident in any situation.
History of origin
The emergence of rhetoric is considered to be the 5th century BC. e. Ancient Greece was the first in modern Europe to form the foundations of science. At that time, stylistics and grammar were studied in Ancient Greece. The Greeks were the first to systematize knowledge of rhetoric and created a large number of treatises on this topic, and some of them are studied even in our time.
Cicero - one of the most famous orators of Ancient Rome
The Romans became interested in the art of rhetoric after the conquest of Greece, when the traditions of these countries began to mix, and the empire actively borrowed the knowledge of its provinces. Art began to flourish in the Senate, courts, and public meetings.
There were some differences between the styles of rhetoric, since the Romans were less educated than the Greeks. The conquerors' speech was littered with digressions, stories, and stylistic nuances. Despite this, eloquence was still a powerful tool for orators. There were cases when in ancient Rome high government positions were occupied by people who were skilled in speech, and this was their main advantage in the political struggle, as we can learn from historical references.
Appearance in Russia
In ancient times, this art was modified and supplemented with useful techniques. Church leaders also began to use rhetoric, who actively attracted new flocks to their faith and presented irrefutable verbal evidence against heretics. The concept of rhetoric came to Russia from European countries in the 18th century.
Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov
The emergence of oratory coincided with the spread of Christianity. It was most often called “the gift of eloquence.” A little later, Lomonosov created the “Russian Grammar”, which included the “Rules of Eloquence”. Such political figures as Stolypin and Trotsky were considered good speakers. A little less, but still Lenin succeeded in understanding this science.
Oratory skills can be developed independently. Speech development requires training, accompanied by constant self-reflection, corrections and additions to skills. You need to notice all the mistakes that are made in order to try to correct them during the next conversation.
- use the right tempo. An important feature that needs to be learned. It is imperative to monitor the speed of conversation, since speech that is too fast does not have time to be absorbed by the listener, slow speech puts you to sleep and makes you become inattentive to phrases. Try to highlight important points with intonation and change the pitch of your voice. This attracts attention and prevents the interlocutor from getting bored;
- communicate with people. To improve communication skills, talking about things at home is not enough. It takes practice to communicate live. To relieve accumulated tension during a long story, you need to use jokes that can be prepared in advance;
- use retreats. Sayings, humor, quotes from great people make speech less dry and allow speech to be more demonstrative;
- put up a vote. Pronunciation must be clear and correct. You should pronounce consonants and pronounce any sounds clearly;
- Talk about topics that interest others. You can start with one true statement, and then smoothly lead to another, necessary to achieve the goal;
- maintain neutrality. The speaker should strive to reach agreement with everyone. Even if the interlocutor or several people are wrong, you should say “Yes, that’s right, but...”, after which you can prove your point of view.
Improving speech
To develop public speaking skills, you should practice. Otherwise, you won't be able to master them. To improve there is a set of exercises:
- Relieving muscle tension. The point is to make the conversation process easier. To do this you should:
- knead your shoulders and neck with rotational movements. The head should move as if under its own weight;
- warm up your forearms and hands as often as possible, rotate your shoulder joints;
- use circular movements of the arms at the elbows;
- Articulatory. They develop and train the lips, cheeks, tongue, hard and soft palate, and lower jaw. The flexibility of the speech apparatus is developed, the muscles necessary for better pronunciation of sounds are strengthened. Tension is relieved from the muscles and they relax. You need to do the following:
- Use your tongue to clean the gums in both directions. Make “injections” in the cheeks, pull it out as far as possible, change its shape. Make sounds similar to a horse galloping;
- Rotate your lips in different directions, stretch them out. Capture the air with outstretched lips, tense and relax. There will be ease and clarity when speaking;
- puff out your cheeks, roll the air in your mouth from one cheek to the other. It is necessary to warm them up, otherwise the voice will be flabby;
- silently, without opening your mouth, pronounce various words and sounds. The pharynx is trained, as a result of which the sound becomes loud and deep;
- Using your hands, smoothly open your jaw. Muscle efforts and excess tension are relieved.
- Improving pronunciation, increasing vocabulary. List of exercises:
- reading aloud. It is considered the best way to improve public speaking skills. Diction improves, vocabulary, brightness of speech, and emotional coloring increase. You should read slowly, pronouncing each word. The text is pronounced not in a reader's tone, but in a conversational one;
- speaking tongue twisters. Diction is effectively trained by pronouncing words and sounds at maximum speed. Correct articulation is developed, and slips of the tongue occur less frequently.
When reading, each sound is pronounced clearly, the speed increases gradually. The main thing is to monitor the correct pronunciation, only then speed up your speech. For convenience, you need to create a picture of what is happening in your head and try to understand the words you read. You should not stop working on one phrase until the errors completely disappear.
If possible, keep a voice recorder of both the material read from the book and the tongue twisters. In this way, speech deficiencies found after listening can be eliminated.
There are many exercises that develop pronunciation and improve speaking skills. The above options are quite sufficient for beginner speakers. With their help you can achieve considerable success. The main thing in public speaking is to not stop developing, constantly improving your skills, and speaking as much as possible.
In the modern world, the key to success is mastering the skill of public speaking. This is a special art in which every person can rediscover himself. He will speak beautifully and correctly, feel confident in front of any audience, and be interesting in communication. Of course, there are people who are endowed with this ability from birth, but there are very few of them. Therefore, a person deprived of God’s gift should not worry; if desired, he can learn oratory. Age does not play a special role in this case, because it is never too late to acquire new knowledge and skills.
Of course, there are professions that simply oblige you to thoroughly learn art of oratory. These include politicians, judges, teachers, actors, announcers, etc. Even if you do not consider yourself to be in these categories, such skill in any case cannot harm you. Apart from the benefits, there can be no talk of anything else. It can be useful in life, for example, when applying for a job, and when making new acquaintances. Thus, this art can provide an invaluable service in a variety of situations.
What is public speaking?
This is the art of the living word. A person who owns it can easily convey thoughts to others. At the same time, his sentences are beautiful and clear. He feels confident because his speech is attractive and interesting. This is exactly what oratory teaches. The degree of mastery of it may vary, but you need to work on yourself in any case. Often in life we are faced with situations when we have to think about how to say or answer a question. To look convincing, you cannot do without important techniques of special skill.
Oratory and rhetoric participate in the formation of style and logical statements. They help avoid unwanted pauses and develop memory. Ordinary speech turns into attractive and is filled with the necessary emotions. A real speaker is always more interesting to the public than one who does not know how to correctly formulate his thoughts. In addition, timely arguments and facts contribute to the successful resolution of controversial issues. And this is a kind of guarantee of the best way out of conflict situations. Untrained people will only rarely be able to formulate their phrases clearly and correctly at the right moment.
History of oratory
The chronicles of oratory are transferred to Ancient Greece. It was here that great craftsmanship was given close attention. This is where the roots of stylistic patterns and the development of speech come from, because before the advent of writing, thoughts were expressed orally.
Greek orators skillfully influenced the public because they mastered the laws of logic and the rules of oral speech. They were able to achieve that eloquence served as their main weapon from a political point of view. Oratory, being the queen of the arts, could very effectively influence decisions in public affairs.
It was in Ancient Greece that the first school of oratory. Its outstanding masters were Demosthenes, Philocrates, Hyperides, Aeschines and other public figures. Among them, Demosthenes was able to achieve the highest achievements. Without his contribution, it is difficult to imagine oratorical practice and the basics of the theory of rhetoric, where the word was given great importance. People learned from his speeches not only in ancient times; the surviving theories are still relevant today. They are part of the golden fund of rhetoric as a separate science.
Speaking to an audience
Visual perception and appearance
When speaking in front of an audience, the speaker must prepare not only his speech, but also diligently work on appearance. It's no secret that a speaker is first greeted by his appearance. It has long been proven that appearance plays an important role in the first impression. Based on statistics, 55% of the persuasive power comes from the appearance of the speaker and visual perception listeners, for tone of voice - 35% and only 10% for words.
Listeners are first and foremost spectators. They will look at the speaker very carefully. Especially the female half pays close attention to detail. The outfit, hairstyle and demeanor will not go unnoticed. A person who is insecure, ill-prepared or indecisive quickly becomes noticeable. The public will not want to concentrate and delve into the essence of it speeches. And no matter how hard the speaker tries, it will be very difficult to win over the audience.
Maintaining attention
The art of oratory This is precisely the ability to deliver a prepared report or a speech constructed on the fly. A true master knows how to quickly navigate and construct logical sentences. In addition, he knows how to attract his listeners and interest him in his performance.
For maintaining attention the speaker uses special techniques that allow him not only to win over, but also to tune in to the same psychological wavelength. In this case, gestures and facial expressions, voice and intonation play an important role. After all, it is one thing to listen, and quite another to be heard. The famous poetess M. Tsvetaeva also spoke about this. Under no circumstances should the public be given the slightest reason to be irritated.
Contact with the audience
The speaker's speech is mostly a monologue. However, the speaker needs to be able to find contact with the audience. He must try to establish a connection, even an imaginary one. Only in this case can he count on a response. A good speaker is able to sense the mood of the audience and adjust his speech at the right moment. It is as if he reads the thoughts of the listeners and does not allow them to be distracted from the information being presented. This is similar to a mental dialogue in which the other party does not say their wishes out loud. In turn, this does not distract the speaker, but does not exclude two-way communication.
So art public speaking- This is an imitation of live communication. It is difficult for a beginner to achieve this, but it is quite possible when mastering basic rhetorical techniques. Among them: direct appeal to the audience, filling the speech with emotions, adhering to conversational syntax. Don’t worry in advance, everything comes with experience, you just need to make an effort and patience.
Another important means of establishing two-way communication is eye contact with the speaker. If you read the prepared text and don’t look up from the paper, the public’s interest will quickly disappear. In this case, the speaker independently builds a wall that protects him from the audience. It is not recommended to look at one corner or the ceiling. Only by looking from one listener to another can the speaker count on uniting the audience and achieving the effect of communication, even at the mental level.
You need to be able to read the reaction in the eyes. In this case, the speaker will be able to control the audience. As soon as he notices the first signs of listener fatigue, he can use one of the proven methods to relieve the audience. For example, this could be a recollection of a funny incident, an insertion of an aphorism or a proverb. It is advisable that they be close to the topic of the speech. You can even step aside from the report and tell a funny joke, winning over the audience. Emotional release when tired will best recreate a friendly atmosphere. All this will allow us to continue the performance, the interest in which will only increase.
Oratory in other types of speech communication
The multifaceted art of oratory includes not only speaking in front of a large audience, but also conducting a dialogue with an interlocutor, debates, discussions, and other types of speech communication. At the same time, the speaker’s speech should always amaze with iron logic, but at the same time be sincere and sensual. Only in this case can you count on the listener’s interest and disposition.
In any verbal communication, you can show oratory and leave an indelible imprint, a good opinion and earn respect by impressing with an interesting conversation. In this case, important importance is paid not only to the literacy and erudition of the speaker, but also to his emotionality, interest and ability to listen to his interlocutor. Of course, natural abilities also help with this, but the experience gained, speech culture and intelligence are not secondary.
Public speaking training
Anyone can learn public speaking. The main thing is to have a desire and focus on results. You should not be afraid of difficulties that may arise during the learning process. Only patience and diligence will bring the expected results. Even many famous people who were able to achieve success in speaking, initially encountered difficulties. For example, Margaret Thatcher managed to change her shrill voice, which was naturally so. Her hard work studying acting has paid off. The French politician Mirabeau learned to present memorized texts in such a way that they began to seem like real improvisation.
Public speaking training can be done independently, but in specialized schools and centers classes will be more effective. Developed programs and psychological trainings are popular ways to get rid of the fear of speaking in front of an audience, develop thinking and memory, replenish conversational skills and gain self-confidence. Here you can learn to formulate thoughts correctly, quickly interest the listener, gain artistic skills and speak beautifully on any topic, including impromptu. Experts will teach you how to choose the right intonation and skillfully use different speech techniques. They will talk about how to benefit from communication, introduce unproductive conversation patterns and reveal ways to avoid “uncomfortable” questions.
What is a good speaker?
Master of Oratory is the person who easily masters the living word and can, with its help, influence an interlocutor or an entire audience. Speaking about such a professional, one cannot fail to mention the high level of speech culture. Good diction eliminates any unclear pronunciation of words and individual sounds. The speaker is pleasant and easy to listen to because there are no tongue twisters or lisps. The power of the voice is manifested not only in volume, but also in the mental impact on the consciousness and will of the listeners. In other words, the speaking technique of a real speaker is approaching perfection.
An accomplished speaker skillfully uses various techniques. For beautiful speech, the use of popular expressions, well-known proverbs and sayings is of great importance. When they are unexpected, but said to the point, the speech seems more interesting and better remembered. Speaker's speech culture always judged by the richness of his vocabulary. The more words a professional has in his arsenal, the more interesting it is to communicate with him. And if, in addition to all this, the sentences are laconic and well-constructed, observing the accuracy of word usage and language norms of pronunciation, then such a speaker has no price.
- Anyone can learn public speaking. At the same time, it is important to tune in to luck and under no circumstances deviate from your goal.
- You should never show your excitement to strangers, much less talk about poor preparation.
- Avoid monotonous speeches, take the right pause and highlight the right words. Don't forget about intonation when raising and lowering your voice.
- Spend more time on training; it is advisable to rehearse a prepared speech at least 3 times.
- Try to interest the audience from the very beginning of your speech by coming up with an intriguing title.
- When speaking publicly, try to connect with your audience.
- During your speech, change your position and use gestures.
The main advice is this: to master the art of the living word, you need to learn to think beautifully.
The appearance of the company's leader, his leadership qualities and sales skills determine the success of the enterprise. This is known to PR specialists who write speeches for managers, think over their appearance, teach them how to speak in public and how to place accents correctly. However, even the best PR specialist will not be able to independently turn an ordinary person into a bright personality, a hero of public speeches.
The book by James Humes, a famous writer and former speechwriter for five American presidents, reveals some of the secrets of oratory and creating charisma. Having mastered the techniques offered by the author, you will gain confidence and learn how to easily and successfully cope with public speaking.
1. Pause
Where should any successful performance begin? The answer is simple: from a pause. No matter what kind of speech you give: a detailed presentation of several minutes or a short introduction of the next speaker, you must achieve silence in the room. Once on the podium, look around the audience and fix your gaze on one of the listeners. Then mentally say the first sentence to yourself and, after an expressive pause, begin speaking.
2. First phrase
All successful speakers place great importance on the first sentence of their speech. It must be powerful and definitely evoke a positive response from the audience.
The first phrase is, in TV terminology, the “prime time” of your speech. At this moment, the audience is at its maximum size: every person in the room wants to look at you and find out what kind of bird you are. In just a few seconds, the screening of listeners can begin: someone will continue the conversation with a neighbor, someone will bury their head in their phone, and someone will even fall asleep. However, everyone without exception will listen to the first phrase.
3. Bright start
If you don’t have a bright, suitable aphorism that can attract everyone’s attention, start with a story from your life. If you have an important fact or news that is unknown to your listeners, start right away with it (“Yesterday at 10 o’clock in the morning...”). In order for the audience to perceive you as a leader, you need to immediately take the bull by the horns: choose a strong beginning.
4. Main idea
Before you even sit down to write your speech, you must determine its main idea. This key point that you want to convey to the audience should be concise, capacious, “fit in a matchbox.”
Stop, look and make a plan: first, highlight the key ideas, and then you can supplement and clarify them with real-life examples or quotes.
As Churchill said, a good speech is like a symphony: it can be performed at three different tempos, but it must maintain the main melody.
5. Quotes
There are several rules, the observance of which will give strength to the citation. First, the quote should be close to you. Never cite statements from an author who is unfamiliar to you, uninteresting, or whom you do not like to quote. Secondly, the name of the author should be known to the audience, and the quote itself should be short.
You must also learn how to create an environment for quoting. Many successful speakers use similar techniques: before quoting, they pause and put on glasses, or with a serious look they read a quote from a card or, for example, a sheet of newspaper.
If you want to make a special impression with a quote, write it down on a small card, take it out of your wallet during your speech, and read the statement.
6. Wit
Surely you have been advised many times to add a joke or anecdote to your presentation. There is some truth in this advice, but do not forget that a joke for the sake of a joke only insults the listener.
There is no need to start your speech with an anecdote that is not related to the situation (“It seems that it is customary to start a speech with an anecdote, so here it is. Somehow a man comes to see a psychiatrist...”). It's best to sneak in your funny story mid-speech to lighten the mood.
7. Reading
Reading a speech from a sheet of paper with your eyes downcast does not, to put it mildly, excite the audience. What should we do then? Is it really necessary to memorize a half-hour long speech? Not at all. You need to learn to read correctly.
The first rule of reading a speech: never say words while your eyes are looking at the paper.
Use the SOS technique: look - stop - say.
For training, take any text. Lower your eyes and take a mental picture of a few words. Then raise your head and stop. Then, looking at any object at the other end of the room, tell what you remember. And so on: look at the text, stop, speak.
8. Speaker techniques
It is known that Churchill recorded his speeches like poetry, dividing them into separate phrases and writing each on a separate line. To make your speech sound even more convincing, use this technique.
Use rhyme and internal consonance in a phrase to give the sound of your speech poetic impact (for example, Churchill's phrase “We must follow the principles of HUMANISM, not bureaucracy”).
It’s very easy to come up with rhymes, just remember the most common ones: -na (war, silence, needed), -ta (darkness, emptiness, dream), -ch (sword, speech, flow, meetings), -oses / wasps (roses , threats, tears, questions), -anie, -yes, -on, -tion, -ism and so on. Practice these simple rhymes to create sonorous phrases.
But remember: the rhymed phrase should be the same for the entire speech; there is no need to turn your speech into a poem.
And so that the rhyme does not go to waste, express the key idea of the speech in this phrase.
9. Questions and pauses
Many speakers use questions to connect with the audience. Don't forget one rule: never ask a question if you don't know the answer. Only by predicting the audience's reaction can you prepare and get the most out of the question.
10. Final
Even if your speech was inexpressive, a successful ending can fix everything. To make an impression in the finale, tune in, call on your emotions to help: pride, hope, love and others. Try to convey these feelings to your listeners the way great speakers of the past did.
Under no circumstances should you end your speech on a minor note, as this will simply destroy your career. Use uplifting quotes, poems or jokes.
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“Recently I came across a list of the main human fears, where the fear of death was only in third place. The top two rankings were fear of walking into a room full of strangers and fear of speaking in public. Fantastic! And I was about to give a speech in a few days, and I definitely felt that fear. So I signed up for a course with former BBC presenter and coach Helen Foster, hoping her advice would help me. I have written down eight of the most useful ones for you.
1. Time
Try to keep your talk time under 20 minutes. Experts from the educational platform TED Talk advise 17-18. Why? Because this makes the presentation denser and more vivid: only information that is important for the audience remains in it. Overwhelm your listeners with a stream of words, and they will stop perceiving your speech.
2. Show, don't tell.
If you still need to deliver a longer speech, break it into parts: talk for 15 minutes - change the genre: add pictures or videos, a joke or two, practice the material that was discussed during some kind of game - it all depends on the circumstances , you decide what is more appropriate in a given situation.
3. Anecdote
An anecdote, in the old sense of the word, is a small, entertaining story - a great way to start a speech, capturing the audience's attention with something of universal interest. It is not necessary that you were a participant in the events described, but it is important that the story is unusual and exciting - listeners should tear themselves away from their smartphones and finally start listening carefully.
4. Interaction with the public
Sometimes a lecture is decorated and enlivened by elements of a seminar: ask the audience questions, invite the audience to discuss the problem among themselves for a couple of minutes. For example, if you are talking about happiness, ask the audience to think about the last time each of them was truly happy and why. Discuss several answers. Such exercises should not take more than 5 minutes, otherwise you risk being too distracted from the main topic.
5. What was that?
What exactly should the listener remember from your speech? What is the clearest and easiest way to express this idea: with a picture, a video, an aphorism? We remember best what was said at the very end of the lecture. Keep this in mind and try to come up with a punchy ending to your performance.
6. Emotions
Does the subject you are talking about evoke strong emotions in you? Don't be afraid to show them off during your performance. Otherwise, how will listeners understand that you are really interested in what you are talking about? After all, if the audience is not sure that you are interested in the subject, why should they devote their attention to it?
“The question of what language you speak is always a question of power, of the dominant discourse, of the right to be something other than a “speaking instrument,” Ekaterina Mikhailova is sure. – This is a question about the right to choose “your own” and “strangers” (they, of course, speak differently). It’s an important choice, and it would be good to evaluate its consequences.”
7. Sincerity
Sincerity never fails. Be yourself. If you don’t know something, say so – this is in any case better than making up a deliberately false answer on the spot. In addition, you can always offer to look for an answer to a question that interests the listener. Lying is difficult, and, as a rule, deception is noticeable. So don't waste your audience's trust.
8. Preparation
Record your speech in advance in a form convenient for you. Coherent text on paper, a detailed plan, cards with key words - whatever you want, as long as it’s convenient for you. In addition, although we somehow miss this opportunity, it would be a good idea to go over the text of the speech a couple of times in advance so as not to forget anything important. Yes, it takes time, but you won’t stammer and blush painfully, trying to remember: what else did I have? A prepared speaker always wins over an unprepared one.
Did it work for me? It's up to you - here's my performance at the recent opening of the Happiness Club in London."
Oratory is one of the most valuable skills that will help you convey your point of view to your interlocutor concisely, beautifully and without any problems. There are people who are natural speakers; just give them a topic and you can listen for hours. But what should those who want to master these skills do, but nature has not given them innate abilities?
Oratory, like any other skill, can be developed, trained, and improved. In this article we will give 6 useful tips, thanks to which you can develop incredible abilities in yourself, and in less than a month speak freely in public, concentrating the attention of listeners on your speech.
1. What causes the greatest difficulties for beginning speakers? As a rule, this is an insufficient vocabulary and limited vocabulary. The solution is simple, you need to talk, talk and talk again. You can do this at home. Take any item you see - a hairdryer, a vase, a frying pan, in general, it doesn’t matter what it is. And then, for 5 minutes, try to talk about it, characterize all the features of this item, explain how wonderful and necessary it is. It will be difficult at first, but over time you will easily cope with this task. When you see that five minutes is not enough, then increase the time, say 10, 20, 30 minutes. I knew people who, without any problems, could talk for hours on a given topic, and never repeat themselves in phrases or thoughts.
3. Rate of speech is another feature worth mastering. Watch how you speak. The listener may not be able to understand speech that is too fast, while speech that is slow will lead to boredom. Try to maintain pauses, highlight the right places with intonations, raise and lower your voice, thereby attracting the attention of the audience.
4. Talking about subjects at home is good, but in order to hone the skill of oratory, you need to communicate more with real people. The easiest way to hone public speaking is for students. You have access to speeches in front of your group, and during the speech you can track the reaction, behavior of the audience, their mood and desire to listen.
5. Your speech should not be dry. Try to use sayings, quotes from famous people, and humor from time to time. By the way, humor plays a very important role. The ability to make a timely and apt joke is the quality of a good speaker who can hold his audience without any problems and, at the right moment, relieve accumulated tension.
Over time, when you expand your vocabulary and begin to apply all the acquired knowledge in practice, you will notice how your speech has changed, how your interlocutor listens carefully to every word spoken, how the audience closely follows your statements and phrases.
