History Of Public Speaking

Public speaking has been in existence since the dawn of time, the origination of man’s desire to communicate political and social issues has been a component of human interaction since ancient civilizations. Public debate was exemplified through ceremonial and religious expression, public forums to discuss daily life and courtrooms to practice and enforce laws. The ancients believed in the significance of public speaking because of man’s proclivity for politics and social matters and our inherent need to disagree with each other. Human beings have been using language to communicate in an ordered fashion since the first cave man uttered the first groan of discontent. The goal of debate is a practical one, to find the outcome of a problem or suggestion to improve quality of life. The situational and organized theater of public debate exists within formalized and unique circumstances. The Oxford English Dictionary defines rhetoric as 1) the art of using language persuasively; the rules that help one achieve eloquence; 2) the persuasive use of language; 3) a treatise on persuasive language; 4) prose composition on a school subject.

Inventiveness within debate, rhetoric or public speaking is the most important ‘canon’ of the use of language, according to Aristotle. Style, delivery, arrangement and memory also play key roles in the creation of effective communication through speech and discourse. In the ancient Greek text from Aristotle’s ‘The Rhetoric’, he establishes three methods for persuasive public speaking; ethos, pathos and logos. Aristotle defined ethos as the most significant of the three components of rhetoric. It is the character or persona of the speaker. It is not only the individual’s personality, but a projected personality, our appearance to others and to ourselves. Instruction and habit make up most of what ethos contains, making us a product of our environment. Ethos, the ethical appeal of language through the use of character, is the art of using what you know to illustrate your point, whether from personal history, invented situations or drawing from what can be observed in order to relate to an audience. Pathos is the speaker’s use of emotional appeal. Since ancient times, this is the most distrusted use of language, bringing debatable dichotomy to light between emotion and reason. If a speaker uses this powerful tool effectively, great change may occur within the mindset of an audience. It is a difficult argument as people are attached to their emotions and emotions are shared experiences that can bring about empathy or sympathy between speaker and audience. It is highly manipulative and if the audience identifies emotionally with an issue and they are close to the argument, it is wise to tread lightly when using pathos. Using style in conjunction with pathos is the most effective way to persuade. Logos signifies the use of logic or logical appeal to persuade an audience. When a speaker uses logos, they are using scientific data, numbers, polls or hard facts that are difficult to deny. An audience can be won over with this use of information, making the speaker appear as an expert on their subject and the impenetrable certainty with which the speaker uses this mode of persuasion.

The use of rhetoric as an art in public speaking or commonplace language gives people an opportunity to debate issues without coercion or violence. Rhetoric enables people to communicate ideas about what is important to an individual or group and reflect on personal thought, distributing power through language.

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