Public Speaking And how to work with it in a rhetorical perspective Ida Borch Odense Technical College/Tietgen Business College April 2003

Ars Rhetorica

Toolbox Context awareness The Rhetorical Pentagram Composing awareness Rhetorical Canon Style awareness The three artistic proofs: Ethos, Logos, Pathos Argumentation awareness Toulmin’s model for practical argumentation Coaching awareness Constructive criticism

Context awareness

The Rhetorical Pentagram Audience Speaker Topic ConstraintsLanguage

Composing awareness The Rhetorical Canon

The rhetorical canon There are five phases you will eventually go through when you compose text – both for oral and literal contexts. You might not follow them in a linear way – but you cannot avoid crossing each of them: Inventio Dispositio Elocutio Memoria Actio

The anatomy of a speech Intro Disposition Argumentation Stating the facts Finale

Creative Circle Creative Critical Production Revision

Style Awareness

The three artistic proofs You can approach your audience in various ways. The ancient Greek and Romans believed that there were three ways of appealing to an audience. Persuasion lies in your ability to use an adequate artistic proof – or stylistic level: Ethos Logos Pathos

Logos Appeal to the intellect Logical argumentation Used in law and science The most prevalent and preferred style in academic contexts Advantage: derived of emotion Disadvantage: Heavy and potentially boring

Pathos Appeal to the emotions Emotional argumentation Used in literature and poetry and contexts that calls for emotions (i.e. sorrow and happiness) Vivid language with metaphors and tropes Advantage: Powerful persuasive potential Disadvantage: Bears an immanent risk of rejecting audience – if they do not want to share the emotions projected, the persuasive potential is very limited

Ethos Appeal through the speaker and the speakers integrity Appeal that is connected to the rational and emotional experience with speaker Used in every context – but very visible in politics and literature. And popular science Advantage: If you (manage to) establish a credible ethos that alone provides you with a very persuasive potential Disadvantage: If you do not believe the man, you do not trust his words

Argumentation awareness Practical argumentation

Logical cc rhetorical proof Logical proof: Syllogism Valid conclusion from the truth of its premises Valid conclusion from the truth of its premises Based on reason Must be true Rhetorical ’ proof ’ : Enthymeme Tentative conclusions based on probable premises Tentative conclusions based on probable premises Based on common sense Based on common sense Can be true

Valid logical argument - a valid syllogism All men are mortal Socrates is a man Socrates is mortal

Invalid logical argument - an invalid syllogism All cats are mortal Socrates is mortal Socrates is a cat

Valid rhetorical argument - an enthymeme John will surely fail his calculus exam, because he hasn't studied.

Valid rhetorical argument - an enthymeme Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Toulmins model

Fallacies in argumentation

Pro/Con list In order to be able to make a persuasive debate, you need to know and evaluate every possible argument both pro and contra the topic. Therefore you should always make a pro/con list: PRO Smoking: - Smells good - Feel good factor - Gives money to the state through taxes CON Smoking: - Smells ugly - Bad for your health - Burden on the health system

Coaching awareness Constructive criticism

Creative criticism/Coaching When dealing with coaching it is important that the person criticized will allow his cognitive process to open. This only happens if you criticize in a manner where you are Constructive, Creative and Empathetic

The Cake Model What was good? What could be better?

Creative criticism/Coaching Mimic  Is your face work corresponding with your message?  Do you have eye contact with the audience? Gesture  Do your arms jump up and down? Or…  …do they support the message? Pronunciation  Is it possible to understand what you are saying?  Do you swallow words or do we read you loud and clear? Tempo  Are you talking too fast or too slow? Body language  Does your body contradict the message? Or…  …does it support the message?

Pro/Con exercise - an idea for a workshop on public speaking Find a topic to debate Make groups of approx 4 people Divide groups into two categories: half of them will be speaking pro and the other half contra the topic Let groups go through the canon and compose a speech. Find one speaker within the group Make groups debate each other En up with a coaching session where the rest of the class gives constructive criticism to the debating teams

Links gers/toolbox/index.html - a rhetorical toolbox with everyting you need (more or less) gers/toolbox/index.html ml - about ethos, pathos and logos ml