PUBLIC SPEAKING

Public speaking is the act of Public speaking can serve the

performing a speech to a live purpose of transmitting
audience in a structured manner, in information, telling a story,
order to inform, entertain and motivating people to act or some
persuade them. combination of those.
Five basic elements of public
speaking are Communicator,
Public speaking is usually a formal,
Message , Medium , Audience and
face-to-face speech to either a Effect
single person or group of listeners.
 HISTORY
OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
 The Classical Period (500 BCE – 400 BCE)

The ancient Greeks highly valued public political

participation, where public speaking was a crucial
tool. We will begin an overview of four Ancient Greek
philosophers, also known as the “fantastic four”:

 Aspasia of Miletus (469 BCE), the “mother of

rhetoric,” is believed to have taught rhetoric
to Socrates. During this period Pericles, the
Athenian ruler and Aspasia’s partner, treated
Aspasia as an equal and allowed her the
opportunity to engage in dialogue with the
important and educated men of society. She
was a scholar and philosopher whose
intellectual influence distinguished her in
Athenian culture.
 Socrates (469-399 BCE) greatly
influenced the direction of the
Classical Period. Most of what we
know about Socrates comes from
the writings of his student Plato.
He believes that the spoken
words can be brought forth with
great knowledge from the
credibility of the speaker.
 Plato (429-347 BCE) wrote about
rhetoric in the form of dialogues
with Socrates as the main
character. Plato defined the scope
of rhetoric according to his
negative opinions of the art. He
criticized the Sophists for using
rhetoric as a means of deceit
instead of discovering truth.

“Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds

of men.”
-Plato
 Aristotle is the most famous Greek
Scholar. Aristotle studied in Plato’s
Academy where he later taught public
speaking until Plato’s death in 347 BCE.
During this time, he opened his own
school of politics, science, philosophy,
and rhetoric. He discovered that in
order to rally the citizens into
conformity, one needed to persuade
people. This is what he called rhetoric,
and it's defined as the capacity to
persuade people, and he broke it down
into three strategies.
Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and
Persuasion

1. Ethos is used when the source is credible and the

speaker can show authority over the subject matter.
2. Logos is used when there are facts to support the
argument requiring that the audience use logic and
deduction to decide on the strengths of the speaker's
argument.
3. Pathos is used for emotional appeals to gain audience
acceptance.
Sophist (400s BCE): The Classical Period flourished for nearly a
millennium in and around Greece as democracy gained prominence.
Citizens learned public speaking from early teachers known as Sophists.
Sophists were self-appointed professors of how to succeed in the civic
life of the Greek states. The Sophists were orators, public speakers,
mouths for hire in an oral culture. They were gifted with speech.
They were skilled in what becomes known as Rhetoric.
The Romans: Cicero and Quintilian
 Cicero (106-43 BCE) is considered one
of the most significant rhetoricians of
all time. He is most famous in the
field of public speaking for creating
the five canons of rhetoric, a five-
step process for developing a
persuasive speech that we still use to
teach public speaking today. Cicero's
contributions to the theory of oral
discourse included the belief that the
orator must have a firm foundation of
general knowledge. He believed that the
perfect orator should be able to speak
wisely and eloquently on any subject
with a dignified, restrained delivery.
Quintilian (c. 35-95 CE) extended this line of thinking and argued
that public speaking was inherently moral. He stated that the ideal
orator is “a good man speaking well. ” He said that “the nature of the
speech that we have composed within our minds is not so important as
the manner in which we produce it” he is basically making the
statement that success in speech giving, being a type of
communication, relies upon the manner in which it is delivered more so
than whatever ideas were originally behind it.
 The Medieval Period (400 CE – 1400 CE)

In contrast to the Classical Period, which saw tremendous growth

and innovation in the study of communication, the Medieval Period
might be considered the dark ages of academic study in public
speaking. The church felt threatened by secular rhetorical works
they considered full of pagan thought. The Church did, however,
focus on persuasion and developing public presentation to improve
preaching.
St. Augustine (354 CE-430 CE), a Christian clergyman and renowned
rhetorician, argued for the continued development of ideas that had
originated during the Classical Period. He thought that the study of
persuasion, in particular, was a worthwhile pursuit for the church. As
Christianity grew in power, rhetoric was condemned as a pagan art. Many
Christians believed that the rhetorical ideas expressed by the pagans
of classical Greece and Rome should not be studied and that one's
belief in Christian truth brought with it the ability to communicate
that truth effectively.
 The Renaissance (1400-1600 CE)

Ideas surrounding issues of style in speaking situations received significant attention during
the Renaissance period.

 Petrus Ramus (1515-1572) challenged much of what early scholars thought of truth, ethics,
and morals as they applied to communication. He is eminently a man concerned with
language, with the traditional arts of expression, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. For Ramus,
rhetoric is the art of speaking well. This requires ornate and correct speaking and skillful
delivery. Ramus’s simplification of classic rhetoric and his use of the criterion of usefulness
were in keeping with the humanist thinking at the time that was reacting to scholasticism.
 Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a contemporary of Shakespeare, believed that the
journey to truth was paramount to the study and performance of communication.
According to him, reason and morality required speakers to have a high degree
of accountability, making it an essential element in oration. Bacon was the first to
suggest that the world needed a stable, universal, written script for the
communication of scientific truth.
 The Enlightenment (1600 – 1800 CE)

The elocutionary approach (mid 1700’s to mid-1800’s) concentrated on

delivery and style by providing strict rules for a speaker’s bodily
actions such as gestures, facial expressions, tone, and pronunciation.

Overall, the Enlightenment Period served as a bridge between the past

and the present. Political rhetoric also underwent renewal in the wake
of the U.S. and French revolutions. The rhetorical studies of ancient
Greece and Rome were resurrected in the studies of the era as speakers
and teachers looked to Cicero and others to inspire defense of the new
republic. Leading rhetorical theorists included John Quincy
Adams, who advocated for the democratic advancement of the art of
rhetoric.
 George Campbell (1719-1796), a Scottish minister and educator,
tried to create convincing arguments using scientific and moral
reasoning by seeking to understand how people used speech to
persuade others. He stated that Oral communication is meant to
express sentiments, passions, moods, and ideas.
 Public speaking in the Modern Age

Throughout the 20th century, rhetoric developed as a

concentrated field of study with the establishment of
rhetorical courses in high schools and universities.
Courses such as public speaking and speech analysis
apply fundamental Greek theories, as well as trace
rhetorical development throughout the course of
history.

The 1960’s and 70’s saw renewed emphasis and focus on

the works of those from the Classical Period. Thus, the
60’s and 70’s worked to bridge together the old and new
school of communication study for the first time.
Communication departments had professors who studied
and taught classical rhetoric, contemporary rhetoric,
along with empirical and qualitative social science.
 Public speaking in the 21st century

In the 21st century, you must communicate effectively

to succeed. It can be the difference between landing
your dream job, winning a multi-million dollar contract
or delivering a moving speech at a wedding.

More and more we are required to speak in public, at

conferences, during business meetings, accepting
awards, teaching a class, during media events and many
other occasions. It has become increasingly hard to
avoid public speaking events as oratory skills have
become so important.
 Evolutions of Public Speaking in the 21st Century

Today's speakers recognize that they do not simply transfer words and ideas to
listeners but rather are engaged in a complex process of attempting to share
meanings among diverse members of an audience. This collaborative process means
that public speakers must surrender the belief that they exercise entire control
over the meanings constructed by audience members. The greatest challenge facing
the contemporary public speaker is to adapt to the changing expectations and
needs of their audiences. Emerging technologies are creating new opportunities
for speakers to adapt to audiences, but they may also be changing the way
audiences process information and create meanings.
THANKYOU!