Oratory: lessons in rhetoric. Cicero demonstrated a deep insight into the essence of oratory, creating an oratory theory based on his rich experience.

Current situation in society and education encourages to turn Special attention to the speech sciences dealing with the problems of effective communicative communication. The subject of rhetoric and culture of speech is considered from the point of view of history, current content and comparison with other disciplines related to speech.

The state of modern society is characterized by intensive development speech communications. Technology gives rise to new forms of speech communication, resulting in the emergence of not only new types and genres of communication, but also new educational communicative disciplines. The twentieth century has significantly enriched the composition of the sciences dealing with speech. These include the culture of speech, and style (practical, functional), and pragmatics, and speech etiquette, and psycholinguistics, and linguistics of the text, and the psychology of communication, and many others. others

Most of the new disciplines introduced in educational process within the socio-political, economic and even technical specialties is directly related to philology or verbal sciences. These will include public relations (a kind of new rhetoric in the field of political and business communication, since "PR" solves the problems of persuading and connecting a client or organization with public environment implementation of projects and decisions), management and administration (solution of business issues, as the content of these sciences shows, speech means), various business communications and many similar disciplines.

The real speech practice of the mass media suggests that conducting PR actions during parliamentary or presidential elections is nothing more than the art of persuasive and effective speech, which has always been called rhetoric in European culture, and now in connection with new trends mass culture receives new names. However, in a similar way, many authors write that "public relations" took place in ancient times, rethinking the classical teachings about speech in a new way.

However, if we want not to get lost in the history of the philological sciences and speech culture, today it makes sense to talk about rhetoric, which in the last 15-20 years has been restored in Russia as a scientific and academic subject, as evidenced by extensive Scientific research and teaching in schools and universities. To avoid incorrect interpretations, let us define the subject of rhetoric as it appears both in the development of Russian philological science and in modern theory and practice.

Rhetoric

Definitions of rhetoric include the following ideas:

1) Rhetoric - fundamental theory and the art of speech: in theory, the laws and rules for constructing all types of speech in the modern information society are studied, and art is understood as a certain skill, technical “learning”, practical “dexterity” to own thoughts and words in different situations communication. This definition goes back to classical definition rhetoric K.P. Zelenetsky: "The subject of rhetoric is speech."

2) Rhetoric is the art of thinking. Teaching speech in rhetoric has always involved the simultaneous learning to think (and think morally), form a worldview, gain knowledge and express one's life position in a word. Hence the special seriousness of rhetoric as a real thought-speech creativity, expressing the position of each person in life.

Philosophy and ethics have always been the basis of rhetoric; outside this spiritual and moral basis it is impossible to imagine modern techniques teaching rhetoric or other numerous speech technologies. Without a philosophical and ethical base, teaching rhetoric turns into "idle talk". These theses correspond to both Cicero's thoughts about the connection between eloquence and philosophy, and the position of the classic of Russian rhetoric N.F. Koshansky that "grammar deals only with words, rhetoric with thoughts."

3) Rhetoric - the theory and practice of perfect speech: convincing, decorated, relevant, effective, expedient, etc. All of these qualities can be called into question, because. any “beautiful” or “persuasive” speech can be turned, as they say, “evil”… Nevertheless, each era gives rise to its own rhetorical (communicative) ideal. Therefore, it is possible to say that rhetoric forms a lifestyle through the style of speech. In accordance with the desire of man to perfect Word it is appropriate to call rhetoric the doctrine of perfect speech.

4) Rhetoric - the doctrine of the speech education of the individual. Since the whole person is expressed in speech, rhetoric contributes to the formation of the whole personality of a person, first of all, his ideology, knowledge, life position, the ability to express and defend one's position with a word. Compliance with this requirement allows you to educate such a person for whom the language (word, mouth) becomes a true “wall” and “fence”, and the society in which he lives and works becomes prosperous due to properly organized speech connections.

5) Rhetoric - the doctrine of all kinds, types and genres of speech (literature) in a developed information society. It is wrong to limit rhetoric only to oratory (oratorics), modern rhetoric studies the whole variety of texts included in culture: from everyday speech to media speech. A developed linguistic personality must navigate and master different types literature, understand their nature and have communication skills in building texts. The task of philological science, which normalizes social speech practice, is the description and selection of cultural texts, i.e. those texts that are exemplary and can be included in training, providing a link between generations and effective creative activity society.

The objective place of rhetoric and its relationship with other speech science disciplines cannot be understood without realizing the history of speech sciences in Russia. Russia entered the 20th century with a developed linguistics, great reverence for fiction, which was called belles-lettres, and this image of a scientific subject (Russian language and literature) was preserved until the beginning of the third millennium. This is our philological tradition, but for a long time leading philologists have noted a paradoxical situation: in reality, science that would deal with practical speech, normalizing social speech practice, was not. Meanwhile, they tried to fill this gap in the philological education of the society in different time with different success different speech sciences.

Subject "Culture of speech"

So, starting from the 20s of the XX century, the subject “culture of speech” is being developed. Interest in the issues of speech art in the twenties was especially great - suffice it to recall the Institute of the Living Word, opened in 1918, the collections "Russian speech", numerous works on oratory (A.V. Mirtov, B. Kazansky, V. Hoffman and etc.), where the authors sought to "teach the whole people to speak."

The culture of speech is a purely Russian phenomenon, a national term introduced into Russian science in the 20-30s by G.O. Vinokur, V.V. Vinogradov, S.I. Ozhegov. It is absent in foreign philologies due to the specificity of the problems born by the very construction of the Russian language. The culture of speech was understood in our country only as a doctrine of literary norm– and it was dangerous to add ideological and substantive components to it. Evidence of this is the cessation of all research on oratory, starting at least from the 30s.

When the subject “culture of speech” was introduced into modern university programs, the authors of new textbooks naturally understood the subject of culture of speech in accordance with the tradition in which the main term of culture of speech was considered the language norm. Majority modern programs for the teaching of this discipline, now introduced in all universities in Russia, is limited to normative topics. Meanwhile, for the majority of teachers and students, the meaning of the subject "culture of speech", of course, is the development of culture language personality in general, the formation of the image of a rhetor (speaking or writing) as a highly qualified speech professional.

In order to make the transition to the culture of speech, as the doctrine of the effective speech of society and the individual, it is necessary to understand what culture is in relation to speech and what public speech. The concepts of rhetoric and culture are compared not by chance. The main idea of philology is the arrangement of life and the improvement of man through language. A philologist is interested in language not just as a system of signs, but as a promising application to its practical application.

As part of the classical sciences and arts, rhetoric as the doctrine of persuasive and effective speech is correlated with grammar (“the basis of the verbal sciences” and the general doctrine of the correctness of speech), logic (the doctrine of the truth of judgments and the consistency of statements, but logic alone is not enough for the art of persuasion), poetics (the doctrine of artistic speech and "fiction", but, unlike poetics, rhetoric explores real prose speech).

Until the middle of the 19th century, the science that united philological (verbal) disciplines was literature as a doctrine of the development of the gift of speech and the totality of verbal works of speech culture. In the middle of the 19th century, after criticism of the revolutionary democrats and the birth of " new Science about the Word" stylistics stands out from rhetoric - as the doctrine of the means of speech influence. The twentieth century left in place of classical rhetoric and literature only fiction and suggested new item- culture of speech as a doctrine of norms literary language, and at school - the aspect of speech development.

An analysis of new theories and disciplines that appeared at the end of the 20th century through the development of speech technologies shows that they historically date back to rhetoric, often touch upon similar problems and use its terminology. Each national philology offers its own set of speech disciplines. So, American scientific technologies dictating the style of modern communication offer a theory of communication (sometimes with a false, but attractive idea of developing “sociability” in a person), the subject of speech (speech) allows you to both learn how to argue and stylistic distribution of speech, and develop a personal style with promotion in the life of his own "theme". The strength of American philology, and hence the special influence of Americanism as a way of life and human behavior, is associated with rhetoric as the basis of American philosophy. The American ship, with the unitarity of the American ideology, is driven by clashes of rhetorical ideas and positions of various orator-writers.

Addressing questions language education allowed the Japanese nation to take a leading position in the image modern world. The Japanese theory of linguistic existence aimed to achieve effective communications in every sphere of social life and, above all, in the field of business relations - the result of such a speech education of the nation was a change in the entire appearance of the state, the intensification of activity and the rise of all areas of the economy.

The failures of our perestroika are largely due to the absence in the minds of the nation of the idea of organizing the world through language. It is impossible to start revolutionary changes in society without defining the meaning of words as the main concepts in which society must believe and, most importantly, understand what this or that word will mean, i.e. concept.

Serving as a tool for expressing thought, a tool for organizing activity, rhetoric is today a "general" science for all intellectual professions. The idea of “commonality” of rhetoric and logic for all areas of activity was expressed in antiquity, in the Middle Ages rhetoric was defined as “the queen of sciences and arts”, therefore, at the present time, a lot is said about professional rhetoric, which builds communication theories for different specialties. The main professions in society have always been "speech" and the education of a specialist is usually built as the training of a professional rhetor. Therefore, the careers of an entrepreneur, politician, diplomat, lawyer, priest, teacher, military man, doctor, etc. are always based on the development of speech abilities and the formation of a professional linguistic personality.

The goal of rhetoric and speech culture is to improve the style of life through the style of speech. The style of life is formed by the style of speech. In the style of speech - the richness or poverty of thought, the taste or bad taste of the word, the elegance or squalor of sound production. The purpose of teaching rhetoric and culture of speech is to teach how to analyze and create all types of modern literature.

Many of the troubles of our modern Fatherland in the twentieth century are due to the fact that no one taught to listen and distinguish the meaning of prose words. Thus, in particular, the sweet deception of perestroika was born. Economic reforms were started outside of verbal provision. The reason for economic failures lies in the verbal ignorance and rhetorical disorganization of society.

The style of speech creates a social mood. The grounds for such an attitude are in hidden thoughts and passions, in that verbal aura that is offered by society through samples of speech cultural activity in the media, the education system, the family and others. social institutions. Modern society, endowed with freedom of speech, to put it mildly, has come loose. Fashionable TV presenters sincerely discuss the problem of foul language, asking authoritative philologists: “Does it matter how to say it? ..” The latter argue about whether all words are “equal”, they say, all words have the right to exist. Words do exist, but culture consists in limiting oneself and setting prohibitions. In the new democratic culture, bans were lifted, including on the selection of means of expression. As a result of prohibitions, the variety of words and situations that can be served different words, a person flourishes because he is working on cultivating the human principle in himself.

New speech technologies pave the way for style updates. The types of communication on the Internet, e-mail, mobile telephones offer significantly new style Russian speech. This speech cannot but be based on cultural tradition, but no matter how innovative and creative the user is, he cannot but rely on the facts of the previous culture. As for the assessments of this “current activity” (films, songs, books), which have not yet become part of the culture, they should be organized based on cultural tradition, the concept of taste, elementary ethics and morality. Computers and television are not bad in themselves, but the way people use them.

The responsibility of the philologist in society creates an environment for the moral assessment of speech acts. A person must be responsible for every word spoken. Therefore, in my opinion, with this special section rhetorical science - rhetorical ethics - schoolchildren and students should be familiarized. The new generation has always wanted to live in a new way - the solution of these cultural contradictions is possible if the "new generation" bases its innovations on knowledge of culture, and the "conservative" carriers (the older generation) are able to joyfully accept the new. And yet it is the job of the teachers to be able to direct the tastes of the youth. The poeticization of crime and the romanticization of vices, thieves and criminal life - all this is a semiotic background against which other authors today are trying to form a style of thought, a style of speech, a style of life.

Rhetoric is compared with many non-speech sciences: philosophy, ethics, psychology. Philosophy and professional education have always been and remain the intellectual basis of communication. Outside of ethics, rhetoric becomes the art of manipulating public opinion.

Psychology has always been associated with rhetoric: even Plato demanded from rhetoric the knowledge of “types of human souls”, and the psychology of communication cannot but touch upon the issues of speech influence. Considering many of today's books on business ethics, the culture of business communication, we see that their content and practical advice are directly taken from modern rhetorical or stylistic ideas, because they usually relate to the rules for conducting business dialogue, negotiations, building speech in certain situations of business communication [ Kuzin 2000].

As an example of methodological ideas that are promising for the educational process, we point to the development of the first section of the rhetorical canon - the invention of thoughts based on topoi as ways of arguing, creating and developing the content of speech. The topic makes it possible to understand that the process of creating the concept of speech is not spontaneous, but is controlled by certain possible methods, which modern rhetoric defines as “semantic models” for generating an utterance. The classical composition of topoi (definition, genus and species, whole and parts, properties, cause and effect, comparison, example, evidence, etc.) allows the student to imagine the possible mental moves of the creator of the speech.

Another interpretation common places(topoi) - as value categories, on the basis of which there is an agreement with the audience and its conviction. The systematization of topoi shows a picture of today's moral and social values, common system conceptual categories, the knowledge of which allows one to develop the proof.

Russian rhetoric received last decade fundamental and branched development, which until now has not been the subject of scientific generalization. Let's try to make it at least briefly.

In 1997, the Russian Association of Researchers, Teachers and Teachers of Rhetoric was formed, which annually holds international conferences at one of the leading universities in the country. Currently, the Association includes more than 400 members.

Over the past years, we can talk about at least the following rhetorical scientific and pedagogical schools and trends that have developed in Russia:

1) the school of Moscow University, created at the Department of General and Comparative History Education Acad. RAO Yu.V. Rozhdestvensky (1926-1999), continued by the works of prof. A.A. Volkov - see the bibliography in the work of Yu.V. Rozhdestvensky "Theory of Rhetoric";

2) pedagogical school MSGU (Ladyzhenskaya T.A., Ippolitova N.A. and others) - see first of all educational complex for schools "Rhetoric" (grades 1-10);

3) Perm school of rhetoric, formed on the basis of ZUUNTS (West Ural educational and scientific center) under the direction of S.A. Mineeva. The Center has published many books and manuals, programs on rhetoric. Annually held summer courses for the training of teachers of rhetoric (26 schools have already been held).

4) Krasnoyarsk school of rhetoric and stylistics under the guidance of prof. A.P. Skovorodnikov (see the stylistic works of the founder of the school and his many students);

5) Saratov school of stylistics, rhetoric and culture of speech under the guidance of prof. O. B. Sirotinina (works on Russian colloquial speech, studies of “good speech”, and many others);

6) Voronezh school under the guidance of prof. I.A. Sternin and his numerous students (see the latest supplemented book "Practical Rhetoric");

7) Yekaterinburg school of stylistics, rhetoric and culture of speech (Kupina N.A., Matveeva T.V., Marov V.N. and others).

This list will be far from complete without mentioning the names and works of Prof. O.I. Marchenko (St. Petersburg), prof. L.G.Antonova (Yaroslavl), prof. A.A. Vorozhbitova (Sochi), T.G. Khazagerova (Rostov-on-Don) and many others. etc. Many doctoral dissertations on rhetoric have been defended. It is all the more strange that with all this, there is still no place for rhetoric in the nomenclature of specialties of the Higher Attestation Commission. Therefore, "rhetoricians" become doctors of "philosophical" (Ch.B. Daletsky, O.I. Marchenko), then "culturological", then pedagogical sciences, although it is obvious that the activity of the science of speech refers primarily to philology and linguistics.

It is impossible not to mention the popularization of rhetoric, since so many professionals and different segments of the population feel the need for rhetorical studies. Therefore, various courses arise, and various trainings in one way or another touch upon the issues of practical knowledge of public speech and the art of dialogue. A number of popular books appeared - see, for example, the textbooks "Rhetoric" and "In pursuit of Cicero" by D.N. Aleksandrov; “Everyone can become a Cicero” I.A. Malhamova. Such books cannot but be welcomed, despite a number of obvious inaccuracies and popularizing simplifications.

The prospects for the development of Russian teachings on speech are obvious. They can be realized only if we are aware and objectively familiar with the classical legacy of Russian philology and intensive work in the modern field of domestic public speech education.

“Vinograd magazine brings up the “taste” of the heart,” said Ekaterina Gradova about the magazine.

The Orthodox educational magazine "Vinograd" is a publication for everyone who is interested in Russian culture and education.

The authors set themselves the goal of filling the gaps formed as a result of the loss of spiritual and moral roots. The magazine will help readers understand the issues of education, as well as the perception of domestic spiritual culture.

Sections of the journal: philology, history, natural science, education, art.

The theme of the September issue of the Vinograd magazine is “Friends of my children”. How should we behave when a child begins to reach out more to his friends than to his parents? Is it possible to influence a child's choice of friends? How to be a child if he is not like other children? What happens to our children when they are in the circle of their peers?

A politician who speaks daily to an audience of thousands calls himself an orator. A vegetable seller in the market only talks to a hundred people a day, declaring himself to be a simple hard worker. Which of these people displays oratory? At first glance, everything is obvious.

However, there is a caveat: the month is coming to an end - it's time to display statistics. The politician was at the end of the electoral lists. The market trader increased his monthly income by 15%. Who now seems more eloquent? What is the real power of public speaking and how to become a successful speaker from scratch?

What is oratory

Oratory- this is the skill of persuading, influencing the public. It includes eloquence, acting skills and psychological tricks. The features of such a sphere are studied by rhetoric.

The doctrine of oratory originated in Ancient Greece. They have developed in other ancient states India, Egypt, China. However, it was Hellas who devoted more time and attention to such a topic. The second place in terms of the degree of study of this area rightfully turned out to be the Roman Empire.

The main goals of oratory

convey information to listeners;
express your opinion, idea about the current problem;
defend one's own opinion;
enter into interaction with society, get to know it;
to convince in something;
encourage the audience to take action;
promote yourself.

In many situations, the main key to the speaker's success is his self-confidence. In order to convince listeners of their own point of view, it is important for the speaker to believe in his idea himself or to skillfully pretend. True emotions and impulses, acting skills or effective self-hypnosis are extremely important for a rhetorician.

Fundamentals of oratory

Radislav Gandapas is a popular in the CIS countries specialist in leadership, oratory, business coach, author of the book “Kama Sutra for the Orator”. In it, he claims that the audience pays 60% of their attention to how the speaker holds himself, presents himself, 30% - how he speaks, and only 10% - what he talks about. This proves that oratory is a complex technique. It includes many factors. To be successful, you need to master several fundamentals at once.

Voice and speech

A successful speaker's voice sounds even, at an average volume. However, differences in timbre are no less important, as they make speech more interesting, relieve monotony. It is important to learn how to play with your intonation to match the semantic turns in the speech. Clear, understandable pronunciation of words is another significant element. How to improve your diction:

recite poems, excerpts from plays or prose;
study tongue twisters (especially “Liguria”);
apply the Demosthenes method (he trained speech on the seashore with pebbles in his mouth. The stones enhanced the clarity of pronunciation, and the noise of the waves imitated the sounds of the crowd);
engage with a speech therapist;
use articulation gymnastics;
practice breathing.

The speaker's tone is one of the main levers of crowd control. The psyche is directly connected with the speech apparatus. If the speaker is unsure of himself, his voice will give it away. The speaker will stutter, stutter, mumble, chew words. However, this relationship has a two-way effect. If the speaker tries to control his tone, he himself will not have time to notice how confidence will return to him.

Appearance

“They meet by their clothes…” – in the skill of public monologues, this saying is especially relevant. However, a business suit is far from a universal option. The choice of clothing depends on four features:

the occasion and topic of the speech;
social status, the mood of the listeners;
situation, environment in which the speaker speaks;
way of presenting information (comic, serious, dramatic).

A T-shirt and shorts at business meetings looks as ridiculous as a formal suit at a promoter distributing invitations to a children's party.

However, in any case, it is better to choose a neat, clean, ironed outfit. The same goes for hygiene. Clean teeth, a washed face without traces of sleep, fights or a hangover, styling, light makeup, well-groomed mustaches and beards act on people much better than slovenliness.

Language of the body

Facial expressions, gestures, posture - they express the charisma necessary for effective speech. The degree of their expressiveness is selected individually for each performance. At a children's holiday, gestures and changes in facial expressions are the most mobile, active. When defending scientific work emotional influx will have to be curbed. As for postures, it is highly desirable that they express confidence, perseverance. A few tips:

watch your posture, keep your back straight;
control physical stress so that it is moderate, not clamped in a vise;
straighten your shoulders;
keep your head slightly elevated;
choose a good angle in advance, keeping in mind lighting, acoustics, the “working side” of the face;
keep your hands in plain sight, not hiding them in your pockets or, even worse, behind your back;
learn to calm the trembling in a static position.

Meaning

The semantic load of the speech is given only 10% of attention. However, listeners pay for seminars in order to hear useful information, not a ton of water mixed with emotions. For this reason, the essence also plays a role. Here's what the public wants:

clearly formulated thesis;
the relevance of the problem, its causes;
possible results of inaction;
options for solving the problem;
arguments in favor of a particular move;
grounds for refusing other methods of action;
the results of applying the submitted idea, method.

The speech is thought out taking into account all these points. If at least one of the above provisions is not given a meaningful answer, failure is possible. Either the speech will be useless to the audience, or the speaker will put himself in an awkward position, not knowing how to answer questions from the audience after the speech.

Influence on emotions

Just a list of facts is dry. Arguments set you up for reflection, occupying your thoughts for several minutes, hours, days. And only information woven with experiences is remembered for weeks, months, years. Information is easier to remember if there are feelings associated with it.

One of better ways such influence is intrigue. How it can be created:

unexpectedly tell a provocative fact;
voice data that seems impossible (for example, “I am immortal”, explaining this after a pause by the fact that I left a mark on the earth and will now forever remain in the memory of descendants);
make a riddle, but promise to name its answer at the end;
say that the audience will be able to get what they want by the end of the event (if this is really possible at least partially);
announce the discovery of a secret;
communicate a statement, ask the public if they agree with it, and then offer to figure it out together;
intrigue with a surprise;
organize a competitive situation.

Interaction with the public

People love to talk and hear about themselves. Even public recognition of one's own mistakes and shortcomings unconsciously causes pleasure. But how can a speaker use it if there are so many listeners and they are different?

The audience obeys the effect of the crowd, so it acts smoothly and turns into a single mechanism. In addition, all the people who came to the planned seminar are united by their interest in the announced topic. This means that the public is united. Figuratively speaking, it combines into one person. And she loves to hear about herself too. How to contact her:

In ancient Greece, the orator needed only his skill and exaltation so that the people around him could see him. Now is another time. Oratory has moved to a new stage of development, technology has improved, and the public has become more capricious. To interest the audience, a modern speaker will need more visibility in the form of:

videos, presentations;
audio recordings, musical accompaniment;
diagrams, tables, graphs;
concrete examples from life;
models, prototypes, layouts;
acting out real situations;
brochures, flyers, booklets.

Using the aids correctly, the rhetorician will achieve greater effect in his speech.
Oratory requires rich knowledge, honed skills. It does not depend on the financial situation, social status. If eloquence was not laid down by nature, then this skill is mastered by hard work. But even a person with good inclinations will have to work. It is possible to collect thousands of listeners who will forget about the speech they heard within five minutes after it ends. Or you can speak in front of eight people and move them all to action. And this is precisely the highest skill of the orator.

The art of eloquence (oratory) is understood as the ability to capture the attention of the audience with the aim of psychologically influencing it. Such qualities have always been highly valued in the world. Mastery in this area can be achieved through a combination of qualities such as:

Ability to speak fluently;
present information freely and naturally;
as well as mastering the technique of managing the attention of the audience.

The methods and technologies of such art are studied by the science of rhetoric. Everyone can master oratory, the main thing here is desire and painstaking work over himself and his speech.

By the way, if you decide to master the art of oratory, you should know that Larisa Solovyova’s studio is highly praised, and judging by reviews like “”, we can conclude that professionals in their field really work there.

Oratory: features

The art of the speaker lies in the special construction of his speech in such a way as to inspire listeners with his mood and interest in the subject, to evoke a response in them to his words, prompting them to certain actions. To this end, a specific psychological impact strength of character or expertise of the speaker.

The main qualities of oratory include the art of the word, Fluency the technique of presenting information, the ability to keep the attention of those to whom such a word is directed. That is, it is not enough just to be able to speak correctly, since people can get distracted after a certain period of time, it is necessary to be able to maintain interest in the information presented. And this can be achieved with the help of language and verbal means communication.

There are several types of this skill.

In particular, it is natural eloquence. It usually manifests itself in ordinary life, without artificially creating the necessary conditions and does not require special training. For example, during a fire, people jump out of the house and scream to attract others and residents of the house to help. Or, having got into an emotionally intense situation, a person may begin to speak loudly and sublimely, agitated external stimulus. In such cases, there are involuntary emotions created under the influence of any factors.

Another type is oratory. These are artificially acquired skills. So, speaking from the podium, the speaker must be able to manage himself, as a result of the use of oratorical techniques. Oratory technologies originate from Ancient Greece and Rome. Even then, special attention was paid to the methods of presenting the oral word. Currently, information delivery technologies meet the realities of the modern world and are supported aids for a more meaningful impact on people.

But it must be taken into account that for successful performance the correct psychological attitude of the speaker is necessary, since only his interest in the subject of the speech, conviction in its correctness and enthusiasm for it can lead to a successful presentation of the material. If the speaker is not inspired by the information presented, he is unlikely to be able to ignite others with it, his speech will not evoke emotions and will not bring the desired results when presented. In order for speech to have brightness, it is necessary to be able to control it, as well as oneself - regardless of the surrounding circumstances.

Oratory is one of the most valuable skills that helps to beautifully and competently convey your position to a wide range of listeners. Few have an innate ability for such performances. Those who have mastered the secrets oratory, have every chance become interesting personality and achieve stunning success in almost any field, be it business, politics, art, etc.

A real speaker must have a number of qualities that make him an ace of public speaking. First, he needs to be erudite and well-read in order to right moment pick up Right words to frame your thoughts. Secondly, the speech of the speaker must be competent and clear, understandable. target audience listeners. Thirdly, a professional must subordinate the excitement to his will and maintain a cool calm during the presentation.

GENERAL CRITERIA FOR A SKILLY SPEAKER

First of all, you need to have a clear pronunciation and a well-trained voice, since they are the key to beautiful and intelligible speech. This can be achieved by correctly pronouncing consonants and clear vowels. To ensure that you and your listeners enjoy your speech, practice voice exercises.

In addition, so that during your speech you do not accidentally slip slang expression, you should eliminate many low-grade slang words from your vocabulary.

Pay attention to keeping your voice flowing as it builds favor with the listeners. The tempo and volume should be chosen based on the place and the number of listeners. Loud and slow speech is ideal for large audiences. Also, watch your intonation.

In order to be listened to, you need to be well versed in the topic being reported and talk about it in the context of those issues that interest your viewers. If you build your speech as a dialogue with the public, you will be provided with interested persons directed at you from the audience.

During the presentation, always talk only about the main thing, omitting unnecessary unnecessary facts of a secondary order.

Remember that a good speaker must maintain neutrality in relation to various contentious issues. Be a diplomat, not an aggressor - sometimes it's better to remain silent.

If suddenly, speaking to the public, you were included in the discussion, then you need to be as objective as possible. When conducting a public dialogue, you may encounter an opinion that contradicts yours. Do not try to argue, but simply accept the human right to own position. The aim of any discussion should be to reconcile the several sides.

Remember that during the dialogue you need to behave correctly and balanced. Don't give in to emotions. The art of public speaking lies in the harmony of calmness and confidence.

Try to keep things to the point, as evading specific statements and the main topic will annoy both opponents and observers. On the contrary, clear and precise thoughts will help convince a person to believe you and what you say.

Start speaking only after you are sure that your colleague has finished his thought. Ability to listen to the interlocutor- a very valuable quality.

assumes that the speaker has some personal qualities. These include calmness and inner composure, propensity for self-development, good memory and imagination. In addition, it will not be superfluous and insight. Also, do not forget about eloquence, because the ability to form your thoughts in an attractive form is a great gift. Confidence is an important component of a good speaker, because this quality infects the audience, and she begins to subconsciously trust every word of the speaker. Sociability will help you find the “key” to any listener or interlocutor, so try your best to develop this skill.

Watch your body. Smooth movements will play into your hands. Good posture will put you in the best light. No need to slouch, or vice versa, spread out on a chair. Remember that all eyes are on you, so be collected.

When you speak, always look at the person you are speaking to. Oratorical speech should exclude any negligence. Try to match your facial expression with what you say, otherwise you will be convicted of insincerity.

The basics of oratory are that during a speech you promote one main idea, and all your statements and remarks should be directed towards or lead to it. Try to remove from consciousness all thoughts that are not related to the main goal. If you arrange the information you want to convey in your head, then your speech will be as logical and consistent as possible. Always try to keep in front of your eyes what you want to say. Remember, the more interest you show in the subject of discussion, the better your speech will be.

It should also be noted that constructive criticism - this is an integral attribute of any dialogue with an opponent or the public. If you are accused of something, take it calmly, and confidently promote your idea. It is better to criticize opponents carefully and condescendingly. This is how you show your positive attitude , and you will not look like an enemy in the eyes of the interlocutor.

MAIN ASPECTS OF WORKING WITH THE AUDIENCE

First, you need to take into account that listeners are divided according to many criteria: gender, age, education, etc. Therefore, you should consider with whom and what you are going to talk about, otherwise you may encounter indifference or, even worse, aggression.

Secondly, oratory implies the ability to win the attention of the public, so before you speak, try to think as much as possible about what your audience will be interested in hearing.

Thirdly, the speaker must perfectly understand what the audience wants from him, and give it to her. Understanding the needs of each individual listener will make the presentation exciting.

Fourthly, the art of oratory is based on positive attitude to people, even if the purpose of the speech is to criticize.

Remember that a positive person will evoke the same feelings in the audience, which means that the speaker during the speech will be able to easily achieve goals.

THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE MANY SPEAKERS MAKE

Very often, speaking in front of an audience, people build too complex sentences and use long words. Firstly, it can bring down the speaker himself, and, secondly, it confuses the listeners. So it is better to avoid this format of speech construction.

In addition, novice speakers often make the mistake of using impersonal sentences. This format of communication with the audience can cause distrust, so use more definite personal pronouns.

Do not be indecisive. Make more affirmations and stay self-sufficient.

Measure your audience correctly, and don't use slang expressions that your listeners may not understand. Think through every sentence, every thesis, every joke, etc.

Find the perfect balance between affirmative and interrogative sentences. Dilute your speech with soft inserts like "also", "among other things", etc.

In addition, very often inept speakers fail, not knowing how to ask questions audience. Remember that if you want to bring your listeners to an active dialogue, then only open questions will help you with this.

And finally, never take your eyes off the audience. Maintain eye contact, and then your performance will be more vivid and convincing.

P.S. Learn how to make speech expressive - " Means of expressiveness of speech», « Development of articulation», « Exercises for the development of diction».

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The ability to speak in public has been a useful skill at all times. People who are fluent in oratory will always be in demand by society and will be able to find a job. It's no secret that there are few such people, they always stand out among others. They turn out successful leaders, politicians, businessmen, journalists, writers, teachers, as in many professions knowledge of rhetoric plays a crucial role. The purpose of this course in oratory is to provide an opportunity for everyone to master free of charge online materials, lessons, exercises, techniques and rules for mastering the basics of rhetoric.

What is rhetoric?

This word is of ancient Greek origin Greek rhetorike), and literally means " oratory". What is "oratory"? And how to develop your abilities for it?

Each of us at least a few times in his life had a chance to perform in public. And, for sure, no one doubts that in order to be fluent in oratory, you need to know and be able to do a lot. We can say that the ability to speak in public reflects our intellectual development and our social skills.

Martin Luther King's famous speech

By definition Big Soviet Encyclopedia, « oratory' is the view monologue speech, used in a situation where the speaker addresses a large audience for the purpose of persuasion or suggestion. Often, oratory is identified with eloquence, so a good speaker must be well-read, have competent speech be able to express your thoughts clearly. But the speaker also needs to be able to manage his excitement, master his diction and have a well-trained voice. In addition, it is important to master speech improvisation, be able to answer questions, maintain contact with the audience, pronounce the text with the necessary intonation, and much, much more.

Most of the described skills, which together form the art of public speaking, can be learned. To do this, it is important to work on yourself, to realize, analyze and correct the unsuccessful moments of your own and others' public speaking, and most importantly, to train your skills in practice. Our training will help you work through all these difficult steps on the way to cultivating excellent public speaking skills.

Do you want to test your knowledge?

If you want to check your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how it suits you, you can take our test. Only 1 option can be correct for each question. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Online rhetoric lessons

The public speaking training posted on this site is an integration of many of the techniques described by public speaking experts. Each of the lessons involves the development of a specific skill that contributes to the formation of your oratory skills. Naturally, each person can master these skills differently, so try to pay attention to those lessons that seem most useful to you.

Video

In this section of the mastery training public speech you can watch videos of famous speeches by prominent speakers: Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Vladimir Lenin and others. Also here you can find videos from various competitions, presentations and speeches of people in front of investors. In addition, the section contains video tutorials by leading experts in the field of public speaking.

4 rules of rhetoric

First rule. Start giving any speech with a strong desire to achieve your goal.
Second rule. Try to always prepare for the performance.
Third rule. Show confidence even if you don't feel confident.
Fourth rule. Practice more (this is true for any other skill).

These four rules of oratory, in fact, are the basis of any good performance. If you do not set yourself goals to achieve great success in rhetoric, but only try to prepare for a specific speech, then they may come in handy.

If you are planning to approach the study of the art of oratory in more detail, then we will be happy to provide you with a useful and interesting information in the lessons on our website.

We wish you success in mastering the art of oratory!