SPC 3210 Final Exam Chapter 18 The Rhetoric Why Studying Public Speaking is Important It is a skill employers seek in potential employees It allows us as a society to be open to listening to conflicting viewpoints Information communicated to a group can resonate beyond the initial group Public speaking is a critical skill in a democratic society The Rhetorical Tradition Aristotle is generally credited with explaining the dynamics of public speaking He wrote The Rhetoric which consists of three books 1 st is concerned with public speakers 2nd is focused on the audience And the 3rd pertains to the speech it self The Rhetoric is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of writing in the Western world These books provide a how to for public speaking At the age of 17 Aristotle went to study with his mentor Plato Both minds had different world views which led to differing philosophies Plato was interested in absolute truths rather than the practical value of truth Plato also felt that as long as people could agree on important matters society would be fine On the other hand Aristotle was more interested with the here and now He was in search of a logical realistic and rational view of society Aristotle taught many groups in Greek society and became known as a man committed to helping the ordinary citizen Sophists teachers of public speaking who were hired to instruct citizens in basic principals of persuasion These sophists established small schools where they taught students about the public speaking process and produced handbooks discussing practical ways to become more effective speakers Aristotle was not a fan of these handbooks He believed they focused too much on the judicial system and neglected other contexts He also thought these handbooks were more centered on arousal rather than logic The Rhetoric can be considered Aristotle s way of responding to the problems he saw in these handbooks Aristotle defined Rhetoric as the available means of persuasion When persuading others speakers should consider all aspects of speech making including the audience Many scholars such as Jasper Neel 1994 emphasize the return to Aristotle s original definition when studying the discipline of Rhetoric Assumptions of Rhetoric 1 Effective public speakers must consider their audience 1 This suggests that you have to look at the audience as a group of individuals with their own motivations decisions and choices Not just a mass of clones Also analyzing your audience is imperative of the three elements in speech making speaker subject and person addressed it is the last one the hearer that determines the speech s end and object Aristotle 2 Effective public speakers use 3 proofs in their presentations This assumption pertains to what speakers do in their speech prep and their speech making Ethos this refers to the perceived character intelligence and goodwill of a speaker as they become revealed through his or her speech Logos the logical proof that speakers employ their arguments and rationalizations Pathos the emotions that are drawn out of listeners Aristotle argues that listeners become the instruments of proof when emotion is stirred in them Syllogisms A Three Tiered Argument Syllogism refers to a set of propositions that are related to one another and draw a conclusion from the major and minor premises A syllogism is nothing more than a deductive argument a group of statements premises that lead to another group of statements conclusions Example All humans need water to live major premise Mark is human minor premise Mark needs water to live logical conclusion Canons of Rhetoric 1 Invention The term invention refers to the construction or development of an argument that is relevant to the purpose of a speech Topics are aids to invention They are the lines of argument or modes of reasoning a speaker uses in a speech Civic Spaces are metaphorical locations where rhetoric has the opportunity to effect change 2 Arrangement 3 Style Arrangement pertains to a speaker s ability to organize a speech Focus is on patterns of the introduction body and conclusion The use of language to express ideas in a certain manner is called style Aristotle suggests avoiding glosses outdated words in a speech but encourages metaphors 4 Memory Memory is the storing of invention arrangement and style in a speakers mind It is generally associated with remembering the techniques and materials of a speech 5 Delivery Types of Rhetoric This refers to the nonverbal presentation of speakers ideas 2 Also known as the three types of oratory the three types are forensic epideictic and deliberative Forensic rhetoric this pertains to establishing a fact Courtroom speech that deals with psyche beliefs and attitudes Epideictic rhetoric this pertains to praising or blaming ceremonial speaking Deliberative Rhetoric this pertains to speakers who must determine a course of action stating that something should or should not be done The three types refer to three different time periods forensic to the past epideictic to the present and deliberative to the future Critique of Rhetoric Heurism relevant in so many areas politics medicine philosophy communication etc Logical consistency at times hard to understand concepts can be too broad Test of time Aristotle s Rhetoric has been used for centuries Chapter 20 The Narrative Paradigm Apparently not on the Exam The narrative paradigm was the finding of Walter Fisher and promotes the belief that humans are story tellers and those values emotions and aesthetic considerations ground our beliefs and behaviors In other words we are more persuaded by a good story than by a good argument Fisher uses the term paradigm to signal the breadth of his vision because a paradigm is considered broader than a theory Fisher states that his use of the term paradigm refers to an effort to formalize and direct our understanding of the experience of all human communication Using the word in this sense indicates that fisher s thinking represents a major shift from the thinking that had supported most previous theories of communication Approaching all human communication from this perspective creates a paradigm shift a significant change in the way most people see the world and its meanings Our approach to knowing has evolved throughout history Before Aristotle and Plato the term logos meant a combination of concepts that included story rationale discourse and thought Plato and Aristotle made the distinction
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