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PUBLIC-SPEAKING

Public speaking is a vital skill that many fear, yet its importance has grown with platforms like TED Talks and YouTube. The art of rhetoric has roots in the Greco-Roman tradition, emphasizing structure and ethical communication, with notable figures like Aristotle and Cicero shaping its principles. In the Philippines, public speaking has historical significance, with women known as babaylan presiding over rituals and the Balagtasan debate honoring Filipino poetic tradition.

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Rey Steven Medija
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3 views2 pages

PUBLIC-SPEAKING

Public speaking is a vital skill that many fear, yet its importance has grown with platforms like TED Talks and YouTube. The art of rhetoric has roots in the Greco-Roman tradition, emphasizing structure and ethical communication, with notable figures like Aristotle and Cicero shaping its principles. In the Philippines, public speaking has historical significance, with women known as babaylan presiding over rituals and the Balagtasan debate honoring Filipino poetic tradition.

Uploaded by

Rey Steven Medija
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PUBLIC SPEAKING

Public speaking is an important life skill, yet few people master it. In fact, many
people are afraid of speaking in public. However, the significance of public speaking has
only gotten stronger in contemporary times. Public speaking platforms, such as TED
Talks and YouTube, have captured and disseminated public speech to an unprecedented
scale, and what one says at the spur of the moment can live forever on the internet. Great
speeches have created hope in perilous situations, and have made people change their
minds about the world and their places in it.

A Short History of Public Speaking

 The most well-known public speaking traditions come from the West, specifically from
the Greco-Roman tradition. The Greeks studied the art of rhetoric on the island of
Sicily, and it began with a practical need. (Rhetoric- the art of persuasion// one of the
3 arts of discourse (trivium) along with grammar and logic/dialectic.)
 According to Corax, a Greek teacher of rhetoric, a basic speech has three
parts: the introduction, evidence, and conclusion. This simple organization
of speeches has endured throughout the ages (Morreale, 2010).
 Protagoras, the father of debate, made his students argue for and against
issues of the day to sharpen their reasoning skills and appreciate different sides
of an issue.
 Aristotle, also known as the Father of Modern Communication, wrote a
treatise entitled: Rhetoric" where he discussed the use of logos (logical
argument), pathos (emotional argument), and ethos (the speaker’s character
and credibility.
 The most famous orator in Ancient Greece was Demosthenes. In the
beginning, he had many flaws when it came to public speaking, chief among
them were his stammer and weak voice. According to Kleiser (2009),
Demosthenes practiced earnestly by declaiming on the seashore with pebbles
in his mouth, walking uphill and downhill while reciting, and that his speeches
were known for their deliberation and forethought. According to Greenville
Kleiser (2009), in Successful Methods in Public Speaking, “The great orators
of the world did not regard eloquence as simply an endowment of nature,
but applied themselves diligently to cultivating their powers of
expression.”
 The most famous Roman orator was Cicero, whose eloquence was
described as a “resistless torrent” (Kleisser, 2009). He considered rhetoric
an art and believed that in order to prepare a speech, one should think first of
one’s listeners and interests, and to use certain strategies, such as using
humor, questions, etc., to engage the audience (Morreale, 2010).

 The Roman lawyer and educator, Quintilian, also forwarded the idea that
public speakers should be ethical. The ideal speaker was a good man
speaking well, a good speaker is ethical and of high character, and speaking
well means being well-informed and presenting the speech effectively.

 The Philippines during the pre-colonial times was one of the few places that allowed
women to speak in public for the purpose of presiding over religious rituals. These
women were known as babaylan, priestesses of the community.
 During the American period, the more widely known Balagtasan was also staged, in
order to honor Francisco Balagtas, a well-known Filipino poet. The Balagtasan is like
an ordinary debate, except that one has to reason and argue in verse.

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