Tuesday
Oct052010
Tip: Speak like Obama
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 11:15AM
To speak well is arguably the most important management skill of them all. It is a classic skill, and the Greeks competed in it. They called it Rhetoric, meaning one speaking to many.
Photo by ChrisGoldNY Flickr CC
Plato had a disdain for the speakers of the day, that gave little importance to truth. Problem is, according to the research of Simon Sinek, one of my five heroes, it might be very effective. The decision making part of the brain does not process logic, only emotion and will not detect errors in logic. Many great speakers and dictators have made use of this dark side of rhetoric. One of the most important reasons why learning to speak is important, it to be on guard against the dark techniques.
The University of Kentucky has assembled a list of the greek concepts. The one I personally like the most is "anadiplosis", meaning doubling back. Winston Churchill said in one of his famous speeches: "For you I have only seven words - never give up, never ever give up!"
Aristotle, Plato's student, also supported ethics in public speaking and defended that there are three points to consider: "Logos", "Ethos" and "Pathos". Personally I'm a big fan of Aristotle and always use his principles for public speaking:
Rick Morgan's analysis of Obamas recent UN speech in the Harvard Business Review, give the following four tips for speaking:
I really love to listen to Presidents speaking, they have the best speech writers around, and they all seem to be schooled in rhetoric. I think I can see Aristotle in Obama, do you agree?
Have you ever tried to search for an analysis of the Presidential speeches on the net? There are usually several published as soon as the day after, and they are full of valuable lessons, do give it a try!
Photo by ChrisGoldNY Flickr CCPlato argued for ethics
Plato had a disdain for the speakers of the day, that gave little importance to truth. Problem is, according to the research of Simon Sinek, one of my five heroes, it might be very effective. The decision making part of the brain does not process logic, only emotion and will not detect errors in logic. Many great speakers and dictators have made use of this dark side of rhetoric. One of the most important reasons why learning to speak is important, it to be on guard against the dark techniques.
The University of Kentucky has assembled a list of the greek concepts. The one I personally like the most is "anadiplosis", meaning doubling back. Winston Churchill said in one of his famous speeches: "For you I have only seven words - never give up, never ever give up!"
Aristotle's three points
Aristotle, Plato's student, also supported ethics in public speaking and defended that there are three points to consider: "Logos", "Ethos" and "Pathos". Personally I'm a big fan of Aristotle and always use his principles for public speaking:
- Logos - means the structure of your argument, the "if-then" of the reasoning, as a programmer might have said. My interpretation is that logos means speaking to the neo-cortex structure of the brain.
- Ethos - is about who you are, with what moral right you say something.
- Pathos - is the feeling and commitment behind your words. Again, I believe that this is speaking to the limbic structures of the brain, the emotional side.
Four lessons from Obama
Rick Morgan's analysis of Obamas recent UN speech in the Harvard Business Review, give the following four tips for speaking:
- Gain leverage by telling the truth rather than sticking to familiar cant.
- Find simplicity amidst complexity allows you to drive the agenda.
- When dealing with a difficult audience or contentious issues, make some offerings early on.
- Once you’ve told the truth, sweetened the pot, and kept it simple, ask for the hard stuff.
I really love to listen to Presidents speaking, they have the best speech writers around, and they all seem to be schooled in rhetoric. I think I can see Aristotle in Obama, do you agree?
Have you ever tried to search for an analysis of the Presidential speeches on the net? There are usually several published as soon as the day after, and they are full of valuable lessons, do give it a try!
Reader Comments (3)
The American school system also emphasizes rhetoric from a very early age. Many Ivy League schools and universities have debate clubs, which help to sharpen the students' oratory skills.
Here's a great resource I use (http://americanrhetoric.com/). BTW, one of my favorite speeches is Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote speech.
Abraço,
José
True, when I went to High-School, we had a debate team. Thanks for the resource!
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