Oratory

The word oratory refers either to the art of eloquent speech or to a place of worship.

An orator is one who practices oratory or speaks in public.

The word derives from Latin. It has come to be associated with skilled speaking in public. Many undergo extensive training to maximize their talent in this area as oratory is an effective tool of persuasion. Effective oratory is useful in law, politics, ceremonies, and religion among others.

Etymology

Orator is recorded in English since c.1374, meaning "one who pleads or argues for a cause," from Anglo-French oratour, from Old French orateur (14c.), from Latin orator "speaker," from orare "speak before a court or assembly, plead," from a Proto-IndoEuropean base *or- "to pronounce a ritual formula". The modern meaning "public speaker" is attested from c.1430.

The derived word oration, originally used for prayer since c.1375, now means (recorded since 1502) any formal speech, as on a ceremonial occasion or delivered in similar high-flown or pompous manner. Also another word for oratist. Its etymological doublet orison is recorded since c.1175, from Anglo-French oreison, Old French oraison "oration" (12c.), from Latin oratio "speech, oration," notably in Church Latin "prayer, appeal to God," from orare as above, but retained its devotional specialisation.

Pulpit orator denotes Christian authors, often clergymen, who are renowned for their ability to write and/or deliver (from the pulpit in church, hence the word) rhetorically skilled religious sermons.

One meaning of the word oratory is abstract: the art of public speaking. There is also the equivalent word "Rhetor" of Greek origin, hence the abstract noun rhetoric.

In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a semi-public place of worship constructed for the benefit of a group of persons

Uses

Law

Oratory is a vital component to the modern legal system. Cases are decided on the strength of the argument of either sides attorneys (prosecution v. defense or plaintiff v. defense). Cases are bookended by opening and closing statements in which attorneys attempt to to paint the facts in their interests. While one side might have fact on their side, they oftentimes lose should the other side have skilled orators capable of convincing a jury. Oratory in court cases comes both from speaking skills and a deep knowledge of the law, used to highlight oftentimes seemingly minute points that can be spun into case-changing arguments depending on the skill of the orator. Some famous examples of effective oratory in court cases include that of Clarence Darrow or OJ Simpson.

Politics

Oratory can also make or break political careers. Politicians with polished oratory skills have been able to sway the public or other politicians over key issues and build popular support for their side. Thomas Hart Benton was a famously brilliant orator who helped stave off the Civil War with his speeches in the Senate. Adolf Hitler is an example of a politician whose political goals were accomplished through effective oratory to the public. His fascist reign depended on his ability to convince the German people of the viability of his plans. Also playing an important role in World War II was Winston Churchill whose speeches salvaged the morale of the British people and ultimately helped sustain them throughout the war. Oratory gives otherwise inexperienced politicians the chance to shine, as was the case with Barack Obama at the 2004 National Democratic Convention. After this convention Obama was catapulted into the Democratic Party's spotlight as a potential presidential candidate. Similarly, John F. Kennedy launched his ascent to the presidency through his charismatic oratory. He overcame criticism of being too young and politically inexperienced through a series of speeches and debates. Political activists outside of government have used oratory to much good as well. Martin Luther King was a great orator whose famous speeches such as "I have a dream" changed the nation by rallying people of every color to a common cause. An equally gifted speaker during the Civil Rights movement was Malcolm X.

Ceremony

Important ceremonies are often marked by great uses of oratory. Funeral oration is a fitting example. A funeral oration or epitaphios logos (Greek: ἐπιτάφιος λόγος) is a formal speech delivered on the ceremonial occasion of a funeral. Funerary customs comprise the practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. In ancient Greece and, in particular, in ancient Athens, the funeral oration was deemed an indispensable component of the funeral ritual. In Homer very few elements of epitaphios logos or laudation are found. At the funeral of Patroclus chief in all the mourning is Achilles; the son of Peleus laid his bloodstained hand on the breast of his friend and cried: "Fare well Patroklos, even in the house of Hades. I will now do all that I erewhile promised you; I will drag Hector hither and let dogs devour him raw; twelve noble sons of Trojans will I also slay before your pyre to avenge you." As he spoke he treated the body of Hector with contumely, laying it at full length in the dust beside the bier of Patroklos. At the funeral of Hector the women, Andromache, his mother and Helen, deliver the final public statements over the dead body. Andromache laments the loss of her husband with these emotional words:

Woe is me, O Hector; woe, indeed, that to share a common lot we were born, you at Troy in the house of Priam, and I at Thebes under the wooded mountain of Plakos in the house of Eetion who brought me up when I was a child - ill-starred sire of an ill-starred daughter - would that he had never begotten me. You are now going into the house of Hades under the secret places of the earth, and you leave me a sorrowing widow in your house. The child, of whom you and I are the unhappy parents, is as yet a mere infant. Now that you are gone, O Hector, you can do nothing for him nor he for you.

Many years later the epitaphios logos became a part of the Athenian burial law. Thucydides describes in detail the funeral rituals and points out that "the dead are laid in the public sepulchre in the most beautiful suburb of the city, in which those who fall in war are always buried". This suburb was Kerameikos, where there was a monument for all the Athenians fell in battle, except such of them as fought at Marathon.

The primary function of the funeral oration was to give public expression to the conception of the potential excellence of polis. It was an occasion on which Athens "invented" and "reinvented" itself in narrative form. The city displayed its achievements, as well as the civic and personal virtues to which the citizens could aspire. The secular prose of the funeral oration dedicates itself to celebrating the ideal of the democratic Athenian city. Through the epitaphios, a civic discourse, the city recognizes itself as it wishes to be.

Religion

Religion has long been associated with the most intelligent figures in society. America's Ivy League schools have religious origins so it is not surprising that some of the greatest speakers in history have been religious figures. Religious oratory is often used for proselytizing non-believers, but is also used to fire up the faithful base of believers. Two of the most important figures in today's religions are Jesus and Mohammed, both of whom were known as great speakers. Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" is cited quite often today. The power of these men to convince oftentimes hostile audiences of the validity of their messages is testament to their skills as speakers. Christianity and Islam are based on these abilities and would not exist without the charisma of their founders. Later in history, members of the Christian-Catholic Jesuit order used then-modern skills of persuasion to convert many of the Native Americans, Chinese, and Indians to Catholocism on missions. Also in American History were the periods known as the Great Awakening in the 1700s during which more fundamentalist forms of Protestantism took hold in America thanks to the efforts of powerful public speakers from Baptist, Methodist, and other churches. The Great Awakening led to a wave of religious fervor and is partly responsible for the state of religion in America today. Continuing in that fundamentalist Christian vein two hundred years later are speakers such as Billy Graham and Pat Robertson. Preachers such as them have helped to make evangelical Christianity one of the most popular forms of religion in the country today.

Oratory as Art

In ancient Greece and Rome, oratory was studied as a component of rhetoric (that is, composition and delivery of speeches), and was an important skill in public and private life. Aristotle and Quintilian discussed oratory, and the subject, with definitive rules and models, was emphasised as a part of a "complete education" during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, although this was generally confined to the church.

The development of parliaments in the 18th century saw the rise of great political orators; the ability to wield words effectively became one of the chief tools of politicians, and often made the greatest difference in their positions. By the mid 20th century, oratory became less grandiloquent and more conversational; for instance, the "fireside chats" of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The term oratory has generally fallen into disuse and is used mostly as a historical or subject term.

Since ancient Greece

In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (Ars Oratoria) was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. As the Greeks were still seen as the masters in this field, as in philosophy and most sciences, the leading Roman families often either sent their sons to study these things under a famous master in Greece (as was the case with the young Julius Caesar) or engaged a Greek teacher (under pay or as a slave).

The history of oratory can be confused with the one of rhetoric in certain sense. In fact, the art of public speaking was firstly developed by the ancient Greeks and, after the ascension of Rome, copied and modified by the Latins. An example would be Cicero.

In the opinion of Dr. Iran P. Moreira Necho, the "...oratory suffered severely after the Latin power ascension, for the public speech can only be developed in ambients where the debate is allowed. Hence, inside a Roman regime, where the very essence of man was to live as a State appendices (and not debate it), the oratory fastly became a mere compendium on "how to speak fluently" (focus on the beauty of the exposition), even though without any content (preferably without content, since it requires critical thinking)..."

That is why Latin oratory (formalist, with little to no focus on content) ended to find a reception in the world until the beginnings of the 20th century, since the majority of the states in the indicated period was ruled by some kind of monarchy or dictatorship.

In spite of this, with World War II , a historical moment where the democratic ideals began to take body in the world and there began a gradual deprecation of the old Latin style of communication which focused on the formalism.

Nowadays, there is a vigorous tendency to return to the "Greek School of Oratory" (Aristotelian), since the modern world does not accept - as it did in the past - "fluent speeches" without any content. On the other hand, despite the high demand, the creation of new centers of Greek oratory have some counterpoints:

Teachers:

1. The Latin Oratory, because it is merely formal, is easy to teach.
2. The Greek Oratory, for it demands much more in terms of content, requires (from the masters) an extraordinarily superior formation (philosophy, logic, ethics, stylistics, grammar, etc...), since it is not acceptable that a Master could be defeated by his/her disciples. Therefore, while teachers of Latin Oratory are just any person who delivers speeches with fluency, to train a teacher of Greek oratory could take years of study and deep meditation.

Students:

1. Latin Oratory can be taught through relatively fast courses.
2. Greek Oratory demands much more time and effort.

• Latin: Strong valorization of form. Remarkable use of stylistics. Constant appeal to the listener emotions. Communication is deemed as a way to demonstrate "intellectual superiority" or eloquence.

• Greek: Strong valorization of message content. Utilization of argumentation strategies. Appeal to the common sense. Communication is deemed as skill to persuade and obtain influence.

File:Karl Liebknacht 1918 Berlin in Tiergarten.jpg

Karl Liebknecht speaking in Berlin, 1918

Training

Leadership often requires the skill of good public speaking, and this can often make up for a lack of other skills. Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King, Jr. are two examples of the efficacy of powerful oratory.

Effective oratory can be developed by joining a club such Rostrum, Toastmasters International, Association of Speakers Clubs (ASC) or International Training in Communication (ISC) in which members are assigned exercises to improve their speaking skills. Members learn by observation and practice, and hone their skills by listening to constructive suggestions followed by new public speaking exercises. These include:

• The use of gestures
• Control of the voice
• Choice of vocabulary
• Speaking notes
• Using humour
• Developing a relationship with the audience

International Federation of Professional Speakers affilates (often called National Speakers Association) offer a similar service for those whose occupation is a professional speaker.

Commercial training services such as Speaking Circles International are also available.

Many people list speaking in public as their greatest fear; it ranks higher than the fear of death for many individuals. Clinically, this fear is known as Glossophobia.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Primary sources

• Cicero, De Legibus, Liber Secundus. See original text in the Latin Library
• Demosthenes, Against Leptines. See original text in Perseus program
• Diogenes Laertius, Solon. Translated by C.D. Yonge
• Homer, Iliad, Book 22-23. See original text in Perseus program
• Pausanias, Description of Greece. See original text in Perseus program
• Pindar, Sixth Olympian For Hagesias of Syracuse.See original text in Perseus program
• Plato, Menexenus.See original text in Perseus program
• Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, II. See original text in Perseus program.

Secondary sources

• Colaiaco, James A. (2001). Socrates Against Athens: Philosophy on Trial. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-415-92654-8. 
• "Funeral Oration". Encyclopaedia The Helios. (1952).</ref>
• Foley, Helene P. (2002). Female Acts in Greek Tragedy. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09492-6. 
• Derderian, Katharine (2000). "The Epitaphios Logos and Mourning in the Athenian Polis", Leaving Words to Remember. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11750-4. 
• Loraux, Nicole (1994). The Children of Athena. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-03762-0. 
• Loraux, Nicole (1986). The Invention of Athens: The Funeral Oration in the Classical City. Harvard University Press. 
• Monoson, Sara (2000). Plato's Democratic Entanglements. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04366-3. 
• Samons, Loren J. (2005). "Bail Oinochoai", Periklean Athens And Its Legacy by Judith M Barringer and Jeffrey M Hurwit. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70622-7. 

External links

• Figures of Speech
• Public Speaking Resources
• National Speakers Association (NSA)
• Greater Talent Network, America's Leading Celebrity Speakers Bureau
• Institute of Rhetoric and Communication - Germany's leading Rhetoric Institute
• Detailed article on overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
• Saxton Speakers Bureau: Australia's leading public speaking bureau
• Online resources for Public Speakeing and Event Planning
• Association of Speakers Clubs
• CSA - Celebrity Speakers: Top speakers' Bureau for Central & Eastern Europe
• CSA - Celebrity Speakers: Leading European Speakers' Bureau
• How To Conquer Public Speaking Fear

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