Sooner or later, those who intend to succeed will discover that their activity, business and / or profession places them in the need of having to occupy a podium, a podium, a rostrum or they will simply have to speak effectively from a meeting table so that their ideas be heard.
That is why more and more people realize that it is extremely necessary to Learn to Speak in Public or in other words: Express oneself effectively. In short, today it is imperative to master the ancient Art of Oratory. "Speak so that I can see you" said the great teacher Seneca.
How many times does it happen to us that a brilliant idea doesn't shine because we didn't know how to express it properly? Why do we get bored before a speech by someone in whom we recognize great capacity and wisdom? The answers are very simple: in both cases there is a lack of a true mastery of the skills that every good speaker must develop, the handling of the speech is null and the techniques of approaching the Audience are completely ignored. We could say, in situations like this, that the speaker does not know what has come to be called: The Oratory Trilogy. That is to say, the perfect development and domination of the Speaker, the Speech and the Audience. The three fundamental elements to ensure that the word becomes a motivator for action. At this point, we could define Speech as an instrument to improve the way we communicate, allowing us to “beautify” our expressions and transmit a much more elegant, clear and understandable message. To the extent that the receiver receives and understands said message, its emission has been successful. Without prejudice to the foregoing, we can say that Oratory is more than the transmission of a clear idea, since it is a tool to forge wills, that is, it is no longer enough that the receiver of our words receive and understand the message, but rather we also hope to provoke a reaction in him,influencing his behavior and inviting him to action. Therefore, Oratory can help us guide the decisions and actions of the listener, according to the objective that we have proposed.
Plutarch, when recounting the life of Cicero (the great orator and consul of Rome) tells us that he maintained that only an excellent orator is the one who at the same time: Instructs, Delights and Moves. If we expand this magnificent definition we can arrive at the following:
- Instruct: transmit new knowledge to those who ignore them Delight: provide solace (pleasant rest) with the word, which can be achieved with the depth or the tenuity of the thought, the nobility of the purposes, the elegance of the forms, the sharpness of the saying, the novelty of the case or the rarity of the argumentation. Moving: stirring up new feelings in the minds of listeners, awakening those that are dormant or latent, and inflaming those previously awake and on fire.
We only need to achieve a finished concept the idea of persuasion. Thus, in our opinion, the Good Speaker should, in addition to the actions expressed in the three previous points, be able to persuade his audience, understanding as such the ability to achieve such a conviction in listening that causes him an immediate reaction. The word Persuade derives from “Suados” which means: “attract the soul of the listener”. The Oratoria can be a tool to achieve reach the heart of those who receive our words.
In summary, we can assure you that Oratory can help us: overcome shyness, which in many cases is the disguise with which ignorance or insecurity is concealed; learn the method on how to develop and express an idea, practice serenity and learn to listen to what we do not like or is considered unacceptable, a very useful exercise to control negative impulses and the tendency to restrict the free exercise of speech of others and finally allows us to exercise a technique that ensures effective and persuasive expression.
To conclude we can say that Oratory is an art, a practice aimed at persuading. And although the purpose of it consists in the search for the means to persuade through the oral word, this art improves those who cultivate it, develops intelligence, gives a verbal mastery and allows us to express ourselves with ease and elegance; therefore, from a timid person, a determined man is made and ultimately by oratory man is perfected.
Dear readers: It would seem that the word is increasingly relegated, and according to Jaime Etcheverry, instant and canned information enjoys an unusual prestige, however, we must not allow the "Loss of Language and the Twilight of the Debate". keep in mind that one of the main characteristics that differentiate us from animals is the gift of speech, let us not allow it to be lost, stained or injured, let us return like the ancients to make a cult of ideas and a monument to its most form clear expression: The Word.
