Types of oratory. Abstract on the discipline “Academic reading, writing”

Introduction

One of the highest talents is, nevertheless, the ability to influence people. Oratory has a lot of important meaning: measuring the world understanding of the people who are listening in a particular area, as well as influencing the actions of listeners. And, precisely in connection with this, this topic is relevant.

One of the most ancient philological sciences is rhetoric. Its warehouse was formed in Greece in the 4th century BC.

The main content of this science is the theory of argumentation in public speech. Even then, the outstanding philosopher Aristotle defined such science as “the ability to find possible methods of persuasion regarding each given subject.”

In ancient times, rhetoric was divided into the following sciences:

1. logic;

2. ethics;

3. physics.

This talent dates back to ancient times. It is also necessary to note the fact that there is a colossal number of historical events that could not have come true if there were no people who directed their development in a specific direction.

In ancient times, the Greeks loved to talk and listen just as much. We can say that the whole life of this people passed in endless conversations. The Greeks managed to transform public performance into something more: into an art that can be compared to both dance and music. Each nation brought something new, something of its own to art. So, for example, the Romans introduced severity, and the Malaysians - pomposity.

There were also times when the art of oratory was so valued that people who mastered it were carried in their arms. But it’s worth noting that much more often it was the other way around: people were punished for speaking correctly.

Unfortunately, we will never have the opportunity to enjoy the magnificent speech of Demosthenes, the sermon of John Chrysostom, and even what Copernicus said last before making the statement that the planet rotates.

The true art of an orator can only be observed by those who are close to him. Such talent, in this case, can be compared with the theater: “everything disappears when the curtain closes.” However, if in the theater a speech delivered in a timely manner has limitations - applause, then in oratory such a speech can turn everything upside down.

Purpose of the work: to study such a topic as the culture of oratory.

Objectives of this essay:

1. identify the structure of this art;
2. determine its types and genera;
3. determine functional and semantic types of speech.

Structure: this work consists of ten chapters, three of which are structural elements (introduction, conclusion, list of references), and seven chapters are the main part, the fourth chapter includes two paragraphs. The total volume is twenty-five pages.

Framing

Very important in oratory is the ability to present the same material to listeners in different ways, depending on one’s own goals and objective circumstances. One of the most effective techniques for framing the content of speech today is framing, which, by the way, is known as an important component of neurolinguistic programming.

Frame

(English - frame) - the context of consideration of any thing, with the help of which you can change the shade of perception of this thing. One of the most popular concepts of framing is the concept of Robert Dilts - “tricks of language”. The author believes that any phrase and thought can be viewed in different ways. Dilts found 14 different ways to change the focus of perception. Read more about the use of framing and language tricks in one of the lessons on developing creative thinking on the website 4brain.ru.

Types and types of oratory

The genera and types of this art were not formed immediately, but gradually. These divisions are distinguished based on the spheres of communications, which, in turn, correspond to one of the main functions of speech, namely:

1. impact;
2. message;
3. communication.

In the real practice of public communication, there are types of oratory. So this is:

1. socio-political eloquence;
2. judicial eloquence;
3. social and everyday eloquence;
4. spiritual (church-theological) eloquence.

Such eloquence as socio-political includes speeches whose themes are either socio-political, or socio-economic, or socio-cultural, or ethical-moral.

There is academic eloquence. This is a certain type of speech that helps to form a scientific worldview, which, in turn, has distinctive features - scientific presentation, logical culture, as well as deep argumentation. Academic eloquence can include a scientific report, a scientific message, and both a university and popular science lecture. This type of speech has many similarities with the scientific style of speech. However, in academic eloquence, expressive means are very often used.

Social - everyday eloquence. This genus includes the following:

1. greeting speech;
2. speech given at diplomatic receptions;
3. table speech;
4. anniversary speech (this can be delivered both to a specific person and to a significant date).

Judicial eloquence. This type of speech exists in order to influence the court purposefully and also effectively. Judicial eloquence contributes to the formation of exhortations of judges, as well as those who are present in the room at that moment. Judicial eloquence is also divided into:

1. defensive speech;
2. prosecutor's speech;
3. lawyer speech;
4. accusatory speech.

Spiritual (church-theological) eloquence. This genus is considered the most ancient; it has its own traditions, as well as rich experience. Highlight:

1. official speech is a speech that is delivered to people serving the church or other persons interacting with official action;
2. A sermon is a speech that is delivered to people coming to church, and it must also be accompanied by church actions.

Inter-style, as well as general linguistic means - this is the base that underlies any kind. But it is necessary to note that any kind of oratory has its own specific linguistic features that form a microcircuit with the same stylistic coloring.

Repeat

In one of the lessons on memory development on our website, there is an entire section devoted to repetition, because repetition is the most important principle of memorizing information. In oratory, repetition is used, which more deeply cements the main idea of ​​the speech in the minds of the audience, increases the persuasiveness of the speaker’s speech, evokes memories in the listeners, helps to correctly organize the speech, and present new information as already familiar. So if you want your listeners to remember the necessary information well, repeat it and get the desired effect.

However, it should be borne in mind that ordinary word-for-word repetition of material is effective only in certain circumstances; in most cases, repetitions become an effective technique for a speaker only if they are skillfully framed in speech. The following types of repetitions can be distinguished :

However, the entire arsenal of these techniques is not exhausted.

The role of functional styles of literary language

An oratorical speech can only be prepared. Preparation takes place using book and written sources, which, in turn, significantly influence both directly and directly on the structure of speech.1

The informative function underlies the official business style. This style of speech serves the sphere of relationships that are officially business.

Functions such as reporting and evidence of information are at the core of the scientific style. Sphere of scientific knowledge.

The journalistic style is based on functions such as message, as well as impact. This style of speech serves both the sphere of socio-political, and the sphere of socio-cultural, and many other social relations. In a journalistic style, absolutely all means that are linguistic can be used. This style is characterized by economy of linguistic means.

The artistic style is based on functions such as impact and aesthetics. In this style, the national language and literary language are most closely reflected.

Functions of journalistic style

In speech, the plan for dividing into functional styles is built, first of all, according to what linguistic functions each of them performs. So, in this case, two goals of the journalistic style of speech are distinguished.

• Purpose of information transfer. This goal of a journalistic style of speech is aimed, first of all, at communicating to an audience of listeners or readers certain information that is factually accurate and relevant.
• The purpose of emotional influence. Through the dissemination of information in the media or through the speeches of speakers, there is often an emotional inducement to certain actions. This could be a call for the city population to come out for a citywide cleanup, a call for unity, or the usual request of a TV presenter “not to switch during commercials.”

Usually the transmitted information contains not only facts about certain events, but also a call to certain actions. For example, various kinds of debates and discussions not only provide the viewer with information about the subject under discussion, but also practically encourage him to active mental activity in order to form his position regarding the question posed.

Where journalistic style is used usually indicates the purpose of communicating information. If we are talking about a scientific journalistic report, then most likely the informative goal of the journalistic style is being pursued. If it comes to the management of a plant giving a motivational speech to employees, the main purpose of using this type of speech is to awaken certain emotions in the listener.

Regardless of where the journalistic style is used, it retains its characteristic linguistic means. The linguistic features of the journalistic style of speech are divided into lexical, morphological and syntactic features.

Functional and semantic types of speech

The composition of oratorical speech is not homogeneous. This is due to the fact that a person, when thinking, reflects a variety of connections between objects, between phenomena of reality, between events, as well as between individual judgments. There are such types of speech as: 2

1. description;
2. narration;
3. reasoning.

And it is in these styles of speech that these connections are expressed. In this regard, the oratorical speech appears to us:

1. monologue narration;
2. monologue reasoning;
3. monologue narration

Narration is a type of speech that reports on states, as well as actions that develop in a time sequence. In addition, they have their own linguistic means. 3This type of speech is characterized by such a feature as dynamics.

Based on the fact that this type of speech includes situations that have dynamic reflections, this mechanism determines its position in speech.

With the help of verbs, the dynamics of this type of speech are created. Very often, verbs of a specific action are used because they have the ability to express both the sequence of events and their rapid change. It should be highlighted:

1. specific narrative;
2. generalized narrative;
3. informational storytelling.

Description is a type of speech that gives an idea of ​​character, gives a statistical picture, an idea of ​​the structure, an idea of ​​the qualities of an object, of properties by listing features both essential and not essential at a certain moment.

This type of speech, such as description, is also divided into:

1. statistical;
2. dynamic.

Reflection or reasoning is a type of speech in which the internal characteristics of both phenomena and objects are revealed, specific provisions are proven, and, naturally, the study of phenomena and objects is carried out.4 Those judgments that are included in reasoning have special logical relationships with each other , this is what characterizes this type of speech. Such logical judgments form either one conclusion or a series of conclusions on a specific topic.

By its very nature, oratory is controversial. This is due to the fact that it reflects the contradictory conflicts of communication and current life. There are two types of disputes:

1. implicit (or hidden, internal);
2. explicit (or open, external).

Controversy is communication that takes place in public, masters of speech, an argument in the process of discussing a specific issue.

Speakers can argue a lot; during disputes, they use all the means freely available from the huge arsenal of polemics. This includes irony, allusions, sarcasm, and antithesis, as well as numerous omissions, remarks, comparisons, and relief.

Example, similarity and comparison

Comparison is probably the main, most basic technique of oratory. The most important rule of rhetoric is that everything abstract must be presented visually with the help of comparisons and examples, images, or even short stories-illustrations included in the speech. This technique sounds especially advantageous in cases where you want to convey numerical information to the listener.

For example, the well-known Mikhail Khodorkovsky, commenting on the court’s conviction, which stated that he stole 347 million tons of oil, compared this amount of fuel with the volume that could fit in “a train that circles the earth three times along the equator.” It is difficult for an ordinary person to imagine how much 347 million tons of oil is.

But we all know what a train looks like, and we can roughly imagine the circumference of the Earth, which means we know that this is a lot of oil. Such a comparison, used by the speaker, helps listeners to imagine numerical data and mentally relate them to quantities familiar to them, making abstract numbers tangible.

In addition to the usual comparison, there are also its individual forms, such as image and metaphor. Unlike the usual juxtaposition of two things in speech, these oratorical techniques have a creative flavor. As a rule, images are not created artificially by us. They come when we observe the world around us and build associations.

If you want to decorate your speech with images, but are experiencing certain difficulties in producing the necessary imagery, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with a special lesson on our website aimed at developing associative thinking, and also practice solving doodles.

In some cases, to create images and analogies, you can even resort to short stories, if your speaking time allows, of course. However, you should not delay the moment of illustration; it is important to create a clear and vivid image that will remain in people’s memory, without overloading their attention with abstract reasoning.

A similar method of comparison, which is based on the relationship of a part to the whole, is synecdoche (renaming)

. This is a way of expressing thoughts in which a word is used in a figurative meaning, namely, the concept of a known object or group of objects is replaced by a concept denoting a part of the named object or a single object.

For example, when we hear the phrase “The White House and the Kremlin have different opinions,” we understand that we are not talking about architectural structures, but about representatives of certain political forces in the United States and Russia who did not agree on some issue. Synecdoche gives the speaker the opportunity to briefly and expressively convey his thought to the audience, leaving in their memory a certain image of what was said.

Speaker and his audience

In order to successfully speak in front of a large crowd of people, the speaker needs, first of all, to attract the attention of absolutely the entire audience, it is necessary to force people to listen to himself. 5At first glance, it may seem that controlling such a mechanism as listener attention is very simple. However, it is not. A performance that will bring success depends on the abilities of the speaker, on his professionalism, preparedness, and on those factors that he cannot influence in any way.

Properties of public speaking

Various public speaking skills are developed in the process of relevant classes and trainings, and their manifestation is public speaking, which has the following basic properties:

1) special structure of speech , the relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic (facial expressions, gestures) means of persuading the audience;

2) the focus of the speech on obtaining a response from the listeners, since its goal is not simply conveying information, but persuasion;

3) effectiveness , depending on the psychological mood and state of the speaker, his authority in the eyes of the public.

4.2. Techniques for establishing contact with the audience

Contact with the audience is the highest manifestation of public speaking skill. This community can arise on the basis of common mental activity, on sensory experiences that are similar. The speaker will receive a response from his audience if he shows his own attitude to the subject of speech, as well as the interest and conviction of the speaker. It is also very important that you need to feel your listeners, and it is also necessary to put into practice the ability to correct speech depending on their reaction. The speaker must be able not only to argue on some topic, but also have a huge range of knowledge on numerous issues.

A positive reaction to what the speaker says, “working” silence in the hall, as well as the listeners’ posture, the audience’s gaze, head nods, exclamations of approval, laughter, their smiles and applause - all these are the main indicators between communicators. Contact is a quantity that is variable, that is, it can be complete (with the entire audience) or incomplete, stable or unstable at various stages of speech delivery.

Eye contact must not only be established, but also constantly maintained with the audience. This is necessary in order to win the audience. The person who speaks, as a rule, slowly glances at absolutely all the listeners.

Before you begin your public speech, you need to take a short psychological pause. This pause lasts from five to seven seconds. The speaker’s speech should not be monotonous or monotonous. Phrases must be separated by pauses, and must also be pronounced with different intonations.

Today's oratory is characterized by a combination of such linguistic means as emotional - figurative, as well as logical - analytical.

The attention of listeners tends to become dull, and this does not depend on how interesting a particular topic is to the audience. There are a number of oratorical techniques to maintain the attention of listeners:

1. Question and answer reception. The speaker himself asks questions and gives answers to them, clarifies the doubts raised, as well as objections, and comes to specific conclusions;
2. Such a technique as the transition to dialogue from a monologue introduces participants to the process of discussing any topic, and also includes their interest;
3. Creating a situation that is problematic. "Why?" - this is exactly the question that the created situation should pose to the audience. Thanks to this, their cognitive activity is stimulated;
4. There is another technique that literally forces listeners to think and speculate. This technique is called the “reception of novelty of information”;
5. The next technique is based on personal experience, on personal opinions, on what has always been and will be interesting to the listener;
6. “Demonstration technique”: how significant is practical information;
7. The same technique gives the audience a “break,” that is, it is necessary to deviate a little from the topic;
8. This technique is called “quiet voice”. With its help, it is not at all difficult to draw attention to important places in the speaker’s public speech. It is necessary to simultaneously slow down and lower the strength of the voice;
9. This technique is called the “gradation technique.” That is, this is an increase in the semantic and emotional significance of the word. This technique can help both strengthen and give emotional expressiveness to both a formulated thought and just an ordinary phrase;
10. Reception of inversion. This technique is a figure of speech. Such a turn can turn the generally accepted, common course of expressions and thoughts into the opposite direction;
11. This technique is called “the technique of appealing to one’s thoughts.”

Next, what I would like to note are lexical techniques due to the fact that they significantly increase the persuasiveness of oratorical speech. Tropes are what the manuals for a given art recommend for use in oratory.

Trope - (from the Greek tropos - turn, turn of speech) the figurative meaning of the word, that is, the expression of words, phrases in a figurative meaning. If we take this term in a narrow view, then it is a word transformation, with the help of which one can achieve the aesthetic effect of expressiveness in speech. The trails include the following:

1. comparisons;
2. metaphors;
3. epithets;
4. allegories;
5. hyperboles and others.

Metaphor: using this technique, the name is transferred from one object to some other object. This is a speech rapprochement of two phenomena due to either similarity or contrast (“The locomotive of history cannot be stopped...”).

Comparison: this technique is popular in use, it is used much more often than all others because it is with the help of this technique that the speaker can achieve the result that was intended. Comparison is endowed with colossal persuasive power; it is capable of activating both figurative and associative thinking of listeners.

Epithet: this technique allows you to reveal the essence of an object or phenomenon by defining it figuratively (“A student is not a vessel that should be filled with knowledge, but a torch that needs to be lit!..”).

Hyperbole: with the help of this technique, the properties or qualities of phenomena or objects are deliberately exaggerated (“A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper”).

Allegory: this technique is capable of allegorically depicting something (“Once a passer-by asked a builder: “What are you doing?” He thought and answered: “Don’t you see? I’m carrying stones.” The second builder answered the same question: “I’m making money!” ).

It should be noted that in a speech it is best to pay attention to short sentences, as they are much better remembered and also better perceived. In addition, such proposals allow a more varied approach to changing intonation.

The means that were listed above serve not only to unite the audience and the speaker, but to overcome the so-called “barrier”.

Other techniques

Here we will consider a whole range of different techniques.

1

Allegory

Allegory (allegory) is the embodiment of a phenomenon (idea, thoughts) in a visual image. For example, in the speech “I have a dream” Martin Luther King gives the following allegory:

“I dream today that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists and a governor whose lips come with words of intervention and nullification, one day, in Alabama, little black boys and girls will join hands as sisters and brothers with little white boys and girls."

The image of children of different races and different genders holding hands is a reflection of the idea of ​​tolerance and equality. Allegories can be used very effectively to illustrate abstract concepts such as friendship, equality, love, loyalty, to enhance the perception of the key ideas of the speech. Allegory is a rather complex technique in rhetoric and requires, if not special skill of the speaker, then certainly good preparation.

2

Call

An appeal is also a common oratorical technique and consists of addressing listeners directly with an appeal to some action. Using an appeal in a speech is justified if you want your listeners to be able to create a vivid image of your idea in their heads with their direct participation in its implementation.

This rhetorical technique should be used carefully and not too often. The technique will definitely work in an audience where the audience is quite supportive and attentive to the speaker. For example, we urge you, our readers who spend several hours a day working at the computer, to try to devote at least 20 minutes daily to self-development by studying materials on the site, and then within a month you will be able to feel progress.

3

Chiasmus

Crossing (chiasmus) is a technique that helps to express your thought succinctly and beautifully by a cross-shaped change in the sequence of elements in two parallel rows of words. Perhaps the most famous chiasmus was spoken by John F. Kennedy at his inauguration: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask yourself what you can do for your country.” Also known is the chiasmus in Lermontov’s poem “Loneliness” :

Everyone is ready to share the fun:

Nobody wants to share the sadness.

Crossing increases the persuasiveness and expressiveness of your speech. It is chiasms that are often used as quotes from famous speakers.

4

Citation

If you feel that your arguments are not convincing enough, or you have not yet gained the public's trust, then it would be appropriate to support your speech with quotes from recognized leaders. For example, during the Soviet Union, speakers often used quotes from Vladimir Lenin, whose authority was unquestioned.

However, it is important to quote correctly, preferably verbatim, so as not to distort the idea of ​​the original source. If the quote is large or difficult to understand, you can make it shorter and simpler by telling it in your own words (this is called a paraphrase). Read about how to better remember quotes in one of the following lessons.

5

Chain

The chain is a frequently used means of holding the attention of listeners. In a speech chain, the full meaning of the first link of an idea becomes clear and complete only in connection with other links, up to the last link in the chain. Let us give as an example one very interesting toast, which is based on this technique: “I want you to die... So that you die at 100 years old... So that you die at 100 years old from the hand of a jealous person... And so that your death is deserved.”

This chain technique allows the speaker not only to remain a source of genuine audience attention throughout the entire speech, but also, with the help of the surprise effect contained in the final links of the sequence, to leave an indelible impression on the listeners of what was said.

6

Antithesis

Antithesis (contrast) is a stylistic figure of contrast, consisting in a sharp opposition of concepts, positions, images, states, interconnected by a common design or internal meaning. Sometimes, in order to enhance the perception of the properties of an object or phenomenon, it is enough to give some contrasting, polar example, such as “For some people, self-development is nothing, but for others, it’s everything.”

7

Hint

The use of this rhetorical device is justified if you have sophisticated enough listeners who will undoubtedly be able to understand what you are implying. It is also convenient to use a hint if, for one reason or another, you cannot or do not want to directly express your thoughts. Here is one example of a hint: Barack Obama, the winner of one very large award, cannot stop US military intervention in the affairs of other states.

In this case, the hint is that the Nobel PEACE Prize, which, as is known, was awarded to the American president, does not correspond to the actual state of affairs: hostilities were not stopped, which means peace was not achieved. To avoid directly blaming Barack Obama for failing to directly implement promised peacekeeping measures, this phrase included an allusion to “one very large bonus.”

8

Hyperbola

Simply put, this is an exaggeration. It is reasonable to use this technique of oratory only if you are sure that what is said will not be perceived by listeners as fiction, and also will not sound too emotional or too pathetic.

Hyperbole is aimed at strengthening and emphasizing certain properties or features of the subject of thought. For example, the phrase “you have to be a complete fool to think so” is intended to discourage listeners from any desire to agree with the dubious point of view presented by the speaker, that is, to automatically force the audience to support the speaker’s opinion.

9

Insert

An insertion is a special remark that is made, at first glance, in passing. However, such remarks can add a strong flavor to what is being said and change the listener's perception in the desired direction. For example, in order to involve the public in the important problem that is being discussed, you can just insert into your speech a simple and understandable phrase for everyone: “but it’s not for me to tell you this...”

So the statement “today in our country we often encounter corruption, but it’s not for me to tell you about it...” will not leave people in your audience indifferent to the problem you raised, and will attract the closest attention of listeners to it.

10

Rhetorical questions

You should ask questions that do not require an answer in your speech carefully. It is important that your listeners share your position on this issue, otherwise the answer to this question may not be as obvious as you think. For example, the question “is it really so difficult to spend 20 minutes a day on self-development?” will not always have a clear negative answer, but this is not uncommon.

11

Advance notice

Advance notice helps prepare your audience to listen carefully to your prepared speech. It is important to make the audience look forward to your talk by creating interest in what you are going to talk about from the very beginning. It's like a movie trailer with interesting moments, after which the viewer is left looking forward to watching the whole film.

In this case, at the beginning of your speech it would be advantageous to say, for example, the phrase “you may be surprised by what I’m about to tell you...”. This beginning will make the audience listen with curiosity to your every word.

12

Delay

Delay can be used to warm up listeners' interest after they have received advance notice. This way we further increase the curiosity of the listeners by not immediately laying all the cards on the table. By delaying, the speaker condemns the listener to languor and thereby increases the tension of attention during the speech in order to present the audience with the climax of his speech at the most appropriate moment.

13

Voltage increase

Strengthening the attention of listeners is the skillful use of a whole set of complex techniques, which indicates a high level of oratorical skill of the speaker. The effect of increasing tension is usually achieved through the combined use of foreshadowing and delay, as well as through the use of allegories, allusions, and other rhetorical techniques. Repetition also helps build tension.

14

Surprise

In order to increase the attention of listeners at the right moment, the speaker can use words and actions that no one expects from him. For example, the famous Bismarck took his listeners by surprise by half speaking: “I, too, am for the abolition of the death penalty,” and after a noticeable pause, he continued: “But I am for the murderer to start!” Such techniques are good when they are used in doses and appropriately, otherwise the effect of surprise may be smoothed out.

And finally, let's briefly look at framing and sophistry.

Main types of arguments

By presenting arguments that cannot be argued with, the speaker must convince the listener of the truth of the statements that, in turn, have been put forward by him.

An argument is a logical, irrefutable argument that serves as the basis for proof. 6The correctness of the arguments has been tested and proven by practice, so the argumentation convinces listeners of the correctness of the provisions expressed by the speaker.

There are various arguments. In such a science as rhetoric, the following are distinguished:

1. Arguments to the merits of the matter - in this case, the arguments will be those factors that were ultimately obtained from observations, documents, material, both statistical and digital, and so on.
2. Arguments to a person: have impacts that are emotional on the audience.

In oratory practice, arguments to a person are used no less often than arguments to the essence of the matter. In fact, the arguments to a person are very diverse, there are quite a large number of them, but I would like to note the following:

1. an argument for pity, that is, this is done in order to evoke pity, a feeling of compassion among opponents and thereby persuade them to one’s side;
2. argument to the individual: the speaker puts his opponents in a negative light, thereby setting his listeners against them; all this is done by changing the subject of discussion;
3. argument to vanity, that is, they praise opponents in order to soften their opposition;
4. argument to the public, that is, the speaker tries to turn his audience only towards himself and confront opponents;
5. arguments to authority, that is, the speaker refers to the opinions of outstanding scientists, writers, figures, if their position coincides with the position of the speaker.

Such arguments may not always be correct, and it is on this basis that they should not be recommended to current speakers. However, there is an exception - this is an argument to authority; This argument very often finds its application in academic speeches, as well as in scientific reports.

But, despite all of the above, it is necessary to take into account the fact that there are also statements that cannot be accepted as true (this is not an indicator that the author of such a statement is an outstanding scientist, thinker or activist). When referring to them, the author must be extremely careful.

Sophistry

Sophistry

(from the Greek “cunning invention, trick”) are false statements that, nevertheless, upon superficial examination seem correct (“imaginary evidence” according to Aristotle). Sophistry is based on the deliberate, conscious violation of the rules of logic by the speaker to mislead listeners. Sophisms can be logical, terminological, psychological and others.

Sophistries as one of the techniques of oratory are described in more detail in a special article in the “articles” section, however, we do not recommend using sophisms in your speech, since you should resort to them only as a last resort, when other techniques do not work. If you are caught using sophistry, it will subsequently be extremely difficult for you to convince your audience of your objectivity and correctness.

All of the above oratorical techniques are often interrelated, and one technique entails the use of another. However, you should not use them too closely, otherwise they may begin to work not for you, but against you. Techniques differ functionally: some of them influence the content of the speech and are able to hold the attention of listeners and convince them of their point of view, while others are aimed at preparing the audience and designing the material.

Speakers can use many of the rhetorical rules discussed intuitively, but when preparing for a speech, we recommend that you consciously familiarize yourself with all the techniques so as to be sure not to lose sight of their possible influence and effect on the audience's perception of your speech. We also recommend taking a case study about Steve Jobs.

Speech preparation and presentation

There are three interrelated questions that the speaker faces:

1. How to say?
2. Where to say?
3. What to say?

The process of developing a speech begins with understanding the topic of your speech, its main idea. Relevance, interestingness, specificity, accessibility - all these qualities should be possessed by the chosen topic. The title of the lecture is also important, since it should not only intrigue the future audience and attract their attention, but also reflect the entire content of the speaker’s speech.

What I would like to tell you about the goal: it is necessary to clearly outline it - the speaker not only tries to form in his audience specific beliefs and ideas that determine their further behavior, but also conveys information to the audience, talks about any facts or events. Whatever the speech, it must have an educational purpose, that is, the speaker, to the best of his ability, must introduce his audience to his own moral interests. This process should take place unnoticed by the listeners.

Imagining how the audience will perceive the speech and what will be incomprehensible to them is an integral part of preparing a public speech. The speaker is obliged not only to know, but also to take into account the composition of his future listeners. If the speech is not given to all listeners in general, but to a specific group of people who have their own goals and interests, then the effectiveness of the speech will increase noticeably.

Composing the speech itself, working on factual and theoretical material is the next stage, that is, it is necessary to formalize the speech compositionally and stylistically.

In order to study the material, you can turn to manuals, dictionaries, reference books, and so on.

After the material has been studied well, as a rule, they write either a summary of the text of the speech, or its outline, or the entire text, or theses.

Performance methods:

1. reading text;
2. reproducing it from memory with reading individual fragments;
3. free improvisation.

In what cases is the text read? So, let's look at them:

1. if it represents an official statement, the form and content of which cannot be deviated from;
2. if the speaker is “out of shape”;
3. if the material is large and completely new to the speaker.

When a speaker reads his speech and the audience's reaction gets out of control, it is very tiring. The failure of speakers is due to the fact that when reading a text “from a piece of paper” the speech becomes the same (monotonous), fast, and this quickly begins to tire the audience.

Before starting his public speech, the speaker needs to carefully prepare his speech to the smallest detail. It is necessary to correctly determine the topic, purpose, and title of the public speech, while taking into account both the composition of the audience and the situation. After this, you need to draw up a plan, select both theoretical and factual material. Rehearsal is a part that is considered necessary during preparation; it is impossible to do without it. Attention should be focused on pronunciation technique, but other aspects should not be left in the shadows during preparation.

At the final stage of preparing for a public speech, it is necessary to analyze it more than once, take into account such aspects of the speech as strengths and weaknesses, and already in the audience, when addressing your listeners, rely on the positive.7

Lecture 13. Oratory style. Rhetorical figures and tropes, their interaction.

1. Oratory style.

2. Requirements for the speaker’s language.

3. Basic means of expression: rhetorical figures and tropes.

An integral part of oratory is high speech culture and mastery of words. It is in the sounding word that the speaker’s thought materializes; through words he sets out his arguments and conveys his feelings. Ignorance or ignorance of the laws of oral speech, lack of sense of language lead to colorlessness of the speech and reduce its effectiveness. The main thing in the speaker’s linguistic culture is the so-called. communicative expediency, i.e. selection of language material that provides the best impact on a given audience in a specific setting, in accordance with the topic and purpose of the speech.

The third section (elocution) in old rhetoric is associated with the linguistic design of speech. Namely: the choice of words that correspond to the intent of the speech; Next - constructing the text and working on the style, using the means of expressive speech.

Style is associated with the choice of language means depending on the conditions for generating speech, its goals, the genre of the work, and the individual manner of the author.

Stylistics is the study of styles (the study of styles, their differentiation, and the choice of expressive means of language), which is as ancient as rhetoric. One of the first works is the book of Demetrius “On Styles” (4th century BC). M.V. Lomonosov developed the theory of three “calms”: high, medium and low. This theory has not lost its significance today, but the basis of modern qualifications is not a social, but a functional approach. In modern style there are:

1. Functional style;

2. Stylistics of artistic speech;

3. Individual stylistics, studying the skill of individual authors (the style of Lermont, Tsvetaeva, etc.);

4. Practical stylistics, giving recommendations for the choice of synonymous means of language, explaining such a choice.

Depending on the goals and objectives set in the communication process, various linguistic means are selected. As a result, unique varieties of a single literary language are created, called functional styles. This term emphasizes that varieties of literary language are distinguished on the basis of the function (role) that the language performs in each specific case. Typically the following functional styles are distinguished:

1. Scientific; 2. Technical; 3. Official business;

4. Newspaper and journalistic; 5. Colloquial and everyday.

The scientific style is characterized by scientific terminology, abstract vocabulary predominates (theory, problems, methods, process, etc.), figurative language, and no emotionality. The sentences are narrative in nature, predominantly have a direct word order, which are used in their literal meaning. The technical style is characterized by the predominance of technical terms, there are no figurative means, narrative sentences are used; therefore often considered as a type of scientific style. The official journalistic style is characterized by brevity, compactness of presentation; documents are characterized by “dryness” of presentation, lack of expressive means, the use of characteristic cliches (we inform that; we inform additionally; in case of manifestation; we gratefully confirm, etc.). The newspaper-journalistic style is characterized by sharpness and vividness of presentation, author's passion, relevance of the content, many words have a high style coloring, means of verbal expressiveness are actively used, interrogative and exclamatory constructions are often used. The colloquial style is characterized by emotional presentation, neutral and colloquial words are used, and free word order.

Another classification of functional styles: oral-conversational and written-book. Oral and colloquial styles include: literary and colloquial speech of educated people; colloquial speech at home; oratory as the most rigorous version of oral public speech. Colloquial speech and jargon go beyond the literary norm. The written and book style includes, according to M.R. Lvov, the official business style, journalistic, scientific and artistic prose.

Styles of a literary language are most often compared on the basis of an analysis of their lexical composition, since it is in the vocabulary that the difference between styles is most noticeable. The assignment of words to a certain style of speech is explained by the fact that the lexical meaning of many words, in addition to the subject-logical content, also includes emotional and stylistic coloring. Compare: mother, mother, mommy, mommy, ma. The words have the same meaning, but differ stylistically, and therefore are used in different styles: the first two - in official business, the rest - in colloquial everyday life.

When choosing words, the speaker is guided by an accurate conveyance of meaning and stylistic expediency. Words and phraseological units have meanings, their shades and additional colors, which should be in harmony with the general tone of speech. In addition to meaning and stylistic coloring, words are capable of expressing feelings. As well as an assessment of various phenomena of reality. There are two groups of emotionally expressive vocabulary: words with positive and negative connotations. Compare: excellent, wonderful, excellent and - nasty, disgusting, impudent. Emotionally expressive vocabulary is most fully represented in colloquial and everyday speech, characterized by liveliness and precision of presentation, as well as in newspaper and journalistic speech.

However, not all words are distributed between different styles; there is a large group of words used in all styles, without exception, as in oral. The same is true in writing. This is the so-called stylistically neutral words (for example, face).

Speakers must ensure that the words they use are homogeneous in their stylistic properties, so that stylistic inconsistency does not arise, and the use of stylistically colored words is justified by the purpose of the utterance. It is especially unacceptable to mix colloquial and book vocabulary in speech: “I planned to go to the ophthalmologist today”; “There are a lot of mushrooms and berries in our green area”; “You need to allocate forty people to load carrots and potatoes.”

It should be borne in mind that the functional and stylistic boundaries of the modern literary language are very flexible. Mastery of functional styles is a necessary component of the professional speech of a politician, journalist, lawyer, teacher, business manager, etc. It is important to know and subtly feel the specific features of each functional style, skillfully use them depending on the communication situation and the purpose of the statement.

There is also the individual style of the speaker - i.e. a set of characteristics that characterize the speaking style of a particular person. This style is created as a result of careful, painstaking, meaningful work on the word, and the study of the best examples of oratory. Developing an individual style is an important task for a speaker.

The main communicative qualities of speech are general intelligibility, correctness, brevity, accuracy, purity, logic, richness, emotionality, and expressiveness of speech. This list can be extended and specified, but basically it is these qualities of speech that ensure its intelligibility and effectiveness.

Among the requirements for a speaker’s language, general intelligibility is of particular importance. M.M. Speransky emphasized that speaking in such a way that we are not understood “is an absurdity that exceeds all measures of absurdity.” This requirement is related to the effectiveness and efficiency of the spoken word. According to researchers, the general intelligibility of a language is determined primarily by the selection of speech means, the need to limit the use of words that are, so to speak, on the “periphery” of the vocabulary of the language (jargon, dialects, professionalisms). There is a certain illusion of intelligibility - a discrepancy between our understanding of the meaning of a word and its actual content, while being confident in the correct understanding of this word. Let us present the following fact for illustration. The well-known lines of A.S. Pushkin: “The wondrous light has gone out. The evening fog fell on the blue sea. Make noise, make noise, obedient sail. Worry about me, sullen ocean." What does the word "sail" mean? Most people answer that it is the wind, and the correct answer is a sail. This means that for the majority of listeners, confident that they knew the meaning of the word “sail,” this was only an “illusion of intelligibility.” Therefore, many terms should be explained and the speech should not be overloaded with terminology and professionalism. It is recommended to avoid the use of foreign words if the language has Russian words with the same meaning, for example: ordinary - ordinary, ignore - not to notice, etc.

Correct speech is no less important. Although the norms of oral speech are not as strict as the requirements for a literary work, the speaker must strive for impeccable correctness of the language of his speech, and for this he must constantly work on himself and improve his speech. N.M. Karamzin also wrote: “At the age of six you can learn all the main languages, but all your life you need to learn your natural language. We Russians have even more work than others.” Correct speech presupposes compliance with language norms in grammar, word usage and pronunciation. Without correct speech, other communicative qualities of speech do not work.

Neglect of the laws of grammar leads to sloppiness of speech, disruption of logical connection and consistency of thought (“About three hundred thousand inhabitants”, “I am criticized about what”, etc.). Violation of lexical norms (errors in word usage, unjustified use of dialect and slang words, destruction of stable phrases) prevents the speaker from achieving the goal of the speech, and sometimes simply creates a comic effect not intended by the content of the speech (“All those tasks that puzzled us here,” “Conclusion begs itself." Gross errors in pronunciation (pinjak, do'sug, future) also distract the audience from the essence of the matter and create a negative psychological background.

The correctness of speech does not exhaust the requirements for the speaker’s language. “Speaking correctly” and “speaking well” are interconnected things. Just the right speech is not enough to captivate the audience, much less to convince them.

An important quality of a good speech is its brevity. The brevity of the speech suggests that the speaker not only does not abuse the time and patience of the audience, but also knows how to avoid unnecessary repetitions, excessive detail, and verbal garbage. At the same time, we must not allow conciseness and brevity of speech to come at the expense of meaning.

To avoid verbosity, it is necessary, first of all, to fight pleonasms (speech redundancy) - when words that are unnecessary in meaning (“mighty hero”, “clenched fist”, etc.) invade speech; Another type of verbosity is tautology, i.e. repetition of the same thing in other words, often with the same root (equal rights, made a great contribution); Tautological combinations of Russian and foreign words with the same meaning are possible - “memorable souvenir”, “vacancy”, etc. Another type of verbosity is an unjustified abundance of introductory sentences and phrases.

Purity of speech is the absence in it of unnecessary words, weed words, parasitic words (so to speak, that means you understand, in short, etc.). Here, brevity, expressiveness, and correctness of speech suffer at the same time. These words do not carry any load, do not have any information content, make speech “watery”, complicate its perception, and distract attention from the content. In addition, there are such unfortunate combinations that they make the audience laugh: “Terrorists broke into a house where there were children and, so to speak, women,” “Basically, it’s pouring rain now.” The main reasons for verbosity: clarity of thought, poor preparation, the speaker’s tendency to narcissism and pompous style. Why do such words appear in our speech? This includes anxiety while speaking, and the inability to think publicly, to select the right, precise words to formulate a thought, and, of course, the poverty of the speaker’s individual vocabulary.

The requirement of accuracy and clarity was imposed on public speech already in ancient manuals on rhetoric; it was always associated with the ability to think clearly, with knowledge of the subject of speech and the meaning of words. To ensure the accuracy of speech, the speaker must correctly select a word from a number of synonyms in accordance with the style of the statement (“sleep” - neutral, “rest” - solemn, high, “sleep” - colloquial). It is necessary to clearly distinguish between paronyms - close, consonant and therefore confusing words (“effective” and “effective”). The thoughtless, stylistically unjustified use of borrowings turns the language of public speaking into an obscure jargon, where “French-Nizhny Novgorod” slang has been replaced by “American-Rostov” slang. Very often, the abuse of foreign words is accompanied by ignorance of the meaning of the word, and then phrases like: “The thesis that the speaker constantly motivated,” “I hypothetically came up with such a plan,” etc. are born. Often, original Russian words are used inaccurately, contrary to their meaning: “Most half of the speech was dedicated to ...”, “Vegetable granary”. You should use abbreviated words carefully.

The consistency of speech has a lot in common with accuracy - compliance of the compatibility of parts of a statement with the laws of logic. The combination of one word with another must be consistent (“deepens in breadth”), the condition for consistency is the correct order of words (“I remind parents that children without vouchers are not accepted to all recreation centers”). The logic of speech also depends on how correctly the connection between individual statements in the text is expressed: “Every person in life has moments that he remembers forever: among them, I remember two days.”

One of the central qualities of speech is its richness, or the variety of lexical, phraseological, and intonational means of language. It is directly related to the level of the speaker’s general culture, his erudition, and experience in public speaking. There are active and passive vocabulary of the speaker (active - those words and phraseological units with which we express our own thoughts; passive - words familiar and understandable to us that we do not use in our speech). It is believed that the active stock of a modern cultured person is approximately 4-5 thousand words and phraseological units, the passive one includes about 15 thousand more linguistic units. Is it a lot or a little? A.S. Pushkin used more than 21 thousand words in his works, in the dictionary of V. Shakespeare - about 15 thousand, Yesenin - over 18 thousand words; I. Ilf and E. Petrov in the famous “Twelve Chairs” ridiculed the “cannibal” Ellochka, who managed with only thirty words.

The Russian language is one of the most developed and processed languages ​​of the world, with a rich book and written tradition. Many wonderful words are dedicated to the Russian language: “Charles the Fifth, the Roman Emperor, used to say that it is decent to speak Spanish with God, French with friends, German with enemies, Italian with the female sex. But if he were skilled in the Russian language, then, of course, he would have added that it is decent for them to speak with all of them, for he would have found in him the splendor of Spanish, the liveliness of French, the strength of German, the tenderness of Italian, in addition to the richness and strength in the image brevity of the Greek and Latin languages" (M.V. Lomonosov); “Take care of our language, our beautiful Russian language, this treasure, this property passed on to us by our predecessors... Treat this powerful weapon with respect, in the hands of skilled people it is capable of performing miracles” (I.S. Turgenev); “The Russian people created the Russian language, bright as a rainbow after a spring shower, accurate as an arrow, melodious and rich, sincere, like a song over a cradle... What is the Motherland? - this is the whole people. This is his culture, his language” (A.K. Tolstoy).

Today it is difficult to believe that there was a time when it was necessary to defend and win the right to teach various subjects at universities in Russian, and not in Latin. Only in 1767 did Catherine the Second allow lectures to be given at the university in Russian. However, later they continued to be read in Latin and German.

What is the richness of speech? First of all, the richness of the vocabulary. The richness of a language is also determined by the semantic richness of a word, which is created by the phenomena of polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, etc. There are many polysemantic words in the Russian language. Thus, the verb “to go” has 40 meanings. Our language is very rich in synonyms, i.e. words that are close in meaning. Synonyms help avoid monotony and give speech a bright emotional coloring. There are a lot of words in the Russian language that are emotionally charged. This is explained by the fact that our language is rich in various suffixes that convey a person’s feelings: affection, irony, contempt. Next - in the use of phraseological units that give speech special expressiveness, accuracy, and imagery. Compare how much more expressive “headlong” sounds than “quickly.” Phraseologisms also include proverbs, sayings, catchwords, and aphorisms. Finally, the richness of speech is also associated with a variety of intonations.

Rich, varied, original speech is opposed by a verbal stamp - a mechanical repetition of erased, template phrases that deprive speech of individuality and expressiveness. They are known to everyone, everyone has heard them many times, so they do not bring new information to the listener and do not hurt his feelings (take decisive measures). A type of stamp is the so-called. “clericalism” (in the apt expression of K.I. Chukovsky), the improper use of cliched expressions from business papers, depriving speech of expressiveness, depersonalizing it (I am not up to date on this issue - and not simpler - “I don’t know”) . Chukovsky K.I. called the spread of bureaucracy in speech a disease of our century.

A necessary condition for cultural, literate speech is compliance with grammatical rules. Pay attention, for example, to the inflection of phrases such as “congratulations on the First of May,” and not on the “First of May.” A short, simple sentence is easier to hear. Oral speech does not like participial and participial phrases, otherwise it will turn out, as it is said in Ilf’s Notebooks: “The speaker finished, confused in subordinate clauses.” A.P. Chekhov also wrote that whistling and hissing syllables should be avoided in oral speech.

Oratory speech combines an impact on both the minds of listeners and their feelings. Emotionality is a completely natural and at the same time necessary quality of public speech, helping to perceive and assimilate its content. Scientists have found that the emotionality of speech has a positive effect on the mechanisms of memory and attention. Sometimes this communicative quality is also called “expressiveness” or “imagery of speech.”

There are special linguistic means with which the speaker achieves an emotional and figurative impact on listeners. M.V. Lomonosov, a brilliant orator of his time, a theorist of oratory, wrote: “Eloquence is the art of speaking eloquently about any given matter and thereby inclining others to your opinion about it.” This definition names a characteristic feature of eloquence and emphasizes that speaking “red”, i.e. figuratively, expressively, emotionally - it is important in order to influence listeners with greater force. Expressiveness of speech enhances the effectiveness of speech: vivid speech arouses interest among listeners, maintains attention to the subject of conversation, and has an impact on the mind and feelings of listeners. The expressiveness of oral speech largely depends on the communication situation. A distinction is made between informational (subject-logical) expressiveness and sensory expressiveness and impact.

Speech without embellishment is a dry presentation of facts; it does not evoke an emotional response in the audience. The beauty of a phrase is no less important than its correctness. Therefore, when preparing for a speech, the speaker selects not only compelling arguments, but also bright, memorable phrases that are built according to certain models. Rhetorical figures and tropes are used to enliven speech, give it expressiveness and imagery. Both, according to the prominent Russian linguist L.A. Novikov, are a deliberate deviation from standard speech in order to attract the attention of listeners, make them think, see the diversity of the picture and, ultimately, better understand the meaning and feel the image. They should all seem natural, almost random, in the performance. According to P. Sergeich (Porokhovshchikov P.S.), “speech should always seem to be improvisation, and every decoration of it should be unexpected for the speaker himself.” The better prepared your speech is, the more carefully you need to hide it. Proverbs, sayings, catchwords, and phraseological expressions help make speech figurative, emotional.

Rhetorical figures are figures of speech developed by experience of construction, used to enhance the expressiveness of the statement. A figure always consists of several words. There are several classifications of figures. We will consider the following: they distinguish between figures of thought and figures of speech. Figures of thought include a rhetorical question, a rhetorical appeal, a rhetorical exclamation, etc. A rhetorical question is a question that does not require an answer, but serves as an emotional affirmation or denial of something, attracts the attention of listeners, and reveals your point of view. For example, from Cicero: “How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?” Or from Gogol: “Eh, troika, bird-troika, who invented you?” A rhetorical appeal is a pseudo-address that can be addressed to an absent person, a historical figure, or an inanimate object. For example, in Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” Gaev’s address is “Dear, dear closet!” A rhetorical exclamation is one or more exclamatory sentences intended to have an emotional impact on listeners. From Pushkin: “The years have passed in an unnoticed succession. And how they changed us! A rhetorical correction is a special technique: first there is an alleged reservation, and then an important clarification is offered. Cicero: “And it was in Rome that the plan for its destruction arose. And it was his citizens, yes, his citizens, if that name can be given to them, who cherished this plan.”

Word figures - these include: antithesis - the opposition of various circumstances, properties, statements. This figure has been used since antiquity: “The Living and the Dead,” “Wolves and Sheep,” “War and Peace.” Adjacent to it is an oxymoron - a figure consisting of combining two opposing concepts into one whole: “Eloquent silence”, “Bitter joy”, “Happy pessimists”. Often, to strengthen a statement, they resort to a figure such as repetition. There are various forms of repetition: anaphora - repetition at the beginning of a sentence: Simonov’s poem “Wait for me”; epiphora - repetition at the end of the phrase: in Gogol - “Here he sits in a tavern. They bring him vodka. Vodka burns him. Vodka is disgusting to him.” The combination of anaphora and epiphora is called simploca: “There was a birch tree in the field, a curly birch tree was standing in the field”; sound repetition of vowels - assonance: In Nekrasov: “I’m riding on cast-iron rails, I’m thinking my mind”; sound repetition of consonants - alliteration: In Pasternak: “But unexpectedly, intrusive rain will run across the curtain, measuring the silence with steps, you will enter like the future” (the sounds Zh and Sh imitate the light rustle of a woman’s dress). A very interesting figure is inversion - a deliberate violation of the usual order of words, their rearrangement for the purpose of greater expressiveness, focusing on the rearranged word: In Pushkin: “And for a long time I will be so kind to the people that I awakened proud feelings with the lyre” (inversion of the word - proud) . The next figure is gradation - the arrangement of synonyms in ascending or descending order of the attribute - “Neither call, nor shout, nor help.” No less interesting is the figure - chiasmus - the construction of two constructions, in which the second becomes, as it were, an inverted reflection of the first: “We recognize weapons as criticism and criticism as weapons” (Lunacharsky A.V.), from La Rochefoucauld: “A brother may not be a friend, but a friend “Always a brother.” A number of figures are associated with the decrease of words - these are ellipsis, sylleps and aposiopesis. Ellipsis is the omission of words or sentences that are easily implied; the use of this figure creates an expressive effect: “He lit a cigarette at the gas station - the deceased was 22 years old.” Silleps is a combination of text elements that are essentially uncombinable: “He washed his clothes with diligence and with soap.” Aposiopesis - reticence: Svetlov in “Grenada” - “I saw the moon bend over the corpse and dead lips whispered: “Gren...”.

The concept of word figurativeness is associated with the phenomenon of polysemy. If there is an external similarity between objects or they have some hidden common feature, if they occupy the same position in relation to something, then the name of one object can become the name of another. For example, a sewing needle, from a spruce tree, from a hedgehog. The first meaning with which the word appeared in the language is called direct, and subsequent ones are called figurative. Figurative meanings, unlike direct ones, denote the facts of reality not directly, but through their relationship to the corresponding direct ones. The concept of a figurative meaning of a word is most often associated with its figurative use. For example, in the word “splinter” there is a direct meaning – “a thin, sharp, small piece of wood stuck into the body”, and a figurative meaning – “a harmful, corrosive person.”

Ancient rhetoric contrasted a trope as a word and a figure as a phrase. A trope is a poetic turn of phrase, the use of words and expressions in a figurative, figurative sense. Paths always have a second, hidden plan, which creates the image. The trope is based on a comparison of two concepts that seem close to us in some respect for the clarity of the image of objects and phenomena. Translated from Greek, “tropos” means turn.

The tropes are divided into two groups - the tropes of words used to enhance expressiveness (comparison, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, antonomasia), and the tropes of decoration (epithet, allegory, periphrasis, allusion, irony, hyperbole, litotes).

The simplest trope is a comparison - a juxtaposition of two concepts in order to more vividly and clearly characterize one of them: In Fet’s work, “The rowan tree in the garden is blazing with the bright sun.” Quintillian called metaphor the most beautiful and most commonly used trope of rhetoric - this is a word that is used in a figurative meaning based on the similarity in some respect of two objects. For example, “a man is worse than a beast when he is a beast” (R. Tagore). Metaphors and comparisons are accompanied by metonymy - the transfer of a name by contiguity, i.e. convergence by location, time, cause-and-effect relationships, etc. Cicero, feeling the approach of old age, said that his speech was “beginning to turn grey.” Another trope of synecdoche - it is based on the relationship between the part and the whole. When Chichikov’s father taught his son: “And most of all, Pavlusha, save your penny,” then, of course, he had in mind much larger sums. Antonomasia is the replacement of a proper name with a common noun or vice versa: “Hercules” instead of strong, “mentor” instead of mentor.

One of the most common tropes of jewelry is the epithet - a vivid definition, a sign expressed by an adjective. There are common linguistic epithets - “bitter frost”, “quiet evening”; folk poetic - “gray wolf”, “open field”; There are individual author’s epithets - Chekhov has a marmalade mood, Pisarev has blocky indifference. Allegory is an allegorical depiction of abstract concepts using life images: cunning is depicted in the form of a fox, Themis is a symbol of justice with a blindfold (impartiality) and scales in her hands. An interesting trope that consists of using a descriptive expression instead of a single word is a periphrasis: a city on the Neva instead of St. Petersburg; “I won’t go to the zoo! There the king of beasts was put in a cage.” On an allusion - the use in speech of a well-known expression as an allusion to an equally well-known fact: “I wash my hands” - an allusion to Pontius Pilate. A figurative expression consisting of an exaggeration of the size, strength, and meaning of what is being described - hyperbole - for example, “to be scared to death”, “a yawn is tearing your mouth wider than the Gulf of Mexico” (Mayakovsky). The opposite trope – litotes – downplays the size, strength, and significance of what is being described: Thumb Boy, knee-deep sea. An interesting trope is irony - the use of a word in the opposite of the main meaning: for example, in ancient times the Black Sea (black in the sense of evil, stormy) was called Pont Euxine, i.e. "hospitable sea"; Irony was often used in everyday communication - they might say about a frail person: “That’s Hercules!”

So, rhetorical figures and tropes are powerful means of enhancing the expressiveness of speech, allowing us to make our words easy to remember, vivid, and effective. The way a thought is expressed often turns out to be no less significant than the content of the statement. Harmony of thought and word, content and design of speech is the most important condition for successful communication.

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The structure of oratory speech

In order to better understand the material below, I repeat once again that an oratorical speech consists of the following parts:

1. introduction - to draw the attention of the public, and it is also necessary to make it clear to the audience how important the chosen topic is, how serious and sensational it is;
2. proof - to argue the idea that was expressed in a condensed form during a public speech, as well as to fit statistical data, factors, logical constructions and emotionally charged phrases to these ideas;
3. conclusion - fixing in the listener’s memory both the desired impression and the main idea of ​​the speaker, which has already been expressed, to summarize the entire speech.

Well, now we can talk about parts of public speech. There are types of speeches, let's look at them:

1. Positive performance. This is the most popular of all available. It immediately presents the main concept in an intelligible, but very declarative, one might say poster form.
2. Negative speech. This provides a refutation of a thought, concept or idea without any alternative.
3. Analytical. This speech does not impose any specific positions on the audience. It suggests exploring the factors together. However, the information is selected in such a way that the audience already has a specific opinion necessary for the speaker from the very beginning of the speech.
4. Paradoxical. This performance puzzles the audience, leads them off the stereotypical path, thereby preparing them to perceive something unusual. The structure is exactly the same as the negative one, that is, the audience is kept in the dark about the speaker’s positive proposal until the very end of the public speech.
5. Emotional. This speech is the most vague. It often happens that an emotional speech can do without any parts of a public speech or can include other parts of a public speech. The form can be compared with a positive speech. However, the content is slightly different: there is no hint of a call, no formal call.

Just as there are types of public speaking, there are types of evidence. There are four types of evidence. So, let's look at them:

1. Logical proof. Relies on rational thinking, leads the audience to the truth of thought;
2. Informational evidence. During this proof, either reference material, or statistical data, or facts are provided;
3. Emotional proof. This requires both acting skills and enormous dedication from the speaker. Sometimes it is convenient to confirm the correctness of an idea by referring to authorities. The speaker’s thought is expressed imperatively.
4. Reference proof. The speaker, who has many years of oratorical experience behind him, relies on previously prepared theses and uses references to the opinions of authoritative individuals or organizations to confirm the value and correctness of his position.

What to do

Start by doing a stretch - choose several styles that are very different from each other, such as "Chief", "Specialist", "The Guy" or "Bitch", "Preacher", "Cutie" - and do the same performance in different styles. If it is not entirely clear what this style is, look for speakers who, in your opinion, speak in this style and watch several of their speeches.

Then try to make a style that suits you, for example “Aristocrat” with the addition of “Artist” and “Bitch”.

To evaluate, you can record yourself on a video camera, but it is better if you speak in front of an audience, at least not a large one, that can give competent feedback. Or (advertising) come to us for the “Oratory Art” training.