People with public speaking skills always easily acquire the status of a leader among friends and colleagues, and quickly achieve success in many matters. It is impossible to imagine a politician who cannot speak logically and structuredly. Throughout human history, there have been people whose oratory skills reached an outstanding level. Such people can rightly be called great orators.
Orators of the ancient world
Oratory began its development in Ancient Greece, the secrets of which are still used today. There were already quite a lot of people who could speak beautifully at that time. The list of outstanding figures includes such great orators as Pericles, Cicero, Lysias, Demosthenes, Aristotle and others. In particular, Lysias and Demosthenes should be highlighted, since it was these great orators that all subsequent generations looked up to.
Lysias was an excellent judicial orator of ancient times, whose speeches were always distinguished by originality, expressiveness and uniqueness. He thought through and carefully worked out every detail of his text. Irony was often present in the speeches of this speaker, which aroused great sympathy among the audience. At the same time, the speech was always brief and did not contain anything superfluous. Lysias's speech is considered a standard for orators around the world. Many speakers who spoke in court took their cue from him, borrowing his style of eloquence.
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Another great orator whom many public figures looked up to was Demosthenes. This man is considered a genius, because in order to become a speaker, he had to change a lot in himself. From birth, Demosthenes had a weak voice and short breathing.
Demosthenes
Through long and rigorous training using a variety of techniques, he was able to achieve brilliant results and became one of the best speakers of all time. One could only envy his diction, beautiful and understandable speech. The speeches of this famous speaker were bright, his expressions were short and concise.
Famous orators of ancient times
The art of oratory dates back to Ancient Greece. Then rhetoric appeared with a whole set of rules and secrets of oratory. Such science existed in Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. But classical eloquence originated in Hellas. The fate of the ancient Greeks was largely determined by the ability to beautifully express their thoughts. This was the main indicator of a person’s education and a necessary skill for a lawyer and politician. In the 5th century BC the Sophists appeared. These were elocution teachers who helped to learn how to conduct public discussions. Among the famous speakers of those times, it is worth noting Demosthenes, Aristotle, Cicero and Lysias.
Demosthenes
One of the greatest orators of Greece was Demosthenes. He was noticed during his first speech in court. He studied with Iseus of Athens, and as an example to follow, he chose Pericles, a famous master of eloquence. In those days, the public had few beautiful speeches. She expected an unusual and theatrical presentation with a choreographed voice and gestures. Demosthenes had problems with his voice and practiced a lot. He put on diction by putting pebbles in his mouth. To develop breathing, he read poetry while climbing mountains. And I rehearsed my speeches with the sound of the surf. Thanks to his perseverance, he achieved tremendous success.
Cicero
Another outstanding master of Greek eloquence was Marcus Tullius Cicero. He came from a poor and simple family, but had great determination and a thirst for success. His oratorical talent helped him become consul and enter the Senate. His teachers were Lucius Licinius Crassus and Mark Antony. Cicero studied Greek literature and left behind significant literary works.
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Lysias was a remarkable judicial orator of antiquity. His speeches were remembered for their originality and brightness. He carefully prepared his speeches and worked on every part of the text. Lysias's speeches were distinguished by brevity and a certain amount of irony, which the audience liked. Many speakers in court took their cue from his methods.
Gorgias
One of the famous sophists was Gorgias of Leontina. He was considered a talented rhetorician and theorist. Gorgias traveled widely and became famous for his outstanding performances.
The famous speaker worked hard on his style. He owns the technique of Gorgian figures, which give expressiveness to speech.
Famous speakers abroad
There are many famous and great speakers in foreign countries who were distinguished by their excellent ability to structure their speech during speeches so that people did not doubt their beliefs. The most outstanding personalities include two prominent political figures:
Adolf Gitler
Despite all his devilish essence, this man was a powerful speaker who, while speaking, always kept the masses in suspense and full attention. In his speeches, he used sharp hand gestures, spoke emotionally and even rudely. In his speeches there was such a feature as the use of long pauses in order to emphasize something important and basic.
He prepared his speech in advance, writing everything down on paper. Hitler was not known for his restraint, so he often gave vent to his emotions, splashing them out on his listeners. People were attracted by the fact that he sometimes spoke slowly and sometimes quickly. Therefore, he used this technique in every speech. Despite the fact that his ideas were often evil and wrong, the people supported him. In this regard, Hitler is called the speaker of evil. Despite all the dark side of this man, he always ends up on the list - “The Greatest Speakers of the 20-21st Century”.
Winston Churchill
This politician always prepared in advance for each of his speeches, even thinking through his facial expressions and gestures. He worked out the text so that it was perfect. This man was distinguished by charisma and often used humor in his speech.
He was so inspired by his ideas that he could infect the entire people with them. When composing the text, he actively used such artistic techniques as metaphor and comparison. During the communication process, Churchill tried to be calm and behave naturally. From birth he had a speech defect such as a lisp, however, over time he managed to get rid of it.
Representatives of foreign rhetoric
It is worth noting many of the greatest speakers in foreign countries. These are famous politicians and public figures.
Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of America. He became famous thanks to his unique eloquence. He came from a poor family, but from childhood he showed an interest in learning. Lincoln received a law degree and first became known as a master storyteller. People came from far and wide to listen to him. His famous Gettysburg Address also went down in history. The President prepared his speeches for a long time. And he took this process very seriously.
Churchill
Winston Churchill is known as the Prime Minister of Great Britain. But he was also a writer and journalist and even a Nobel Prize laureate in literature. He remained in history as a great orator. His performances were distinguished by emotion and devotion to ideas. Churchill spent a lot of time working on technology.
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was a great orator, Baptist preacher, and leader of the black rights movement. His teacher was Mahatma Gandhi, whom he admired. In one year, he gave more than 230 speeches while traveling around the country, during which he tried to convey words of freedom and peace to people.
Russian speakers
In Russia, too, there have always been famous outstanding speakers, which include such famous personalities as Kony, Trotsky, Zhirinovsky, Putin and others.
Anatoly Fedorovich Koni
Anatoly Fedorovich was engaged in legal and social activities at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. He urged everyone to maintain morality in the legal process. Kony's speech was always lively and dynamic, never sounding monotonous.
He believed that speakers speaking in court should be fair and defend the truth. In his speeches, Kony was not dry, but gave free rein to his emotions. But he knew how to combine facts with feelings so that the text had a positive impact on the minds of the judges. This speaker's defense speech left no doubt that the verdict would be pronounced in his favor.
Anatoly Fedorovich Koni had high individual and socially significant moral qualities, followed the rules of honor, always delivered his speech clearly, without using terminology unknown to others, and was fluent in eloquence.
Lev Davidovich Trotsky
Many people said that Lev Davidovich is the best speaker of the 20th century. He had a powerful timbre of his voice, his words were pronounced clearly and understandably. He was an intelligent and active man who was feared by many opponents. The great orator himself did not feel fear of a single person, so he said everything to his face, without hiding anything.
Trotsky's speech was always structured consistently, logically and briefly. He was good at convincing people, so he had a large number of associates. His gift of eloquence was clearly visible during political speeches.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Great orators of the 20th century - this list should undoubtedly include Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich gave speeches that were accessible and understandable to every representative of the people. He had a great sense of people's mood, so he could entice them with almost any idea. Most of all, he used dialogue, communicating with people, answering their questions.
His speech was distinguished by brevity and specificity. He also used directing hand gestures, which only increased his influence on people. Lenin had a charisma that attracted all listening people. His phrases became catchphrases, they were used by other people and published in publications.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich is perhaps the most famous Russian political speaker of our time. He speaks easily, using a bit of humor in his speech. His speeches are always well thought out and contain nothing superfluous. The gestures of the hands are smooth, which does not distract people’s attention at all, and once again emphasizes confidence.
This politician is distinguished by restraint and calmness when communicating with people or colleagues, not allowing himself to say a harsh or rude word. He always answers people’s questions clearly, as he is well versed in many areas of life.
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich is distinguished by the fact that his speech is always accompanied by emotional overtones, it is unpredictable and even sometimes has some aggressiveness. His performances are more like a show. He often puts pressure on his interlocutor with his words and uses energetic gestures.
Zhirinovsky has strong charisma. But he is not only a great orator, but a very smart and fair politician. Vladimir Volfovich can easily start a dispute, as he understands any topic. He is not distinguished by restraint, he always says what he thinks, expresses his emotions, and can often allow himself to say too much to focus attention on his person.
All the best speakers in the world mentioned above are not the entire list of outstanding masters of eloquence (let’s not forget about such great speakers as James Humes, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, etc.). It is difficult to answer the question of who is the best speaker of all time. Some had the gift of eloquence from birth, while others went a long way, coping with their speech deficiencies and acquiring oratory skills, becoming great. But one thing can be said for everyone: thanks to their wonderful eloquence, they were able to become famous figures in public and political life.
