It is impossible to underestimate the power of the word in our world. The ability to think makes people different form animals while the ability to talk and make people listen influences creation and development of our society. It is one of the most ancient remedies of our world which helps to create states and lead people.
That is why, the art of public speaking or rhetoric has always been given a great attention. People understood significance of this art as they were able to watch the aftermath of some successful speech which inspired and, sometimes, even turned the course of history. With this in mind, investigation of some main peculiarities of the development of art of public speaking public can help to understand its peculiarities better.
There is no use denying the fact that people used such remedy as public speaking since the appearance of society. However, Ancient Greece is considered to be the state which gave the world the art of rhetoric. The whole society of Ancient Greece was based on the usage of rhetoric. People spoke in public in order to prove their point of view on some issue. It could be politics, private life or other spheres of activity. Different aspects of social life were touched. That is why, sophists appeared.
They were able to make any argument logic, even if it was weak and deprived of any sense. However, later, trying to oppose this movement, Plato, Aristotle and Socrates created their own theories of public speaking which became classical. Even nowadays, people are taught rhetoric according to them. Aristotle created the work called Rhetoric devoted to this issue.
In this work he states that “Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle, 350 B.C.E, para. 10), additionally he adds that it is useful because some things are not just what they seem to be and it is for a speaker to explain their nature to judges. (Aristotle, 350 B.C.E) With this in mind, it is possible to say that Aristotle’s Rhetoric has had an enormous influence on the development of the art of public speaking (Rapp, 2010).
Having concurred Greece, Roman Empire could not resist powerful influence of its culture and science. That is why, there is a great number of similarities between these two cultures. Oration became an important part of Roman public and political life, especially at the period of Republic as different posts were elective and candidates had to persuade public that they should obtain them. It is no wonder that under these conditions Cicero, known as one of the most famous rhetorician of all times, appeared.
He is taken as the bright representative of Roman rhetoric who created great number of works which influenced further development of this science. The work De Oratore is devoted to the description of an ideal orator, who has to become a leader and lead the whole state (Lane, 2014). Additionally, some new thoughts connected with public speaking were introduced by him.
With this in mind, having analyzed the main aspects of the development of art of rhetoric and public speaking in Ancient Greece and Roman Empire, it is possible to make certain conclusion. Being a very influential remedy, public speaking obtained its modern appearance due to the life and work of such philosophers and orators as Plato, Aristotle and Cicero. Their activity influenced development of the whole science greatly.
References
Aristotle. (350 B.C.E.). Rhetoric. Web.
Lane, M. (2014). Ancient Political Philosophy, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
Rapp, C. (2010). Aristotle’s Rhetoric. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.