Public Speaking

ChaPter 16 Foundations of Persuasion

Exhibiting Good Character

Remember the Latin phrase introduced in Chapter 1: Vir bonum, dicendi peritus—“The

good person, skilled in speaking”? Character counts. Your listeners will believe you

more readily if they trust you, so demonstrate honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness by

documenting your sources and giving facts that square with what they know to be true.

Choose topics that matter to you, and stick by your convictions, even when they are

unpopular. Politicians get into trouble when they appear to be poll driven and pander

to different audiences, flip-flopping from position to position instead of holding to their

core beliefs.

A

s chief educator of Rome, Quintilian

distinguished oratory from rhetoric when

he wrote about the education of persuasive

speakers.^5 Rhetoric, he proclaimed, is amoral;

it can lead to both good and bad results. In

contrast, oratory is a moral activity; orators

defend the innocent, repress crime, sup-

port truth over falsehood, persuade listeners

toward right actions, and promote positive

civic action.

Evil persons cannot be effective orators

because their greed, misdeeds, and concerns

over being caught in their deceits make them

neglect the tools of invention, and audiences

will reject them. Instead, virtuous orators

should cultivate traits of truth seeking, justice,

and honor before they take to the public stage.

To form moral and intellectual character, they

should study philosophy, seek wisdom, and

pursue sincerity and goodness. Only after they have developed character, should they

study oratory. Quintilian was realistic enough to recognize that no one could be perfect,

but he urged each orator to be both good and sensible.

Questions

1. What is your response to Quintilian’s claim: “I do not merely assert that the ideal orator
   should be a good [person], but I affirm that no [one] can be a good orator unless he
   [or she] is a good [person]”?^6


2. Do the same high standards hold for people who give informative speeches? Why or
   why not?


3. How might our culture be changed if the study of public speaking came during the
   last semester of every college student’s senior year—as the culmination of his or her
   education—and if all other studies were considered foundational?


4. Imagine that Quintilian were somehow transported into the Internet age. How might he
   advise digital citizens to prepare for participation in the “public stage” of cyberspace?

ethiCs in

praCtiCe Developing Good Character

Quintilian

© Scala/Art Resource, NY

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