Public Speaking

How do you feel doing something new for the first time? Nervous, scared or confident? I felt terrified last week when we were given an assignment and asked to make presentations. I was anxious from the day we were given the task because I had never done this and was more concerned about my performance. While researching, drafting my part, and practising, I felt apprehensive and frightened consecutively. I was conscious of how I would perform before my team members and the entire class. The funny part of the task was that preparing for the assignment would help me intellectually and prepare me for public speaking, which I was afraid of at the time. I decided to face my fears and focus on the knowledge that would be gained instead. My assignment was identifying tools that make great public speeches, referencing Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. I identified rhetorical devices as one essential characteristic of public speaking. 

Rhetorical devices are tools we can rely on to become great public speakers. Rhetoric began 2500 years ago as the study of the forms of communication and argument essential to public, political and legal life in Ancient Greece. It has since evolved a rich and diverse body of research, texts, and pedagogies. It has also been defined as the study and art of writing and speaking persuasively. Examples of rhetorical devices are analogy, metaphor, hyperbole, simile, paradox, and more. It is used to make an argument more compelling and to change people’s minds. It adds style and flair to public speaking, making it more captivating and persuasive. When repetition, alliterations, and other rhetorical devices are used in public speaking, they create memorable phrases and critical ideas.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used rhetorical devices in his speech during the Civil Rights Movement to persuade his listeners. His ”I Have a Dream” speech has several rhetorical devices. He uses personification to give his listeners a more vivid understanding of slavery, discrimination, and poverty. By personifying these ideas with manacles, chains, and a lonely island, he evokes an emotional response in his listeners through negative connotations. The personification of the Declaration of Independence as a bad check also creates the image of how Black Americans felt cheated and lied to, as discrimination and segregation prevented their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He also used metaphors throughout his speech to help listeners connect to his ideas and views. Metaphors create clarity by comparing something unfamiliar with something familiar. Deserts, valleys of despair, shadows, and light help to understand how Black Americans felt about segregation and limited rights and how justice and freedom would benefit Black Americans. Dr. King also used symbolism to better represent his ideas for clearer understanding. It helped his listeners understand the stifling nature of injustice and inequality. 

Rhetorical devices work well in captivating the audience in public speaking, business presentations and lectures. They are excellent tools in public speaking, and Dr. King used them effectively, so I will use them the next time I am presented with the opportunity to make a public speech.

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