The ability to convincingly express one’s thoughts, to convince and win over a large audience has always been considered a very valuable quality for a person. Success in many areas of activity depends on the ability to communicate with people. For some, this skill is inherent in their nature - they are considered natural speakers. Others have to learn, especially if the position or personal goals require it.
There is even a whole science called rhetoric. This is such a scientific discipline that studies the laws of the formation, perception and transmission of high-quality speech and a good text. In antiquity, this term was used only in its direct meaning. It was believed that rhetoric is an
oratory, the ability to perform excellently in public. Later this concept expanded and began to imply mastery and the theory of acting, expedient, harmonizing speech.
The term itself came into Russian from Greek. The most appropriate synonyms for him would be “eloquence” and “oratory”. Even at the beginning of the emergence of this discipline, two approaches to the perception of oratory began to manifest themselves clearly. Proponents of the first trend believed that rhetoric is the skill to convince. They believed that the main thing in eloquence was content, idea. A vivid example is the rhetoric of Aristotle. In this course, one considered a good speech that brings effect, convinces, gains recognition (sympathy, sympathy, agreement) of the audience and encourages certain actions.
Others focused on the style and form of speech. For them, rhetoric was simply the art of decorating speech. The famous representative and founder of this school is the ancient rhetorician Isocrates. Adherents of this trend under a good speech meant a magnificent, decorated speech, built in accordance with all the rules of aesthetics. Convincing here also influenced the assessment of the syllable, but was secondary and by no means the only criterion.
Modern neo-rhetoric has become a harmonious union of the "literary" and "logical" schools. The results obtained in the "literary" direction are used to this day. Moreover, the aesthetic qualities of speech have priority for some rhetoric scholars. However, for most, logic still dominates.
Currently,
oratory is traditionally divided into two divisions: private and general rhetoric. The private focuses on the features of certain
types of speech communication related to the
functions of speech, communication conditions and different areas of human activity. General rhetoric is the science of the rules and universal principles of building high-quality, good speech that are independent of the specific field of speech communication.
Traditionally, the art of beautifully and convincingly speaking to future lawyers and businessmen is taught at universities. However, if a person works in another field, nothing prevents finding free time and self-education. Business rhetoric, one of the most practical subsections of this interesting science, will surely come in handy in life for each of us, special in the present such difficult time.