rhetoric

I recently touched upon the current debate in the UK which seeks to divide people into ‘strivers’ – often also known as ‘hard-working people (especially ‘families’ – British politicians love [...]

“He encouraged us.” The epitaph that Tony Benn chose for himself. And, judging by the reaction to his recent death, that is exactly what Tony Benn did for so many people. He encouraged them to [...]

What passing bells for those who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by [...]

Any good presentation should take the audience on a journey: from point A – where they are when they walk into the room, to point B – where they know what the presenter wants, why they want [...]

The 50th anniversary of his death has put John F. Kennedy firmly back in the spotlight. And what strikes me about Kennedy is that he is Mr Contrast. Not just in the startling differences between [...]

I’m obsessed with someone off the telly. For a middle-aged bloke, this might be embarrassing enough; the fact that the object of my obsession is another bloke around 20 years my senior takes it [...]

Delivery – according to Demosthenes, this is the key to good speaking. As anyone who has seen a bad actor mangle Shakespeare can attest, how the words are spoken plays a vital role. What then [...]

Question & Answer Contrast Lists of Three Repetition We use these techniques constantly, naturally, unconsciously in everyday conversation. When we step up to do a presentation something [...]

Hegel believed that simply stating an argument was enough to bring counter-arguments immediately to mind. If a presenter ignores these arguments, what do we do? Most likely we ask ourselves why. [...]

Films get straight to the action. The audience is immediately engaged in the story. Films don’t begin with a long list of thank-yous and background details. The beginning is the single most [...]