The ability to speak in public has been a useful skill at all times. People who are fluent in oratory will always be in demand by society and will be able to find a job. It's no secret that there are few such people, they always stand out among others. They turn out to be successful leaders, politicians, businessmen, journalists, writers, teachers, since in many professions knowledge of rhetoric plays a crucial role. The purpose of this oratory course is to provide everyone with the opportunity to learn online materials, lessons, exercises, techniques and rules for mastering the basics of rhetoric for free.

What is rhetoric?

This word is of ancient Greek origin Greek rhetorike), and literally means " oratory". What is "oratory"? And how to develop your abilities for it?

Each of us at least a few times in his life had a chance to perform in public. And, for sure, no one doubts that to know and be able to do a lot. It can be said that the ability to speak in public reflects our intellectual development and our social skills.

Martin Luther King's famous speech

According to the definition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, " oratory"- this is a type of monologue speech used in a situation where the speaker addresses a large audience for the purpose of persuasion or suggestion. Oratory is often identified with eloquence, so a good speaker must be well-read, have competent speech, and be able to clearly express his thoughts. But the speaker also needs to master his diction and have a well-placed voice. In addition, it is important to master speech improvisation, be able to answer questions, maintain contact with the audience, pronounce the text with the necessary intonation, and much, much more.

Most of the described skills, which together form the art of public speaking, can be learned. To do this, it is important to work on yourself, to realize, analyze and correct the unsuccessful moments of your own and others. public speaking and most importantly, practice your skills. Our training will help you work through all these difficult steps on the way to cultivating excellent public speaking skills.

Do you want to test your knowledge?

If you want to check your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how it suits you, you can take our test. Only 1 option can be correct for each question. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Online rhetoric lessons

The public speaking training posted on this site is an integration of many of the techniques described by public speaking experts. Each of the lessons involves the development of a specific skill that contributes to the development of your oratory skills. Naturally, each person can master these skills differently, so try to pay attention to those lessons that seem most useful to you yourself.

Video

In this section of the training on the skill of public speech, you can watch videos of famous speeches by prominent speakers: Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Vladimir Lenin and others. Also here you can find videos from various competitions, presentations and speeches of people in front of investors. In addition, the section contains video tutorials by leading experts in the field of public speaking.

4 rules of rhetoric

• First rule. Start giving any speech with a strong desire to achieve your goal.
• Second rule. Try to always prepare for the performance.
• Third rule. Show confidence even if you don't feel confident.
• Fourth rule. Practice more (this is true for any other skill).

These four rules of public speaking are, in fact, the foundation of any good speech. If you do not set goals for yourself to achieve great success in rhetoric, but only try to prepare for a specific speech, then they may come in handy.

If you are planning a more detailed approach to the study of the art of oratory, we will be happy to provide you with useful and interesting information in the lessons on our website.

We wish you success in mastering the art of oratory!

Conscious speech is one of the most valuable "gifts" of evolution to humanity. Having uttered the first word, the child begins active communication with society, and the task of parents is to make it effective and successful. Eloquence, the ability to speak clearly, beautifully, clearly build the logic of the narrative, needs to be developed and honed from the moment children realize their personality. A child of younger and adolescence with a high speech culture achieves his goals and integrates into society much more easily than peers who do not have the skills of fruitful communication.

Why do young children and teenagers need rhetoric lessons?

Rhetoric is a science that helps to reveal the communicative potential of a child. From the age of three to six, children already actively communicate with peers, relatives, and other adults, and this socialization directly affects the formation of the personality, its psychological “foundation”. The art of persuading and "representing yourself" in society is closely related to the ability to build verbal communication links. If a child learns to speak coherently, beautifully and to the point, it will be easier for him to enter into dialogues, convey his thought or request, convince and communicate. He will be able to study more successfully at school, university, build business communication and move up the career ladder. Great Russian scientists (I. Pavlov, M. Lomonosov) called rhetoric the basis for the formation of correct thinking and the ability to think logically. Without competent speech, even knowing the subject, the student will not be able to successfully speak at the blackboard or in the oral exam, and the adult speaker will not be able to defend his opinion in front of the assembled colleagues or the board of directors. Properly selected exercises, rhetoric lessons, built in accordance with the age and characteristics of the child, help:

• learn how to convey information to any interlocutor, formulate convincing arguments, express thoughts clearly and coherently;
• improve diction, make speech smooth, intonation rich, articulated;
• speak clearly without raising your voice and “manage the volume” of speech for your own purposes;
• during speeches, correctly reinforce words with intonation, gestures and facial expressions;
• quickly find the exact wording, supplement the speech with beautiful and not “overloaded” images that suit the situation;
• formulate questions in such a way as to get the most useful answer;
• correctly analyze and evaluate situations that arise during communication;
• make contact with little and unfamiliar, higher-ranking people (bosses, teachers, examiners);
• learn to listen carefully, follow the sequence of speaking, be patient with the interlocutor;
• develop your own oratorical style and avoid mistakes in speeches;
• to become more self-confident, freely, without physical and psychological clamps, to speak in front of any audience.

How to learn rhetoric and public speaking

To achieve the above and other goals, rhetoric widely uses:

• individual or group trainings with professional mentors, where children and teenagers learn interaction and public speaking;
• special exercises for speaking, memorization, logic, reading - they are performed at home or in the classroom;
• additional home activities with parents - games, reading aloud and so on.

When studying, it is important to remember the age and personality characteristics of the child. Educators and scientists believe that the best age to start full-fledged classes is 6-12 years old. For younger children, it is worth choosing specialized trainings and exercises that will help them prepare for the transition to the “next stage”. Children are different - someone is initially inclined to build complex speech turns, while others succeed with difficulty. A competent teacher will definitely talk with the child before classes, listen to the parents and form his own opinion, backed up by experience and qualifications. Based on the study of personality, a teaching methodology is formed, specific exercises are selected that parents can independently perform with their child at home. To successfully achieve the goal, lessons and "homework" should:

• be regular - parents and teachers need to correctly draw up a class schedule and stick to it so that everyday small efforts “melt” into a serious, large-scale result;
• communicate with a single approach and goal - consistency allows you to both formulate a problem and quickly solve it;
• include not only direct lessons in rhetoric, but also exercises that develop the imagination, improve reading and writing skills, literary and stage tasks.

How to do rhetoric exercises

Before any lesson, you need to prepare the room: ventilate it, “cut off” all extraneous sounds - turn off the music, close the window or door. During classes, adults present - parents, practicing teachers - should be positioned so that the child sees all the movements that he needs to repeat. If the children are small, it is necessary to sit down, otherwise they will not consider the movements of the jaw, tongue. During the exercise you need:

• monitor the position of the body - the child must straighten the body, straighten the chest;
• create the right atmosphere and "mood" - for a long time and with enthusiasm, a child or a restless teenager can only talk and train with good mood;
• speak at the right pace - pronounce all the words in the exercise slowly, with an arrangement, but without unnecessary pauses.

It is worth supplementing the rhetoric course with vocal lessons and home performances. children preschool age parents must definitely read aloud; for older children, stage or literary improvisation, training in memorizing the text they heard is suitable. It is important to precede training with physical training. It is specific: the jaws, mimic facial muscles, tongue with lips are “trained”. While doing articulation gymnastics, children will learn to pronounce words and combinations of sounds that are difficult for them. The workout includes exercises for:

• Mouth opening. The lips are stretched in a smile, the lower jaw is slowly lowered, making sure that the tongue does not strain. Keep your mouth wide open for up to 10 seconds, then slowly close it and repeat up to 5 times without changing the pace. For young children, the exercise is compared to the yawning of an animal or feeding chicks in a nest to make it more interesting for the little ones.
• smile. Pupils slowly stretch their lips, making sure that they do not tuck, and the jaws do not tense up. It will take 3-4 repetitions. The exercise will help you learn how to smile beautifully, gently showing your front teeth.
• Pulling lips. They need to be closed and pulled into a "tube", holding in a tense position for 5-10 seconds. The lower jaw should not move forward. You need to do 3 to 5 repetitions.

Classic home exercises in rhetoric

At home, it is recommended to perform basic exercises aimed at improving the speech and cognitive apparatus. Suitable for preschool and primary school children:

• expressive reading aloud - adults pronounce the phrase, and the child repeats it, maintaining the pace and intonation;
• explanation of concepts and formulation of definitions - an adult begins a phrase, and a child finishes (“an apple is a fruit that ...”);
• rhyming words first, then phrases;
• finding differences between objects, concepts;
• "listening to silence", a description of the sounds in the room and outside the window that are heard when people are silent (birdsong, clock ticking);
• pronouncing tongue twisters or chants, backed up by gestures - at each phrase, the child should rhythmically clap his hands, stamp his feet;
• selection of synonyms and words related to a particular topic, and so on.

For teenagers, classic team games are relevant:

• “Alphabet” (for speech associativity) - first selection of individual words, then whole phrases starting with a certain letter, and at the end - a coherent story;
• “Drawing objects” (to develop the skill of gestures) - leading a story on a chosen topic, where each word is supported by descriptive gestures;
• “A story on a free topic” (for creativity in speech): the host sets the beginning of the story, each participant continues it in sequence, then the next person is given a new task.

These exercises are a base, useful, but do not reveal the whole variety of situations that occur during training and in real life. Practicing under the guidance of a professional mentor is a key principle of effective practice. Only with an experienced specialist who works a lot with children individually and in groups, you will achieve a qualitative “breakthrough” in the skills of a particular child. We invite you to rhetoric lessons at the largest school of oratory in St. Petersburg - Oratoris. Here, students improve their public speaking skills, learn to think deeply. Our credo is an integrated approach to classes, which will lay the foundation for a person's success in personal communication, and will contribute to his career in the future. Studying with us, you will master the skills of oratory - an indispensable condition for self-confidence and the ability to “bloodlessly” defend your interests in conflict situations. We invite you to sign up for individual and group classes in rhetoric and in practice make sure of their effectiveness.

The oratory of our time dates back to ancient Greco-Roman times, when this type of creative activity was given special attention and, when, like in no other culture, oral speech was not so perfect.

About what oratory and the art of speech is, how to improve oratory skills and become a good speaker, we will describe further. Join.

Who is a speaker

An orator is a person who has oratorical abilities, which consist in the ability to speak beautifully and convincingly, to be fluent in the tools of acting, and to have psychological knowledge.

The talent for eloquence may be innate. It is even believed that each of us has it, only it is manifested to varying degrees. This means that anyone can develop this gift, taking into account individual characteristics and working on themselves.

With the development of oratory skills, comes the ability of public speaking, which has its own properties:

• special content of speech - linguistic and non-verbal, in the form of facial expressions and gestures, methods of influencing the listener;
• purposefulness - receiving feedback from the audience;
• efficiency - as a result of the psychological state of the speaker and his authority with the public.

But you can build your speech competently if you use the rules of oratory:

And then she will have the qualities necessary for oratorical speech:

The image of a talented speaker is charismatic and is closely associated with such features and traits as self-confidence, inspiration, erudition, the ability to improvise, liveliness of thought, a strong voice, and expressive gestures.

How to learn oratory on your own, we'll talk more.

In the meantime - briefly about the basics of oratory.

The science of oratory is called rhetoric.

The art of oratory, or eloquence, is a high degree of skill in speaking to the public and influencing it.

Depending on the composition of the audience and topics, eloquence is divided into types:

Oratory speech can have different goals of influencing the listener and it happens:

• informational, introduces new facts, information, knowledge;
• entertaining, entertaining;
• persuasive, in which the speaker seeks the consent of the listener with his point of view;
• inspiring, emotionally inspiring;
• calling to action, agitating to take action.

In order for a public performance to achieve its goal and leave no one indifferent, it is built according to the intention and content in a certain order, which is called composition.

The introduction should attract attention, interest, establish contact with the audience, give an idea about the topic of the upcoming message with brief description problems.

The main part of the oratory is the presentation of the material itself, argumentation, the use of facts and logical evidence.

The conclusion is intended to summarize and summarize what has been said, to emphasize main idea draw conclusions, inspire listeners.

It is desirable to approach the work on the composition creatively. Observing a clear sequence and consistency of its elements, it is important not to lose the individual style.

Features of oratory

Oratory is characterized by the following features:

Oral presentation. The process of communication with the audience occurs directly when voicing thoughts. Texts for public speaking are acquired by ear and are constructed in such a way as to be easy to understand.

The presence of feedback. A good speaker feels the audience. He distinguishes the mood, catches the reactions to what was said, guesses the emerging questions and flexibly builds a further dialogue.

The use of various means of communication. The use of gestures, pantomime, intonation and other non-verbal methods is inherent in oratory, which distinguishes it from ordinary speech.

The relationship between a text prepared for a speech and its oral interpretation. Choosing the right tone of communication helps to present information in an intelligible form and find contact with the audience.

Oratory techniques

Oratory techniques are used to improve the perception of information. They work either by orienting the listener to figurative perception, or by stimulating his mental activity.

For example:

• visual comparisons, short examples-illustrations are especially appropriate when reporting numerical material;
• repetition of what has already been said in other words creates a new image;
• allegory clearly illustrates the ideas and thoughts of the speaker;
• antithesis by opposition enhances their perception;
• hyperbole exaggerates those points that need to be paid attention to;
• rhetorical questions do not require an answer, but stir up interest;
• insertion, when a remark made in passing draws attention to what was said;
• unexpected words and actions heighten the listener's curiosity.

Is there enough theory? And now - the most interesting.

How to develop public speaking skills

To master the secrets of oratory, you can enroll in courses and trainings in rhetoric, take lessons for beginners, choose online training or study self-study on eloquence. All these options are offered to our attention by the vast Internet.

If you like self-study for the development of oratory, let's work on the technique of delivering a speech, prepare for a speech, learn how to interact with the audience and take into service some practical tips.

Speech technique

The sound of speech that you want to listen to depends on the following components:

1. Breath. The pace should be measured, while the breath is shorter than the exhalation. Inhale not “to the stop”, so that there is an opportunity to breathe. It's the same with exhalation. Contribute to the improvement of speech. For example, developing the skill of breathing from the bottom of your lungs will give your voice strength and fluency.
2. Volume. By controlling his voice, the speaker influences the audience's perception of what he is saying. If your voice is naturally quiet, you can turn it up. To do this, read aloud expressively, count to ten as you exhale, gradually increasing.
3. Diction. Speaking clearly, clearly pronouncing sounds, tongue twisters will help, if you are not lazy and do not forget to load your articulatory apparatus with them.
4. Pace. We must try to express thoughts at an average pace, not to part with words and not to stretch them. Since temperament plays an important role here, internal state person at the time of the speech, it is important to calm down and tune in to a fruitful dialogue with the audience.
5. Intonation. With its help, your speech will be remembered by the listener, because it will be alive. Practice, as in school, reading aloud with expression works of fiction.

Preparing for a performance

At this stage, the text of the speech is prepared. We already know what a properly composed public speech should be. In order not to read according to what is written, you should first of all learn the text, and to meet with the audience, draw up a plan and main theses.

To be ready for improvisation, it is necessary to have a developed logical and imaginative thinking, to have a rich vocabulary and a broad outlook. Read different literature, keep abreast of social events.

To keep the audience in the right mood, stock up on some interesting facts, light jokes, entertaining short stories.

To avoid being caught off guard by the technical side of your presentation, be aware organizational issues: hall, audio equipment, video materials.

Do not forget that "they are met by clothes." Make sure you look dignified and fit the moment.

Interaction with the audience

A good speaker is able from the first minutes of meeting with the audience to please them with his appearance, friendly manner of communication. With such qualities as honesty, openness, politeness, the speaker wins the trust of the listener.

He feels the audience, anticipates their reactions, manages the course of his speech and masterfully achieves his goal.

Here we will answer the most frequently asked questions.

1. How to learn to speak in front of an audience? Only by repeatedly speaking, you can gain experience in public speaking. At work, at home, meeting with friends, participating in various activities, one should try to develop this skill. To do this, you need to expand your horizons so that there is something to tell; train your memory to remember unusual facts, stories.
2. How interesting is it to submit information? Learn to use public speaking tools. Facial expressions, gestures, body language, intonation, voice timbre will arouse genuine interest among listeners. Try it. Create a video of your performance. Assess his level. Praise yourself.
3. How to overcome the fear of the audience? Such a quality necessary for this, as self-confidence, is acquired with oratorical experience. A little excitement can even help you make your speech memorable and inspire the audience. Develop leadership qualities in yourself, tune in to positive communication with the listener. This will help to overcome the strong excitement that arises at first.

Oratory for children

Today, rhetoric, as a scientific discipline about oratory, is also in demand for the harmonious development of children. It develops the child's personal qualities, teaches the ability to communicate, express one's thoughts competently and confidently, conduct a dialogue using intonation and facial expressions, and acquire the first skills of public speaking.

The objectives of teaching rhetoric are:

You can work with children at home:

• work on the technique of speech, pronouncing tongue twisters;
• learn polite communication;
• read and talk a lot different topics to increase vocabulary;
• organize theatrical performances to develop acting skills;
• learn and read poetry with expression;
• practice speaking in front of family and friends.

These classes will help your child become more confident and not shy at public events, teach them how to establish contacts with people, and reveal their creative potential.

The power of a word

The success of mastering oratory skills will provide work. Above the setting of the voice, the content of speech, personal qualities. Try yourself, learn new skills in order to implement your plans, improve.

Remember, the word is the message. Carrying the energy of the author, it has great power.

Ignite curiosity in your listeners. Motivate them to do good deeds.

The image of the head of the company, his leadership qualities and sales skills determine the success of the enterprise. This is known by PR specialists who write speeches for executives, think through them appearance, learn to speak in public and correctly place accents. However, even the best PR specialist will not be able to independently make a bright personality out of an ordinary person, a hero of public speeches.

The book by James Humes - a famous writer, former speechwriter for five American presidents - reveals some of the secrets of public speaking and building charisma. Having mastered the techniques offered by the author, you will gain confidence and learn how to easily and successfully cope with public speaking.

1. Pause

Where should any successful performance begin? The answer is simple: pause. It doesn't matter what kind of speech you have: a detailed speech for a few minutes or a short introduction of the next speaker - you must achieve silence in the hall. After stepping onto the podium, look around the audience and fix your eyes on one of the listeners. Then mentally say the first sentence to yourself and after an expressive pause, start talking.

2. First phrase

All successful speakers give great importance the first sentence of the speech. It should be powerful and be sure to evoke a positive response from the audience.

The first phrase is, in the terminology of television people, the "prime time" of your performance. At this moment, the audience is maximum in size: every person in the hall wants to look at you and find out what kind of bird you are. In just a few seconds, the dropout of listeners can begin: someone will continue the conversation with a neighbor, someone will turn to the phone, and someone will fall asleep altogether. However, everyone will listen to the first phrase without exception.

3. Bright start

If you do not have in stock a bright, suitable aphorism that can grab everyone's attention, start with a story from your life. if you have important fact or news unknown to listeners, start right away with it (“Yesterday at 10 o’clock in the morning ...”). In order for the audience to perceive you as a leader, you need to immediately take the bull by the horns: choose a strong start.

4. Main idea

Even before you sit down to write your speech, you must determine its main idea. This key point that you want to convey to the audience should be concise, capacious, “fit in a matchbox”.

Stop, look and make a plan: first of all, highlight the key thoughts, and then you can supplement and explain them with real life examples or quotes.

As Churchill said, a good speech is like a symphony: it can be performed at three different tempos, but it must retain the main melody.

5. Quotes

There are a few rules, the observance of which will give strength to quoting. First, the quote should be close to you. Never cite the statements of an author who is unfamiliar to you, uninteresting, whom it is unpleasant for you to quote. Secondly, the name of the author should be known to the listeners, and the quotation itself should be short.

You must also learn how to create an environment for quoting. Many successful speakers use similar techniques: before quoting, they pause and put on glasses or, with a serious look, read a quotation from a card or, for example, a newspaper sheet.

If you want to make a special impression with a quote, write it out on a small card, take it out of your wallet during the speech and read the statement.

6. Wit

Surely you have been advised many times to dilute the performance with a joke or an anecdote. There is some truth in this advice, but do not forget that a joke for the sake of a joke only offends the listener.

There is no need to start your speech with an anecdote that is not related to the situation (“It seems that it is customary to start a speech with an anecdote, and so. Somehow a man comes to a psychiatrist ...”). It's better to quietly go to your funny story in the middle of a speech to defuse the situation.

7. Reading

Reading a speech from a sheet with eyes downcast, to put it mildly, does not delight the audience. How then to act? Is it really necessary to memorize a half-hour long speech? Not at all. You need to learn how to read correctly.

The first rule of reading a speech: never say a word with your eyes on the paper.

Use the SOS technique: look - stop - say.

For practice, take any text. Lower your eyes and mentally photograph a few words. Then raise your head and stop. Then, looking at any object on the other side of the room, tell what you remember. And so on: look at the text, stop, speak.

8. Techniques of the speaker

It is known that Churchill recorded his speeches like poetry, dividing them into separate phrases and writing each on a separate line. To make your speech sound even more convincing, use this technique.

Use rhymes and internal consonance in a phrase to give the sound of your speech a poetic force of influence (for example, Churchill's phrase "We must follow the principles of humanism, not bureaucracy").

It’s very easy to come up with rhymes, just remember the most common of them: -na (war, silence, needed), -ta (darkness, emptiness, dream), -h (sword, speech, flow, meetings), -oses / wasps (roses , threats, tears, questions), -anie, -yes, -on, -tion, -ism, and so on. Practice these simple rhymes by making sonorous phrases.

But remember: the rhymed phrase should be the same for the whole speech, you do not need to turn your speech into a poem.

And so that the rhyme does not go to waste, express the key idea of ​​the speech in this phrase.

9. Questions and pauses

Many speakers use questions to connect with the audience. Don't forget one rule: never ask a question if you don't know the answer to it. Only by predicting how the public will react will you be able to prepare and get the most out of the question.

10. Final

Even if your speech was inexpressive, a happy ending can fix everything. To impress in the finale, tune in, call on your emotions to help: pride, hope, love and others. Try to convey these feelings to your listeners in the way that the great speakers of the past did.

In no case do not end your speech on a minor note, by doing this you simply destroy your career. Use uplifting quotes, poems, or jokes.

New page 1

Practically in all countries with a developed market economy, from the USA to Japan, special speech training is included in the system of compulsory educational minimum. It is in these countries that the well-known statement of Napoleon “He who cannot speak will not make a career” has long and thoroughly been tested by life. And if in Ancient Greece for teaching speech skills, teachers of rhetoric received the usual pay, in our time such a famous entrepreneur as John Rockefeller considered it necessary "to pay much more for the ability to communicate than for any other product." In other words, to own a skillful Word today is not only prestigious, but also economically profitable. Such a Word, along with good professional training, is the basis of business and personal success. And if for you a career, success, ambitions are not just a bunch of words, but specific goals and conscious aspirations, rhetoric lessons will help you implement your plans.

Our first lesson, like any introduction, will be devoted to an introduction to the content of the course as a whole. It is necessary to clearly represent the range of issues, having studied which, you will master the art of the word and be able to become a winner in a speech competition with your opponent. The main pillars in our movement to the heights of speech skills will be the recommendations of professionals in the field of rhetorical knowledge, given by modern humanities, the experience of the great masters of the Word. And as an epigraph we will choose the famous expression of Cicero: "Eloquence is something that is more difficult than it seems, and is born from a lot of knowledge and efforts." Cicero did not accidentally put efforts after knowledge. Only by understanding well why and why this or that knowledge is needed, a person will try to master it.

What is verbal communication? Aristotle, whose role in the development of classical rhetoric is most significant, answered this question as follows: “Any speech is made up of three elements: from the speaker himself, from the subject he speaks about, and from the person he addresses; it is the ultimate goal of everything; (I mean the listener)." Therefore, starting from the classical period of Ancient Greece and up to the present, teaching speech skills is carried out in three interrelated directions:

1) prepare well talking person;

2) preparation of a speech work, i.e. the ability to write a good speech on a given topic;

3) preparing a good listener.

It is clear that in real speech communication, the speaker and the listener, as a rule, constantly change places, sometimes creating a common speech work.

How is a voice message transmitted from one interlocutor to another? In answering this question, modern rhetoric relies primarily on the data of modern psychological science. We will briefly dwell on those of them that are of fundamental importance for understanding the essence of speech interaction.

When a person begins to speak, and his interlocutor to listen, between them there is an exchange of two types of information. The first type is always consciously transmitted information. It is framed in certain judgments or statements, for example: “Today good weather”, “Smoking harms your health”, “Rhetoric lessons will help you achieve professional success”, etc. When transmitting this type of information, all the attention of the initiator of communication is focused on the question “What do I want to say so that they understand me correctly?”. At the same time, in addition to this consciously transmitted information, there are speech signals from the speaker to the listener that he usually does not pay attention to. Today it is well known that almost all the features of a person's character, his education, social, ethnic, psychological, age, professional status are manifested in his speech characteristics. Therefore, the ancient Roman rhetorician Quintilian stated: "We do not listen to speech, but to a person who speaks", emphasizing unique value speech in the life of any person. Thus, the second type of information is always information about the personality of the speaking person. Why do we describe these two types of information in such detail? In order to emphasize their different role in the transmission of the message and in its perception. The fact is that when perceiving a speech message, the listener first of all reacts to the personality of the speaker and only after that perceives the meaning of the message. And if the assessment of the speaking person is positive, then his rational arguments are perceived faster and easier. If the assessment of the interlocutor is negative, then the unwillingness to agree with his logical statements is almost inevitable. From here first rule competent behavior in verbal communication: in order to convince the interlocutor of anything, you must first make him want to communicate with you as a pleasant and charming person.

How to achieve this? This is possible only if all the speech signals that you send to your listener are first of all positively evaluated at the level of his subconscious. Why is the listener's subconscious playing decisive role when assessing the personality of the speaker? Because today it is already reliably known that a person perceives up to 80% of information received from outside without control of his consciousness. But it is this information that largely, and sometimes completely (using special manipulative technologies), determines our, as it seems to us, rational and conscious assessments and actions. It is at the subconscious level that your interlocutor should have a desire to communicate with you as with a pleasant person, which you yourself will form with speech signals given rhetorically correctly. Therefore, it is so important to understand what signals and how should affect the listener's subconscious sphere in order to guarantee the formulation of a positive assessment regarding you.

The first group of such signals provides the sound design of speech and, when evaluating a masterly sounding word, is defined as euphony. Comfortable sounding of speech for the listener, and hence a positive assessment of the interlocutor as a whole, is achieved by such characteristics of the speaking person's voice as melody, sonority, clear articulation, good pronunciation, calm tone without irritation, moderate speech tempo.

Let's make some important clarifications. The voice is an instrument. And like any musical instrument, before starting to sound, it is necessary to tune, our voice requires the same tuning. Therefore, there can be no bad voice from nature. If there are no pathological abnormalities, any voice can be properly tuned, “educated”. Of course, this is not an easy job. Suffice it to say that in theatrical universities, voice production takes more than one semester. And since our assessment begins with our sound, it is necessary to master some techniques that allow us to acquire harmonious speech.

Your voice will be sonorous, flexible, beautiful only if the correct speech (phonation) breathing is developed. To do this, with the help of special training, it is necessary to develop a mixed or diaphragmatic-rib type of breathing. The male type of breathing is closest to it. It is no coincidence that most of the great orators of the past were men. They already by nature had the basis of breathing necessary for mastering the art of oratory. In ordinary breathing, we do not care about how the exhalation is made, where it is directed. During speech breathing, the exhalation is specially organized, the stream of exhaled air should, as it were, be focused at one point. The rhythm of phonation breathing differs sharply from the usual one: here the inhalation is 10–15 times shorter than the exhalation. And with well-trained breathing, exhalation can easily be divided into 25 or even 30 full-weight portions. Why do we dwell on these characteristics in such detail? speech breathing? Because speech is a voiced exhalation of air. When forming speech, sounds are formed on exhalation. Air passes through the larynx and causes the vocal cords to vibrate. The resulting sounds are amplified by resonators - a natural acoustic system - and then perceived by the listener. Therefore, the main thing in the "education" of a beautiful voice is the training of a long exhalation and the skillful use of sound amplifiers.

Starting to train the respiratory muscles, first of all, you need to check the activity of the diaphragm. To do this, in a prone position, place the palm of your left hand on the area between the chest and abdomen and, after exhaling, inhale, trying not to raise your chest. If the arm rises during inhalation, then the diaphragm has lowered and is working correctly. Take a few breaths in and out and observe the movement of the hand (i.e. the diaphragm). If the arm remains motionless during inhalation, then the diaphragm is acting sluggishly and its activity should be developed with the help of training exercises. Such exercises are contained in all textbooks on speech technology, so in our lesson we will limit ourselves to only those that can be easily mastered on your own.

Exercise "Exhale through a straw" allows you to purchase the necessary support for sound - "speech belt". Imagine that you are exhaling air through a thin straw: your lips are collected with a “proboscis”, exhaling with effort, so that the movement of the muscles of the abdominal cavity and back begins to be felt. As you continue to exhale through the straw, hum your favorite tune to further activate the diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

Repeat this exercise several times. For some of you, these exercises may seem uninteresting, boring and even unnecessary. But just as it is impossible to build a beautiful building without a solid foundation, so a person cannot speak confidently, convincingly and beautifully without a good and solid speech-technical basis. That is why teaching speech skills always begins with such a section of rhetoric as speech technique.

Only after working out and consolidating the skills of speech breathing, you can begin to "educate" the voice.

most informativethe quality of a “educated” voice is its timbre. The ease of perception of the meaning of the statement by the listener depends on how expressive the timbre coloring of the voice is. With the help of timbre, a wide variety of information about the speaker can be transmitted: gender, age, health status, level of education, etc. According to experts, according to the timbre coloring, the listener, even without seeing the speaker, can almost accurately imagine his facial expressions. And this means that it is the timbre of the voice among all the sound signals that most accurately reflects the true feelings of a person, which is perceived by the listener at a subconscious level. In terms of speech technology, the timbre coloration of the voice depends on the volume of the resonators, the shape and volume of the trachea, and the density of the closure of the vocal cords. Let's make some more important clarifications. The pharynx, facial sinuses, the dome of the hard palate, the cranium, that is, what is located in our natural acoustic system above the ligaments, is called the upper resonator system. The cavities located under the ligaments, and primarily the chest cavity, are the lower system of resonators. If the sound is directed to the lower resonators, then the chest register of the voice is turned on, giving the voice a velvety, warmth and charm. If the sound is directed to the upper resonators, then the voice acquires sonority, sharpness and often loudness. With a very low sounding of the voice, the upper (head) resonator should be used, and with an excessively sharp, high tone, the lower (chest) resonator. Only in this case the voice will acquire a sound that is comfortable for the listener's ear.

The following simple exercises will significantly diversify the sound palette of your voice and thereby ensure its harmony.

Exercise "clatter" allows you to increase the volume of the upper resonators, which gives the sound of the voice sonority, sonority, good audibility and flight .

1. Click your tongue, imitating the loud clatter of hooves. Do this exercise for 10-15 seconds, changing the position of the lips from gathered into a tube to open in a wide smile. Watch for color changes in clicking sounds depending on the width of the opening of the mouth. You can perform this exercise using the melody of the famous songs "Tachanka", "Song of Shchors".

2. "Praise is blasphemy." Speak any phrases in a whisper, but first as a praise to something or someone, and then as a criticism. It is known that positive emotions contribute to an increase in the volume of resonators, and negative ones lead to its reduction. Therefore, in the first case, with praise, the whisper acquires a “warm” sound, and the volume of the resonators is the largest. In the second case, the complaint is pronounced in a "cold" tone with the smallest volume of resonators.

Along with the correct phonation breathing and timbre coloring of the voice, clarity and clarity in the pronunciation of speech sounds - diction - is of great importance for creating an emotionally active and convincing speech. This issue requires separate consideration, therefore, the formation of correct pronunciation skills, the creation best conditions for free and clear sounding of speech, we will consider in the next lesson.

Concluding our first lesson, I would like to recall the statement of the famous expert in the field of oratory studies, Frank Snell: “Do not allow interlocutors to draw a false picture of your abilities through your speech defects. Make your speech work for you." Modern rhetoric will help you achieve this goal.