Successful home school communicators consider the audience who will read or hear the composition before they begin researching the topic. Think about how a speech on euthanasia might be received by each of these audiences:

• a few medical doctors who work at the local hospice
• a Sunday School class of 11 and 12 year girls
• a funeral home director and his staff
• a group of state or federal legislators
• a gathering of elderly nursing home residents
• a convention of pharmaceutical reps

Obviously, each of these collective audiences would have a different perspective and perhaps a biased self-interest in advocating or outlawing euthanasia. No two audiences are ever the same. (My speech students who compete in different regions of the country know this hard fact!) Excellent public speakers do their best to assess the audience in advance and tailor the message accordingly. If poor or unenlightened choices are made during the content phase, the message may be doomed no matter how brilliant the delivery. Failure to communicate ultimately rests with the speaker because the audience is always right.

Whether addressing a parent, a small group of friends, a few thousand newsletter subscribers, or an auditorium full of paid attendees, the public speaker and writer is particularly challenged by this compound question:

Who is my audience, and how will I reach them?

Understanding the audience - who they are, how they think and feel, and what they need - is essential to effective communication. This concept applies to all ages and levels of expertise: from the little boy who desperately wants another cookie to the grandparent who needs a ride to the pharmacy to the teenage debater who hopes to persuade the judge to vote affirmative. Possible attitudes toward your appeal include:

supportive (they agree with you)

apathetic (they don’t care)

doubtful (they’re not sure or have serious reservations)

hostile (they are actively opposed)

knowledgeable (they already know a great deal)

unlearned (they know nothing about it)

indifferent (the thought never occurred to them)

Knowing some key facts about the audience favorably impacts the message. The speech or essay can then be crafted in such a way that the ideas have personal meaning and relevance to your unique audience. People pay attention to ideas that compliment their own hopes, needs, and goals.

Savvy public speakers and writers adjust the theme (invention), structure (arrangement), style, vocabulary, length, and delivery to each audience. If addressing a large, heterogeneous audience, more explicit syntax and background information is needed. If addressing a specialized niche (for instance, baseball players), specialized language (like earned run averages) can be used to illuminate. What do the members of the audience have in common? Do you expect them to be good listeners? Can you estimate collective age, social status, ethnicity, education, and cultural background? Consult others who have spoken before similar audiences in the past, or check out any written records (bylaws, public minutes) that are available about the group. Will the surroundings such as lighting, acoustics, and distance impact their ability to favorably respond to you?

Communication is an exchange of information. The word exchange implies giving and taking. The orator or writer gives three things: (1) a debatable idea, (2) the evidentiary proof, and (3) a call to action. The audience receives this offering and responds with verbal, nonverbal, and sometimes written feedback. Nothing is more deflating and discouraging to a homeschool public speaker or writer than a tepid, unresponsive audience. To improve immediate feedback, consider adding novelty, humor, contrast, movement, suspense, and intensity to command attention. Above all, tailor the message to the audience. Certainly, the audience has the right to disagree as in the case of the mom who refuses the 2nd cookie, but if the audience doesn’t understand the idea, plea, argument, or information, somehow the author has failed to communicate. Although it’s hard work, effective communication rests primarily with the creator of the message because the audience is always right!

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This post concludes my three-part series on Teach the Skills of the Trivium. If you happened to miss one of the twenty-three essays, you can find a complete list under the tab The Trivium which is located in the header of each web page. Although I’ve got SO MUCH more to share about the classical trivium, it’s time to tackle the third step of Three Simple but Significant Steps to a Classical Education, “Supervise the Study of Subjects.”

Tags: arrangement, audience, call to action, composition, debatable idea, Debate, delivery, effective communication, home school, homeschool, invention, proof, public speaker, Speech, style, Writing

The five canons or principles of classical rhetoric form a template for developing and critiquing speeches and written compositions. In canon one, INVENTION, the orator or writer determines the debatable idea, discovers the logical arguments, and develops the thesis for his speech or essay. Canon two, ARRANGEMENT, divides the speech or essay into the following parts: an introduction, a statement of facts, an outline, the proof, the refutation, and the conclusion. The third canon, STYLE, was known as elocutio (from loqui “to speak”), and of the five canons, style is the most difficult to define since each orator or writer expresses a unique creative energy. Breathtaking style is one of those nebulous things that is challenging to describe, but you know it when you see it! If invention is what you say, and arrangement is how you organize what you say, then style is how you say it.

What is your Purpose?

Ancient orators defined three levels of style: (1) low or plain, (2) middle or forcible, and (3) high or florid. In preparing the speech, the orator first decided his purpose. Was he going to instruct in the debatable idea? If so, he chose to use the low or plain style with his apprentices or students. His relationship with these individuals was more intimate, and there was no need to impress with sophisticated language or creative pleas. The instructional speech was more like a conversation in that practical information was passed along using normal, everyday language.

Perhaps the orator wanted to persuade an audience to act for the public good or judge a defendant as in political or legal speeches. In that case, he would choose the middle or forcible style of communication. An orator delivering a persuasive speech would probably speak to a larger audience which would have included many members whom he did not personally know or some who may have been enemies. The language for such an audience and purpose would be particular to the specific points of the debatable idea. Urging the audience to adopt his position, the skilled orator would choose convincing words and figures of speech such as metaphors and similes to coax his audience to his point of view.

Finally, many ceremonial occasions demanded oratory. Public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, funerals, and graduations require a lighter touch than the persuasive speech. Themes such as honor, patriotism, and faithfulness might be expounded. For such events, the orator would choose language to charm and entertain.

How will you Arrange the Words?

Which words will you select? The choice of and arrangement words in ancient times depended on the purpose of the speech and the audience to whom the speech was directed. Anyone who puts so much time and effort into preparing a speech or essay cares immensely about the appropriateness of the words because words have the power to move people.

Have you chosen the most appropriate words? Should they be pure and simple or ornate? Is specialized vocabulary needed? Does the grammar appear proper? Are the tenses consistent? Should you use the standard syntax for arranging the words or break a rule to produce an unexpected surprise? Would repetition of words or phrases be effective? Are your points concise? Have you chosen words that emotionally move the audience? Did you consider the sound and rhythm of the words and phrases? Would figures of speech like metaphor, personification, or simile aid in communicating your message?

William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, authors of The Elements of Style, say that style is a high mystery.

“Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind?”

Each person approaches the same content differently; each of your children will manifest a unique style of speaking and writing that reveals something of his or her spirit. There are boundless opportunities for creative expression. Encourage your children to experiment with style as if they were painting pictures with words and delight their audience!

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Here’s a fun exercise. Take a much-quoted sentence, and have the kids play with rearranging the words. Stunk and White offer this example to get you started: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Variations include:

• Times like these try men’s souls.
• How trying it is to live in these times!
• These are trying times for men’s souls.
• Soulwise, these are trying times.

Which sentence do you like best? Now it’s your turn! MEMORY is the fourth canon of classical rhetoric and the subject of the next post. Stay tuned…

Tags: arrangement, audience, classical orator, classical rhetoric, communication, essay, five canons of rhetoric, legal speech, logical arguments, memory, orator, oratory, persuasive speech, political speech, quotes, Speech, speeches, style, thesis, writer, written compositions

As I briefly mentioned in “Could You Define Classical Rhetoric?“, rhetoric is the art of oratory. Today we generally refer to oratory as “public speaking” or “speech;” however, I think you’ll agree that the principles of rhetoric can be appropriately applied to written communication like essays, research papers, and even journalism articles. Other than impromptu speeches, which happen on the spur of the moment with limited preparation time, most contemporary speeches start with a written script or at least an outline of the speaker’s (1) idea or claim, (2) proof or evidence, and (3) call to action. So for our purposes, I’ll define rhetoric as

a system for gathering, selecting, arranging, and expressing our material whether in oral or written form

Remember that rhetoric is one of the 7 liberal arts of ancient Rome. If you were to examine the other 6 liberal arts (language, logic, geometry, astronomy, music theory, and arithmetic), you would realize that each of these arts involves a system for gathering, selecting, arranging, and expressing the material.

Let’s modernize this concept. You could probably list a vast number of “arts” that also involve a system for accumulating, organizing, and presenting the material. For instance, the “art of cooking” involves deciding on the recipe, gathering the ingredients, combining the ingredients in a certain measure and order, cooking the mixture, arranging the final presentation, and serving the delightful dish to the audience. In a nutshell, the chef has concocted an idea, presented evidence to prove her idea, and announced a call to action: “eat and enjoy!” The art of gardening, the art sewing, and the art of singing are just three examples which follow a similar pattern of idea, proof, and call to action. Likewise, the master writer or orator develops an idea, presents the evidence, and calls the audience to action.

In other words, rhetoric for the classical home school is not a stage of educational progress, but rather a set of procedures and criteria that guide the author or orator in making strategic decisions during the composition process. During ancient and medieval times, this system was tightly defined as 3 kinds of persuasive discourse (deliberative, forensic, and epideictic oratory) which are the subjects of my next post.

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Have you watched my parent tutorial yet on “The 7 Laws of Teaching?” It’s just a little over 30 minutes in length and full of practical teaching tips that I have used in my own home school. You’ll learn a little history to put the 7 laws in context as well as assess your own expertise in the areas of teaching language, critical thinking, and communicating well. Click on parent tutorial image in the upper right corner of this page now, and the flash presentation will begin right away.

Tags: Add new tag, audience, author, classical home school, classical rhetoric, composition, deliberative oratory, epideictic oratory, essays, forensic oratory, impromptu speeches, journalism, orator, oratory, public speaking, research paper, Rhetoric, Speech, writer, written communication

The third stage of the historical trivium is rhetoric…as classical Christian home school parents we want to teach our children to effectively communicate in writing and speaking. But learning the skills of effective communication alone is not enough. We need to also teach the kids to communicate meaning. Meaningless essays, speeches, or conversations might help build skills in the early years, but over time, we desire that our children will be people of influence, communicating that which is ultimately meaningful to their King.

Before your child can communicate effectively in writing or speaking, they must first understand the topic. Acquiring knowledge is the first step, and as they mature, that knowledge should become understanding and eventually (we pray) wisdom. Certainly, we want them to communicate when all they have is knowledge because they are building critical rhetorical skills, but a classical scholar strives for deeper meaning, and when he or she understands the topic, written and oral communication can be extremely powerful and life-changing. Consider this example for learning and communicating about a topic that should be meaningful to Christians.

A Meaningful Idea

In 1982, a worldwide prayer movement for the unreached people groups of the world was launched, and since its beginnings over 25 years ago, the Global Prayer Digest has helped fuel over 9400 days of prayer for an estimated 10,000 unreached people groups. What is an unreached people group?

According to the Joshua Project, there are 16,256 distinct ethnic or “people” groups in the world. Of those, 6877 people groups are considered “unreached” which means they have the least exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the least Christian presence in their midst. Just to put this in perspective, of the 6.6 billion global population, the Joshua Project estimates that 2.7 billion or 41% of the world’s population are unreached! Of course, the driving purpose behind accumulating information on unreached people groups like the Najdi Bedoin people of Iraq is to ultimately assess the effectiveness of the completion of Jesus’ Great Commission to His Church (”Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations“) so that missionaries, lay persons, and resources can be mobilized for people with the greatest need for a life-changing relationship with the Living God.

Embracing The Meaningful Idea

There are many ways to research ideas - you can read, watch an instructional DVD, interview involved people, or experience the idea yourself. In my personal opinion, I think books, DVDs, or interviews function best as appetizers to the main course. In other words, researching the meaningful idea through these methods is critical, but real understanding and wisdom only come when the meaningful idea is experienced. The most passionate communicators in the world are those who have “lived” their passion!

The first step is learning about the meaningful idea. In this case, you can find books and internet sources to inform and instruct in the basic elements of the idea. For example, I mentioned the Global Prayer Digest and Joshua Project websites above which both provide lots of informative data and perspective on the big picture of unreached people groups. Books like Operation World and You Can Change The World can illuminate on specific unreached people groups. Many local churches support missionaries to unreached people groups; an email interview or free skype internet call to the missionary can add a different dimension to your child’s knowledge base. If the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course is offered in your area (over 200 U.S. locations), your high school senior could enroll in this semester course, earn dual college credit, and learn more about the people groups movement.

But don’t stop at acquiring knowledge about the topic…get involved! Once the child or youth begins to learn about the topic, have him or her experience the topic firsthand. In this particular scenario, you can participate in reaching these ethnic groups by regularly praying as a family for the needs of the people. Another idea that also teaches the concept of tithing is to pay your children for some special projects around the house then have them tithe to their people group out of their earnings. Service in the form of collecting resources for foreign missionaries or organizing prayer chains in youth group force hands-on involvement. You might even be called to travel overseas and visit your adopted unreached people group!

How Our Family Embraces The Meaningful Idea

Throughout the years, my family has “adopted” various unreached people groups. When David was teaching in India a few years ago, the kids and I chose 12 Indian people groups to pray for while he was gone. We chose people groups in the geographical area of the country that he would be visiting. We read about each group and prayed for a different one each day. At other times (like the Muslim holiday of Ramadan), we prayed nightly using the facts on a website like Frontiers or a prayer guide like the one published by Global Prayer Digest (daily email guide is free.) Each day we read a little bit about the culture of the unreached people group and included them in our nightly family prayers.

When the kids were doing elementary level work, we read a great book by Jill Johnstone called You Can Change The World. Now that the kids are older, we frequently consult a terrific reference book that I believe every Christian family should have in their library called Operation World when we want to learn more about specific people groups like the percentages of Christians by denomination, number of missionaries, and the top 10 prayer needs for effective evangelism.

Currently, we partner with missionaries in three unreached people groups in Southwest Asia, South America, and Central Africa (represented by the mission agencies: Frontiers, Wycliffe, and International Leadership Institute, respectively) through monthly financial support. Of course, we pray for those people all the time because we hear first hand through regular emails what’s going on with the communities so we can pray as immediate needs arise.

In addition to our family giving, the kids each select a people group to support with their personal tithe. Meredith has been sending her tithe to Lebanese orphan girls through Partners International for several years; in fact, one year she got so involved with her adopted little sisters that she asked her local friends to give the money that they would have spent on her birthday present to the orphanage. At her birthday party, they created a card that they all signed to send to Lebanon. Now that is experiencing the meaningful idea!

Communicating the Meaningful Idea

Once your child has acquired knowledge about the meaningful idea, it is time to incorporate written and oral communication. You might start with assigning an essay or short expository speech with visual aids. Younger kids can give their speech to family members or “publish” the essay by posting it to the refrigerator for all to read! For an older teen, you might arrange some public speaking engagements like the local retirement home or youth group where your child can practice persuasion skills and field questions from the audience. If you have immersed the kids in knowledge and given them a chance to personally experience the meaningful idea then it is very likely that they will have generated some true passion, understanding, and maybe even wisdom that will certainly be conveyed when they write or speak about the subject!

Take the Plunge

You can apply these concepts to any meaningful idea. As classical scholars, we should be encouraging our kids to do more than simply memorize useless facts to parrot back on true/false quizzes. Take them deeper, and explore real meaning. Start with ideas that you and your husband are passionate about then move on to ideas you as a family want to learn more about. Each of your children has a significant calling on their lives, or you wouldn’t be investing such time and energy into raising classical scholars who can communicate effectively as they influence their culture. Recognize that calling, and do all that you can to help them get ready. The rewards of such preparation will yield profound results now and for generations to come!

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Do you have examples to share about how your family has explored or communicated meaningful ideas? Your stories are welcome!