The five principles of classical rhetoric provide a template for writing speeches and essays. 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 an introduction, a statement of facts, an outline, the proof, the refutation, and a conclusion. STYLE, canon three, involves determining purpose (instruction, persuasion, or entertainment) and selecting words for greatest effect. With canon four, MEMORY, the orator practices memory techniques, particularly placement of ideas within a room, so that he can enhance his ability to recall the elements of the speech. DELIVERY, canon five, is like STYLE in that it determines how something is said. The Greek word for delivery, hypokrisis, translates in English as “acting,” so it’s not surprising that canon five focuses on vocal training and the use of gestures. Writers must make up for the lack of physical delivery in brilliant style.

Effective Use of Voice

You’ve probably heard the legend of the Athenian orator, Demosthenes, who, in order to overcome a severe stutter, purportedly ran along the Greek seashore reciting poetry with pebbles in his mouth. His efforts paid off in the long run as he became an eloquent public speaker. These days the only people who seriously study vocal techniques are singers, actors, and some elite politicians. Singers and actors know that the proper use of the diaphragm results in more oxygen which leads to more volume and pitch control. Likewise, an open larynx and dropped jaw allow the sound to resonate creating a clearer tone as the notes vibrate against the bones of the head. The deliberate rhetor articulates vowels, consonants, and diphthongs for accurate, crisp pronunciation.

An experienced orator often plays with vocal techniques before settling on the final spoken piece. When still preparing the presentation, he experiments with the following elements:

• pitch (the musical tone on a standard scale like the note “middle C”)
• volume (the loudness or softness of sounds)
• pause (the temporary suspension of sound)
• emphasis (the stress placed on certain sounds, words, or phrases)
• rhythm (the ordered alternation between strong and weak elements of sound)
• pace (the speed at which the words are spoken)
• tone (the mood or intensity of the spoken words)

Consider that a speech is somewhat like a personalized work of art. Each orator will bring unique vocal attributes to the very same text. Use your voice to decorate the content.

Effective Use of Gestures

Now it’s time to involve the entire body as an instrument of communication. Plan your physical movement from your head down to your toes. Will you nod your head up and down at key points? Perhaps you will tilt it in a certain manner. Generally, your arms should relax comfortably at your side with fists unclenched unless you are using your arms and hands for specific illustrations. Don’t point your fingers unless you want to threaten your audience. Decisions need to be made about your legs as well. Will you walk to certain points during the speech to accentuate specific points in the content? Will you adopt a stable stance of good posture for most of the speech? How will you manage your eyes and face? Eye contact is critical, but don’t flit from person to person. Engage certain members of the audience with a direct gaze. Consider the overall theme or message that you want to communicate and make sure that your physical delivery is consistent with that message. A ceremonial speech might use a greater variety of casual gestures where a deliberative speech might use less gestures of a more formal nature.

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One of the best ways to investigate vocal and physical delivery options is to observe other excellent public speakers! Pay attention to the techniques used by political candidates, actors, and soloists, and imitate their best ideas in your next speech. Above all, practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes!

To recap, the five canons of classical rhetoric are:

Invention

Arrangement

Style

Memory

Delivery

Give them prompts and restrict the writing time. Topical, thematic, and quote prompts can spark ideas for writing essays and speeches in your home school. In addition to getting those creative juices flowing, timed prompts can increase the frequency of writing and public speaking. The more practice your homeschooling kids gather in writing and speaking…the more effective they will be at communicating.

Prompts Encourage More Frequent Writing and Speaking

If you like an efficient home schooling schedule, prompts will allow your kids to squeeze the most out of their writing time. When given the topic of the essay or speech, time is maximized. Valuable brainstorming time is spent examining one topic instead of sifting through multiple topic possibilities.

In our home school, we have also limited the amount of time spent developing the essay or speech. For instance, I find that the kids really enjoy using prompts because I set a time limit. They like racing against the clock, and they also like knowing that when the timer buzzer goes off, writing or speech is done for the day. Consider that first piece of writing a “draft” then have them edit and print the final copy the following day.

How much time to allocate to writing an essay or speech from a prompt really depends on the ages and abilities of your kids. My kids are both teens, and they will eventually be taking the SAT which has a 25 minute essay, so that is our time limit for a written essay. Here is how I do it:

1. Select a unique topical, thematic, or quote prompt for each child (or give them 3 to choose from)
2. Get the timer ready (I use a swimmers or runners stopwatch, but you could use a kitchen timer or the microwave timer)
3. Tell the kids to pull out some clean paper
4. Give them the prompt or let them choose their favorite of 3
5. Say “ready, set, go!”
6. When the buzzer goes off after 25 minutes, I say “time.”

Since they are preparing for the real SAT exam, they follow the same restrictions which include outlining the essay during the 25 minute time limit, but if your kids are younger, you could help them brainstorm and create a key word outline before you start the timer. You don’t want to create frustration because they don’t have enough time to write, so use your judgment for what is best for your family.

I follow the same format for impromptu speeches except the time limit is different. Meredith and Connor both compete in National Christian Forensics Communication Association (NCFCA) Speech and Debate Tournaments, so we follow the NCFCA rules which state that a student has 2 minutes of prep time once they get the topic to give a 5 minute impromptu speech. Expository speeches cannot be longer than 10 minutes, so I give them 4 minutes to get ready.

The great thing about selecting the topic (through prompts) and restricting the time on writing the essay and giving the speech is that you can do more of them! When you only have to commit less than 30 minutes a day, you can give them a prompt more than once a week. Frequent writing and public speaking improve technical skills as well as reduce anxiety and fear.

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In my next post, I’ll examine how topical, thematic, and quote prompts can narrow the focus when your home school children write a paper or give a speech. Do you need a resource for topical, thematic, and famous quote prompts? Easily locate quotes for free Scripture or BrainyQuote or purchase an inexpensive resource for homeschool prompts at Amazon.