Rhetoric is not just a useful skill, but rather a necessary quality of a modern journalist.

Rhetoric, on the other hand, is a broader concept. It is a philological discipline that studies the art of speech, the rules of its construction, oratory, eloquence, and many other aspects of speech. Rhetoric was originally referred to as the science of oratory. Philologists define oratory as a type of monologue with which a person addresses an audience for the purpose of persuasion.

Oratory is akin to eloquence. Many people who have this gift think of people as chatterboxes who can talk without a word about everything and nothing. But in fact this topic is about something else. To master the art of oratory is not enough to be brave and perky.

1. Start watching the speeches of famous speakers, business coaches. First note, as an ordinary listener, what in the speech makes you listen to the speaker, at what points he makes tonal accents, and where he pauses. Pay attention also to his facial expressions and gestures – how the speaker accompanies his speech. Find a similar text of the speech, rehearse and record your mini-performance on video.
2. Before each speech, hold a pause, it will help to achieve silence in the hall. Professionals advise you to pause while saying the first sentence of your speech to yourself. It is important to fix your eyes on the center of the audience.
3. Work through the first sentence, it should be the most important and striking. As a rule, the audience will use it to perceive the rest of the speech.
4. As with the rules of news writing, the first part should be the juiciest and most informative. If you have a news item on the subject of a prepared speech, start with it in the introduction.
5. Before you sit down to write the speech, think through the main idea. Highlight it in each paragraph of the speech plan and only then supplement it with examples and arguments.
6. 6. When adding quotations to your speech, prepare in advance for their presentation. Many speakers put on their glasses at this point, and read from the card with a serious expression on their face. It is important to take a short pause before doing so, too.
7. A little humor will add vitality to the presentation. However, you should not start your speech with a joke or an anecdote. But in the further speech it will be appropriate. A joke should be told, not read out. It should also be realistic and strictly on the topic of the speech.
8. Ask the audience only those questions that you can adequately answer yourself.
9. It’s difficult to learn a long speech, but you can’t capture the audience’s attention by reading it off a sheet, much less convince them of something. Never say out loud what you are reading at the moment. Read the phrase first, raise your head, and, looking at your audience, say it.
10. A good ending can save a bad speech. Make it emotional, add a joke, give the audience hope, and send them off in high spirits.