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Yeah, it's tempting. But please: do not eat the microphone. (Source)
We know, we know. After spending so much time with Jay Heinrichs, you're worried about where you're going to get your next fix of pop culture references and offbeat jokes. Well, don't worry, because you're about to meet Scott Berkun, the author of . He's a lot like Heinrichs, only his book focuses on public speaking rather than rhetoric in general.
The chapter of Berkun's book that you'll read in this lesson is all about why a person should bother preparing for a speech instead of just winging it. As you'll soon see, Berkun is pretty firmly against winging it.
For the record: so are we.
That's why we're spending a whole unit talking about how to prepare for a speech: because a speaker who's well prepared can end her speech by dropping the mic instead of eating it.
If you have no idea what that means, don't worry. Berkun will explain the expression "eating the microphone" in the chapter you're about to read. For now, all you need to know is that it's not good—and not because of the GI issues it would undoubtedly cause.
DON'T WING IT - BRING IT
Before you jump into Scott Berkun's book, Confessions of a Public Speaker, a bit of background: Scott Berkun is, as the title of his book suggests, a professional public speaker. He's packed Confessions full of wisdom he's gained during his career in the field, including plenty of amusing anecdotes.
You'll read several chapters of Confessions throughout the rest of this course. In the chapter we're starting you off with now, Berkun makes the case for preparation in a very persuasive way. So persuasive, in fact, that we're guessing he's read Thank You For Arguing at least once.
(Okay, we admit it—we're not guessing at all. We know Berkun has read Heinrichs' book, because he actually mentions it in his book. See the section titled "How to make a point" for proof.)
Now go ahead and read Chapter 5: "Do Not Eat the Microphone" on pages 56-68 of Confessions of a Public Speaker.
Ch 5b.pdfInvention and Arrangement
Invention and Arrangement
As Heinrichs points out, Cicero put his five canons in order according to the order you actually do them. (Cicero = genius, right?) Notice that "delivery" is the last thing—because actually delivering the speech comes after a whole bunch of other stuff you do to prepare for it.
First come invention and arrangement. Let's hammer home a few points Heinrichs made about both.
Invention is about discovering "the available means of persuasion." (That's a quote from Aristotle, as we're sure you recall, since you read it in the first unit. Don't believe us? Go back and check. We'll wait.)
During the invention phase, you should:
Decide what the goal of your speech will be.
Determine the primary issue of your speech.
Find the materials you'll use to support your claims.
Once you've got all that stuff, you'll want to come up with an effective, logical outline (or arrangement) for your speech.
(If this is starting to sound familiar, it absolutely should. We know you made an outline or two—or two hundred—back in high school. Same thing, only it's for a speech instead of an essay.)
The classical arrangement goes like this:
I. Introduction
II. Narration, or statement of facts
III. Division
IV. Proof
V. Refutation
VI. Conclusion
Looks like a pretty good outline, right? But don't run out and get it tattooed on your forearm for easy access just yet. Remember that this is a classical way to arrange a persuasive speech. There are other kinds of speeches, of course, and it may be better to rearrange those elements (or throw some out entirely) for an informational speech or a special occasion speech.
Now that we've brought those up again, it seems like a good time to focus on what exactly those different types of speeches are. That's exactly what we'll do in the next few lessons.
But first, we'll sneak in a quick read to really get into the mindset of exactly why we should bother preparing for our speeches. Mosey on over to the next lesson for the scoop.
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