Episode 3: Why Be An Orator? Part 2 – How to Speak Well.
This is the final episode in the “What is an Orator” series.
Today, Mr. Bianchet and Mr. Mullins are exploring what it means to speak well through the understanding of copiousness, using words fitly spoken, and mastering the trio of voice, countenance, and gestures.
Even though it may seem obvious that we all need effective communication skills, many of us overlook the actual training required to speak well. This may cause us to dismiss a good rhetorician as being naturally gifted and that their eloquence is seemingly unattainable. Yet, with the proper training all of us can achieve the excellence of proper speech and words well spoken. Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.” Here it indicates that there are proper and precise words spoken to us by God, and that we in-turn should offer to others, for encouragement, instruction, and restoration.
Well spoken words are frequently found in the works of CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, JRR Tolkien, etc. to the point where we may exclaim, “I have always had that thought but didn’t know how to express it.” These masters spent their lives honing their craft to deliver these treasures that sustain us in the darkest of times. Their methods they used might be Medieval, but their results are equally relevant in today’s world. Just think, by honing these skills you too might be able to offer hope and instruction to others desperately trying to steer their ship clear of the crushing rocks ahead. It seems both a noble and worthy cause.