tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/public-speaking-12638/articlesPublic speaking – The Conversation2023-09-25T16:07:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142832023-09-25T16:07:34Z2023-09-25T16:07:34ZDonald Trump’s truth: why liars might sometimes be considered honest – new research<p>According to fact checkers, Donald Trump made more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/">30,000 false or misleading claims</a> during his presidency. That’s around 20 a day. But, according to several opinion polls during his presidency, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/poll-republicans-who-think-trump-untruthful-still-approve-him-n870521">around 75% of Republican voters</a> still considered Trump to be honest. </p>
<p>It seems incredible that a serial liar – whose biggest lie about the 2020 election results led to a violent insurrection and nearly brought American democracy to its knees – is still considered honest by so many people.</p>
<p>We began to tackle this question <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01691-w">in a recent article</a> that examined the political discussions of all members of the US Congress on Twitter between 2011 and 2022. To do this, we analysed nearly 4 million tweets. Our approach was based on the idea that people’s understanding of “honesty” involves two distinct components.</p>
<p>One component can be referred to as “fact-speaking”. This form of speech relies on evidence and emphasises veracity and seeks to communicate the actual state of the world. Most of us probably consider this an important aspect of honesty. By this criterion, Donald Trump cannot be considered honest.</p>
<p>The other component can be referred to as “belief-speaking”. This focuses on the communicator’s apparent sincerity, but pays little attention to factual accuracy. So when Trump claimed that the crowds at his inauguration were the largest ever (they were not), his followers may have considered this claim to be honest because Trump seemed to sincerely believe the claim he was making.</p>
<p>Healthy political debate involves both fact-speaking and belief-speaking. Political ideas often cannot be contested based on facts alone, but also require beliefs and values to be taken into account. </p>
<p>But democratic debate can be derailed if it is entirely based on the expression of belief irrespective of factual accuracy. </p>
<p>One of Trump’s senior advisers, then US counsellor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, coined the phrase “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_facts#:%7E:text=%22Alternative%20facts%22%20was%20a%20phrase,President%20of%20the%20United%20States">alternative facts</a>” in order to back her boss by persisting with the falsehood about the largest inauguration crowd. This allowed viewers to choose whose “facts” to accept.</p>
<p>Within two years Trump’s senior lawyer and adviser Rudy Giuliani was insisting on national TV that “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/23/truth-isnt-truth-so-should-we-expect-lies-from-donald-trump">truth isn’t truth</a>”. He was defending Trump’s feet-dragging over submitting to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller and the likelihood that Trump’s testimony would conflict with sworn testimony offered by another witness.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Truth isn’t truth’: Rudy Giuliani beggars belief, August 2018.</span></figcaption>
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<p>These are examples of an extreme form of belief-speaking that goes beyond the bounds of conventional democratic debate.</p>
<h2>Whose ‘truth’ are we talking about?</h2>
<p>We wanted to know the extent to which either belief-speaking or fact-speaking have become more prevalent in political speech, in this case in Twitter posts by Republican and Democrat members of the US Congress since 2011. To do this we set up and validated two “dictionaries” that captured those two components of honesty. To capture belief-speaking, we used words such as “feel”, “guess”, “seem”. To capture fact-speaking we used words such as “determine”, “evidence”, “examine”.</p>
<p>Using <a href="https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/introduction-to-word-embeddings-c2ba135dce2f">advanced mathematical analysis</a>, we were able to measure the extent to which each tweet represented belief-speaking and fact-speaking, and how the two trended over time.</p>
<p>The figure below illustrates the results of our analysis with examples of tweets that involve a lot of belief-speaking (top) and fact-speaking (bottom), separately for members of the two parties, red being Republican and blue Democrat.</p>
<p>Our analysis first considered the long-term trend of belief-speaking and fact-speaking. We found that for both parties, both belief-speaking and fact-speaking increased considerably after Trump’s election in 2016. This may reflect the fact that topics concerning misinformation and “fake news” became particularly prominent after 2016 and may have resulted in opposing claims and corrections – involving belief-speaking and fact-speaking, respectively.</p>
<p>When we related the content of tweets to the quality of news sources they linked to, we found a striking asymmetry between the two parties and the honesty components. We used the news ratings agency <a href="https://www.newsguardtech.com/solutions/newsguard/">NewsGuard</a> to ascertain the quality of a domain being shared in a tweet. NewsGuard rates the trustworthiness of news domains on a 100-point scale based on established journalistic criteria, such as differentiating between news and opinion, regularly publishing corrections, and so on, without fact-checking individual items of content.</p>
<p>We find that for both parties, the more a tweet expresses fact-speaking, the more likely it is to point to a trustworthy domain.</p>
<p>By contrast, for belief-speaking we observed little effect on the trustworthiness of sources in tweets by Democratic members of Congress. There was, however, a striking association between belief-speaking and low trustworthiness of sources for Republicans: A 10% increase in belief-speaking was associated with a 12.8-point decrease in the quality of cited sources.</p>
<p>The findings illustrate that misinformation can be linked to a unique conception of honesty that emphasises sincerity over accuracy, and which appears to be used by Republicans – but not Democrats – as a gateway to sharing low-quality information.</p>
<p>Why does this happen? Another aspect of our results hints at an answer. We found that belief-speaking is particularly associated with negative emotions. So if Republican politicians want to use negative emotional language to criticise Democrats, this goal might be more readily achieved by sharing low-quality information because high-quality domains tend to be less derogatory of the main parties.</p>
<p>Finally, we also found that the voting patterns during the 2020 presidential election in their home state were not associated with the quality of news being shared by members of Congress. One interpretation of this result is that politicians do not pay a price at the ballot box for misleading the public. This may be linked to their convincing use of belief-speaking, which large segments of the public consider to be a marker of honesty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephan Lewandowsky acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant 101020961 PRODEMINFO), the Humboldt Foundation through a research award, the Volkswagen Foundation (grant "Reclaiming individual autonomy and democratic discourse online: How to rebalance human and algorithmic decision making"), and the European Commission (Horizon 2020 grants 964728 JITSUVAX and 101094752 SoMe4Dem). He also receives funding from Jigsaw (a technology incubator created by Google) and from UK Research and Innovation (through the Centre of Excellence, REPHRAIN, and from EU Horizon replacement funding grant number 10049415). He also interacts frequently with the European Commission's Join Research Centre in an advisory capacity and though scientific collaborations.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jana Lasser receives funding from the European Commission, Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant No. 101026507.</span></em></p>When sincerity counts as honesty, accuracy no longer matters.Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of BristolJana Lasser, Postdoc Researcher, Graz University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1938272022-12-15T13:04:39Z2022-12-15T13:04:39ZWhat causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499386/original/file-20221206-26-jtcdgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6699%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The majority of children who stutter will spontaneously recover from it without intervention, but some 20% of people do not.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/speech-therapist-helping-kid-with-pronunciation-royalty-free-image/1418536369?phrase=stutter&adppopup=true">fizkes/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What comes to mind when you think of someone who stutters? Is that person male or female? Are they weak and nervous, or powerful and heroic? If you have a choice, would you like to marry them, introduce them to your friends or recommend them for a job? </p>
<p>Your attitudes toward people who stutter may depend partly on what you think causes stuttering. If you think that stuttering is due to psychological causes, such as being nervous, research suggests that you are more likely to distance yourself from those who stutter and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2009.09.003">view them more negatively</a>. </p>
<p>I am a person who stutters and a <a href="https://www.mindbodytrauma.care/lab/XiaofanLei">doctoral candidate in speech, language and hearing sciences</a>. Growing up, I tried my best to hide my stuttering and to pass as fluent. </p>
<p>I avoided sounds and words that I might stutter on. I avoided ordering the dishes I wanted to eat at the school cafeteria to avoid stuttering. I asked my teacher to not call on me in class because I didn’t want to deal with the laughter from my classmates when they heard my stutter. Those experiences motivated me to investigate stuttering so that I can help people who stutter, including myself, to better cope with the condition. </p>
<p>In writing about what the scientific field has to say about stuttering and its biological causes, I hope I can reduce the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding the disorder.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Showing impatience or finishing sentences for a stutterer may only intensify their anxiety.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The experience of stuttering</h2>
<p>The most recognizable characteristics of developmental stuttering are the <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Handbook_on_Stuttering_Seventh_Edition/Abw0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">repetitions, prolongations and blocks</a> in people’s speech. People who stutter may also experience muscle tension during speech and exhibit secondary behaviors, such as tics and grimaces. </p>
<p>People who stutter often react to their experience of stuttering with <a href="https://multitherapies.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Tichenor-SE-y-Yaruss-JS-2019.-Experiencias-grupales-y-diferencias-individuales-en-la-tartamudez_compressed.pdf">anxiety, frustration and embarrassment</a>. In addition, people often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2015.05.002">anticipate that they may stutter</a> and – as I did – actively avoid stuttering by avoiding sounds or situations. Some may also develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-15-0167">unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about themselves</a> and their ability to communicate with others, such as that they won’t succeed in life or that they cannot talk properly.</p>
<h2>A neurodevelopmental disorder</h2>
<p>The exact cause of stuttering is still unknown. However, it’s widely agreed upon that stuttering is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044%2F2017_JSLHR-S-16-0343">a complex neurodevelopmental disorder</a>. </p>
<p>Neuroimaging studies from both children and adults who stutter <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03088">point to a malfunction</a> in areas of the brain responsible for timing of movements and skilled motor control – such as speech production – called the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop. Yet researchers also know that brain development <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2611-19.2020">can be shaped</a> by experience. </p>
<p>Therefore, the anomalies in brain connectivity among adults who stutter could result from their experience of stuttering rather than what contributes to its onset. Ongoing studies looking at differences between children and adults who stutter could help illuminate the core deficits that are associated with the onset of stuttering. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Handbook_on_Stuttering_Seventh_Edition/Abw0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">About 1 in 100 people</a> across the world stutter. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2012.11.002">About 5% to 8% of preschool age children</a> develop stuttering. The majority of children who stutter – about 80% – spontaneously recover from it with or without intervention before around 7 years of age, while the remaining 20% experience stuttering into adulthood. </p>
<p>Researchers have found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuroimage.2007.09.067">similar neuroanatomical deficits</a> in children ages 9 to 12 years old who continue to stutter and those who recover from it. But those who continue to stutter as adults <a href="https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00096">are more likely to</a> be male and have a family member who also stutters. When stuttering begins, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2012.11.002">the boy-to-girl ratio</a> is about 1 to 1. Girls who stutter are more likely to recover than boys; as a result, the male-to-female ratio among adults who stutter is about 4 to 1. </p>
<p>People whose stuttering persists also tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00034">have poorer performance</a> on at least one standardized assessment in pronouncing or manipulating sounds in words – such as saying a word without its initial sound. </p>
<p>Researchers are still exploring the factors that predict stuttering persistence versus recovery.</p>
<h2>Multiple pathways</h2>
<p>A common misconception about stuttering is that <a href="https://westutter.org/myths-about-stuttering/?">it’s caused by anxiety</a>. After all, you may notice that someone who stutters may not always stutter in the same way. Adults who stutter do not stutter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2021.105878">when they are talking to themselves in private</a>. They also self-report that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00112">they stutter more</a> when the pressure is high, when the listeners are impolite or when talking on the phone. </p>
<p>But the causal factors are often more complex than you might think. For one, observing that two things are associated, like stuttering and anxiety, <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/4-reasons-why-correlation-does-not-imply-causation-f202f69fe979">does not mean that one causes the other</a>. </p>
<p>Researchers usually do not know which variable comes first, the stuttering or the anxiety, nor whether alternative explanations for the association exist. Also, many factors are usually involved in the development of any <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-17373-000">complex neurodevelopmental disorder</a>. Teasing these factors apart and learning how they relate to each other is extremely challenging and will take many years of research.</p>
<p>Because stuttering primarily involves disfluent speech, it’s likely that neural deficits in the brain regions responsible for speech production are at the root of the disorder. Yet research points to a set of conditions, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0343">linguistic and emotional factors</a>, that could maintain stuttering over a lifetime or increase stuttering in certain situations. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Coping with stuttering: one person’s journey.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Overcoming the stigma</h2>
<p>Research shows that stuttering is usually considered an undesirable characteristic and that people who stutter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2018.03.004">are discriminated against and often socially devalued</a>. Examples include being fired from a job, being patronized, being taken less seriously and being avoided.</p>
<p>In recent years, there have been more and more headlines about people who stutter. The election of President Joe Biden, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/joe-biden-stutter-profile/602401/">who has stuttered since childhood</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/joe-bidens-inaugural-address-gives-hope-to-the-millions-who-stutter-152674">has been inspiring</a> for millions of people who stutter. </p>
<p>At the same time, Biden’s speech has been put under greater scrutiny and has invited insensitive critiques, such as that his <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/reaction-biden-latest-alarming-russia-gaffe-america-deserves-better">“brain just broke”</a>. Politics aside, the rhetoric on stuttering could <a href="https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2022-0511-biden-stuttering-news/full/">further stigmatize the disorder</a> and give others permission to mock one’s speech differences. </p>
<h2>Redefining recovery</h2>
<p>There currently isn’t an effective cure for stuttered speech when it persists into adulthood. In a large-scale survey study, fewer than 2% of adults who grew up with a stutter indicated that they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00010">no longer self-identify as someone who stutters</a>. Stuttering in adulthood, therefore, is not a sign of moral failure that someone is not working hard enough or with enough self-discipline to be fluent. </p>
<p>Yet, about 30% of adults who stutter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00010">said that they experienced recovery</a>, even though around 10% of them relapsed. Recovery was defined not only as reduced stuttering but also as having greater control of how they stutter, saying what they intended to say as well as greater acceptance of stuttering, decreased avoidance and less negative emotions toward stuttering. </p>
<p>Ironically, in an environment in which people were allowed to stutter without judgment – such as at self-help conferences – people who stutter reported that their speech became easier, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2011.06.001">they experienced less anxiety when talking</a>, and they felt more outgoing and friendlier toward others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xiaofan Lei receives funding from the University of Minnesota and the National Stuttering Association. </span></em></p>Stuttering is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people across the world. Yet the precise biological pathways that underlie stuttering are not well understood.Xiaofan Lei, PhD Candidate in Speech Pathology, University of MinnesotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1473622020-11-19T02:08:11Z2020-11-19T02:08:11ZWatch your ums and uhs, spoken communication is about more than words<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368173/original/file-20201109-21-1vuung1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C65%2C4701%2C3538&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1551845811-f63135691a4b?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=3150&q=80">Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s been a lot of talk lately. In briefings, speeches and video meetings. In the coming weeks, there will be celebrations and toasts given. These are opportunities to attend to talk. </p>
<p>In talk, it’s not just words that create meaning. </p>
<p>Nonverbal cues, including stress on key words alongside the use of gaze and gesture, assist us when speaking or understanding others. Verbal cues such as “discourse markers” (for example, “okay”, “so”, “um”, “uh”) also accomplish important work in interaction. </p>
<p>Listeners conventionally associate ums and uhs with broken speech (called “dysfluency” in studies of communication) when speakers self-repair by <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/413107?seq=1">interrupting themselves to self-correct</a>. They might do this to more clearly express themselves or to conduct a word search. We all do this from time to time.</p>
<p>Yet research suggests <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ermk7/HC/HC_Readings/Clark_Fox.pdf">ums and uhs</a> also serve a range of other <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34523270-how-we-talk">functions</a> in conversation. We know that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01638530903223380">where they occur in talk, and how they are articulated</a> contribute to meaning. </p>
<h2>Like talking bullet points</h2>
<p>As well as being associated with repair in everyday speech stumbles or word gaps, ums and uhs mark openings of talk, new topics or a return to topic. </p>
<p>In extended speech, like a public presentation or speech, such markings are important for the listening audience so they can follow the meaning of what is being said. The uhs work like bullet points.</p>
<p>In conversation they also have an important role to play in politeness. The um at the beginning of a speaker’s turn indexes awareness that what is about to be said is “dispreferred”; that is, delicate or not what a listener expects or wants to hear, or something that the listener might be inclined to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/413107?seq=1">reject</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wine glasses meeting for a toast." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369222/original/file-20201113-15-cdkgc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">And now a toast to, um, the end of 2020!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/413107?seq=1">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anxious-about-speaking-in-online-classes-and-meetings-here-are-7-tips-to-make-it-easier-144121">Anxious about speaking in online classes and meetings? Here are 7 tips to make it easier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Talk in action</h2>
<p>The best way to study verbal cues is to transcribe talk in micro detail. This exercise can show why presentations with more ums and uhs are likely more frustrating to listen to. </p>
<p>Discourse transcription is time-consuming, so is done in short segments. A transcribed sample of the first two minutes and 40 seconds of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OrCKcvqwc">medical briefing by Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng</a>, generated a total of 34 occurrences of “um” and 21 of “uh”. </p>
<p>Eleven ums marked topic changes. As per <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=L4eRz301DWUC&lpg=PR7&ots=D7F7ya5m08&dq=Rendle-Short%2C%20J.%20(2006).%20The%20academic%20presentation%3A%20Situated%20talk%20in%20action.%20Aldershot%20England%3A%20Ashgate%20Publishing&lr&pg=PR7#v=onepage&q&f=false">previous research</a>, when marking a beginning or new topic, these were produced loudly, and were followed by pauses as per below which marked the opening of the talk: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>um [pause] I might just take the opportunity to explain how … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a classic use of um to mark the beginning of talk. It has also been found in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315241500">academic lectures or seminars</a> and in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01638530903223380">telephone openings</a> to mark the reason for the call. </p>
<p>Talk-back radio provides examples of um occurring after the greeting, as illustrated in this example from ABC Melbourne radio with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eie5qRX39jw">host Virginia Trioli</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Caller: How’re you going?</p>
<p>Virginia: Good thanks.</p>
<p>Caller: Ummm, I was picked up for speeding …</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile, many of the ums and uhs (71%) in Professor Cheng’s briefing occurred in repair environments including a word search, as in the following where the um is stretched: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… it’s not an exact um [pause] quantification but it is um uh — it is an indication … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here the first um is followed by a pause, while the second co-occurs with uh before the repetition of <em>it is</em>. These features create dysfluent speech. However, in both cases there is a successful outcome and return to topic after a momentary interruption. </p>
<p>Three samples from politicians — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2uj8AMo3OQ">Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDdxBimmKiE">NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian</a>, and <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/health/coronavirus-victoria-records-12-cases-overnight/ckg4ddgx6000t0hp1fd2uon1b">Victorian premier Dan Andrews</a> — show seasoned public communicators. </p>
<p>There was a greater number of uhs and ums in Tim Pallas’s speech (45) than in the premiers’ (25 and 10 respectively). Pallas was reporting on a range of financial support measures, and like Professor Cheng’s, whose talk was highly technical, this content was dense in terms of vocabulary. So, there was a greater number of word searches as both speakers worked to make their talk accessible. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microphone on stage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367897/original/file-20201106-15-16fkyiq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When spoken, ‘um’ and ‘uh’ can signal topic changes or speech repair jobs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1527261834078-9b37d35a4a32?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=3150&q=80">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-defence-of-jargon-it-might-be-infuriating-but-it-also-has-its-uses-148118">In defence of jargon – it might be infuriating but it also has its uses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Um and uh have been <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03194926">found to facilitate comprehension</a>. They <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315241500">guide the listener</a> through the overall format of the talk. However, research also suggests that too many ums and uhs <a href="https://schwa.byu.edu/files/2014/12/F2014-Robbins.pdf">can affect listener perceptions about speaker credibility</a> or how prepared they are. </p>
<p>On this basis, Daniel Andrews is the most effective communicator, although accessible content in his briefing was a factor.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-ways-to-get-your-point-across-while-wearing-a-mask-tips-from-an-award-winning-speech-coach-146644">3 ways to get your point across while wearing a mask – tips from an award-winning speech coach</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Speaking is complex and tough under pressure</h2>
<p>Speakers can improve the effectiveness of their communication; for example, through awareness of their ums and uhs, or by slowing down. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young man presents at whiteboard to a colleague" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368176/original/file-20201109-13-12ubv2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Utterances like um and uh can act like bullet points during a presentation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1599585113438-291af1a8d1db?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=3137&q=80">Unsplash/Photo by Tool Inc</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But we must remember that spontaneous extended talk to an audience — such as in a speech — is highly complex. </p>
<p>Speakers need to plan what they are going to say, watch the audience, and keep their talk going under time pressure. In a challenging public and televised space, they also need to be accurate, and choose words carefully. </p>
<p>Um, not talking under that kind of pressure? Uh I’ll … I’ll toast to that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Filipi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Conversation analysis explains how ums and uhs facilitate communicationAnna Filipi, Senior lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1441212020-08-26T20:04:13Z2020-08-26T20:04:13ZAnxious about speaking in online classes and meetings? Here are 7 tips to make it easier<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354512/original/file-20200825-14-k31zvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=155%2C91%2C2788%2C1977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">TommyStockProject/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many parents and students are engaged in a daily routine of speaking to people via a camera on a computer, tablet or phone during COVID-19 restrictions. This often means finding a quiet place in order to ask a question, provide an answer or share an opinion with a virtual audience.</p>
<p>Initial concerns about using video apps focused on <a href="https://theconversation.com/cyber-threats-at-home-how-to-keep-kids-safe-while-theyre-learning-online-136264">privacy</a> and <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/are-our-new-virtual-workplaces-equitable">equity</a> issues. </p>
<p>Soon, new terms emerged such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/zoom-fatigue-how-to-make-video-calls-less-tiring-137861">Zoom fatigue</a>. But an issue that has been less discussed is the role that nerves might play in these mediated sessions.</p>
<h2>What is speaking anxiety?</h2>
<p>For centuries, people have questioned their ability to speak in front of others. It’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/what-hugh-grant-gandhi-and-thomas-jefferson-have-common/355853/">said</a> the Roman orator <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero">Cicero</a> (106-43BCE) turned pale and quaked before any speech he gave.</p>
<p>But it was in the 20th century that communication anxiety was studied in depth. It has been described by a number of different terms, including <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/basics/stage-fright">stage fright</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637757609375916" title="The unwillingness‐to‐communicate scale: Development and validation">unwillingness to communicate</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0525-3_21" title="Oral Communication Apprehension">communication apprehension</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">Universities need to train lecturers in online delivery, or they risk students dropping out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/communication-apprehension-avoidance-and-effectiveness/oclc/1073721929" title="Communication apprehension, avoidance, and effectiveness">Research suggests</a> about one in five speakers experience high communication apprehension. This can make all speaking opportunities difficult.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man speaking before a crowded lecture theatre." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be stressful speaking to a crowd of people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Examples include speaking to a boss or teacher, contributing to a group discussion, or delivering a presentation. Public speaking anxiety is part of communication apprehension. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.comm.pitt.edu/speech-anxiety">The prevalence of public speaking anxiety</a> is well documented. It is complex (varying causes, indicators and treatment options), individual (affecting speakers differently) and unstable (changing levels of anxiety within and between presentations).</p>
<p>A focus on individual differences acknowledges that internal thoughts and feelings might not match external behaviour. For example, a speaker who appears disengaged may actually feel a lack of control. </p>
<p>It is a tricky phenomenon. Some people can feel nervous the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03634520600566074" title="Anticipatory Speech Anxiety as a Function of Public Speaking Assignment Type">moment a speaking task is announced</a> and, on the day of presentation, may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103103000568" title="The illusion of transparency and the alleviation of speech anxiety">rate themselves as more nervous</a> than what an audience observes. </p>
<h2>Nervous about the audience</h2>
<p>It is the audience, and the potential for negative evaluation from that audience, that can make us feel anxious. And those listening can be physically or virtually present. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A laptop computer on a desk showing several people connecting separately from home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s the audience that bothers some people, whether there in person or virtually online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Cabeca de Marmore</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This brings us to the rather awkward situation of speaking to rows of little boxes on a screen in a video hook-up. Not only does this set-up limit broader non-verbal cues, but it also restricts general banter between participants.</p>
<p>On the plus side, this can make sessions more time-efficient, but it does tend to make conversations more stilted.</p>
<p>A perceived need to be visible is a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/should-showing-faces-be-mandatory">contested area in online delivery</a>. In educational settings, those who support “cameras on for everyone” suggest it helps to replicate usual classroom conditions, encourages discussion and ensures students are actually in attendance (not just logged on).</p>
<p>But it is important to consider the rationale behind making any feature mandatory. Participating via a video app is not the same as a live setting. </p>
<p>For a start, speakers rarely see themselves when talking to others. As a lecturer, seeing myself onscreen while speaking with a class can be distracting, especially when trying to look directly at the camera lens to maximise eye contact.</p>
<h2>7 tips to make things easier</h2>
<p>Whether running a business meeting or teaching a class, the following tips may help you to feel more comfortable speaking online:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>provide an agenda ahead of time, which could include sending out some prepared questions for discussion</p></li>
<li><p>reduce uncertainty about participation by letting people know from the outset if there is any need or expectation to talk in a hook-up </p></li>
<li><p>use <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/paris-publicspeaking/chapter/chapter-8-connecting-your-main-points/">linking statements and signposts</a> to keep everyone on track as other cues and clues may be absent (walking across a room to a computer), so it’s important to let all participants know what you are doing and why (for example: “I’m going to check the chat box at the end of this point so feel free to add any questions as I go along.”) </p></li>
<li><p>model good speaking practices, draw on simple structures to make your point and use language that is suitable for oral delivery</p></li>
<li><p>rethink the value of calling on someone randomly to contribute to a discussion, because if people are worried they may be asked to respond without notice, they may be less likely to engage overall</p></li>
<li><p>make decisions about the need for interaction (including break-out rooms) based on the type of session and number of participants, because needless interaction is not better than no interaction </p></li>
<li><p>plan for each online event rather than stick to a set of general rules. For example, is it always necessary for speakers to see each other onscreen? As most educators will tell you, just because a student is physically present that doesn’t mean they are actively engaged.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Online tutorials, workshops and meetings are here to stay for the moment. To create safe, supportive and productive sessions, we need to build competent and confident speaking practices. </p>
<p>Acknowledging that speaking anxiety is common, and affects people in live and virtual settings, is a good place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lesley Irvine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many people feel some form of anxiety when speaking in front of others. That includes taking part in video hook-ups for work or study thanks to coronavirus restrictions.Lesley Irvine, Lecturer in Strategic Speech Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402202020-08-07T12:35:12Z2020-08-07T12:35:12ZBrag and name drop: How to project credibility as workplace meetings move online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348651/original/file-20200721-27-6knjfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=140%2C150%2C6438%2C4134&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amid the global work-from-home phenomenon, what a presenter says carries more weight than ever.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-in-front-of-a-device-screen-in-video-royalty-free-image/1218569498?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has altered nearly every aspect of American life, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2020/06/03/3-ways-covid-19-will-permanently-change-the-future-of-work/#701a716e65b1">including the workplace</a>. For millions of Americans, the kitchen or the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/14/21211789/coronavirus-office-space-work-from-home-design-architecture-real-estate">living room now doubles as the office and conference room</a>. </p>
<p>This workspace shift, likely to last <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/29/how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-will-impact-the-future-of-work.html">long past the pandemic</a>, offers some conveniences, of course, but it also teems with potential pitfalls. </p>
<p>Traditional tactics for achieving credibility in presentations – <a href="https://www.skillset.co.nz/blog/michael-brown-blog/26-presentation-skills/26-presentation-skills-how-to-engage-your-audience-immediately">audience interaction</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2018/08/26/5-ways-body-language-impacts-leadership-results/#760fefb5536a">engaging body language</a>, for example – are not accessible when you appear on a laptop or smartphone screen.</p>
<p>Suddenly, what you say carries more weight than ever. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/people/lisa-leopold">English language studies professor</a>, I wanted to understand how presenters build credibility, so I analyzed the transcripts of 30 panel discussions at the Brookings Institution in 2019 to glean the verbal strategies used by foreign affairs experts. While I have carefully dissected these strategies as a <a href="https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/article/view/1236">specialist in public speaking skills</a>, they boil down to a simple message for anyone delivering a presentation via a digital screen: Brag and name drop.</p>
<h2>11 strategies for building credibility</h2>
<p>Here are specific examples of the many techniques I detected.</p>
<p>1.
<strong>Prestigious affiliation</strong>: Establishes ties to a prestigious organization. Kathleen Hicks, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, does that here: “…<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-future-of-u-s-extended-deterrence/">the conclusion of the commission on which I serve</a>, the National Defense Strategy Commission, and certainly the work I do in my job at CSIS…” </p>
<p>2.
<strong>Prestigious title</strong>: Names impressive position titles. Yael Tamir, a professor at the University of Oxford, stated, “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/democracy-nationalism-and-populism-the-u-s-israel-and-beyond/">I was a minister of immigration</a> (in Israel) about 12 years ago…” </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349991/original/file-20200728-21-2p9u54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Suzanne Maloney testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/brookings-institution-senior-fellow-suzanne-maloney-news-photo/88667011?adppopup=true">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>3.
<strong>Disciplinary expertise</strong>: Highlights area of professional expertise. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of foreign policy at Brookings, said, “From my perspective, as <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/constraining-irans-nuclear-and-missile-capabilities/">someone who works on Iranian internal politics and economics</a>, and on the U.S.-Iran relationship…”</p>
<p>4.
<strong>Professional identity</strong>: Claims affiliation with a professional community. Tamir, the Oxford professor, stated, “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/democracy-nationalism-and-populism-the-u-s-israel-and-beyond/">It all starts with the definition as we know</a>, as we political theorists know…”</p>
<p>5.
<strong>Professional experience</strong>: Underscores the breadth or impact of professional experience. Jeannine Scott, of the nonprofit Constituency for Africa, emphasized a résumé few have: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/women-of-diversity-in-national-security/">If you’ve engaged with the Continent as I have</a> for over 30 years now…”</p>
<p>6.
<strong>Professional accomplishments</strong>: Highlights career achievements, as Lynn Rusten, a vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, did: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-end-of-an-era-the-inf-treaty-new-start-and-the-future-of-strategic-stability/">What’s interesting is the original START Treaty</a>, which I also helped negotiate…”</p>
<p>7.
<strong>Educational experience:</strong> Mentions educational institution attended, area studied or degree earned. Adam La Reau, a Navy veteran, said the following: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/a-legacy-of-service-9-11-veterans-continuing-the-tradition-of-george-h-w-bush-and-john-mccain/">I went to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy</a>…”</p>
<p>8.
<strong>Self-citation</strong>: Cites one’s own public comments. Brett McGurk, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-counter-isis-coalition-diplomacy-and-security-in-action/">I was on record in 2013</a> about this rising threat and I testified…” </p>
<p>9.
<strong>Prominent connections</strong>: Mentions interactions with prominent individuals, as McGurk did: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-counter-isis-coalition-diplomacy-and-security-in-action/">And walking into a meeting with President Obama</a> and the national security team, I got a phone call from a very senior Iraqi official who said…”</p>
<p>10.
<strong>Professional reputation</strong>: Shows that others seek their expertise, like Jung Pak, a senior fellow at the Center for East Asia Policy Studies: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/women-of-diversity-in-national-security/">During</a> the Fire and Fury days (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/world/asia/north-korea-un-sanctions-nuclear-missile-united-nations.html">President Trump’s threat against North Korea</a> in 2017), I got lots of phone calls from friends from New York, to the Midwest, to L.A. wondering about whether they should go on their business trip…”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349987/original/file-20200728-29-1n6tc28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shadi Hamid speaks at the TRT World Forum 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 22, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/senior-fellow-at-the-brookings-institution-and-a-news-photo/1177526863?adppopup=true">Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>11.
<strong>Personal background</strong>: Discloses religion, nationality, ethnicity or other personal characteristics. Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at Brookings, said: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-impact-of-militias-on-local-governance-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/">This was a very minoritarian take on Islam</a>, and in my view as a Muslim myself, a perverted one.”</p>
<h2>Using the strategies</h2>
<p>These strategies were typically used as additional information within a sentence. For example, if Maloney, the senior fellow at Brookings, were to cut her disciplinary expertise in the following sentence – the phrase within the commas – it would still make rational sense: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/constraining-irans-nuclear-and-missile-capabilities/">From my perspective</a>, as someone who works on Iranian internal politics and economics and on the U.S.-Iran relationship, we are coming at the end of a long period of limbo.”</p>
<p>Maloney avoids sounding arrogant by not featuring her disciplinary expertise in a separate sentence, an important point for those who wish to build credibility – but not sound pretentious. </p>
<h2>Creating community: ‘We see’</h2>
<p>Speakers often used the expression “we see” to deepen affiliation with an expert community and make nonbiased observations. In this excerpt, Bilyana Petkova, a fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, illustrates her insider information about the data privacy field: “So, in the data privacy field, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/digital-technology-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence-a-comparative-perspective/">we see how this dynamic has played out</a> a role in the E.U., where the first data privacy statute was adopted in the German locality of Hassan…”</p>
<p>Using “we” rather than “I” helps speakers relate their observations to those of experts and reduce perceptions that they are sharing a biased view.</p>
<h2>Elevating stature: ‘If you’</h2>
<p>Speakers often emphasized exclusive knowledge or professional experience by using the phrase “if you.”</p>
<p>Dennis Wilder, managing director of the U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, said: “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/us-china-diplomacy-40-years-of-whats-worked-and-what-hasnt/">One of the things to understand if you</a> haven’t been involved in a presidential visit to a place like Beijing…” With this phrase, he builds his stature by pointing to his prestigious experience.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Panelists drew this expert-novice distinction in other ways, too. They emphasized familiarity with current events, for example, with phrases such as “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-u-s-china-technology-relationship-in-flux/">If you look at what the intelligence community</a> and the Department of Defense have been saying” and “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-end-of-an-era-the-inf-treaty-new-start-and-the-future-of-strategic-stability/">If you look at the U.S. and Russian statements</a>… this week.” </p>
<p>It’s not just the knowledge we hold that builds credibility – how we communicate that knowledge is also imperative. </p>
<p>With companies like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/technology/facebook-remote-work-coronavirus.html">Facebook paving the way for permanent remote work</a>, Americans will be forced to rethink how we achieve credibility in workplace presentations. Amid the uncertainty created by the pandemic, what’s certain is that verbal communication strategies will become even more critical to our perceived competence and success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Leopold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As workplace meetings move from offices to living rooms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, what people say – absent nonverbal communication – is more important than ever.Lisa Leopold, Associate Professor of English Language Studies, The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, MiddleburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1329452020-03-09T12:21:55Z2020-03-09T12:21:55ZSpeeches, both scripted and off the cuff, turn Biden’s campaign around<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319147/original/file-20200306-58017-n1s16o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1513%2C107%2C2919%2C2805&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Joe Biden speaks at a rally before Super Tuesday, the day his campaign roared back to life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Joe-Biden/83d419baf07d4dd8a0b566aa94babe01/13/0">AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late February, Joe Biden <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81bzoO9Qy9A&t=6m">got emotional about the deaths of family members</a>, in a strikingly moving conversation with Rev. Anthony Thompson, whose wife Myra was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/hundreds-honour-charleston-church-shooting-victim-myra-thompson">killed by a white supremacist</a>.</p>
<p>Three days later, Biden <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEH4cmm_Zlg">delivered a well-written speech</a> declaring his victory in the South Carolina primary election.</p>
<p>Those public performances – one speaking off the cuff, and the other delivering material written by a speechwriter – are two reasons Biden was able to <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/grieder/article/Grieder-Joe-Biden-roars-through-Lone-Star-State-15103345.php">turn his campaign around</a>. As a <a href="https://honors.uoregon.edu/david-frank">scholar of political rhetoric</a>, the literature in my field suggests political candidates need to master both improvisation and authentic presentation of prepared remarks. </p>
<p>Biden’s abilities will help determine the course of his campaign, as President Donald Trump’s skills at public speaking will influence his reelection bid.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/81bzoO9Qy9A?wmode=transparent&start=360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Joe Biden answers a question about faith in the face of loss.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Two kinds of public speaking</h2>
<p>Two thousand years ago, Quintilian, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21827/21827-h/files/QuintBody2.html#chapVII">the ancient Roman orator</a>, first established the ideal that a good speaker needed to be able to write and deliver an effective speech as well as to improvise.</p>
<p>Both forms of public speaking hold advantages and dangers.</p>
<p>Improvisation requires a speaker to be his or her own speechwriter, which can reveal their internal thoughts and emotional constitution. But improvisation can also lead to incoherence.</p>
<p>Similarly, there are moments in public speaking that require the precision and discipline of the written text. But the demands of the written text delivered orally can, for some speakers, destroy the connection between the speaker and the audience. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BEH4cmm_Zlg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Joe Biden declares victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Biden’s weaknesses</h2>
<p>Before the South Carolina primary, Biden had been ineffective, both when speaking off the cuff and when delivering speeches written for him. </p>
<p>In a campaign stop in New Hampshire, for example, he <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/28/biden-south-carolina-speeches-118283">ignored his teleprompter</a> and meandered from his main points. </p>
<p>But he turned that around in late February. In his response to Thompson, Biden spoke from the heart about the loss of his first wife, daughter and, more recently, his son. In doing so, he displayed a deep sense of empathy. By all accounts, his <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/27/1922434/-During-CNN-town-hall-Joe-Biden-has-finest-2020-campaign-moment-so-far">audience found him to be authentic</a>.</p>
<p>Then, in his victory speech, he coherently delivered <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2020/03/04/daily-202-joe-biden-forged-a-super-tuesday-coalition-that-could-win-the-democratic-nomination-and-presidency/5e5f518e88e0fa101a73fb5c/">the words written by his speechwriters</a>, with the pacing, tone, volume and eloquence he had lacked in earlier speeches. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether he can sustain that performance, or whether he returns to his normal lackluster performance in moments requiring improvisation and when reading written texts.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P2fngrP0tYw?wmode=transparent&start=702" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trump’s scripted January address to the nation about Iran was in a monotone, with slurred words.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Trump is an improviser</h2>
<p>Research I have done with speech scholar <a href="https://uwm.edu/english/our-people/keith-william/">William Keith</a> shows that Donald Trump is most effective when he improvises. His teleprompter-based scripted speeches are stilted and flat. </p>
<p>For example, his Jan. 8, 2020, address on Iran was <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/what-drugs-is-he-on-trump-sparks-concern-by-slurring-and-sniffling-through-iran-remarks/">delivered in a monotone</a>, with <a href="https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a30444012/trump-iran-speech-slurred-words-economic-sanctions/">slurred words</a>.</p>
<p>Trump often resists the discipline of a script with riffs that do not complement his main message, even targeting the teleprompter as a source of inauthentic speech. When speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference in March 2019, Trump declared: “<a href="https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-speech-cpac-convention-2019-march-2-2019">You know, I’m totally off script now</a> … And this is how I got elected, by being off script. And if we don’t go off script, our country is in big trouble.” </p>
<p>He’s right: Speechwriters Corey Lewandowski and George Gigicos spent two days writing Trump’s June 16, 2015, presidential announcement speech. As Lewandwoski and David Bossie relate in their 2017 book “<a href="https://www.centerstreet.com/titles/corey-r-lewandowski/let-trump-be-trump/9781546083306/">Let Trump Be Trump</a>,” “Trump gave a quick look at the sheet of paper Corey handed him, folded it up, and put it in his breast pocket, never to look at it again. Then he delivered what is arguably the most memorable announcement speech of any candidate for office in history. It was a forty-five-minute freestyle soliloquy.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319146/original/file-20200306-58017-cmk3dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From the very beginning of his campaign in June 2015, Donald Trump has focused on impromptu speeches, rather than scripted ones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/YE-Top-10-TV-Events/2582107784b64d9c94038cbd5b9e4268/2/0">AP Photo/Richard Drew</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connecting with the people</h2>
<p>Trump has honed his ability to engage in “freestyle soliloquy” in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rallies_for_the_2016_Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign">more than 430</a> rallies he has held since his first one in Manchester, New Hampshire, on June 17, 2015. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/06/18/at_trumps_nh_rally_true_believers_and_big_fans_127030.html">It’s nice to just hear somebody say exactly what they think</a>,” Cheryl Caza-Tobey, a Hooksett, New Hampshire, resident who attended that Manchester rally told a RealClearPolitics reporter. “I thought, ‘Well, he’s just saying it like it is.’ A lot of us are thinking the same exact thing. I hate to say it, but every four years somebody comes up and they say the same things over and over again, and nothing changes.” </p>
<p>Caza-Tobey was representative of Republican voters who found Trump authentic. Unlike other candidates, Trump was transparent, making public his internal thinking and ideas, even if they were socially taboo. Those who dislike Trump and haven’t witnessed or listened to a full rally of his <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/plot-america-donald-trumps-rhetoric">dismiss his improvisations and digressions</a> as incoherent and his message as cheap entertainment.</p>
<p>Those judgments miss the power of his persuasive energies. How well the candidates present themselves, both in scripted and offhand ways, can turn campaigns’ fortunes for good, or for ill.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David A. Frank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A good public speaker needs to be able to write and deliver an effective speech as well as to improvise.David A. Frank, Professor of Rhetoric, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1293792020-01-19T08:22:21Z2020-01-19T08:22:21ZHow Kwame Nkrumah used metaphor as a political weapon against colonialism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309693/original/file-20200113-103990-1v5dgqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President John F Kennedy Meets with the President of the Republic of Ghana Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kwame Nkrumah (1912-1972), a pioneering pan-Africanist and Ghana’s independence leader (1957-1966), is regarded by many as one of Africa’s <a href="https://www.myjoyonline.com/opinion/2019/September-24th/dr-kwame-nkrumah-an-epitome-of-liberation-and-freedom.php">greatest</a> politicians . Commentators, historians and scholars have given him accolades such as ‘the Black Star’, ‘Africa’s Man of Destiny’ and ‘the Pride of Africa’. Twenty years ago, the BBC’s African listeners <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/000914_nkrumah.shtml">voted</a> him as Africa’s Man of the Millennium. </p>
<p>Nkrumah was one of the main catalysts of the African independence revolution in the 1950s and 1960s and his <a href="https://www.nkrumah.net/primary-govpubs.html">political rhetoric</a> influenced world affairs in the 20th century.</p>
<p>To understand how his spoken word influenced politics in his time, I did an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17405904.2018.1535987">analysis</a> of his speeches. My aim is to shed light on the role of language and post-independence leaders in decolonisation processes. It’s useful to understand the power of this today because African countries continue to experience economic, political, cultural and other pressures. </p>
<p>A strategic “weapon” that contributed to Nkrumah’s powerful rhetoric was his use of metaphor - the use of language that conceives one thing in terms of another. My paper shows that the use of metaphor by political actors can serve manipulative and ideological purposes as opposed to achieving a literary or stylistic effect. I show that metaphor is essential to a leader’s persuasive force. </p>
<p>Among independence leaders across the globe and African independence leaders in particular, Nkrumah is considered by political commentators as a political firebrand. This fiery posture, of which using metaphors was key, was one of the things that set him apart from other politicians. Contemporary politicians, including former US president Barack Obama, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and Ghana’s former president John Mahama, have very similar traits. </p>
<h2>Nkrumah’s use of metaphor</h2>
<p>Analysing Nkrumah’s speeches on African independence, I found that he used metaphor to articulate a strong resistance against colonialism and imperialism. He did it in a way that inspired confidence in his leadership, boosted the morale of Africans and empowered them for sociopolitical action. </p>
<p>Using metaphor, he constructed heroes and villains, protagonists and antagonists. At the same time, he portrayed himself as a valiant leader and a noble revolutionary. And he vilified and demonised the systems and people he saw as the enemies of Africa, in a way that advanced his sociopolitical goals. </p>
<p>These excerpts show how he went about doing this.</p>
<p>Speaking at the Nationalists’ Conference of African Freedom Fighters in 1962, he said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This meeting gives us the opportunity also to review our strength as well as that of the enemy and to reorganise our forces and our strategy … Who is the enemy? The enemy is imperialism, who uses as its weapons colonialism and neo-colonialism.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In another speech delivered to African heads of state, he said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For my part, I must say that as long as I live, and as long as any little vestige of colonialism and imperialism remains in Africa, I shall prosecute a ruthless war on these monsters, a war in which there shall be no truce. Colonialism and imperialism have no honour, no shame, no morals and conscience.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And in his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Consciencism-Kwame-Nkrumah/dp/0853451362">Consciencism (1964)</a>, he stated that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Neo-colonialism is a latter-day harpy, a monster which entices its victims with sweet music.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Speaking to government functionaries at an event in honour of President Josip Tito of Yugoslavia, he asserted that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We see the hydra-headed neo-colonialism slowly but clearly emerging, but that ugly head should be crushed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These extracts show Nkrumah using expressions such as “evil”, “enemy”, “monster”, “hydra-headed” and “harpy” to describe the brutal nature of colonialism and imperialism and to underscore the threat they pose to Africa. By using these words, he was inviting people to take action. </p>
<p>He also invoked religious imagery by selecting a word like “evil” to describe the colonialists and by asserting that colonialism and imperialism have ‘no morals’. Given that religion is considered by many to be the ultimate moral force, Nkrumah is seen to be imposing a moral imperative on Africans to rise up in armed resistance.</p>
<p>Nkrumah also designated the colonialists as the “enemy”. This established a moral order and created a sense of solidarity. Combining the word “enemy” with expressions such as “forces”, “war”, “prosecute” and “crush”, he portrayed Africa as the battlefield and Africans and the colonialists as opposing armies.</p>
<p>Additionally, he associates the colonialists with “monsters”, thereby casting them in the mould of tormentors and vampires who were sucking the life out of Africa. This made them a threat that needed to be nullified. </p>
<h2>Unconventional leader</h2>
<p>Generally, research shows that politicians tend to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0261927X15600732">indirect and evasive</a>. But the analysis of Nkrumah’s speeches shows that he was direct and explicit. I suggest that his use of metaphor contributed significantly to this “aggressive” style. His style was atypical given that politicians tend to be diplomatic in what they say. And it certainly contributed to making him one of the most powerful voices on the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Nartey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Compared to other politicians who tend to be indirect and evasive, Nkrumah was direct, explicit and assertive.Mark Nartey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/966702018-05-29T13:01:45Z2018-05-29T13:01:45ZHow Huddleston and Powell squared off about racism in a televised debate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220734/original/file-20180529-80637-ssj91c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anti-apartheid cleric Trevor Huddleston, centre, with South African liberation struggle icons Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela in 1991.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Stringer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>British Conservative MP Enoch Powell’s 20 April 1968 <a href="http://www.publicbooks.org/rivers-of-blood-50/">“Rivers of Blood”</a> speech has been making headlines as the UK marks the 50th anniversary of its delivery.</p>
<p>Powell claimed that immigration was responsible for a demographic and social revolution that threatened British society. His toxic rhetoric and the responses to it, shaped policy and legislation.</p>
<p>Only fragments of Powell’s speech were captured on film, and the address in its entirety was preserved as a text. This April, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/bbc-rivers-of-blood-in-full-enoch-powell-speech-ian-mcdiarmid-radio-50-years-a8301476.html">Radio 4</a> asked actor Ian McDiarmid, who <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41174659">played Powell on stage</a>, to read out the notorious 3183 word speech. Uproar ensued. </p>
<p>Critics argued that the broadcast contributed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/12/bbc-rivers-blood-broadcast-enoch-powell-racist-speech-far-right-nationalism">normalising racism</a>. <a href="https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/lord-adonis-asks-ofcom-to-cancel-bbcs-enoch-powell-rivers-of-blood-broadcast-4/">Others</a> thought it should not be aired. The <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43745447">BBC</a> defended its decision to proceed with the broadcast. It explained that the speech was interspersed with historical context. It claimed that the discussion emphasised the harmful impact of Powell’s words on his contemporaries. </p>
<p>I came across an astonishing piece of television during my research on the anti-apartheid activist and Bishop of Stepney Trevor Huddleston, and the impact of his experience in apartheid South Africa on race relations in Britain. The programme, called <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b69f8dafe">The Great Debate: My Christian Duty</a>, aired on October 12, 1969 on ITV. </p>
<p>It was the result of a lengthy and public confrontation between Powell and <a href="http://www.trevorhuddleston.org/page23.html">Huddleston</a>. </p>
<p>Huddleston protested the “rivers of blood” address and the two commented on each other’s positions throughout the year. When Huddleston called Powell’s rhetoric “evil”, the latter wrote to Huddleston to defend his position. In their correspondence, they agreed to present their arguments to the public. </p>
<p>The location for their public meeting turned out to be a television studio with a live audience. This may sound like a curious choice of venue. In fact, Powell turned to the media habitually to promote his agenda, as did Huddleston. </p>
<p>During the 40 minutes of the debate, both men used the emerging genre of the televised political debate to rally support for their views. The terms of the debate were set by Powell and the links he created between immigration, race and British decline. Huddleston could not sever these imagined ties. He did, however, invoke the evils of apartheid as a warning post to his fellow countrymen. He used his experience in Johannesburg to reflect on the dangers of racial discrimination.</p>
<h2>Faith in humanity</h2>
<p>Huddleston cultivated his public image as a moral authority in South Africa from the mid-1940s. Between 1943 and 1955, he worked as a priest in Sophiatown, a black suburb of Johannesburg. In those years, until his forced recall back to England in 1955, Huddleston was a prominent participant in the struggles against apartheid. By then, his biographer concluded </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[<a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-22709-8">Huddleston’s face was</a>] the most photographed of any Christian except the Pope.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>His bestselling memoir of the period, <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/naught-your-comfort-trevor-huddleston">published in 1956</a>, made him a household name in Britain too. Huddleston reminded viewers of Britain’s material and moral debt to its former empire in Africa and Asia. He argued that the British, through colonial expansion, had “quite deliberately” moved into other people’s countries. They have</p>
<blockquote>
<p>created and sustained regimes of power over African and Asian people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This, and Britain’s long reliance on the slave trade, and later, on the inscription of labour from the Commonwealth to fight its wars and build its towns, created a commitment to these populations.</p>
<p>Huddleston’s aim, however, went beyond a history lesson. He harnessed the medium of television to issue a call for solidarity to fight the crisis ensuing from Powell’s address. He drew on his experience of collaborating with activists across the colour line in South Africa to signal a path for a dispersed group of anti-racist protesters.</p>
<p>He was successful in this, as the hundreds of letters from viewers that he received in response to the debate testify. His performance energised anti-racist and anti-apartheid activists, lay and clerical Christians, as well as individuals affected by so-called Powellism. Huddleston offered Britons his faith in humanity as flexible, tolerant and inclusive, and his arguments were rooted in the language of reconciliation. Accordingly, in his vision, immigration was a source of opportunity, and an indication that Britain was embracing its role as a positive engine of change. </p>
<h2>Tackling toxic rhetoric</h2>
<p>Today, as in 1969, Huddleston’s alternative vision to Powell’s remains relevant. The animated public reaction to Huddleston’s television performance, which included bags of hate mail in addition to support, demonstrates the price and profit of standing up to toxic rhetoric. </p>
<p>When we assess the legacy of Powell’s speech, it is important to consider the diverse experience that fuelled the opposition to it. Huddleston’s vision for Britain, shaped by his tenure in South Africa, and the solidarity and political activity it spurred, should also be remembered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tal Zalmanovich receives funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement no. 615564.</span></em></p>Bishop Huddleston’s criticism of Enoch Powell’s incendiary “Rivers of blood” speech was both a history lesson and a call to action against racism.Tal Zalmanovich, Postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the ERC funded project APARTHEID-STOPS that studies the transnational circulation of anti-apartheid expressive culture., Hebrew University of JerusalemLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/675062016-10-21T21:12:19Z2016-10-21T21:12:19ZFact-checking Clinton and Trump is not enough<p>During the debates, fact-checkers like <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/politics/check-social-media-debate/index.html">CNN</a> and <a href="http://www.politifact.com/">Politifact</a> focus on evaluating the truthfulness of what each candidate said. </p>
<p>While it is important to get the facts straight, focusing on the truth of the candidates’ statements is not nearly enough to evaluate the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-and-clinton-debate-strategies-that-can-make-anyone-a-better-public-speaker-65197">actual impact</a> of the debate on the audience. How candidates say things matters just as much as whether they stuck to the facts.</p>
<p>Savvy politicians can take advantage of what scholars call <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-010-1834-0_8">cognitive biases</a>, which make us believe something is true because we feel it is true, regardless of the evidence. This phenomenon is also known as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796712001763">emotional reasoning</a>. </p>
<p>We may think of ourselves as rational creatures who form our opinions based on logic. In reality, our emotions play a <a href="http://intentionalinsights.org/autopilot-vs-intentional-system-the-rider-and-the-elephant">much larger</a> role in influencing our beliefs than we think. </p>
<p>We make quick and intuitive decisions based on our <a href="http://intentionalinsights.org/autopilot-vs-intentional-system-the-rider-and-the-elephant">autopilot system</a> of thinking, also known as system 1. This is one of the <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/decisive-how-make-better-choices-life-work">two systems of thinking</a> in our brains. It makes good decisions <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/thinkingfastandslow/danielkahneman">most of the time</a>, according to Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, but is more subject to bias than the other thinking system – known as the intentional system, or system 2. The intentional system is deliberate and reflective. It takes effort to use but it can catch and override the bias committed by system 1. Kahneman describes these as “fast” and “slow” thinking. </p>
<p>Politicians skilled in the art of public speaking can <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061241895/influence">persuade us</a> by playing to the more powerful autopilot system that guides our fast thinking and avoiding arguments based on evidence, reason and logic. Unless we pay close attention, mindfully slowing down and thinking more intentionally, we are <a href="http://ijpor.oxfordjournals.org/content/2/1/1.short">highly likely to be influenced</a> by these more emotional appeals.</p>
<h2>Fast talking, poor thinking</h2>
<p>Each candidate made a number of such appeals during the Oct. 19 debate. </p>
<p>Hillary Clinton stated that Donald Trump is Vladimir Putin’s “puppet.” This invoked a bias likely to cloud the minds of the audience – the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/35/4/250/">halo effect</a>. This bias emerges when we see something we like or dislike, and associate this emotional reaction with something else.</p>
<p>Clinton knows that many Americans do not like Putin. Plus, the image of being someone’s puppet is quite distasteful. Combining Trump with Putin and puppet is bound to create a negative emotional association. </p>
<p>A fact-checker would not be able to give a straight answer on whether Trump is Putin’s puppet. This depends on one’s interpretation, and Clinton could certainly defend her perspective. Yet we can recognize that her framing of this issue is designed to appeal to our fast thinking and create a certain impression that does not necessarily match the facts.</p>
<p>For his part, Trump used repetition to drive home his claims, invoking the so-called <a href="http://psr.sagepub.com/content/early/2009/12/18/1088868309352251.abstract">“illusory truth effect.”</a> This bias causes our brains to perceive something as true just because we hear it repeated. In other words, just because something is repeated several times, we perceive it as more true. </p>
<p>You may have noticed the last two sentences in the previous paragraph had the same meaning and a similar structure. The second sentence didn’t provide any new information, but it did cause you to believe my claim more than you did when you read the first sentence. In fact, much of advertising is based <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2015.1045154">on using</a> the illusory truth effect to get us to buy more goods.</p>
<p>In the debate, Trump’s relentless repetition of the claim that NAFTA is the “worst deal ever signed” and cost Americans “millions of jobs” functions the same way. Despite the fact that <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696544?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">experts disagree</a> on the impact of NAFTA on the U.S. job market, Trump has successfully convinced many millions that NAFTA is terrible. </p>
<p>Trump makes similar statements about not supporting going into Iraq. Many of his supporters are staunchly convinced that he opposed the war, <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/donald-trump-and-the-iraq-war/">despite clear evidence</a> that he was for it before he was against it. His repetition causes our autopilot system to perceive his statements intuitively as true. It takes effort to fight this perception by using our slow thinking.</p>
<p>Turning once again to Clinton, we see her utilizing the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bdm.3960080204/full">illusion of control</a>. This bias occurs when we perceive ourselves as having more control over a situation than we actually do. For instance, Clinton attributed the decline in the U.S. national debt in the 1990s primarily to her husband’s policies. This exaggerates the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/PKE0160-3477320410">actual impact</a> that any president can have on the national debt. </p>
<h2>Overly optimistic</h2>
<p>Clinton also insisted – as did Trump – that her policies would add nothing to the national debt, despite <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/candidate-plans-national-debt/">independent reports by experts</a> showing that Clinton’s economic reforms would likely add billions of dollars and Trump’s plan add trillions to the debt. Clinton’s statements on debt, along with Trump’s, showed both illusion of control and the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1997-02759-005">desirability bias</a>, which leads one to believe their idealized outcomes will come true.</p>
<p>Another claim often repeated by Trump ties in to his core message – America is much worse than it used to be. He conveys a rosy picture of an idealized American past, when everything was right with the world. It’s reflected in Trump’s motto: “Make America Great Again.”</p>
<p>This motto speaks to our tendency to view the past through rose-colored glasses, a bias known as <a href="http://wayback.archive.org/web/20151202151926/http:/web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/biases/Book_Chapter_Theory_of_Temporal_Adjustments.pdf">rosy retrospection</a> and also as <a href="https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26669">declinism</a>. </p>
<p>Many would argue, and I would agree, the world has actually grown better by a variety of different measurements. For instance, people are experiencing <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/302858/the-better-angels-of-our-nature-by-steven-pinker/9780143122012/">less violence</a> and greater <a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/Resources-and-Media/Annual-Letters-List/Annual-Letter-2014">health, longevity and economic well-being</a>. Despite this, the more Trump repeats that things used to be better, the easier it is for people to agree. </p>
<p>These are some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX-CJxLWuL0">among many</a> cognitive biases that the candidates used to influence our perceptions and opinions. Because we are often not aware of how the candidates are appealing to our fast thinking, they are capable of swaying our views without our knowledge. </p>
<p>We should start fallacy-checking the debates and public statements, in addition to fact-checking them, to guard the safety of our democracy. In the meantime, it may help to actively think more slowly about the messages Trump and Clinton are conveying.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Some of the links in this article are to Intentional Insights, a nonprofit Dr. Gleb Tsipursky runs that helps people use science-based strategies to make effective decisions and reach their goals with the aim of building an altruistic and flourishing world, Intentional Insights (intentionalinsights.org).</span></em></p>How candidates say things matters just as much as whether they stuck to the facts.Gleb Tsipursky, Author, Speaker, Consultant, Coach, Scholar, and Social Entrepreneur. President of Intentional Insights, Assistant Professor in History of Behavioral Science,, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/651972016-09-23T03:43:09Z2016-09-23T03:43:09ZTrump and Clinton debate strategies that can make anyone a better public speaker<p>Public speaking is an anxiety-inducing task for most us, yet it’s also a necessary one, whether you’re a corporate CEO, a high school teacher or a presidential candidate. And like the rest of us, candidates stumble when speaking in public. </p>
<p>Donald Trump’s tendency to speak off the cuff, for example, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign-gop.html?_r=0">has long rattled</a> his campaign aides, even as it’s also a source of his popularity. His <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trumps-guide-to-winning-through-gaffes-214269">numerous gaffes</a> are infamous – from insulting women, war heroes and most minority groups to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/16/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-guns-secret-service/">taunting Hillary Clinton’s bodyguards</a> to disarm. </p>
<p>Clinton’s biggest problem is of a different nature. She has struggled to overcome the persistent impression that she’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/02/05/heres-what-the-research-tells-us-about-whether-sexism-is-hurting-hillary-clintons-prospects/">inauthentic, cold and distant</a>. This is something that she and her team have <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/07/31/hillary-clinton-warm/">worked on</a> a great deal recently. </p>
<p>The candidates’ most important public speaking event is coming up: the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, which The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate.html">calls</a> “the most anticipated in a generation.” No wonder, as the perceived winner has <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/14/the-presidential-debates-will-almost-surely-decide-the-election.html">generally gone on</a> to win the election. </p>
<p>While presidential candidates face the same obstacles speaking in public as the rest of us, their stakes couldn’t be higher. Fortunately for Clinton and Trump, there are research-based strategies to become more effective orators – techniques that we can use too.</p>
<h2>Debate prep 101</h2>
<p>As Trump and Clinton prepare for the debates, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-debate-prep-clintons-careful-case-vs-trumps-wrestlemania/2016/08/27/ce05291c-6bbb-11e6-99bf-f0cf3a6449a6_story.html">prominent media outlets</a> have been evaluating what they need to do to win. <a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/2016/09/20/inside-look-trump-campaign-debate-prep">Trump’s challenge</a> is staying calm and on point, while <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/09/22/494901644/how-clinton-and-trump-are-preparing-for-the-first-presidential-debate">Clinton’s</a> is to convey emotions and avoid coming off as distant and isolated. </p>
<p>However, the most important thing for both candidates will be staying on top of their mental game. Both are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate.html">trying to figure out</a> ways to rattle their opponent and make them appear unworthy of the presidency.</p>
<p>Being mentally fit means dealing with the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/13/most-common-fears-forbeslife-cx_avd_1214commonfears.html">very common fear</a> of public speaking, known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossophobia">glossophobia</a>. Yet public speaking is vital not only in politics but also in many careers, especially in business as one progresses into senior management and leadership positions.</p>
<p>Fortunately, a little work can go a long way in building confidence and addressing these fears. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/5431076/Public_speaking_treatment._Trainer._trainee">Research shows</a> that those with some training in public speaking not only improve their own communication but can successfully teach others to give better speeches. </p>
<p>As a <a href="http://intentionalinsights.org/trump-feels-your-anger-andanxiety-how-neuroscience-helps-explain-trump-triu">scholar of the role emotions play in public life</a>, I teamed up with Patrick Donadio – a <a href="http://www.communicatingwithimpact.com/home.html">speech coach with over 30 years of experience</a> providing leaders with <a href="https://sellfy.com/p/BbAE/">useful presentation tips</a> – to figure out the best strategies to address oratorical fears. Together, we came up with a set of research-informed techniques that anyone can use – including candidates for the highest office in the land.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138889/original/image-20160922-25460-1jmhm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first debate, between Nixon and Kennedy, showed the consequence of appearing nervous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scriptingnews/2542066071/in/photolist-4SCKFn-4KsmnW-cEKv5Y-fkScao-7HQLPD-aPkDEz-dJTkVc-aPkCL6-aPkDa6-aPkCpF-aPkDox-aPkCAH-aPkD1T-GoHTm-5ohngk-5omazG-5omHBj-5ohs8K-amWFt6-GoHTJ-aJd9Ac-5ohrS4-5om8Zo-6sh7ZK-5ogSo6-5ogU2F-5omHtE-5om92W-5omHW7-5omGiJ-aJd9xM-5ogSp4-5ohs32-5ogSFt-5ogSM6-5om9c3-4EbLux-5ogU7e-5omHdG-5omFtd-5ogSHk-5omvvm-GoHTb-8pCitK-5om8Db-5omFCA-5om91E-5omaBy-5omJG3-5ogSyz">Dave Winer/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dealing with fear</h2>
<p>In the first-ever televised <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates">presidential debate</a> between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960, the former appeared sweaty and nervous, while the latter looked calm and well-prepared. </p>
<p>On election day, JFK won the popular vote by a meager 0.2 percent. As 6 percent of voters claimed that the debates that year were the deciding factor, both Clinton and Trump would be wise to focus on managing any potential anxiety they might experience to avoid Nixon’s fate. </p>
<p>Sure, some anxiety is useful. It gets the <a href="http://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Citation/1964/12000/THE_PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY_OF_ANXIETY__WITH_A_REVIEW_OF.9.aspx">adrenaline pumping</a> and can give you energy and enthusiasm. Still, beyond that, if you don’t deal with the fear, you’re unlikely to do well no matter how hard you try. <a href="http://intentionalinsights.org/living-intentionally-3-steps-to-gaining-agency">Intentional thinking</a> strategies can help you manage your emotions – and the source of your fear.</p>
<p>It’s helpful to remember that your fear is not unique. There would not be as much <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637758109376055">extensive research</a> on speech anxiety if it were. Knowing that this is a common phenomenon should relieve some of the fear, as it shows that you are not alone.</p>
<p>Clinton, for example, <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/9/8/12851878/hillary-clinton-control-emotions-sexism-humans-new-york">learned as a young woman</a> to control her emotions, which has served her well. Now, however, she needs to do the opposite and overcome fears she may have showing her emotions to avoid <a href="http://www.vox.com/a/hillary-clinton-interview/the-gap-listener-leadership-quality">being perceived</a> as cold and aloof. </p>
<p>In turn, Trump may need to overcome any anxiety he may experience about not being <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-donald-trump-debate-2016-7">sufficiently knowledgeable</a> about the issues at hand.</p>
<h2>Positive thinking wins the day</h2>
<p>One way to do that is to <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/10/07/353292408/why-saying-is-believing-the-science-of-self-talk">boost your mood</a>.</p>
<p>Give yourself a pep talk and psyche yourself up. Some people meditate, others pray, others listen to music and others jog. You can <a href="http://www.thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/264489-obama-i-curse-to-deal-with-stress">even curse</a> to relieve the stress, as does President Barack Obama. There are many ways to elevate your mood.</p>
<p>Similarly, try <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950">positive thinking</a>. Study after study has revealed that positive thinking helps address stress and anxiety and leads to better mental and physical health. In the context of speech-making, remind yourself that you know more about the topic than the audience does. You may not be a global expert, but, chances are, if you’ve done your research, you’ll know more than the vast majority of listeners.</p>
<p>This is <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/09/22/494901644/how-clinton-and-trump-are-preparing-for-the-first-presidential-debate">probably not as big of a concern</a> for Clinton, who is well-known as a policy wonk, but Trump is less practiced and so would be wise to give himself a pep talk before he walks on stage.</p>
<h2>Take care of your body</h2>
<p>Even if you use the strategies above, you may get a little nervous right before you get up to speak. You may also experience some excess energy. Don’t try to get rid of it all – believe me, you can’t – but you do want to eliminate some of it. Try “tense and relax” techniques.</p>
<p>For example, you could <a href="http://intentionalinsights.org/7-surprising-science-based-hacks-to-build-your-willpower">clench and relax</a> your fists. Clench your fists really hard and then release them. If you notice a lot of tension in your neck, try shoulder shrugs. Push your shoulders up to your ears, hold them there for 10 seconds, and release. Former Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker, for instance, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/06/politics/gop-pre-debate-rituals-republican-cleveland/">goes for a run</a> before debates.</p>
<p>Finally, make sure you’ve had enough sleep, water and a good meal before giving your speech, and don’t forget to use the restroom. You don’t want to have an embarrassing moment <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/20/finally-an-explanation-for-hillary-clintons-long-bathroom-break/?_r=0">like Clinton did</a> during a debate when she was late coming back from a bathroom break. </p>
<h2>Visual prep and practice</h2>
<p>Most importantly, practice what you want to convey and how you want to convey it to gain more confidence and speaking exposure. </p>
<p><a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-exposure-therapy/">Studies show</a> that gradual exposure to fear-inducing stimuli – known as <a href="http://www.div12.org/sites/default/files/WhatIsExposureTherapy.pdf">exposure therapy</a> – combined with relaxation techniques such as those described above is a safe and effective means of decreasing anxiety and building confidence. </p>
<p>Since it is especially helpful to simulate the exact environment in which your speech will take place, another way to do that is to try practicing in the same location you will be giving it and imagine what it will be like when you’re doing it live. </p>
<p>Clinton and Trump, for example, may want to make a quiet visit to the Hofstra University auditorium, where the first debate will be held. </p>
<p>If doing that is impractical for you, try <a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/guided-visualization-a-way-to-relax-reduce-stress-and-more/">visualization</a>, a strategy that doesn’t require you to leave your home. It involves visualizing yourself delivering a perfect speech in front of a rapt audience. This <a href="https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/2234">research-based</a> strategy is <a href="http://fiercegentleman.com/visualize/">widely employed</a> in a similar way by top athletes and actors, such as Will Smith, Tiger Woods and Venus and Serena Williams. </p>
<p>Clinton’s <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/10/who-will-win/497561/">background</a> in previous political debates gives her an edge there, as she can easily imagine what it’ll be like more precisely than Trump. </p>
<p>Visualization doesn’t replace actual practice, of course. When you do practice, it’s still optimal to create an environment that simulates the situation well. For instance, if you’re planning to give a presentation to potential investors, ask friends or colleagues to role play and ask tough questions. </p>
<p>Both Clinton and Trump are engaging in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/08/30/why-the-presidential-debates-could-really-matter-this-time/?utm_term=.f1507d4f803c">thorough preparations</a>. We know that Clinton <a href="http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016/09/trump-and-clinton-prepare-for-first-presidential-debate/">is doing</a> mock debates, which will likely serve her well during the event itself. We have no confirmation of whether Trump is doing the same. </p>
<p>The candidates also <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-prepping-for-two-trumps-at-debate-1474415274">need to study each other</a> as much as they study the content, since their goal is to win, not just to convey information. If your goal in public speaking is to outdo a competitor, as in a debate or contract bid, you must study that opponent and make sure that you take advantage of her/his weaknesses, while defending against her/his strengths. </p>
<h2>From first speech to inaugural address</h2>
<p>These tips, widely used by experienced speakers like Trump and Clinton, can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/da.20090/abstract">help anyone minimize the impact</a> of speaking anxiety. The sooner you get up in front of a group, realize that you have something important to say and say it, the sooner you’ll get rid of your fear.</p>
<p>Speaking is a skill that grows stronger with practice and weaker with disuse. The secret to improving your speaking skills is experience. </p>
<p>Remember, your first speech may be your worst speech, but you will keep getting better and less anxious going forward. After all, not even presidential candidates become excellent public speakers overnight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the leader of Intentional Insights, a nonprofit organization that popularizes research-based strategies from behavioral sciences for a broad audience. Several links are to research-based articles from the Intentional Insights website. </span></em></p>Even Trump and Clinton have oratorical anxieties. Here are some research-based strategies presidential candidates and the rest of us can use to overcome them.Gleb Tsipursky, Assistant Professor of History, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/441672015-07-16T04:28:26Z2015-07-16T04:28:26ZWhat it takes to teach a large class – and do it well<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88226/original/image-20150713-11825-bq3hzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's a little intimidating when all of those chairs are full, but teaching large classes doesn't need to stress you out.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">From www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You don’t have to suffer from <a href="http://www.glossophobia.com/">glossophobia</a> to hyperventilate at the thought of standing up in front of a large hall full of people. Many university lecturers dread the thought of teaching a large class. That’s because teaching large classes is hard. It can be scary and stressful, and it takes a lot of time and preparation.</p>
<p>Adding to all of that stress, large classes also don’t have a good reputation when it comes to fostering student learning. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/1363546/Introducing_International_Studies_Student_Engagement_in_Large_Classes">We know</a> that students struggle in these contexts to stay engaged, to perform well and to develop important skills like critical thinking. </p>
<p>But large classes are a reality in many developed and developing countries. They form part of the drive towards the <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120831155341147">massification</a> of higher education. </p>
<p>So what is a “large class”? It can’t be defined by a numerical threshold: instead, it’s a context where student learning is negatively impacted by the number in a class. Large classes have different meanings in different disciplines. A biology class may have more than 800 students before it’s considered “large”, while a sculpture course may be classified as “large” with 20 students.</p>
<p>There are two dominant logics that drive the emergence of large classes in higher education. The first is about efficiency, and suggests that large classes will result in increased <a href="https://www.academia.edu/6182729/Massification_in_Higher_Education_Large_Classes_and_Student_Learning">revenue</a> and decreased costs to the “system”.</p>
<p>The second is a progressive logic which argues that higher education is key to resolving problems of poverty, inequality and economic development. To do this, access to higher education needs <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/31/consequences-increasing-access-to-education">to be increased</a>.</p>
<p>Neither of these logics places student learning front and centre. Nor do they consider how student learning might be negatively affected. How can we address this?</p>
<p>I don’t think we can solve the challenges of large classes outright – but we can attempt to mitigate their negative effects by adopting strategies that we know are good for student learning and generally good for speaking to large groups. Here are some things that may work, based on research I’ve conducted and <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Large_class_Pedagogy.html?id=KpT3AwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">recently published</a> in book form.</p>
<p>1) Treat your large class like it is a small class. Small classes are great for learning because they allow interaction, discussion and debate. Yet many lecturers actively try to avoid this in large class scenarios. This avoidance is usually justified through concerns about “managing” and “controlling” students. Lecturers argue that a class may become unwieldy if students are allowed to speak. But unwieldiness can be avoided by properly structuring the interaction moment. </p>
<p>2) Integrate problems into the class and get students to figure them out. I start each of my Introduction to International Relations lectures with a problem – usually something that is rooted in a current event. The problem is related to the concepts being discussed that day in class. I get students in my class of more than 400 students to respond to the problem and suggest how to solve it. More than half of the class participates, and it never gets out of control. Such a focused exercise gets them to apply their knowledge and experiences while keeping them connected with the purpose of the lecture.</p>
<p>3) Change your teaching approach every 15 minutes. Students have an average attention span of between <a href="http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/Journal/Reviews/Pages/student-attention.aspx">ten and 15 minutes</a>. So mix it up a bit. You don’t need to change the subject matter, but change the way it’s presented. I use things like class discussions, YouTube videos and podcasts to deviate from a standard lecture format in the classroom. This keeps students engaged and on topic.</p>
<p>4) Structure assessments to build on each other and make them about responding to problem scenarios. Noticing a theme here? Student engagement and performance in large classes is a big problem. We need to find ways to connect with them, and introducing a practical element to what they are doing can help. Students also need opportunities to learn what is expected from them in terms of assessments. When opportunities for direct guidance from the lecturer don’t exist, like in large classes, we have to find other ways for students to learn from making mistakes. </p>
<p>Structuring assessments to build on each other (some call it <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber">scaffolding</a>) is also important. We know that students can adapt to the expectations of our learning environments, but they need opportunities to do so. Continuous assessment allows students to make mistakes and to learn from these without necessarily failing the course. </p>
<p>This adds to your marking load – but even this can be mitigated by adopting different types of assessment approaches. For example, I have two online multiple choice quizzes and three writing exercises. The quizzes are marked automatically online. Great teaching assistants help with the marking of the writing exercises.</p>
<p>5) Don’t be scared to have fun and experiment with different approaches and strategies. Teaching is ripe with opportunities to try different innovations. Some will work and some won’t – and that is OK.</p>
<p>6) Stay positive. Big classes involve lots of different types of students who have different experiences and understandings of the world. Some will be faster than others to get to the conclusions we want. Just remember, though, that if they knew all we do, they wouldn’t need to be in class!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David J Hornsby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Large classes don’t have a good reputation when it comes to fostering student learning. But there are a few ways for teachers to adapt to bigger classes.David J Hornsby, Senior Lecturer in International Relations & Assistant Dean of Humanities, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/426792015-06-14T20:22:31Z2015-06-14T20:22:31ZThis is why you will lose your argument<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84317/original/image-20150609-13934-1r4f3cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's so easy to get sidetracked during an argument if you don't remember just one thing. So what is it?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielavladimirova/4140111216/">Flickr/Daniela Vladimirova</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>So the Great Barrier Reef has not been listed as <a href="https://theconversation.com/unesco-recommends-great-barrier-reef-should-not-be-classed-as-in-danger-42564">endangered</a> by UNESCO. And same-sex marriage is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-09/former-finance-minister-calls-for-plebiscite-on-gay-marriage/6531526">high on the national agenda</a>. Care to argue the case? Careful, there’s a minefield ahead.</p>
<p>There is one thing that is poorly understood about arguing in the public arena. It is the reason that a strong case will often lose its momentum and that an obvious logical conclusion will be missed. It is one of the reasons our political leaders fail utterly to have a reasoned conversation with the population and with each other. And it’s why <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/science-denial">denialists</a> on just about any issue can sidestep rational debate.</p>
<p>It’s called the “point at issue” and describes what the argument is <em>actually</em> about. If you move away from this simple idea, the argument will be lost in a fog of related but unnecessary issues. </p>
<h2>Finding the point</h2>
<p>Before we can argue, we must actually agree on something: what we are arguing about. If we can’t do this, and then stick to it, there will be no progress.</p>
<p>Let’s consider the Great Barrier Reef as an example. Some <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-the-green-movements-role-in-the-sorry-reef-debacle-exposes-them-as-frauds/story-fnihsr9v-1227376088954">media commentary</a> would have us believe that the fact the reef was not listed means any concerns about its well-being are entirely misplaced. </p>
<p>This misses the point completely. As many <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-barrier-reef-is-not-listed-as-in-danger-but-the-threats-remain-42548">articles</a> have pointed out, that the reef has not been listed does not mean any environmental concerns are unjustified. </p>
<p>The point at issue is whether the reef meets the UNESCO criteria for listing as endangered. It is another point entirely to say the reef is not at risk. Conflating the two muddies the waters.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Not officially endangered and not at risk are two different points.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As another example, imagine someone comments that locking up refugees is psychologically damaging to them. Another person says that the policy is much better under the current government than it was under the last. </p>
<p>The argument has shifted from whether the processes is damaging to who manages the process best. It is not the same thing. If that is not noticed, the argument usually degenerates and we are no closer to finding the truth of the original claim.</p>
<p>For a third example, the federal treasurer, Joe Hockey, recently had to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/treasurer-joe-hockey-faces-grilling-on-qa-over-this-years-budget/story-e6frfmyi-1227369005759">defend spending his accommodation entitlements</a> when he is in Canberra on a house owned by his wife. He tried to argue the necessity of politicians to be able to claim expenses as they move into the capital for parliamentary business. But these are two different points. Arguing the second does not progress the first. </p>
<p>Deniers of climate science engage in shifting the point at issue as a standard part of their argument technique. One example involves moving from the fact that there is a rapid shift in global temperature to that climate has always changed. </p>
<p>Another example is moving from <a href="http://riaus.org.au/articles/consilience-in-science/">consilience</a> and consensus in climate science as indicators of the degree of confidence within the scientific community to trying to make the debate that consensus is not proof. In both cases the latter point is true, but it’s not the point under discussion.</p>
<p>Changing the point at issue often flags an attempt to move the argument onto more favourable ground rather than engage with it on the offered terms.</p>
<h2>Focusing our thinking is not easy</h2>
<p>This type of intellectual sidestepping is the root of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/straw-man-science-keeping-climate-simple-10782">straw man argument</a>. It is the source of the common phrase “beside the point”, indicating that it is not directly relevant.</p>
<p>If we follow this path, the original argument remains unaddressed and we have only the illusion of progress.</p>
<p>The trick is to recognise when the point at issue shifts, but to do this you need to be very clear at the start about what the original argument is. If you are not clear, you are vulnerable to defeat, losing to an argument that was not your point in the first place. Recognising this shift is a surprisingly difficult thing to do.</p>
<p>One of the reasons we do not focus well on the point at issue, and are sometimes very bad at defining it, is that our minds range across related topics very well. We see connections, implications and perspectives on many issues. This is a useful tendency, but one that needs to be curbed to develop a sharp argumentative focus.</p>
<p>If the point at issue is that smoking is bad for you, don’t start talking about the individual liberty to smoke. If it’s that biodiversity in forests is important, don’t make it about logging jobs. If it’s about how well a political party is doing a job, don’t turn it into a comparison with the other mob.</p>
<p>Stick to the point, sort it out properly, and then move on to the next one.</p>
<h2>How we frame an issue can define the argument</h2>
<p>Finding the point at issue is also a matter of framing the issue correctly.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83788/original/image-20150603-10669-usdyu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">How a debate is framed can change the point at issue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rishi S/flickr</span></span>
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<p>Realise, for example, that the point of not teaching Intelligent Design in science classes is one of quality control, not of academic freedom. Or that teaching about religion in schools is not the same thing as instruction in specific religions. Or that same-sex marriage is about equality of rights, not degrading them.</p>
<p>As Christopher Hitchens so <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB107827627378044934">succinctly put it</a> when considering the issue of homosexual marriage more than a decade ago:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is an argument about the socialisation of homosexuality, not the homosexualisation of society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Politicians are masters at changing frames and the point at issue. Witness the use of phrases like “what the public really wants to know” or “what’s really important here” to avoid addressing the issue raised in an interview.</p>
<p>Journalists are often very lax about this, allowing the point at issue to change without bringing it back and pressing for an answer to the original question.</p>
<p>One of the skills of advanced argumentation – and of good journalism – is knowing how to keep things on track. This includes the ability to recognise when the argument shifts and to say “that’s not what we are talking about”. </p>
<p>It also includes knowing how to go on and explain to people that their argument may be relevant to the topic in general but it’s not relevant to the specific point at issue.</p>
<p>You might like to argue that many of the topics I’ve mentioned should be explored in full. That we should talk about biodiversity and jobs when discussing forests, for example. But if you think that, you missed the point at issue of this article. </p>
<p>There’s no reason not to pursue other arguments and other points at issue, but let’s take them one at a time for the sake of clarity and improvement. This is what will improve public debate and better hold politicians to account. </p>
<p>That’s what I’m talking about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Ellerton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s so easy to get side-tracked in any discussion and once that happens you’re doomed. So what do you need to know to win your argument?Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/338942014-11-07T04:19:49Z2014-11-07T04:19:49ZMemoria in Memoriam: Whitlam’s farewell invokes power of oratory<p>In a playful rhetorical flourish at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday, Indigenous leader Noel Pearson <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/noel-pearsons-eulogy-for-gough-whitlam-in-full-20141105-11haeu.html">monumentalised</a> Gough Whitlam’s prime ministerial legacy, Monty Python-style: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What did the Romans ever do for us?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Whitlam’s Romanesque bequest was amply uttered by Pearson and the other big Australian voices invited by the Whitlam family to publicly memorialise the life and service of Australia’s <a href="http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam/">21st prime minister</a>.</p>
<p>Whitlam left office nearly 40 years ago. That day, something else distinctly Roman boomed through “The People’s Hall” and out across the town square of modern Australia. </p>
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<p>As if young Cicero had taken up the conductor’s baton, Whitlam’s eulogists rose to his instruction in the ancient and still exigent business of oratory. Their task was to deploy the rhetorical canon of memory to construct a mighty aural memorial.</p>
<p>If we can resist the lure of cynicism and partisanship. If we can allow the decent people in public life, no matter their stripes, a brief warm reprieve from the chilly, unforgiving stage. If we can be thankful that at least the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-booed-as-he-arrives-at-gough-whitlam-memorial-service-20141105-11h6qd.html">boos</a>, cheers and ovations signal an honest, though unfiltered, civic engagement. </p>
<p>If we can give even the “old man” himself a break from the immense weight of acclaim, we open up a space to hear the larger, freer story the Whitlam orators tell of a nation and its people through the memories of one prodigious individual. In Pearson’s words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Raised next to the wood heap of the nation’s democracy, bequeathed no allegiance to any political party, I speak to this old man’s legacy with no partisan brief.</p>
</blockquote>
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<h2>Memoria speaking to the present and future</h2>
<p><em>Memoria</em> in the classical rhetorical treatises was concerned with the revered discipline of impeccable memorisation, and with the locales, images and icons that serve as storehouses and mnemonics to natural human memory. Alas, the said discipline has suffered a great deal over the last couple of thousand years. Yet prompts of people, place, poetry and melody abounded in <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/gough-whitlam/gough-whitlam-memorial-labor-tribe-shows-colours-at-service/story-fnpxuhqd-1227113096955">Wednesday’s proceedings</a>. </p>
<p>Like memory itself, the notion of <em>memoria</em> is supple. Enter the Common Era and a Judaic kind of remembering emerged: one that is not a call to preserve, but to act, in the present, for the future; the essence of deliberative rhetoric. Memory scholar <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Carruthers">Mary Carruthers</a>, Professor of Literature at New York University, writes that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The matters memory presents are used to persuade and motivate, to create emotion, to stir the will. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Beyond the personal and the partisan, the Whitlam orators “drew out” the memories they were charged with. Rather than assign them to an old Australia, static and gleaming behind velvet cordon, they gathered and recollected and re-imagined them for us now. Accounts of past travails resounded in present struggles and aspirations: different names and places; timeless human emotions and desires.</p>
<p>Whitlam’s speeches “gave the Aboriginal people hope”, said Wiradjuri elder, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-05/whitlam-treated-us-as-equals/5867906">Aunty Milly Ingram</a>. </p>
<p>Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who “was but three when he passed by” (alluding to Robert Menzies’ <a href="http://www.menziesvirtualmuseum.org.au/1960s/1963.html#film_b1">1963 homage</a> to the Queen), <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/cate-blanchett-pays-tribute-to-gough-whitlam-full-text-20141105-11hdb1.html">expressed her sadness</a> at the loss of a man whose initiatives ensured that she would be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the product of an Australia that engages with the globe and engages honestly with its history and its Indigenous people. </p>
</blockquote>
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<h2>Timeless truths outlast fad of the new</h2>
<p>Pearson observed that a four-decade-old policy program that promoted equality, indigenous participation and opportunity and advancement for all Australians was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… as fresh as it was when first conceived. It could scarcely be better articulated today. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Senator John Faulkner <a href="http://www.senatorjohnfaulkner.com.au/file.php?file=/news/SFAEDSSSPU/index.html">declared</a> Whitlam’s achievements to be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… undeniable proof of the power of politics wedded to principle; of the capacity of government to change our nation for the better, and forever.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And in concluding <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/gough-whitlam-remembered-by-his-eldest-son-antony-whitlam-qc-20141105-11hegm.html">his eulogy</a>, Whitlam’s eldest child, Federal Court judge Antony Whitlam, QC, gave gentle reassurance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The road ahead may be tortuous and difficult for all Australians, but we need not be divided on partisan lines.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These appeals betray a profound gratitude for Whitlam’s unqualified rage against inequality and discrimination. Pearson again:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Without this old man the land and human rights of our people would never have seen the light of day.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They are also a clarion call to maintain that rage above the political fray. In words that were certainly meant for today, Whitlam’s long-time speechwriter, dear friend and comrade, Graham Freudenberg, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/now-its-time-for-australia-after-gough-whitlam-20141105-11hc68.html">vehemently cautioned</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Optimism, enthusiasm, confidence against fear, prejudice, conformity – that is his enduring message to the men and women of Australia, never more than now.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>Public oratory remains a critical instrument of democratic governance to those who know and can mobilise its power. </p>
<p>Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating — who was present and quoted more than once at Whitlam’s memoriam — has for decades spoken of the need for leaders to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/paul-keating-explains-as-never-before/story-e6frg74x-1226173493029">articulate the nation’s big story</a>. </p>
<p>These stately acts of public remembering can, if we can let go of partisan lines, play a crucial part in accessing public memory, motivating ideas and debate about the nation’s present and future, and reshaping the national story. To quote Whitlam’s watchword:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Contemporary relevance, comrade.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33894/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Chapple receives PhD candidature funding from the Commonwealth Government through a UQ Research Scholarship.</span></em></p>In a playful rhetorical flourish at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday, Indigenous leader Noel Pearson monumentalised Gough Whitlam’s prime ministerial legacy, Monty Python-style: What did the Romans ever…Kate Chapple, Tutor and PhD Researcher, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/318172014-10-03T05:24:30Z2014-10-03T05:24:30ZExplainer: what is oracy and why should every child be taught it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60544/original/zbcgbphq-1412177672.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The eloquent way to get ahead in life. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-123847858/stock-photo-plasticine-speaker-with-bullhorn-speaking-to-a-colorful-crowd-of-plasticine-people.html?src=tfCGnIjiED-caYbWC6avZg-1-3">Public speaking via Camilo Torres/Shutterstock </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/old-boys-club-still-dominates-public-life-according-to-major-new-report-9695229.html">A recent report</a> confirms that the alumni of British “public schools” still control politics and many top professions. One reason those people are so successful in public life is, of course, that their shared history gives them privileged networking connections. But they are also commonly very confident, fluent public speakers. </p>
<p>They were not born that way. Their skills were developed through their school experience of debating societies, discussion groups and engaging in dialogues with their teachers. Although the term might not have been used, their education included oracy – skills in using spoken language – as well as literacy and numeracy. </p>
<p>For the sake of social equality, all schools should teach children the spoken language skills that they need for educational progress, for work and for full participation in democracy. Our research is beginning to show that children who are taught these skills, perform better in maths, science and reasoning tests. </p>
<h2>Politically neglected</h2>
<p>For most of the British population, oracy has never really been a subject in the school curriculum. And with the recent downgrading of “speaking and listening” to “spoken language” in <a href="http://www.risingstars-uk.com/uploads/publications/1243.PDF">the National Primary Curriculum</a> and the removal of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/aug/29/gcse-english-speaking-listening-drop">the oral language assessment</a> from the GCSE English examination, the message seems to be that spoken language skills only need to be mastered by the privileged few.</p>
<p>Yet skills in oracy will be more important for most people once they leave school than, for example, skills in long division, which schools minister <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9390294/Schools-Minister-rote-learning-vital-to-boost-maths-skills.html">Nick Gibb suggested in 2012</a> have been so woefully neglected by teachers in recent years. Although anyone can use their smart phone to calculate, technology companies such as Apple are yet to invent a speech maker and discussion generator. </p>
<p>The government view seems to be that “talk” does not need tuition and that if children are talking they are not learning. This view has little connection with reality. <a href="http://www.theworkfoundation.com/Reports/273/Employability-and-Skills-in-the-UK-Redefining-the-debate">Employers in the UK regularly say</a> that they want to recruit people who are effective public communicators and team workers. But they also complain that job candidates often lack such skills – not surprising if they have not been taught them.</p>
<h2>Pioneering oracy-led curriculum</h2>
<p>Some people learn how to use talk effectively at home and through various out-of-school activities. But many children are rarely encouraged to present their ideas or to take part in a “reasoned discussion”. Some teachers are trying to change this.</p>
<p>We have recently been working with a free school in East London, <a href="http://school21.org/">School 21</a>, which has pioneered an oracy-led curriculum with very positive results. The school received an <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/138196">outstanding Ofsted evaluation</a> in July 2014, and the value of such collaboration between schools and educational researchers was <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmeduc/647/64704.htm">recently noted</a> by a House of Commons select committee. </p>
<p>Through the work of School 21’s teachers, <a href="http://thinkingtogether.educ.cam.ac.uk">our own research</a> and <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108035/chapters/Procedures-for-Classroom-Talk.aspx">that of others</a>, we know there are some very effective ways of teaching oracy. For example, teachers quite often comment that children are not very good at working in groups. Some, like the education bloggers <a href="http://goodbyemisterhunter.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/lies-my-teacher-training-taught-me-3-most-great-learning-happens-in-groups/">Robert Peal</a> and <a href="http://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/group-work/">Andrew Old</a>, even find it so difficult that they suggest group work should be abandoned.</p>
<h2>Set ground rules</h2>
<p>Yet we have found that one reliable way to make group-work more productive is to ask students to agree on a suitable set of “ground rules” for how they will conduct their discussions. Unproductive talk is often the outcome of students (and adults) using the wrong rules: for example implicitly deciding to “keep your best ideas to yourself” rather than “any potentially useful information should be shared and evaluated”. </p>
<p>By using appropriate ground rules groups are more likely to find good, creative solutions to problems. By being taught how to talk and work together in groups, students are also learning the kind of life skills valued by many employers. <a href="http://thinkingtogether.educ.cam.ac.uk/publications">Our research shows</a> that when students learn how to use talk to reason together, they become better at reasoning on their own – as measured by their scores on the <a href="http://www.raventest.net/">Raven’s Progressive Matrices</a> test of reasoning. They also significantly improve their attainment on SATs tasks in maths and science, compared with children in control schools who were not taught oracy skills. </p>
<h2>Oracy toolkit</h2>
<p>If teachers are to help their students develop their talking skills, then they need to be able to monitor that development and provide feedback that will help progress. A grant from the Education Endowment Foundation has enabled us to create a <a href="http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/oracytoolkit/">“teacher-friendly” toolkit </a> for assessing spoken language skills. Our toolkit is based on an Oracy Skills Framework that covers spoken language skills in four areas: physical, linguistic, cognitive and social & emotional.</p>
<p>To develop and trial our toolkit we have been working with School 21 and several other schools. The toolkit consists of three initial tasks that teachers can use at the beginning of Year 7 to get an idea of children’s oracy skills when they arrive at secondary school. </p>
<p>One is a “presentation” task, in which students are asked to prepare a two minute talk for next year’s Year 7s about what life is like at secondary school. Then there is an “instruction” task in which one student has to enable another (who is out of eye-contact) to build a specific model out of Lego. And then a “group discussion” task in which three children have to consider and provide reasoned justifications for their responses to some controversial statements. Three suggested follow-up tasks can be used towards the end of Year 7 to evaluate progress. </p>
<p>During the year, teachers can use our “Assessment for Learning” tasks to monitor children’s development and provide useful feedback. The toolkit will only be useful if more schools begin to teach oracy properly – and that will need more enlightened recognition from those in charge of education policy of the importance of spoken language skills for all our children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Mercer has received funding for the Oracy project work from the Education Endowment Foundation. He has also received research funding from the ESRC and the Nuffield Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ayesha Ahmed has received research funding from the Education Endowment Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Warwick has received funding from the Education Endowment Fund.</span></em></p>A recent report confirms that the alumni of British “public schools” still control politics and many top professions. One reason those people are so successful in public life is, of course, that their…Neil Mercer, Professor of Education, University of CambridgeAyesha Ahmed, Research Associate, Faculty of Education, University of CambridgePaul Warwick, Senior lecturer, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.