Public Speaking

Public speaking is an exciting experience for a speaker who knows the essentials of a good public speech and has mastery of what he wants to present. Any good public speaker needs to research on what he wishes to present. The ideas have to be arranged in a logical sequence. Furthermore, good moral character and use of correct style in the presentation is mandatory.

           In his speech, Museum of Four in the Morning, Rives shows some elements of a good public speaker. To begin with, he knows the topic he is presenting, and he presents the facts in a logical order. He begins his speech by mentioning a man who died on December 10, 1896, and then mentions his wife who received a Nobel Prize in 1996. His video presentations have also been arranged in a logical manner. This enables his audience to absorb the messages without any mental strain.

       Rives addresses the audience using a correct tone. His style of presenting the message on the topic is also fantastic (Wisse, 1989). In his book, Ethos and Pathos, he argued that a speaker who employs Ethos in his speech would be able to convince his audience on the topic he is presenting. His argument was seconded by Aristotle, who said that the perception of the speaker by the audience entirely depends on what he says. Rives’ style of message presentation is varied ranging from the use of video, music and gestures.

       He also uses the element of life experience in his speech. This is the use of pathos. He uses a video of Ron Jeremy, who says: "I was born in Flushing, Queens on March 12, 1953, at four o'clock in the morning." This evokes the audience and makes them want to listen more. It is also evident that Rives is interesting to listen to, has a good sense of humor, as noticed from the frequent laughter. To add on this is the comfortable manner he delivers his speech. This gives the audience confidence in him.