Monday Morning, January 7, 2008
Many would say that oratory is a lost art. The humanities have taken a beating the last thirty or forty years. Colleges and universities were conquered long ago by utilitarians who view higher education as a means to an economic end. The disciplines that thrive are those that prepare their students for high paying jobs and assurance of upward mobility.
Try telling your parents’ friends that you are a history major. “Well, what are you going to do with that?” will be the inevitable question. Or an English major. Or a philosophy major. Or worse yet, a theology major. Liberal Arts, once considered to be the primary purpose of higher education, are marginalized by a consumer oriented culture, to our detriment. But once in awhile there is a break-out, high profile performance that reaffirms the value of the core, too often forgotten, disciplines.
This week, we had a shining example of the power of oratory.
Not that the Liberal Arts department necessarily produces orators. Fine oratory is a combination of many disciplines. It can be compared to the skills of a concert pianist, for example. Music can inspire, transport us to new heights of awareness, express our deepest longings and hopes and fears, can capture our imagination and stir up powerful motivations and determinations. The musician who can take us there is years in the making. The pianist, in our example, spends countless hours on technique; overcomes all the temptations to move on to something else in life; connects with a series of teacher/mentors who guide, cajole, prod, kindle and infuse belief; finds joy and wonder in every new level of achievement. Then, for a distinct few, finely tuned technique combines with a depth of spirit, and the music soars, and us along with it.
Public speaking (oratory) can have a similar effect. But these days, it seems as rare as a piano concert. Sure, many folks will take to the microphone a deliver a speech. But not many. It’s well known that most of us would rather submit to a root canal without pain killer than stand up before a group and attempt intelligible utterance. So the simple attempt, as wobbly and aimless as it comes off, wins praise. Those offering it are simply relieved that someone else is doing it.
It can be argued that the most influential leaders are skilled orators. For good or ill, they capture something of the major themes, the high aspirations, the deepest yearnings, the eminent hopes, the lofty dreams. Their speech becomes the embodiment of those hopes. And masses are moved to action.
I have wondered why more people don’t think about these things. The technology for the delivery of the spoken word has never been more pervasive. But what content is poured into this massive delivery system?
I’ve grieved over the ineffectiveness of some of my favorite leaders to stand and deliver. Some of the problem, it seems, is that those who have the greatest opportunity to speak spend the least amount of time honing the skills. It’s like a concert pianist who skips practice to watch movies. Who suffers in the end?
And once in awhile, we witness a performance that reminds us of the amazing power of oratory. Obama’s speech1 after his remarkable win in Iowa may well be the tipping point in the race to the White House.
Other candidates seem to settle for stream of consciousness banter; peppered with slogans and sound bites conjured up in the conference room. Speeches become a recitation of bullet points and policy positions.
Where would Winston Churchill’s name appear in the history books without his towering oratory? Would FDR be remembered at all if not for his powerful voice? Ronald Reagan is now venerated as the Great Communicator. Why? The man could deliver a speech. (It didn’t hurt him to have Peggy Noonan writing his lines.)
The most memorable moment for our current President was when he stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center with a hand held megaphone.
Joe Klein2 compared Obama to another orator when he contemplated Obama’s opening line in the aftermath of his Iowa victory - “They said this day would never come.”
Klein wrote, “I suspect he was thinking bigger, back to Martin Luther King – and King’s dream that someday his children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
* * * * * * *
It’s Monday morning. You are a leader. You are caught up, as I am, in the race to the most powerful office in the land.
I’m not endorsing Obama’s politics. There are issues of disagreement on several levels. But I am moved by his ability to deliver a moving speech; one that may actually have historic consequence. And I’m left to wonder if, perhaps, this tidal wave of support coming from all corners is the result of his ability to articulate a powerful message as he recaptures what for most of his fellow candidates continues to be a lost art.
I heard two such speeches on Sunday morning. Actually, they were sermons. Both speakers brought the preparation and skill set of a concert pianist to the task. And both impacted a significant group of people.
You and I have opportunities to speak. We are leaders, after all. Let’s not be casual about the high potential of those opportunities.
There’s a world out there, hungry for something more.
Copyright Kenneth E Kemp, 2008
1 LeaderFOCUS, July 26, 2004 (My musings on Obama’s speech at the Democratic convention)2 TIME Magazine, January 4, 2008
Thanks from this old Wheaton College graduate whose major was . . . Greek!! Not exactly what the marketplace is looking for today. And then again my other language studies over the years included Latin, Hebrew, Ugaritic, and Babylonian Akkadian. Forty years of preaching and teaching allowed for some dazzling and impressive (I think) illustrations from the original text. I can only hope and pray, however, that there was found in those various presentations some measure of what Paul wrote about in I Cor. 2:1-5 so that people’s “faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in power of God!”
Blessings on you – Bud
Exactly. In Sunday’s debate Hillary told Obama that actions matter, not words (the book of James would agree). Obama’a response was surprising … and brilliant. Words do matter. They inspire. They can set a fire that no one can quench. (The book of James would also confirm this). turns out, words do matter.
In case a disclaimer is necessary, I am not in sympathy with either candidate.
It’s a funny thing about those college humanities courses and their relevance to upward mobility. While it’s true that employers do ask universities to produce graduates with better public speaking skills, universities are really near the end of the line on the official education railway. If the freight isn’t on board by the time the train pulls into college, well….
One of the classes I teach is Intro to Humanities at CSU San Marcos. Last semester, I asked a room of 90 college students how many had fulfilled the high school Language Arts standard to “Recite poems, selections from speeches, or dramatic soliloquies,” and only twelve hands went up (one of the twelve was educated in South Africa).
Q: So if educational standards require an oratorical performance, why aren’t all high school students doing it?
A: Because the financial incentives for public schools are based on standardized test scores that do not test public speaking.
Every year I visit dozens of K-12 classrooms in public and private schools. I recently worked with a wonderful high school English teacher who was asked to discontinue a standards-based English curriculum that used the spoken word as one of main concepts. Instead, she was directed to adhere to “pacing guides” that prepared students to take their proficiency test. Of course, guide did not allow for projects not covered on the test.
Just because standardized testing is an aspect of No Child Left Behine (NCLB), don’t blame it all on President Bush. It is interesting to note that one of the first projects of Dana Gioia–President Bush’s nominee to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and a past v.p. of General Mills–was to create a national poetry performance contest for high school students (http://www.poetryoutloud.org/). To administer the workshops, the NEA partnered with The Poetry Foundation and local arts organizations. The program is relatively new (4 years old), but as one of the arts specialists in the program in California and Arizona, I have heard many language arts teachers say they want to participate in Poetry Out Loud but decline to prepare for standardized tests. Maybe I’ll see their students later at CSU, although I too was hoping for sooner rather than later.
We have so many leaders. Even within one administration, we have competing educational strategies. Which one do we focus on? Although testing accounts for multi-million-dollar contracts with the government, communication skills will ultimately receive the most consideration during our lives. The need to take standardized tests–driver’s license aside–diminishes significantly after college graduation.
With the limiited benefits of standardized testing becoming apparent, leaders are asking how we can better prepare students for life. Poetry Out Loud is one way.
NOTE – Prof. Brandon Cesmat teaches at Cal State San Marcos – a good friend and true renaissance man. He teaches poetry and cinema; and writes beautiful poetry as well. Thanks for the insights into your world, Brandon.
Suppose I’m feeling the urge to weigh in on this philosophical exchange. As an Arts & Sciences graduate (BA – English) I have never felt underserved by the degree. True I yielded the typical questions that Ken discussed – “But what do you plan to do with it?” the skeptics posited. No matter. I felt then (as I do today, incidentally) that regardless of our chosen profession an ability to convey ideas coherently in any medium is essential for life’s myriad endeavors. While my career began in real estate finance my premonition was reinforced when I was required (consistently) to produce legibly written and highly persuasive financial documents.
By the way I now teach high school English (seniors) and feel quite strongly about my students’ verbal acuity. For that reason I place a high premium on class dialogue and presentations. My students understand that to keep quiet is dangerous because I expect them to open their mouths. Elaborate! I tell them. Be specific. Dispense with the generalities. Consider the alternatives. Defend your answer! Justify your position! It’s not unheard of to see students reciting madman Macbeth’s soliloquies while concurrently paraphrasing his psychotic rants.
While I do agree with the preceding professor’s woeful assessment of college oratory skills en masse, the problem appears complex. Especially in California where ESL students represent an increasingly larger proportion of the student population. A good place to start would be to provide a solid foundation in the skills of rhetoric. Plato and Aristotle should be required reading. If only……….
Greetings and kudos to the orators! I, too, was an English major with a minor in Hisotry, and I am two classes away from a Theology degree. My mother thinks I am crazy and will come to my senses any day now. Working in the business world, I recognize the other English majors. They are the ones who can spell, punctuate, and speak intelligently about something other than sports (sorry guys) or banking. They are the ones with passion and heart. There is no such thing as a useless education, but education can be misused by the rutheless. These are the people who pursue money instead of God. They will die lonely. The rest of us will talk our way to heaven! Blessings to all…Pam
To respond to Clint’s observation that ESL students make teaching oratory complex in California, let me say that while that is true, of all the English classes that participated in Poetry Out Loud with me in 2007, the greatest buy-in came from an ESL classroom.
In Poetry Out Loud, students select an English language poem from the website and practice it so they can recite it to their peers. In Irene Cullen’s class at Valley Center High, every student stood before the class and said a poem. Students were speaking, listening and learning.
One of my favorite moments came when a student who had memorized Kenneth Rexroth’s “Descrimination” asked why it was titled that. What a wonderful opportunity to teach irony.
As for reading Plato and Aristotle, I don’t see how this would help ESL students although it would help future orators frame their arguments (What would Plato have made of Hillary Clinton’s misty New Hampshire eyes? Does “The Republic” have no room for tears?).
But get back to Ken’s original topic on the need for oratory, Obama, it seems, represents the kind of politician we have not seen in awhile. Bad oratory has damaged the careers–if not the causes–of Joe Biden, John Kerry, George W. Bush and Howard Dean. Here are men who have difficulty matching their words to their thoughts and actions. Obama, on the other hand, has done well. For example, Obama expressed unpopular opinions on three national security issues: WMD in Iraq, the pursuit of Osama bin Laden into Pakistan, and Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. On all three occasions, Obama’s opponents gained popularity with little consequence when facts came to light proving them wrong.
I’ve heard it said that a good leader figures out where people are headed and gets in front of them to shout “onward.” Obama has not done so. For example, in a time of polarizing politics, listen to what Obama said about potential rival for president Sam Brownback: “One of those passionate individuals is the man we just heard from – my friend and colleague, Sam Brownback. Now, Sam and I may not agree on every issue, but I could not be more impressed with his efforts on issues like AIDS, the crisis in the Congo, the genocide in Darfur and sexual trafficking – issues that touch some of the world’s most vulnerable people. I am proud to work with him on many of these issues, and I’m proud to be by his side today. ” Obama spoke these words at Saddleback Church, a place where many on both sides of the political spectrum did not want him to speak.
I was struck by the recent news images from New Hampshire of Obama appealing to the anti-abortion advocates that temporaily shut down his rally. Seems they wanted him to stop orating, which will probably make us listen more carefully to what he says.
[...] victory in the first of the national contests – the Iowa Caucus. My lines churned up some fascinating comments… particularly from those who participate in the world of education where the arts must compete in an [...]