General Arenas of Public Speaking
General Arenas of Public Speaking
The rich history and culture of public speaking in the US has developed in three general arenas: 1) politics, 2) advocacy, and 3) specialty areas such as business, history, communication, etc. As you have seen, public speaking and politics have been intricately entwined as far back as Ancient Greece. Politics, generally understood as the authoritative allocation of scarce resources and values, has yielded some of our greatest speakers. Some of our most eloquent politicians have been: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Barbara Jordan, John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. In the area of advocacy, speakers actively endorse a cause, policy or idea to bolster additional support from others. Some of our most powerful and moving advocates have been: Sojourner Truth, Margaret Stanton, Martin Luther King Jr., Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, Gloria Steinem, Cesar Chavez, Elie Wiesel, and even Bono. Practically any specialty area or academic field is full of individuals that speak at conferences, public lectures, and awards ceremonies. A few people who fall within this category are: Bill Gates, John Stewart, bell hooks, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, and Umberto Eco.
