Post #3

I would have to say that I disagree with the Greeks that in order to be an orator, the individual had to be morally good. An orator is simply one who delivers a speech. I can say from experience that I have listened to many immoral individuals get up in front of people and make a speech.
One example that comes to my mind is politics. How many corrupt politicians are out there? A lot right? These same corrupt politicians are constantly in the lime light promoting some cause or another. Does this mean just because these people make speeches that means they are good? No, I don't think it does.
Another example is the law. There are many persuasive and talented lawyers who can spin a case in court whatever way the wish to. A lawyer's job is to defend their client. A just lawyer would not lie in order to win a case, but does that mean that lawyers have never lied before a jury to get their client off the hook? Of coarse lawyers have lied in order to win.
I am not saying that I don't believe there are honest people in the world. The connection I see when I look at public speaking, goodness and truth is on a case by case basis. There are many people who stand on a platform saying things they shouldn't be saying. There are also many people who believe in integrity and honesty and these are the people worth listening too.
One example of goodness linked to communication is my high school youth pastor. Will is his name and he is a man of his word. He puts God first and as a reflection from that he is honest and just. When someone doesn't have to lie about who they are and what they stand for then I think we can see goodness in public speaking.

blog #2

There were many things that stood out in chapter one as interesting. What I particularly enjoyed were the different approaches to communication. There are four different approaches and each deal with communication in a different way. The four approaches are: classical, psychological/epistemological, belletristic, and elocutionary. Classical mainly deals with classical rhetoricians and adapting them to a modern time. (Trenholm, 10). Psychological is looking at communication in a scientific way and the one that I was most interested in was the belletristic approach.

The belletristic approach is all about looking at the arts, and drama, and poetry and developing criteria to judge it. The reason this concept is so appealing to me is because I am an actress. One of my roles as a performer is to go and see other performances and to write a critique on what I saw. In a way I have been using the belletristic approach to communication most of my adult life, I just wasn't aware of it. Learning how communication fits into my life personally is very interesting. 

post # 2

Mark Moore

The first name that comes to my mind as an outstanding public speaker is Mark Moore. Mark is a pastor and professor at Ozark Christian College. I had the honor of hearing him speak several summers in a row, while I was attending a Christ in Youth Conference. 

Mark spoke using a mixture of all three of Aristotle's elements: ethos, pathos, and logos. He mostly focused on pathos which is the ability to arouse emotion. Many people loved listening to him speak because he was so passionate about what he was talking about. Also he a was extremely honest. Mark's purpose of speaking at the CIY conference was to share the love of Jesus Christ with teenagers, and to show them that they had the choice of  living a life with a greater purpose. The greater purpose he was talking about was to live your life for God and not for yourself. 

He was very persuasive because he had great style and delivery. I would categorize his style as being a mixture of middle style and vigorous style.  He knew so much about God and was able to make philosophical distinctions as well as evoke emotion. 

If I were to categorize myself as a public speaker, I would say I definitely use ethos and pathos in my delivery. I am most persuasive when I share things that matter to me, such as my faith. I try not to be pushy or arrogant, rather I want to be open and compassionate. Words explain a lot, but a listening ear says more when trying to persuade or convince someone that what you are saying is truth.