Oratory is a powerful weapon that can influence people. It helps to win over others and even evoke the emotions the speaker needs. At its core, oratory is very similar to acting: they are in a kind of symbiosis, borrowing each other's techniques and adapting them.
Any performance in public is akin to a performance in the theater: you must keep the attention of the audience, captivate the audience, convince. That is, both areas, first of all, involve the ability to create a suitable environment for conveying this or that information. To do this, there are some techniques that are actively practiced by both speakers and actors.
1. Pause
It is needed to return attention to the speaker and help the audience concentrate on him. Often this happens when the audience begins to be distracted, so this technique is loved by both theater actors and lecturers and teachers.
It is easier for actors to endure a dramatic pause. It could be part of the game. Speakers, on the other hand, are forced to disguise themselves, for example, pouring water into a glass to drink, or putting on glasses to quote text from a sheet.
2. Appeal to a specific person or group
This technique helps to cope with anxiety. Many people have a fear of public speaking, but it dulls with experience.
The attention of the speaker can be dispersed due to the huge number of listeners. The easiest way out in this case is to find a familiar face or concentrate on the audience sitting in the front rows, telling a story to them or addressing them.
3. Ways of communication: verbal and non-verbal
On a subconscious level, people perceive body language in one way or another, and therefore their actions on stage must be clearly controlled. It is easier for actors in this matter, since they have a script and a huge number of rehearsals behind them, and the likelihood of force majeure during the game is lower than during public speaking or debates.
It is more difficult for speakers, despite the fact that they usually rehearse speech. Despite this, unforeseen reactions and aggressive behavior of the public are possible.
4. Contrast
A long speech can tire the audience. To avoid this, you need to manipulate the attention of the public. Contrasts will include a change in the tempo of speech, the amplitude of the voice, the brightness of the emotions shown. That is, everything that will save you from monotony.
These techniques will help keep the viewer's attention and keep them on their toes, as sharp turns usually throw them off balance. Thus, a long monologue will fly by for the listener as one moment.
5. The 15 second rule
You need to be able to interest a person in 15-20 seconds, otherwise he will start to get distracted. Any speaker in the first seconds on the stage has the maximum number of listeners, because he just appeared before the audience, and she wonders what he is like.
If there is no interest in the speaker, then they will look for him (interest) elsewhere: in a conversation with a neighbor, in social networks, etc.
On stage, this technique is problematic to implement, because the play is written, and you need to follow the story, so you have to impress the audience with talent. However, in public speaking and advertising, this rule works much better.
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