With this entry, we come to the first thing that comes to mind for most of us when hear the word “rhetoric”: public speaking. Though I’ve stressed throughout that “rhetoric” includes any kind of persuasive communication, it was first and has longest been practiced in this form. Public speaking also acts as a microcosm of the Renaissance Man approach: it is multi-faceted, requires diligent practice, and becomes a deeply personal and individualized endeavor the more you pursue it. With that said, let’s jump in. The Main Hurdle: Fear Many folks struggle with public speaking. They find it hard and unpleasant and don’t know how to do better. It turns out…
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This site is called Rhetoric for the Renaissance Man, so in letting you know what we’ll be doing here, I thought it might help to start with what I mean by that title, then explain a bit about who this site might appeal to (and might not), who I am and what has driven me to put this together, and lastly, a brief overview of the kinds of things we’ll dive into as we go. Who Is the Renaissance Man? The Renaissance Man is both a figure of history, describing multi-talented figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, Giordano Bruno, John Dee, and others, but also an aspirational, iconic figure of today.…