Scholarship of the German Business Foundation: Rhetoric Seminar
London, 17-19/01/2014
I hold a scholarship by a German business foundation ‘sdw’. As part of their UK-based group, I participate in a number of weekend-vents every year; he topics of which can range from politics or economics to science or socio-ethical issues.
This time, the seminar was about rhetoric, the art of presenting in public. Obviously, as an osteopath how you talk and how you structure and present your information has a huge impact on your patient. Also now as a student I have to present information in exam situations, in June I will be defending my Master thesis and afterwards I will essentially have to advertise myself in public, both to potential employers or patients. Whatever aspect of life, the art of effectively conveying a message is crucial. As most of us are aware, a lot of information is actually transmitted nonverbally. And when it comes to what people get from your talk, the actual content only matters for about 20%. The rest is how you say it and what you express by body language. The seminar lasted from Friday to Sunday and was held in an LSE-building in Aldwych. It consisted of a few talks on subjects such as the history of rhetoric or corporate communication. On Saturday, we spent the day with a rhetoric coach from Germany, who introduced us to a few principles and tricks. At the end of the day we had a nice set of tools, of which I think I will be able to employ quite a few. In a workshop we also prepared a talk and some of us presented to the group. The talk was meant to be on some aspect of your studies, which you feel passionate about – not a problem for me and osteopathy. The presentation was video-taped and constructively analysed. When no one volunteered, I thought – oh well, what are you here for if not to learn something – and stepped forward. The result can be seen in the video below and I really appreciated the feedback. There were a few comments on gestures, moving about on the stage, mumbling, etc., but overall the talk was perceived very positively. With respect to my development as an osteopath, this professional training should help me to act more self-securely. I hope I will be able to use some of the structuring of speeches for my interaction with patients and tutors. Also, there are a few tricks and concepts, which I will try to incorporate. Often, I found, it is a matter of not being on the same page as the person listening to you – a poorly analysed audience, basically. With that in mind, any form of conversation can be adapted to meet its objective. |
A video of me trying to put the workshop information into practice. See if you can spot some rhetorical tools, follow the general structure and detect some mimics or gestures that could be deliberate. Or just look at what I'm doing with my feet...
There's always scope for improvement, and using video analysis is awkward at first, but it does indeed point out things you'd never took notice of before. |