{69} IX
Oral Arguments
Sometimes you will find yourself arguing out loud: debating in front of a class; arguing for a bigger share of the student government budget or speaking for your neighborhood at City Council; invited to make a presentation on a subject of your interest or expertise by a group that is interested. Sometimes your audience will be friendly, sometimes they will be neutral but willing to listen, and sometimes they will really need to be won over. At all times, you’ll want to present good arguments effectively.
All of the rules in the earlier chapters of this book apply to oral arguments as well as argumentative essays. Here are a few further rules for oral arguments in particular.
In making an oral argument you are quite literally asking for a hearing. You want to be heard: to be listened to with respect and at least some degree of open-mindedness. But your hearers may or may not start out respectful or open-minded, and may not even bring a genuine interest in your topic. You need to reach out to them to create the kind of hearing you want to have.
One way to reach out is through your own enthusiasm. Bring some of your own interest and energy for the topic into your talk early on. It personalizes you and notches up the energy in the room.
I appreciate the chance to speak to you today. In this talk, I want to put forward a new idea on the subject of student exchange programs. It’s a proposal I find exciting and inspiring, and I’m hoping that, by the end, you will too.
{70} Notice also that this way of talking itself displays the inviting attitude toward your hearers that you’d like them to take toward you. You may not get it back from them, even so—but you certainly won’t get it from them if you don’t bring it to them in the first place. Arguing face to face can be a powerful thing, and done deftly and persistently, it can reinforce and build respect itself, even across major differences.
Never give an audience the feeling that you are talking down to them. They may know less than you do about the subject, but they can certainly learn, and it is pretty likely that you have some learning to do too. You’re not there to rescue them from their ignorance, but rather to share some new information or ideas that you hope they’ll find as intriguing and suggestive as you do. Again, approach your audience from enthusiasm, not some sort of superiority.
Respect your audience, then, and also respect yourself. You are there because you have something to offer, and they are there either because they want to hear it or because it is required by their jobs or studies. You do not need to apologize for taking their time. Just thank them for listening, and use the time well.
A public talk or speech is a face-to-face occasion. It is not simply a public version of what we do privately when we read. After all, if people just wanted your words, reading would be much more efficient. They are there partly for your presence.
So, be present! For starters, look at your audience. Take the time to connect. Meet people’s eyes and hold them. People who get nervous speaking to groups are sometimes advised to talk to one person in the group, as if one to one. Do so, if you need to, but then go a step further: talk to your whole audience one to one, one person at a time.
Speak with expression. Do not read your pre-prepared words as if it were a chore. Remember, you’re talking to people here! Imagine that you are having an animated conversation with a friend (OK, maybe a little one-sided …). Now speak to your audience in the same spirit.
{71} Writers seldom get to see their readers. When you speak in public, though, your hearers are right there in front of you, and you have constant feedback from them. Use it. Do people meet your eyes with interest? What is the feeling in the audience as a whole? Are people leaning forward to hear better … or not? If not, can you pick up the energy? Even if you have a presentation to get through, you can still adjust your style, or stop to explain or review a key point if necessary. When you are not sure of your audience, plan in advance to be able to adjust to different responses. Have an extra story or illustration ready to go, just in case.
By the way, you are not glued to the floor behind the podium (should you have one). You can walk around or at least come out from behind the lectern. Depending on your own comfort level and the occasion, you can establish a much more engaged feeling in the room by visibly engaging with your audience yourself.
Readers can take in an argument selectively. They can stop and think, double back, or choose to drop it entirely and move on to something else. Your listeners can’t do any of these things. You set the pace for everyone.
So be considerate. On the whole, oral arguments need to offer more signposting and repetition than written arguments. At the beginning, you may need to summarize the argument more fully, and then you need to refer more regularly back to the summary, or what Rule 36 called the “roadmap.” For your summary, use labels like “Here is my basic argument.” For your premises, as the argument turns, say something like, “We come now to the second [third, fourth, etc.] basic premise of my argument….” Summarize again at the end. Pause to mark important transitions and to give people time to think.
In my college debate training I was taught to literally repeat my key claims word for word—that’s right, to literally repeat my key claims word for word—mainly because other people were writing them down. Sometimes I still do this as a teacher: it shows that you {72} know that people are listening hard and that they may want or need the key points signposted. In other settings, this might seem odd. Even if you don’t repeat the key points word for word, at least mark them out in some way, and make it clear that—and why—you are doing so.
Be especially alert to your audience at important transitions. Look around and make sure that most of your hearers are ready to move with you. You’ll communicate better and show your audience that you actually care that they take in and understand what you are saying.
Some visuals may help your presentation. Maybe your argument is complex enough that just seeing it written out can help your hearers. So hand out an outline. If you are presenting it in parts, slides can highlight the various parts as you move to them—an effective way to signpost. Or your argument may depend on certain kinds of data or other information that a few slides can illustrate. Maybe a short video can illustrate a key point or bring other compelling voices briefly into your case.
But go light on these visuals. Don’t just turn yourself into a slide-reader: your audience can do that better, and certainly faster, than you can. Meanwhile the bells and whistles in many visual presentation programs turn into major distractions in their own rights. And PowerPoint, the old standard, at this point is (let’s face it) pretty boring. Critics have also pointed out that cramming ideas into slide formats tends to oversimplify. The text on slides typically is very clipped; charts and graphs can display little detail. And the inevitable technical glitches during presentations lead to distractions and sometimes total disaster.
To “hew” means to cut something back and shape it to fit. Rule 43 uses the term quite deliberately. Remember: your argument is the key thing. Cut and shape your use of visuals accordingly. Consider also whether your argument would be better developed, or your audience {73} better engaged with it, in some quite different way. Ask for a show of hands on some subject, perhaps, or solicit some structured audience participation. Read briefly from a book or article. Put up a short video clip or some graphs or data, if needed, but then turn the screen off to continue talking.
For the display of information, consider paper handouts. You can include far more—complex words and pictures; graphs, data, references, links—including much that can be left for people to read before or after the presentation if they choose. Distribute your handouts in advance, or only when you are ready to use them, or for reference at the end—and encourage people to take them when they go.
First of all, end on time. Find out how long you are supposed to speak and don’t go over. You know from your own experiences as a listener that nothing irritates an audience more than a speaker who goes on too long.
But don’t just peter out. You don’t want to conclude by simply turning out the lights.
NO:
Well, I guess that’s about all the time I have. Why don’t I stop and we can chat a bit if any of these ideas have interested you?
Come to a rousing end. End on a high note—with flair or a flourish.
YES:
In this talk I have tried to suggest that real happiness is attainable after all, and by everyone; that it takes no special luck or wealth; indeed, that its preconditions lie within easy reach, all around us. I thank you for your attention, my friends, and naturally wish you all the greatest happiness yourselves!