Part four of our unit explores where we see Cicero’s rhetorical techniques in political speech today. In the article below, Daniel Kapust (2011) makes the argument that “the desire to observe decorum provides the orator and his audience with standards of judgment that transcend mere taste and reflect underlying moral knowledge.”  Cicero was well known for his use of decorum in his speeches including the Catilinarian orations. President Obama has been similarly compared to Cicero in his use of effective oratory through the use of decorum, and, most notably in this 2009 Notre Dame Commencement address.  Joy Connolly writes “Speeches like this one model the stylish self-restraint that Cicero called decorum. Obama's careful choice of words, his insistent, rhythmic cadence, his habit of drawing attention to "grey areas" and irreconcilables, his self-possession and flashes of irony all hint at critical self-directedness, capacity for self-government, willingness to conform to moral norms, tolerance for dissent, and fortitude to act.” Part of using decorum effectively is to pay attention to the types of appeals that will work best with any given audience. Cicero, like his predecessor Aristotle, was aware of three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos.

Listening for Leadership