Delivery, Delivery, Delivery

A few days ago, Professor Tom Devine described George Galloway’s statements about Scottish independence as ‘talking rhetoric’. But in last night’s debate on independence between Alistair Darling (for Better Together) and the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, it wasn’t just talk but the way they talked that really won (or lost) the day. From the …

Laugh like a Roman

Mary Beard’s wonderful new book, Laughter in Ancient Rome, takes the reader through laughter theory (not as funny as it sounds) to case studies of jokes and laughter in the ancient world. It is a great book that I carried round with me for a week or two including the odd National Trust garden, and …

Rhetorical gladiators.

Working on the Small Change Big Games project has made me very aware of references to Roman games, wherever they might appear. I hadn’t expected to find a reference in the Rhetorica ad Herennium (‘Rhetoric for Herennius’), though, as it is a work that gives advice about public speaking. Still, I was wrong! The anonymous …

Build your own mind palace: advice from ancient Rome.

If watching Sherlock made you want your own mind palace, here are some tips from the first surviving guide to remembering. Funny really, that no one knows who invented the theory of memory – perhaps that first go wasn’t good enough, no one can remember. We do know, though, that the first surviving description of …

How to be your own lawyer

As legal aid is being cut, people are considering representing themselves in court – a pretty daunting idea for even the most confident after dinner speaker. A text from ancient Rome might have some useful advice to help you to speak like a lawyer.The ‘Rhetoric for Herennius’ (Rhetorica ad Herennium) is a textbook written over …