Toastmasters, Aristotle, and the Essential Art of Rhetoric

When John Bowe learned that his extremely reclusive cousin, who had lived for decades in his parents' basement, had moved out and gotten married at the age of fifty-nine, John was extremely surprised. What made him equally surprised was how his cousin had finally launched his life. It hadn't been meds or therapy. Instead, he had joined his local Toastmasters club.

Duly intrigued, John set off on his own Toastmasters journey, as he details in his book I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in an Age of Disconnection. Today on the show, John shares how he discovered that the ethos of this nonprofit organization parallels the tradition of rhetoric espoused by the ancient Greeks, especially by Aristotle, and why the ability to speak, whether in the context of giving a formal speech or simply having a conversation, continues to be such an essential skill in the modern age. In my favorite part of the show, we discuss how our ideas of authentic speech can actually get in the way of expressing our authentic selves. We then turn to the techniques for better speaking that John learned from joining Toastmasters and how Toastmasters ultimately transformed his own life.

After the show is over, check out the show notes at aom.is/toastmasters

Resources Related to the Podcast

• Toastmasters International
• AoM Podcast #698: The Secrets of Public Speaking From History’s Greatest Orators
• AoM Article: An Introduction to Public Speaking
• AoM Podcast #639: Why You Should Learn the Lost Art of Rhetoric
• AoM series on classical rhetoric
• Rhetoric by Aristotle
• The Fall of Public Man by Richard Sennett
• AoM series on overcoming shyness
• AoM Article: How to Minimize Your Uh’s and Um’s
• Sunday Firesides: Want to Solve Your Social Problems? Get Over Your Self
• "How to Speak in Public" — article in Psyche magazine by John

Connect With John Bowe

• John's website