Qatar Social and Cultural Centre for the Blind held a lecture on “Rhetoric Skills”, presented by Mr. Ahmed Al-Maliki, trainer in rhetoric and media skills. The lecture was broadcast via Zoom, targeting those members of the Centre for the Blind and Visually impaired interested in the field of media and rhetoric. During the lecture, several topics were discussed. These include the importance of the skills of rhetoric in life, rhetoric voice skills, and how to choose and present an idea before others. The lecture also included a development plan to master and be distinguished in the art of rhetoric.
At the beginning, the lecturer explained the concept of rhetoric as verbally conveying ideas to recipients to influence them. It depends on the factors of speech, voice and body movements. He pointed out that there are 4 methods to acquire the skill of effective and influential rhetoric. This includes formation of the idea, content or whatever is presented, and then the method by which the idea is conveyed based on the voice and its strength, excellence and clarity, taking into account articulation of sounds, strong performance through interaction with the audience, and manner of presentation.
Several interactive activities were included in the lecture. The trainer worked through these activities on eliminating all the factors that would prevent the speaker from communicating his message smoothly and clearly. This includes getting rid of fear, learning how to gain self-confidence as well as activating the role of body language, which is as important as speech. Finally, a number of attendees attempted to give a speech about a specific topic to the audience, taking into account all the factors highlighted during the lecture.