Brat McCay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.

Despite the fact that public speaking remains an important, relevant skill in our modern

age, I mean you never know when you need to give a toast at a wedding, pitch an idea at

work, or champion a proposal at a city council meeting, most of us get very little instruction

these days and how to do it effectively.

Fortunately, my guest says we can look at the great orators of the past to get the public

speaking education we never received.

His name is John Hale, he's a professor of archaeology, as well as the lecture of the

Great Courses course, The Art of Public Speaking, Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History.

Today on the show, John shares what we can learn about the physicality of public speaking

from the monstinies of Athens, the importance of empathetic body language for Patrick

Henry, the effective use of humor from Will Rogers, the power of three from the Apostle Paul,

and the potency of brevity and well-execute organization from Abraham Lincoln.

After the show's over, check out our show notes at a-wim.is slash public speak.

John Hale, welcome to the show.

Thank you, I am very glad to be here with you.

So you are a professor of archaeology, but you're also the lecture of a great courses course

on the Art of Public Speaking, where do you trace your interest in public speaking to?

My grandmother, she lived within walking distance of the house where I grew up with my seven

brothers and sisters, and my father was her son, and to get to know us, she, her name

was Lydia, and she established things called Liddy Nights.

Every Friday was a Liddy night for one of the seven of us.

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