Program Principles
The retreat’s instructional programming has three key principles: theory, practice, and place.
–Theory component: we will meet in a well-furnished seminar room to introduce key concepts through (brief) lectures and discussion. Analysis of excellent examples will be a prominent theme. Participants will be provided with a modest ( < 10hrs) amount of preparatory reading and audio content beforehand.
–Practice component: every participant will have multiple opportunities to apply the examples and concepts by speaking in front of his colleagues.
–Place component: Persuasion always happens in a physical setting, which can often determine success or failure. We will travel through key sites in Rome and discuss important historical acts of persuasion which occurred in each place, and how the setting affected the outcome. These will add up to a journey through the key moments of Roman History.
AGENDA
Day Zero:
Arrival: Sunday, July 16
Day One, Monday, July 17:
6 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Basic Concepts of Rhetoric and their Modern equivalents
Historical Theme: The Fall of the Roman Monarchy & the Establishment of the Republic.
Rhetoric in Place: Capitoline Hill & Museums.
Key Figures: Tarquinius Superbus, Collatinus, Lucretia, Brutus.
Day Two, Tuesday, July 18:
6 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Training and Performing (Memoria, Actio)
Historical Theme: The Decline of the Republic.
Rhetoric in Place: Roman Forum.
Key Figures: Marius, Sulla, Cicero, Catiline.
Day Three, Wednesday, July 19:
3 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Generating Persuasive Content (Inventio)
Physical Challenge Excursion – Lake Nemi
Day Four, Thursday, July 20:
6 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Flow, Pace, Structure (Dispositio)
Historical Theme: The Fall of the Republic.
Rhetoric in Place: Circus Maximus, Forum of Caesar, Curia Pompeiana
Key Figures: Caesar, Pompey, Brutus.
Day Five, Friday, July 21:
6 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Choosing the Right Words (Elocutio)
Historical Theme: Republic into Empire.
Rhetoric in Place: Forum of Augustus, Res Gestae, Ara Pacis, Pantheon
People: Marc Antony, Augustus
Day Six, Saturday, July 22:
3 Hours of Instruction and Training
Seminar Focus: Presentation of Participants’ Speeches.
Day Seven, Sunday, July 23:
Depart.
FAQ
Where are we staying?
We will be staying in guest rooms in the famous Capuchin monastery, known for its crypt. It is on the Pincian hill, 5 minute’s walk from the Borghese gardens. The location was just outside the Republican city walls.
What is the content going to be like?
What we have found to work best is to learn the theory by focusing on real examples of speeches and writings from history, from great individuals. This is a method of speakers and writers Frederick Douglass, Hunter S. Thompson, Cicero, and most others who are any good. Real examples allow you to critique, emulate, modify, redeploy, etc. But this work is made much more effective if supplemented by and organized according to a study of rhetorical theory. Our method incorporates both real examples and theory.
Our goal is to give you not just a week’s worth of intensive content, but a set of habits and practices that you can incorporate into a routine, to refine and build over years of practice.
Does classical rhetoric still apply today?
What Bernard Arnault said about building a luxury brand also applies to the most effect speaking today: “It’s a paradox. To be successful, you have to have a combination between modernity and timelessness.”
Because of revolutions in media technology, the spoken word has never been so important. Podcasts and new media channels allow speakers to reach both niche and general audiences across the world. For this reason effective speakers are more in demand than ever, and speaking effectively have a greater market for their skills than ever before.
Because of the increase in cheap, ephemeral content on the internet, timelessness matters more than ever. Words addressed to a single occasion can be continually shared on YouTube for years – decades, maybe.
“Classical” is another word for timeless. The principles and strategies of classical rhetoric are timeless because they were formulated over a very long period, through trial and error, based on what works to persuade humans, and how best to train ourselves to persuade.
Cicero talks about the importance of writing to refine one’s speaking voice. Neil deGrasse Tyson has admitted, “Hardly any sentence in public comes out of my mouth unless I have written it down once before.” When you study the art of rhetoric, you begin to recognize the enduring patterns.
More questions? Contact us at info@ancientlifecoach.com.