Click Here To Listen To This Post

Hi!! I’m back in your inbox and missed writing my newsletters for you!

Can you believe we’re already in February? How’s your 2025 so far?

Krista and I were deep in our filming process and are so excited to be back in ToPS action. And we’re back with some interesting history for you.

The first ever known Public Speakers were the Ancient Greeks. They held lawsuits that citizens would attend like a football game, fascinated by the rhetoric strategies and the pendulum of persuasion. Awards were often given out for the strongest orators.

This sparked the birth of the first ever Public Speaking coaches – the Sophists. But as they gained popularity, they also gained a hater – Plato. You see, the birth of Public Speaking was controversial.

While the Sophists believed Public Speaking is about taking a stand and using persuasion to discuss how to apply that perspective in your life, Plato believed Public Speaking was about objective truths and removing subjective judgments. Which side are you on?

Perhaps Plato feared people wouldn’t use persuasion for good, while the Sophists reveled in its ability to connect people and create deeper understanding. Plato’s student Aristotle helped to bridge this gap a bit.

To Aristotle, the goal of Public Speaking is not to uncover truths, but to persuade the audience to make the right decision about a topic. As a psychology student, Aristotle also highlighted the importance of knowing your audience in order to successfully persuade them. He is, of course, the guy who gave us ethos (credibility and trust), pathos (emotional understanding), and logos (logical argument) – the 3 tenets to persuasion that still persist today.

Fun Fact: The logo of a product in marketing comes from the Ancient Greek word Logos, meaning mark or imprint!

Now back to Ancient Greece… It wasn’t all butterflies, public orations, and philosophic relics. At this time, “Women were assumed to be innately unfit for engaging in persuasive Public Speaking; they were denied citizenship and excluded from the teaching professions.” (Perloff, 2023). Even Aristotle, our persuasion MVP, believed “women were not capable of reliable decision-making.”

Oh how we’d love to have a chat with him now!! And maybe invite him to one of our Keynotes to see us all in action 😉

While the Sophists, Plato, and Aristotle all lived from 300s to 400s BCE, there is no record of female speakers throughout history. It wasn’t until the 1800s that women were allowed to teach in the United States and throughout the globe. That means when you go on stage or hold that mic in your hand, you’re not just holding it for yourself. You’re doing it for the billions of women who, over multiple millenia, were not given the right.

While we don’t know who the first ever female Public Speaker was, we do know of some powerful speakers in the last few hundred years. In the 16th century, we had Queen Elizabeth I with her symbolic language and captivatingly theatrical gestures. In the 18th century, we had Frances Wright with her powerful lectures on equality for all. In the 20th century, we had Maya Angelou with her poetic power and magnetic presence. These women represent the countless women throughout history and up to today who feel the calling to share their message, study the rhetoric ropes, and create deep audience impact with their message. And we love helping you all do the same.

P.S. We’re so excited to start our Spring 2025 Women’s Cohort in a few weeks and invite new amazing humans into our community! Especially because Aristotle’s quote has us extra fired up.

Much Love,