Chapter Seven
Beginning, Middle, and End
Case Studies: The Classic Rhetoricians • William Safire • Bruce Eric Kaplan • Virginia Rometty, IBM • Jim Flautt, DigitalThink • 60 Minutes • Anton Chekhov • Philippe Brawerman, Cisco • Bruce Schuman, Intel • American University • Ovation • The Scientist CEO • The Testifying CEO • Vince Lombardi • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Garry Wills
Exordium, Narratio, and Peroratio
▪ The Same Old Story ▪
Nearly two and a half millennia ago, the rhetoricians of ancient Greece and Rome defined the essential parts of a speech as Exordium, Narratio, and Peroratio. In English, that translates to the Beginning, Middle, and End.
These days, the triad is more informally known as “Tell ‘em what you‘re gonna tell ‘em, Tell ‘em, ...
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