Practical Paideia

Lindsey Ralls, (Summit Christian Academy)

During 10th grade speech we were discussing Cicero’s parts of a speech (exordium, narratio, partitio, confirmatio, refutation and peroratio). During this particular lesson, our focus was on narratio. As a class, we read Acts 22, Paul’s defense of himself to the Jews. After reading, we reviewed some background information on Paul. Who was Paul? What was he known for prior to this? How did the audience view him? Did they trust him? As you know, Paul had previously persecuted them. They certainly didn’t trust him and they were having a hard time believing what he was saying.

I asked the class which of the six parts of a speech Paul was demonstrating here. We agreed that is was Narratio. Paul was stating the facts, providing a narrative. The first steps (Exordium Narration and Confirmatio) have one goal: to gain your audience’s trust. That is what Paul is doing in Acts 22. He’s begging them to believe that he has changed, that he can now be trusted. I asked the class, “can’t you imagine him saying, ‘these are the facts guys, please believe me’!”

My students left class with a deeper understanding of what Narratio is and why it is vital when giving a persuasive speech. They also left class reminded of who Paul was, where he came from and how God changed his life. Hopefully, they left with a deeper realization that before you can persuade anyone of anything, you need to be someone that they trust-someone with virtue. Finally, gaining their trust mattered to Paul because what he was trying to tell them mattered.