We gather here…

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.The exegesis and book, ‘We Gather Here: How Speeches Can Reclaim Community, Lead Enterprises, and Revive Democracy in Our Fractured World’, are complementary explorations of rhetoric. The book draws on my first-hand experience as a professional speechwriter to interrogate the practice of rhetoric, discuss the role it plays in contemporary leadership, and promote its continued use in society. The aim is to inform and inspire communication practitioners and theorists, and future leaders in particular. The exegesis investigates rhetoric’s vital importance in democratic societies and argues for the reclaiming of its democratic role. ‘We Gather Here’ represents the distillation of knowledge and experience in writing and speechwriting that I have built up over many years. It is a detailed and sophisticated guide for those who write speeches, those who give speeches, and those who wonder if speeches are still relevant at all. I explain what will work, what won’t, and how to get the best speech out of the most unpromising circumstances. This advice is backed by dozens of real-life examples; quotations from famous and infamous speeches; and personal anecdotes. I also draw upon creative writing techniques for practical ways to bring greater liveliness and beauty into speechmaking. The exegesis is guided by an intention to link scholarly theory on rhetoric to worldly practice. In ‘Doctoral Writing in the Creative and Performing Arts’, Biggs (2014) took up Hannah Arendt’s (1958) concept of action to argue that: Good doctoral writing in the creative arts…requires the doctoral student to be located within a community of transverse action…it requires the student to become part of an intergenerational community able to engage strategically, both with regard to the overlapping institutional domains of art and the university and to vernacular concerns enacted outside those domains. (p. 410) In the same collection, Lowry (2014) recommended thinking of the exegetical text as ‘something that specifically addresses the ideas that underpin the particularities of the creative process rather than as a descriptive and solipsistic account of the relatively more discursive qualities of the whole practice’ (p. 349). In this vein, this exegesis addresses the ideas and motivations that underpin my book. Researching and writing the exegesis has allowed me to better understand the inter-related concepts of rhetoric and democratic politics. The exegesis is written in a rhetorical rather than strictly academic voice. This occasionally situates my exegesis outside the conventional scholarly style. I sometimes eschew ‘the air of modesty and deference to the art of disclaimer’ (Lowry, 2014, p. 348) that characterises academic writing, in favour of a more robust and agonistic style more commonly seen in the hot contest of democratic debate. An ethical intent in all my writing (including my speechwriting and creative non-fiction) is to make an argument so clear that a reader can easily interrogate, challenge and, if they desire, refute my case. Of course I’d like to persuade readers towards my views. But I shall be equally delighted if all I do is inspire better rhetoric (scholarly or otherwise) in response to mine. That is the democratic way. Rhetorical training develops the critical thinking and persuasive language skills that empower individuals to exert influence within our modern democracies. It helps to convert disciplinary knowledge to professional practice and spread disciplinary knowledge. And rhetoric connects developing leaders to each other and the wider community. The book and exegesis are therefore united by a sincere commitment to the art and virtue of rhetoric, and specifically speechwriting. Like Aristotle, I see speechwriting as a tool, like a knife, that anyone can be taught how to use, and which may be wielded in ethical or unethical ways. It is my goal to promote the ethical and effective use of rhetoric for widespread human progress