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Mortimer J. Adler

Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001) was a noted philosopher, academic and intellectual who taught at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. He developed theories on speaking and listening during his time in academia.

Macy’s executives were interested in making their business conferences more efficient so they could save time and money. To do that, they needed to improve the way they communicated with each other internally and externally.

Speaking and Listening

Human communication involves language, reading and writing. Reading instruction takes place in elementary school. Writing continues into high school and college as well. There are no classes on speaking though, except for the occasional public speaking courses to help students overcome speech defects. And there aren’t any classes on listening either.

Listening was an important skill for people before the invention of the printing press, because few people had access to manuscripts. Teachers would read aloud and explain what they were reading. Students who didn’t listen well learned nothing from their teachers.

“Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic”

Ancient Greek intellectuals such as Aristotle and Plato stressed the importance of grammar, rhetoric and logic in education. This was a dominant view for many years. However, over time schools stopped teaching these subjects to their students. Grammar continued to be important but it became less so during the 20th century.

Today, elementary teachers focus on reading and writing. They no longer teach grammar, rhetoric or logic. However, these three areas are essential to effective communication. You must be skilled in all three when you speak with others to persuade them of your point of view. If you use clear language and logical arguments, people will understand what you’re saying more easily. Rhetoric is also important because it helps get the audience excited about what you’re saying so they’ll agree with your idea and follow through with action steps that lead to success for everyone involved in the project or business venture.

Rhetoric was an important skill for the Greeks and Romans. It is also essential for modern people. For example, business leaders are expected to be good at communicating their ideas in a clear and concise manner. Rhetoric involves “instructive speech” such as lectures or seminars, but it can also involve persuasive speeches that convince others to take action on your idea.

Rhetoric is important for sales and persuasion. It’s what separates a good salesman from a great one. Almost everyone has to persuade or convince others of their ideas, which is why rhetoric exists in the first place. Plato said that there are two types of people: those who use rhetoric for good purposes and those who use it for bad ones. A speaker should be able to use rhetoric ethically in order to achieve his goal with honesty and integrity.

Many people think that if students were better at reading and writing, they’d also be better at speaking. However, the two are different skills. It’s difficult to develop them because they’re essential for quality conversations.

Conversational Categories and Forms

Humans are the only animals that converse with each other. Conversations allow us to communicate our thoughts and feelings to one another. Philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) believed that machines would never be able to have conversations like humans do, because machines follow rigid instructions while human conversation is free-flowing and unpredictable.

Communication is an important skill. There are two types of communication: controlled and uncontrolled. Controlled communications include business meetings, political debates, academic discussions or church councils. These are planned events with agendas and rules to follow. Uncontrolled conversations happen at social gatherings where there aren’t any rules or agendas in place.