Abstract
M.A.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of rhetorical criticism in public speaking organisations in South Africa. Public speaking is defined as rhetoric and the evaluation of public speaking as rhetorical criticism. The different perspectives towards rhetorical criticism are outlined and the approaches encompassed by these perspectives are discussed.
The focus of the study is the state of rhetorical criticism in the public speaking organisations in South Africa. It was therefore necessary to establish the orientations and purposes of these organisations. The public speaking organisations identified at the outset of the study were Afrikaanse Taal-en Kultuurvereniging and Toastmasters International. The research project involved participant observation for the purpose of first-order interpretation ofthe methods ofevaluation used by these organisations. These organisations were founded for the purposes of promoting the skill of public speaking and developing confidence in speakers. By applying purposive sampling initially, snowball sampling emerged and the other public speaking organisations in South Africa were identified. This enabled the inclusion of the whole population for the purposes of this study.
The investigation of the contemporary theories on rhetorical criticism revealed that there was a breakaway from the initial speaker orientation that focused on the effect of the speaker. Different perspectives on rhetorical criticism emerged since the traditional perspective that included approaches that focused on various forms of message analysis. Although effectiveness remained the overall criteria in the assessment ofpublic speaking, the emphasis has shifted to the message rather than the speaker. It is accepted that rhetorical criticism is subjective but at the same time it should be justified by reasons.