ABSTRACT
ASSIGNMENT Tell a story from your own ethnic, family, or cultural tradition. The tradition you choose may originate outside the United States, or it may be distinctly American.
COMMENTARY Narrative is as old as human communication itself. Some would argue that all communication is narrative. Sometimes in public speaking a whole speech might be constructed as one narrative (see Conwell’s “Acres of Diamonds” in Chapter 8). More often, narratives or anecdotes1 appear within speeches to support an argument in persuasion, to illustrate an idea in informative speaking, or to magnify a virtue in ceremonial speeches. The effect of stories is often emotional. Obviously, the recitation of facts, data, and statistics has little power to move an audience emotionally. A well-told story, on the other hand, has considerable potential to provoke emotion.
