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I am currently taking a public speaking class and have been toying with the idea of whether public speaking is a means of artistic expression. So often we contend that it impossible to define what art is. Is art music, photography, theatre, or graffiti? Or is art any form of expression shared between an artist and an audience? Is it in the eye of the beholder? It is impossible to say for sure. Therefore, I will suggest that public speaking is an art form. Earlier tonight, I ventured to Macaulay for an Executive –In- Residence Dinner with Sy Sternberg. Sternberg, the former CEO of New York Life, lectured the room on the current health care debate for two hours. Not only was this information session extremely informative and personally exhilarating because I enjoy politics, but it once brought up this idea I have been juggling with. Public speaking is a very powerful means of communication as it has the power to influence people. Additionally, there is a strong ethical component of public speaking in that the speaker has certain ethical responsibilities to maintain when delivering a speech. Such responsibilities include being honest and making sure the goals of your speech are not for personal or institutional gain. There is also the delivery or performance aspect of public speaking, which includes invoking interest in the audience and using lively vocal variation. Above all, a public speaker delivers a message. The speaker imparts a specific idea or many that allows the audience to then think and analyze. In that sense, why is public speaking any different from visiting the John Wood exhibition? Although Wood specifies that he is not trying to impart a specific meaning within his art, there is a strong collective message of protest within the exhibition. And just because it is not live, does not mean that it is not a performance. There is something to be gained from the experience. What is art if not an experience to be gained? And if art is an experience to be gained, then public speaking should be inclusive. 

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