Topic

speaker

0 members

Overview

The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as 'Mister Speaker' if a man, or 'Madam Speaker' if a woman. In other cultures, other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English "chairman" or "president". Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore (or deputy speaker), designated to fill in when the speaker is not available.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“ORATORY, n. A conspiracy between speech and action to cheat the understanding. A tyranny tempered by stenography.”
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1911).
“Intererit multum Davusne loquatur an heros.”
— It makes a great difference whether Davus or a hero speaks.
“There is nothing in the world like a persuasive speech to fuddle the mental apparatus and upset the convictions and debauch the emotions of an audience not practised in the tricks and delusions of oratory.”
— Mark Twain, "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", ch. III, in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays (1900).
“The passions are the only orators that always persuade: they are, as it were, a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it.”
— François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims. No. 9.
“It is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man's oration,—nay, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in its place is a work extremely troublesome.”
— Plutarch, Of Hearing, VI.
“A member of the Cabinet congratulated Wilson on introducing the vogue of short speeches and asked him about the time it took him to prepare his speeches. He said: "It depends. If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now".”
— Woodrow Wilson. Josephus Daniels, The Wilson Era; Years of War and After, 1917–1923, p. 624 (1946).

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

On IJR

No public IJR answers mention speaker yet. As people ask about it and share their answers, they'll appear here.

Overview

The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as 'Mister Speaker' if a man, or 'Madam Speaker' if a woman. In other cultures, other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English "chairman" or "president". Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore (or deputy speaker), designated to fill in when the speaker is not available.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“ORATORY, n. A conspiracy between speech and action to cheat the understanding. A tyranny tempered by stenography.”
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1911).
“Intererit multum Davusne loquatur an heros.”
— It makes a great difference whether Davus or a hero speaks.
“There is nothing in the world like a persuasive speech to fuddle the mental apparatus and upset the convictions and debauch the emotions of an audience not practised in the tricks and delusions of oratory.”
— Mark Twain, "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", ch. III, in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays (1900).
“The passions are the only orators that always persuade: they are, as it were, a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it.”
— François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims. No. 9.
“It is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man's oration,—nay, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in its place is a work extremely troublesome.”
— Plutarch, Of Hearing, VI.
“A member of the Cabinet congratulated Wilson on introducing the vogue of short speeches and asked him about the time it took him to prepare his speeches. He said: "It depends. If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now".”
— Woodrow Wilson. Josephus Daniels, The Wilson Era; Years of War and After, 1917–1923, p. 624 (1946).

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.