What is oratory?

We explain what public speaking is and where this set of speaking techniques originated. The types of public speaking and how a good speaker is.

1. What is oratory?

The oratory is not only orality, that is, it is not the mere act of speaking to another and others , but involves a number of techniques and rules or principles that allow us to express ourselves clearly to a large audience.

The purpose of the oratory is to convey a message without fear or mistrust and with ease. The oratory is related to eloquence , to be able to convince with our words or it will move who or who hears us.

Within literature , oratory has to do with literary processes whose purpose is to persuade (such as a conference). A speaker should modify the emotions of the listeners, not just provide them with information.

Now, the oratory is something natural in the human being , as the ability to persuade or convince another about my point of view or opinion . However, it has developed as a discipline with its rules and its own characteristics.

2. Where did the oratory originate?

Like most of the human sciences, the oratory originated in Greece from the hand of the Sicilians . In Greece the oratory was used for political purposes and to achieve prestige.

Socrates founded a public speaking school, located in Athens , and defined the speaker as the educated man with high ideals that would guarantee the progress of the state.

Demosthenes was the speaker who was considered the best within this art . Cicero was the one who perfected it in the Roman Republic. He wrote several speeches and treatises that have come to us almost entirely.

3. Speech Types

There is currently a classification of the types of public speaking according to the speaker’s purpose. Here are some types of public speaking:

• Social oratory:  Also called ceremonial, augural or sentimental, they are those that are developed in a certain area where the human being participates in a ceremony.
• Pedagogical oratory:  Seeks to transmit the culture through the spoken word, that is, transmits knowledge. It is a didactic or academic oratory that seeks to teach.
• Forensic oratory:  It is used within legal science and seeks to clearly expose the reports of judges, lawyers and prosecutors.
• Persuasive oratory: When politicians expose and debate political ideas and used mainly in times of suffrage.
• Sacred or religious oratory : Sermons from the word of God using the Bible or other religious books as a basis.
• Public speaking within a company (called ” Management Speaking “): It is used by businessmen and businessmen in order to convey corporate objectives .

4. The good speaker

Public speaking is not simply speaking in public, a good speaker must have certain characteristics that make it different from other common speakers.

• Public speaking is always done with an individual speaker in front of an audience (collective receiver).
• He should speak clearly, but also with enthusiasm , efficiency and persuasion. Language is its main tool. A speaker should know how to make himself heard. You must get the public to show interest and be thoughtful.
• He should be clear about the end of his speech. It can be a persuasive speech, in order to convince the public of an opinion, for example. In addition, you can teach, move or please your audience.
• L to physical appearance is very important as well as grooming people. The attire chosen by the speaker should be consistent with the circumstances depending on whether it is a formal or informal occasion.
• A speaker should maintain a positive attitude, be relaxed and enjoy good physical and psychological health .
• It must also have a lot of memory capacity, since the oratory requires 90% of speech and just a little reading of notes, if necessary.
• A speaker must be sincere and congruent, that is, there is a relationship between what a speaker says and does. In addition, you must be loyal to those who have trusted him or her.
• A speaker must lose his fear and prejudices to speak in public, must be fluent and know how to be in front of an audience.

A speaker should get the audience to listen carefully , be aware of it and understand it, and, if it is a persuasive speech, that the listener is convinced of what the speaker is saying about a subject.