Original Oratory

Overview Original Oratory (or OO) is an individual speaking event. It consists of a written, memorized, 8-10 minute speech on a factual, easily relatable topic of the speaker’s choosing. Original Oratories are typically persuasive in nature.

Overview Original oratory topics should focus on some pressing issue in society to which most people can relate. The speaker attempts to alert the audience to a societal problem, then convince them to make a choice or initiate a change of some kind. Watch Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention for a strong example of an Original Oratory.

Judging Speech Effectiveness: Was the speech inspirational and purposeful? Did it motivate the audience to react or take action? Bodily Movement: What physical movements or gestures did the speaker use to help illustrate his/her message? Support: Did the speaker use relevant and credible evidence to support their message? Stories? Facts? Examples? Statistics? Quotations? Factual: Is what the speaker said true? Was the purpose of the Oration based mostly on reality or fact instead of opinion?

Who Excels in Original Oratories? The key is excelling in Original Oratory has more to do with your passion than your topic or your stance. Judges will look for how well you connect to the audience, and whether or not the audience reacts to your speech. Therefore, those who do original oratory are usually very polished, confident, capable, knowledgeable and talented. Those who wish to compete in Original Oratories should be relatable, able to work a crowd, be quick on their feet, and maintain excellent body language, and charm throughout.

Rules 8-10 minute time limit. No more than 150 quoted words of quoted material. Oratory is given standing up. No notecard or written notes allowed. At no point may the speaker turn his or her back on the audience or the judges. No props or visuals aids.

Choosing A Topic The first step is to choose a topic. Choose a topic you’re interested in! You will be spending a lot of time on it and if you are not interested in your topic, your audience will not be either. Also, consider that personal bias can potentially ruin a good argument. You must take a specific stand on your topic. Avoid topics that are too broad. It’s not enough to talk about environmentalism. You must take a specific stand on environmentalism. More successful orations have universal appeal and are usually about things that almost everyone can understand and relate to. Heavier, complex topics are difficult for the audience to identify with and can get dry and boring. When choosing a topic, think about inspirational ideas, abstract feelings, motivational concepts, or other emotions that everyone experiences. What kinds of things could you do to make your own life better?

Create A Thesis Statement Your thesis statement should be a whittled down version of your topic in which you take one side on a specific issue within the topic. For example, if your topic is about outer beauty, a specific issue within that topic area is judging others by their outward appearance.

Create A Purpose Statement Your purpose statement simply states the purpose of the speech. For example, my purpose statement could be “To convince people not to judge people based on looks.” Although your purpose statement will not appear in your speech, it is important for you to know what your purpose is and to keep your purpose in mind as you write your speech. Be sure your audience can clearly understand your purpose!

Speech Structure Problem: After the introduction, an oratory will usually explain in a little more detail than what was given in the introduction what the topic is about. When doing this, the orator should explain why this topic is important. For example, if the topic is about individuality or being your own person, an Orator might explain that a decrease in individuality is bad because it lowers your ability to stand up for what you believe in or it makes you conform to standards instead of forming your own beliefs and values.

Speech Structure (cont.) Causes/Effects: Next, the orator could explain what is causing the problem. Since Oratory is generally a speech used to encourage people to take action against a problem, it is important to explain what specifically is causing the problem. This allows the audience to know specifically what they need to look out for. An orator will possibly explain that by attacking the problem by the "roots" (what causes it), it will be easiest to solve it. Similarly, it is important to explain the negative effects of the causes. Discussing the causes is important to the oratory because it validities the fact that the topic is in fact a significant problem.

Speech Structure (cont.) Solution: The most important part of an oratory is often considered the "solution." This should be creative, innovative, and should be presented in such a way that will encourage both the judge and the audience to take proactive measures to act against the problem. In an oratory about individuality, the solutions might be to 1) Relax and decide what you yourself want to do, 2) Resist temptations to simply follow others even though it might be the easiest way 3) Even if others don't follow you, if you think its right, then it is the best path for you personally to take. This part of the oratory will also explain the positive benefits of following these solutions which will make the judge and the audience want to listen to them (i.e. it gives the speech merit). It is imperative that the solution is not forgotten, otherwise an oratory is simply a wasted ten minutes. No one wants to hear about a problem without being told what they can do to fix it.

Speech Structure (cont.) Conclusion: Judges look at the conclusion and judge based on whether or not it ties in with the introduction. If you told a story about a problem you got yourself in for your introduction, use the conclusion to finish the story and tell how you fixed the problem. If it was a fact, elaborate on the fact. By tying the introduction to the conclusion, it gives the speech a feeling of fluidity.

Speech Structure Outline Introduction Attention-getter Credibility Link to the Audience Topic (thesis) SIGNPOST (creative) Body Problem, Cause, Solution Conclusion Summary Tie back to Intro Clincher

Introduction Your hook, or the set up to your thesis should be catchy and able to instantly grab the audiences attention. Consider opening with a relatable joke, a story, or analogy. Once you’ve grabbed the audiences attention, hit them with your thesis.

Problems Now that you’ve introduced the thesis, you need to convince the audience that it is important, cite additional examples (statistics, stories, and quotes) that illustrate why your topic is important. What or who is being harmed? Is the harm significant? Remember: the actual validity of your position is not nearly as important as how well you’re able to justify it in each section of the Original Oratory.

Cause Here, you should explain WHY the problem exists. Once again, you will rely on facts and opinions, so more quotes, stories, and even pop culture references are appropriate.

Solutions What are the suggested solutions to your problem? This should generally relate to the speech’s purpose. For example, if the speech’s purpose was to get people to stop judging others, the solution should involve people getting to know others beyond their outward appearance.

Conclusion Your conclusion should tie back to your purpose and thesis. Like in any other speech or essay, new information should not be introduced in your conclusion. If you started your speech with a story or joke, be sure to refer back to that at some point in your conclusion. You also want to be sure that you summarize your purpose and thesis for your audience.

Remember… Show, don’t tell! Don’t say “genetically altered animals have health problems” when you can say “somewhere on a farm in California, there’s a cow so fattened it can’t stand without breaking its own legs, but it tries over and over again all its life, so all it knows is pain, but it can’t conceive why.” Alternatively, you can cite a statistic that proves your point, but make sure you put the statics on terms that audience can understand through metaphor or illustration. Help them to picture what you’re saying.

Last minute tips! Humor and emotion are a must for keeping your audience engaged, but don’t overdo them. Use a variety of facial expressions. Be animated! Look individual audience members in the eyes, especially when making key points. At the end of your speech, nod politely and hold your position for applause. Don’t rush off the stage immediately. As always, remember to smile, take your time, and be professional. Alter your pace, pitch, and volume as needed, and remember to watch your body language.