Written Argument to Oral Presentation

When making a public presentation, we have to understand the branches of oratory. Classical rhetoricians, like Aristotle, used three different branches of oratory: judicial, deliberative, and epideictic. Judicial or forensic discourse involves accusing or defending. Deliberative or legislative discourse is designed to argue for or against specific actions. Epideictic discourse involves praise or blame. Judicial is more commonly used in something like debate team, law school, or using verbal or visual arguments. Deliberative is more common in politics and argues for or against specific actions, and Epideictic deals with the present. Aside from the branches of oratory, you also have to consider your audience, purpose, and persona. You need to ask yourself: What format will my presentation take? Who is my audience? What is my purpose? What branch of oratory will my presentation represent? What persona do I want to convey? All of these questions will help you determine that. In addition, when you have a written document, and you are wanting to present it orally, you have to transform your written document to research form into a form for oral delivery. You can do this with a process of selection, organization, and translation. The best way to use selection is to choose a smaller amount of material to present, so if you have three main points, focus on one main point to deliver. Then you will have a chance to reorder your argument. For example, instead of starting with an introduction, you could start with a conclusion, or show a visual aid first, and then give your thesis at the end. Think about what organizational pattern would work best for your audience. Finally, you have to translate the written text that was meant to be read, to a text that is meant to be heard.