Demosthenes was asked what was first in oratory and said delivery; asked what was second, said delivery; asked what was third, said delivery. The canon the ancients ranked highest — and the one with the least connection to whether anything said is true.
Module 7
Delivery
Led by Marcus Fabius Quintilianus Simulacrum
The question
Seven sittings. You begin with one sentence delivered with the stress
Outcome
The student can deliver prepared material with deliberate control of
Sub-units
○7.1Nothing Here Can Be Read
○7.2The Voice as Instrument
○7.3Pace, Pause, and Silence
○7.4Emphasis, Variation, and Matching the Level
○7.5Gesture, Stance, and the Eyes
○7.6Reading the Room, and Adapting
○7.7Faults, Nerves, and Whether Delivery Can Be Honest
Practice scenarios
The Speaker Who Reads
A senior colleague delivers the same annual address every year from a
full script, head down, at a uniform pace, in a monotone. The content is excellent —
thoughtful and well organised. Nobody listens. He knows nobody listens, finds it
dispiriting, and has concluded that the audience is not interested in the subject.
He has asked you, without much hope, whether the material could be made more
engaging.
Your goals
Establish that the material is not the problem, in terms he will accept
Identify the three delivery faults doing most damage, in order
Explain why he cannot fix this by writing a better script
Prescribe the smallest change producing the largest effect, and say why that one
Address his resistance to speaking without a script, and say what he actually
needs in order to give it up
Course complete
You have completed every module of this course. You may now print your certificate of completion.
