ABSTRACT

The importance of delivery in oral communication has been stressed since the days of Aristotle. In the Rhetoric, Aristotle said that “success in delivery is of the utmost importance to the effect of speech.” 1 But Aristotle also said that “in a fine perspective, delivery is regarded as something vulgar … the case should, in justice, be fought on the strength of the facts alone so that all else besides demonstration of fact is superfluous. Nevertheless, as we have said, external matters do count for much because of the sorry nature of an audience.” 2