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Oratory is the means of doing rhetoric, the art of persuading others. Both are connected and share skills such as the five canons of rhetoric. While oratory requires natural skills, rhetoric can be published in various media. Aristotle defined rhetoric as a neutral case for persuasion, but the definition has since expanded. The line between oratory and rhetoric has blurred, and not all speeches seek to persuade.
The link between oratory and rhetoric is that the former is a means of doing the latter. Rhetoric is the art of persuading others to agree with the speaker or to do what the speaker wants done. It is used to gather voters, to win elections and to change opinion. Oratory is the ability to deliver speeches in public or in a closed meeting which has the same intended role as rhetoric. Notable and talented speakers include Cicero, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Both oratory and rhetoric are deeply connected. This is because, in ancient times, oratory was the only means of expressing rhetoric. In more modern times, rhetoricians may publish their rhetoric in newspapers and books; as technology advances, speeches can also be delivered on radio, television, and even the internet.
Aristotle set forth the definition and purpose of rhetoric: to provide a neutral case for persuading people to agree with the speaker. Since oratory was, in Aristotle’s time, the only means of rhetoric, he shared its purpose and definition. The definition of rhetoric has since changed to include the provocation against subjects and the total dissection of something rather than a simple act of pure persuasion.
A substantial set of skills is shared by both oratory and rhetoric. There are the five canons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery. Part of what separates oratory from rhetoric is that oratory requires the speaker to have a natural skill set, including charm and charisma, as well as a good voice. Traditionally, a speaker must master all the canons of rhetoric to become a rhetorician.
Oratory and rhetoric can exist as separate entities. If Aristotle’s rules apply, then a discourse that does not master the five canons or does not come from a neutral basis is not rhetoric. While this may be strictly true, the line between what is rhetoric and what is not has been blurred.
The art of public speaking – or oration – may include speeches that report on topics or seek to discuss a particular subject, and such speeches are not attempts to persuade others. Lecturers trying to educate students, for example, may be seen as great orators and orators, but they are not into rhetoric as their job is to deliver a variety of opinions.
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