Editing Public Speaking (Summer 2019)/Primer on Rhetoric (section)

=== Memory ===
This part of rhetoric was really important for speakers in classical Greece and Rome because they delivered really long speeches (often in very high style). It remains important for us because a speech is spoken not read. If you don’t practice your speech, you won’t be familiar with it. If you aren’t familiar with your speech, you will probably read it to us. This is not a class in public reading, but in public speaking. You should not try to memorize your speeches word for word. This will only exacerbate any fear you have of public speaking. However, you should know the main parts of your speech. This comes down to a matter of knowledge and practice. You need to know your material well enough so that you can talk about the topic intelligently (invention). You also need to practice enough so that you know how best to explain this topic to the audience (arrangement and style).