What's the difference between Expository and OO?

[CLT787]

I read the event descriptions on the NFL webpage but was unable to tell the difference. We don't have the event here in NC and I was just wondering how it differed (rules-wise, topic-wise, lenght, etc) from Original Oratory. Any and all help would be apprecietiated!

[JjulianSr]

That would depend on which form of Expository you mean. Expository at NFL differs significantly from Expos in many states.

In general, Expos is a speech to inform, whereas an Oratory is a speech to persuade. While both these speech events have elements of the other (and Orator usually offers some info about their topic to keep from losing the audience, and an Expositor often is trying to persuade the audience to accept that their information is accurate and helpful), the GOAL of the events are quite different.

Expos in my team's state (Washington) is similar to what I competed in down in California in high school. The speech must be an original work. No more than 150 directly quoted words allowed. The topic can be anything the student chooses. But here's the big difference: Props/Visual aids are allowed (full costumes are not, though). Nearly all competitors in Expos here use posters on an easel in their speech. Many also carry around decorated boxes containing items that they can show or even pass around - if you're willing to risk having them broken by a jealous competitor :P One of my students did a bit on the link between Love and Chocolate last year - near the end of his speech he handed a bowl of chocolate kisses to his judge and asked them to share them with the room... it got mixed reactions but always rave reviews on his ballot. Additionally... notecards are permitted in Washington - though most above Novice division never use them.

Expos at Nationals is different - 5 minute time limit and no props/VAs or notes. I've never watched the event at NFLs, so I'll refrain from any comment on how that works or what the best practices are.

Hope this helps.

Coach J

[CLT787]

Thanks! Wow, the event is completely different from what I'd expected it to be.

[Interper05]

That would depend on which form of Expository you mean. Expository at NFL differs significantly from Expos in many states.

In general, Expos is a speech to inform, whereas an Oratory is a speech to persuade. While both these speech events have elements of the other (and Orator usually offers some info about their topic to keep from losing the audience, and an Expositor often is trying to persuade the audience to accept that their information is accurate and helpful), the GOAL of the events are quite different.

Expos in my team's state (Washington) is similar to what I competed in down in California in high school. The speech must be an original work. No more than 150 directly quoted words allowed. The topic can be anything the student chooses. But here's the big difference: Props/Visual aids are allowed (full costumes are not, though). Nearly all competitors in Expos here use posters on an easel in their speech. Many also carry around decorated boxes containing items that they can show or even pass around - if you're willing to risk having them broken by a jealous competitor :P One of my students did a bit on the link between Love and Chocolate last year - near the end of his speech he handed a bowl of chocolate kisses to his judge and asked them to share them with the room... it got mixed reactions but always rave reviews on his ballot. Additionally... notecards are permitted in Washington - though most above Novice division never use them.

Expos at Nationals is different - 5 minute time limit and no props/VAs or notes. I've never watched the event at NFLs, so I'll refrain from any comment on how that works or what the best practices are.

Hope this helps.

Coach J

Though I agree with the majority of your post and you have very accurately described Expository at nationals--basically an Informative speech--I am going to disagree with you on what Oratory is. You state that Oratories must persuade as their main goal, however, Oratory technically does not specify in NFL rules that a speaker must persuade. An Oratory can have its main purpose to be informative if a speaker wishes. Oratory being used to persuade is only the current trend that has permeated the event so much that many people mistake Oratory for Persuasion.

[JjulianSr]

Though I agree with the majority of your post and you have very accurately described Expository at nationals--basically an Informative speech--I am going to disagree with you on what Oratory is. You state that Oratories must persuade as their main goal, however, Oratory technically does not specify in NFL rules that a speaker must persuade. An Oratory can have its main purpose to be informative if a speaker wishes. Oratory being used to persuade is only the current trend that has permeated the event so much that many people mistake Oratory for Persuasion.

On the point that NFL's rules do not verbatim specify that an Oratory must be "persuasive", I will agree.

While this might be technically correct, it does not comply with the description of what Oratory is intended to be. Specifically, if you read the NFL Events Guide carefully (page E17), the description of the event lists many examples of appropriate Oratory - all of which are persuasive in one form or another. To wit:

- "deal with a current problem and propose a solution" (The obvious oratory)
- "alert the audience to a pressing danger" (persuade the audience to react to this danger)
- "strengthen [the audience's] devotion to an accepted cause" (persuade them to believe in a cause)
- "eulogize a person" (persuade an audience to remember a departed person in a certain light)

The difference between Expos and OO is actually quite subtle - something I didn't expound upon in my original post in favor of a starker contrast: In Expos, the speaker says, "Let me tell you things you might or might not know about ((insert subject here))". The subject need not be (according to NFL OO Rules lingo) "a topic of significance". In Oratory, the speaker says, "You need to listen to this, it's important." The topic is significant - and so the audience should be compelled by the speaker to listen and agree or disagree. Hence, persuasion and not exposition.

And the reason I spend so much virtual ink here stating my point is predominately this: Many state association rules (including the 4 states in which I have competed and/or coached) state specifically that Oratory is a persuasive speech or a speech to "incite the audience to action or gain support for an issue of importance". Some states are moving to define the original events as "Persuasive Speaking" and "Informative Speaking", following the collegiate event naming scheme. I don't like this... but that's merely a personal preference grounded in tradition.

So while you are technically correct, Oratory is generally accepted as a speech to persuade. And it is more than just a current trend. I did OO in high school from 1985-1989... and I can't recall ever hearing even one Orator who spoke just simply to inform. All had persuasion as their primary goal.

Respectfully disagreeing without being disagreeable,

Coach J

[Interper05]

In my state, one of the state level tournaments has Informative and Persuasive, not Oratory, so throughout the year, you have students doing Infos in Oratory and they do equally as well as the Persuasives. According to the rules of another state tournament, Oratory can be either a Persuasive or Informative speech.

If you take the word oratory to its base meaning, it is from Latin, which basically means "the art of speaking." Why then must Oratory in the forensics world be Persuasive if oratory in the original sense means to simply speak with elegance.

[JjulianSr]

I agree that Oratory means "the art of speaking". I am not advocating that Oratory should always be persuasive. Please re-read my post, but I'll highlight one sentence: "So while you are technically correct, Oratory is generally accepted as a speech to persuade." That said, my state's standard Oratory ballot from this weekend's tournament includes a rubric item "Persuasiveness", and calls for the speech to be persuasive.

I'll summarize our debate thusfar:
- I said Oratory is "in general" a speech to persuade.
- You correctly identified that there is no rule requiring the speech to be persuasive.
- I replied that while you're technically correct, both experience and rules in certain states require that Oratory be persuasive.
- Your reply is to further point out the technical definition of Oratory and then question why they must always be persuasive.
- Again, I say you're technically correct. But there are other things to consider.

Look. I prefer to give practical advice. You ask why the Forensics community should default Oratory to persuasive speeches. While the NFL rules don't explicitly ban informative speeches from the event, let's analyze the general use of the term in Forensics:

1) You offer the argument that Oratory is public speaking, including both persuasive and informative speaking.
2) In Forensics, we have an event specifically named, "Expository" that is specifically designed as a speech to inform.
3) While the name of the event is "Oratory", there would be no reason to have two events where the speech should be informative.
4) Consider Interpretation events (I speak specifically of DI and HI):
a) We have an event called Humorous Interp for speeches intended to be funny.
b) We have Dramatic Interp, which is intended to be serious in nature.
c) Drama, as a general term, can be classified into comedy or tragedy (or history in some cases... but let's not digress).
d) By your standard (the definition of the name of the event being the end-all of what should be performed), then humorous material should be permitted and accepted in DI, as well as HI.

While the contrast between Oratory and Expository is not nearly as stark as HI/DI, there is a precedent. The interpretation event used to be only "Oral Interpretation", which included both humorous and serious material. BUT, as the judges started to show an extreme preference for humor pieces, the event was split into DI and HI. Now, we could say that judges are now preferring (at least in some states), persuasion over information in Oratory. If we follow the same logic, we should split Oratory into Informative Oratory and Persuasive Oratory (See my last response to your posts - I already indicated this was done elsewhere). The problem is the we already HAVE an event for Informative Oratory (called Expos). So... why shouldn't the event called Oratory be reserved for speeches intended to persuade?

That said... because NFL offers only one Original speech event (Oratory) as a main event, certainly both forms (persuasive and informative) should be accepted. BUT, in states where both Expos and Oratory are offered, I believe that judges are correct in establishing a paradigm that Expository is for informative speeches and Oratory is for persuasive. Can we agree that where the two are offered, there should at least be that distinction?

[tgjdlc]

I agree with everything JjulianSr is saying. In the state of CA and WA, both of which I've coached/competed in, Oratory is persuasive by nature, and Expository is informative. I can't tell you how many times I've given last, or proper placement, to an Expos that tried to persuade me to do something. I've always felt that, that should be left to the Orators.