Most of us are aware of the importance of literacy (reading and writing skills) and numeracy skills. However, how many of us know about the equivalent skills required to communicate effectively through speech, otherwise known as oracy skills? They are at least as important as literacy or numeracy, but far less discussed, let alone taught.

Oracy goes far beyond mere ‘speaking’. It includes all the skills required to communicate orally. This runs from choosing the right words, to the use of body language and tone of voice, and being able to project your voice effectively, right through to listening, and ‘reading’ and responding to your audience. This page explains more about these skills.

The Importance of Oracy Skills

Oracy skills are crucial for success in life. They are the building blocks of good communication with other people.

There is no question about the importance of being able to read and understand numbers (literacy and numeracy). This has been a key focus in schools for decades. However, there is much less focus on the skills required to communicate via speech—even though much teaching and the vast majority of everyday life is conducted orally.

The English-Speaking Union (ESU) reports that one study estimated that many pupils in inner-city schools contributed only an average of four words per lesson. This is a problem, because another study found that children with good communication skills were four times more likely to get five grades 9–5 at GCSE. The ESU’s own research found that young children often struggle to make friends because they lack confidence in talking to other children.

Possibly more importantly, young people aged 16–24 overwhelmingly said that they wished they had been taught speaking and listening skills at school. Overall, 85% said that this would have helped them to get on better at work, and in life more generally.

Understanding Oracy Skills

There are several different ways to categorise oracy skills. For example, the English-Speaking Union describes four areas of skills:

• Reasoning and evidence;
• Listening and response;
• Expression and delivery; and
• Organisation and prioritisation.

An alternative framework has been developed in Cambridge as part of the work of Oracy Cambridge, at the Hughes Hall Centre for Effective Spoken Communication. This divides oracy into four areas, physical, linguistic, cognitive and social and emotional (see table).

The Oracy Skills Framework
Physical	Linguistic
Voice Fluency and pace of speech Tonal variation Clarity of pronunciation Voice projection Body Language Gesture and posture Facial expression and eye contact	Vocabulary Appropriate vocabulary choice Language Register Grammar Rhetorical Techniques Metaphor, humour, irony and mimicry
Cognitive	Social and Emotional
Content Choice of content to convey meaning and intention Building on the views of others Structure Organisation of talk Clarifying and Summarising Seeking information and clarification through questioning Summarising Reasoning Giving reasons to support views Critically examining ideas and views expressed	Working with Others Guiding or managing interactions Turn-taking Listening and Responding Listening actively and responding appropriately Confidence in Speaking Self-assurance Liveliness and flair Audience Awareness Taking into account the level of understanding of the audience
Source: Oracy Cambridge

There is clearly some overlap between the ESU’s framework, and the Cambridge framework. However, the Oracy Skills Framework seems more comprehensive, and perhaps more intuitive. It covers four areas.

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Four Areas of Oracy Skills

1. Physical oracy skills

There are two parts to physical oracy skills: the use of the voice, and body language.

How speakers use their voice is not about words, or what you say. Instead, it is about how you speak. Our page on Non-Verbal Communication: Face and Voice explains that this is known as paralanguage. It includes tone and pitch of the voice, the speed and volume of delivery, and any pauses and hesitations in your delivery.

These signals often indicate feelings about what is being said (the content of the message), and therefore add context and clarity. For example, consider how difficult it is to identify a joke in writing, without having tone of voice or facial expression to guide you. Non-verbal forms of communication may also refine the meaning of the words. For example, in English, a rising tone at the end of a sentence often indicates a question.

Body language is all the gestures and facial expressions that you use to add context and convey meaning when you speak. The use of body language is often unconscious, but you can also learn to use it to convey meaning—a crucial part of both acting and presenting effectively.

There is more about this in our page on Body Language, Posture and Proximity.

Eye contact is an extremely important part of interpersonal communication. Our page on Non-Verbal Communication: Face and Voice explains that it is used to provide feedback and show interest, indicate when it is the other person’s turn to speak during a conversation, and communicate something about the relationship between two people. Being able to make eye contact seems to be an essential part of building trust between individuals.

Effective physical oracy draws together all these skills to improve how meaning is conveyed through speech.

There is more about how to put all these skills together in our page on Effective Speaking.

2. Linguistic oracy skills

Linguistic oracy skills are about the words that you choose to use, and how you put them together.

These skills cover three areas: vocabulary, language, and rhetorical techniques.

Vocabulary is the range of words that you know and use. As part of oracy, it includes whether you choose to use technical terms or jargon, and the selection of sufficiently varied language to keep your audience interested.

Language includes your grammar and register. Our page on Grammar: An Introduction explains that grammar is the system and structure of a language: broadly, how sentences are put together, and the functions of particular words. It is possible to argue that grammar is less important in spoken than written communication—but poor grammar can still get in the way of understanding even in spoken communication.

Register describes the way that people use language differently depending on the situation. For example, we are likely to speak very differently in a formal interview situation than when out for lunch with a friend. This difference includes choice of words, body language, and tone of voice. In writing, this is similar to style (and our page on Formal and Informal Writing Styles explains more about this).

Rhetorical techniques are the figures of speech (and language) that we use to express and explain meaning, or build emphasis. They include metaphors, similes and analogies. Rhetorical devices also include the use of techniques such as repeating phrases for emphasis. Some of these techniques are more common in written communication, and others in oral communication.

Our page on Using Figurative Language explains more about some of these ‘figures of speech’.

3. Cognitive oracy skills

Cognitive oracy skills are about the thoughts behind words, including how we structure explanations and questions.

The Oracy Framework divides cognitive oracy skills into five areas: content, structure, clarifying and summarising, self-regulation, and reasoning.

Content is what you choose to include: that is, the information you choose to convey. It includes the ability to build on the views of others. It requires an effective judgement of what is relevant and interesting to your audience (and for help with this, you may find it useful to read our page on Knowing your Audience).

Structure is about how you organise what you are saying. We often talk about the importance of structure in writing, but it is equally important in spoken communication.

Our page on Organising Your Material, part of the Presentation Skills section, contains more about the importance of structure in formal speech.

Clarifying and summarising both involve providing a brief precis of what has been said. Usually, both are used by someone who has been listening as a way of checking their understanding. However, they can also be used by a speaker as a way of summing up their subject. They are important aspects of ensuring that you or your audience have correctly understood spoken communication. Clarifying may also involve the appropriate use of questions to check understanding (either by the speaker or listener).

There is more about these techniques on our pages on Clarifying and Clarification and Questioning Skills and Techniques.

Self-regulation is about self-management when you are speaking. It includes the ability to manage your time so that you do not ‘hog the conversation’ (covered in our page on Conversational Skills), and also be able to keep your focus on the desired topic and content.

You may find it useful to read our page on Self-Regulation, which sets self-regulation in the context of emotional intelligence.

Reasoning describes the critical examination of ideas—either your own or other people’s—to explain the logic behind them. It therefore covers the ability to explain your own reasoning and give explanations for your opinions. It also includes critical thinking, the ability to examine ideas clearly and rationally, and understand the logical connection between ideas.

4. Social and emotional oracy skills

Social and emotional oracy skills cover the way in which we engage and interact with others through speech.

These skills cover four important areas: working with others, listening and responding, confidence in speaking and audience awareness.

Working with others is about enabling appropriate conversation or discussions. It includes how you ensure that everyone within a group gets the opportunity to contribute, or make sure that the group stays ‘on task’. Fundamentally, this is about the ability to work effectively in teams or groups.

There is more about this in our section on Working in Teams and Groups. For more informal situations, you may find it helpful to read our page on Conversational Skills.

Listening and responding is the ability to listen—and not just to hear—and respond appropriately. Listening is a key part of oral communication, which should be clear when we consider that effective communication is defined as being two-way: that is, both given and received.

You can find out more in our pages on Listening Skills, including Active Listening and Barriers to Effective Listening.

Confidence in speaking covers two areas: self-assurance or self-confidence and liveliness or flair. Our page on Self-confidence explains that self-assurance or self-confidence is about having faith in yourself. In oracy terms, this means not seeming to be nervous in speaking situations. That is not to say that people with confidence are not nervous, they are just better able to hide it (and there is more about this in our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves).

Liveliness or flair describes a speaker’s ability to show enthusiasm for their subject, and engage with their audience.

The final area of social and emotional oracy skills is taking account of the level of understanding of your audience. This means, first, being aware of your audience’s understanding, and second, being able to tailor your communication to match.

There is more about this in our page on Know Your Audience. Skilled communicators will also use social cues such as audience body language to gain more information in real time.

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A Final Thought

There is clearly considerable overlap between the areas of oracy skills within the frameworks described.

You cannot completely separate your choice of words from your audience’s familiarity with the topic, or the ideas that you are trying to convey. These areas are intrinsically connected. Good oracy skills therefore require development of all these areas, as well as an appreciation of how they connect.

It should also be clear that good oracy skills will do more than simply improve your communication. The English-Speaking Union points out that being able to ensure that your voice and ideas are heard improves happiness and well-being, and prevents isolation. There is no question that investment in your oracy skills will pay off in both the short- and longer term.

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