Skills for Modern Day Orators

In my last post, I talked about the importance of oratory–in written form–for professionals in the modern age. Conveying information in the online world is a skill that is fast becoming critical to career success. Modern orators, though, must convey information in a very different way than their ancient counterparts.

In our real-time world of fast-breaking news, online orators have to “speak” persuasively on the spur of the moment, giving a fast, effective, and articulate response. The most prized orators in this venue are those who can think critically and deeply, and then express their conclusions persuasively, but very succinctly. Unlike the ancient orators, who competed mainly on the merits of their speeches, online orators:

First have to compete to even be heard.

Then, they have to compete to keep their audience’s attention.

And finally compete on the merits of their oratory.

Online orators are measured by their ability to convey their point clearly, memorably, and concisely. In the online world, the priority isn’t on a long, well-developed, and well-supported argument. Perhaps it should be. But it isn’t. The priority is on:

Getting attention from the right audience, through the right headline–a tweet on Twitter, a title in an email subject line, a one-line description of a YouTube post.

Then, it’s on presenting the salient points as clearly and succinctly as possible.

Finally, links and supporting details may follow.

Some of the children in elementary school today will go on to be researchers, academics, professors. They’ll publish papers (maybe only online, though). They’ll need the skills to produce a long essay or research paper.

The majority of students, though, will need a different set of skills entirely. They’ll need to know how to create catchy titles. How to create headlines with key phrases that convey the point of their content but also serve as metadata for search engines. How to get to the point in half a page and ensure the reader walks away with three, clear, short messages. They’ll need to know how to deliver the most important information first, and only then elaborate. They’ll need to understand how to mix text with images to best make a point in a video or slideshow. They’ll need to understand the power of sound and the effect music has on a mood, and when to time the crescendo with an image on the screen.

The specific skills students today should focus on:

• Being succinct
• Writing headlines that entice but also clearly convey the content
• Creating pithy, humorous, and memorable phrases, which will increase the liklihood their content will be shared
• Formatting text, so that it is easy to scan for the key points
• Incorporating meta-data, such as keywords seamlessly in the text, so the content is easily discovered

I believe these are the skills that modern, online orators will need. The ones who best exhibit them will rise to the top in their professions. Are these the skills we’re teaching our young orators?

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