Oral Communication · Chapter 7

The Oral Citation Builder

A written bibliography does nothing for you while you are talking. A complete oral citation names the source, its authority and its date — and all three land before the claim, because the audience has to know how much weight to give a sentence while they are hearing it. Build one, then rehearse it aloud at speaking pace.

The source you want to cite

Say this out loud

Rehearsal — the only sentences nobody practises

Oral citations are the most fumbled sentences in student speeches, precisely because they are the only ones nobody rehearses. Press the button and say it along with the highlight, out loud, at that pace.