Oracy yes, spin no

Call me sentimental, cheesy, naïve or a dumb broad (actually not that), but when the world gets really heavy, I return to The West Wing. Any season from 1-4 will do. Who doesn’t feel reassured by a Toby Ziegler and Sam Seaborn speech in the midst of complex geopolitics, national tragedy or new policy that will lift people out of poverty and provide everyone with equal opportunity.

So of course Oracy being on the agenda at schools in the UK works for me. Being able to express fluently and grammatically in speech is an incredible and requisite skill to really get along in life. But it is abused.

We don’t need to look too far for examples of people using their speaking skills to deceive, obfuscate, dress up and motivate, when the substance isn’t there to back up the claims. This is a crime I need to be cautious of committing too.

There’s nothing I like doing more on the copywriting front than packing lots of meaning into as few words as possible. But I can feel my skin crawl with embarrassment as three word slogans are tripped out by politicians, fully aware that I’ve been guilty of the same and of some greenwash too.

Recently, I’ve noticed regular mention of the need to create, take hold of or steer the narrative, and of the need to develop the “right” backstory. As if all these things are open to manipulation and the story is all that matters to get you to where you want to be. Well they are open to manipulation, but I’m putting in a new bid for substance. Oracy, without the spin.