Classical rhetoric has a timeless value in the construction of public discourse. Its application is of primary importance in technical communication, especially oral presentations. In this paper we redefine classical rhetoric to introduce a model for teaching presentation skills in the tertiary level Communication Skills course. We re-contextualize the five rhetorical canons – inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, and pronunciatio – for such mutually explicatory strategies as Research, Record, Realize, Recall, Rehearse, Refine, Render and Review, collectively termed ‘The Eight R’s of Presentation’. We also highlight the application of the three modes of appeal — ethos, logos and pathos — across these strategies.
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