The Orators Blog

As the Union debated upon whether or not Great Britain owed reparations to India, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament was called on to speak in favour of the proposition as their last speaker. Within the Oxford style of debating, he thus has a very specific role – refute the arguments made by the opposition while strengthening those made by his own side. The following article will attempt to elucidate and contextualize the arguments made in Dr Tharoor’s speech, and in the process explain the main role of the whip in Oxford style debates.   After some light banter that strategically draws the crowd’s attention without wasting too much time, Dr Tharoor goes straight into his first refutation. Sir Ottaway had previously suggested in his speech that it was not a given that British imperialism had at all caused any economic harm to the colonies in consideration. Dr Tharoor counters this simply and effectively by means of a simple factual argument – the percentages of the world market sh

The word Orator conjures images of mighty leaders basking in the spotlight, addressing huge crowds with the perfect mix of voice modulations and gestures. An eloquent orator pauses time while he takes a breath and always keeps the audience under his command. This is the alley of oratory I would like to pay homage to, not by scrutinizing great speakers perched on podiums, but through my own father sitting at the dining table weaving stories.  It’s always stories that we’ve heard a few million times before. But that’s what great orators do right? Irrespective of content, they engage the audience tirelessly.   We’d be sitting around, eating slowly, discussing our work or school when Dad began his autobiographical tales. “When I was in…” or “Back in the day…” served as introductions that transported us to the decades Dad grew up or perhaps his initial years in Bangalore. He’d paint a vivid image of the characters of his tales: by linking them to some other story or relation we know of. Eve