Part Five: Memory and Delivery

Memory and delivery are our final two components of rhetoric. Memory concerns retention and delivery, presentation. Where invention and arrangement address content and structure, memory ensures particular readiness, and delivery helps determines effect (the distinction between written and oral rhetoric becomes relevant here). As well, memory may be less emphasized in a written culture, giving way to (out of the Trivium's scope) history, but in classical rhetoric, it was considered essential for effective speech.

Memory

Memory here is not just rote memorization but cultivation of a mental repository of ideas, examples, and language. It's a source that allows the speaker to sensibly call upon relevant material as needed. It can be extended to include structured systems of recall, such as the method of loci, which associates ideas with imagery for easier "retrieval".

In rhetoric memory consists of several aspects:

Retention of facts, arguments, and phrasing which is internalized for recall in affected discourse. As well, these will be conceptually organized for proper and flexible retrieval.

It was said ability to retrieve knowledge underpinned adaptability in discourse. Outside of formalized rhetoric, we might consider this fluency in daily communication, or being well-spoken.

Delivery

Delivery encompasses vocal and physical expression. Aristotle treats it as a secondary concern while later rhetoricians (Demosthenes and Cicero) elevate it (give it primacy), thinking that argument alone may not win, in other words that presentation influences reception.

Delivery would have included things like pitch, pace and rhythm, vocal tone, facial expressions, and hand gestures.

Classical training in delivery often involved imitation of established orators and practice in controlled environments before public presentation.

Memory issues could be rooted in too much reliance on verbatim recall rather than conceptual retention, leading to disorganization.

Delivery issues often stem from either excess (overly dramatic presentation, artificial gestures) or deficiency (monotone speech, lack of clarity).

Conclusion

Memory and delivery treatment varies across rhetorical traditions, with classical models emphasizing memorization techniques and physical training, whereas modern approaches tend to focus on adaptability in speech.