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John Diefenbaker was well known as a great orator in his public life. His ability to draw in an audience, inject humour into serious debate and focus on issues that were of interest to the people, all helped him develop his oratorical skills.

In discussion ask students to provide examples of people who they have heard that moved them in some way with the manner of their presentation. Make a list of the qualities of the speakers they have acknowledged. After examining clips showing the orations of Mr. Diefenbaker, students will identify aspects of effective speech. Further, they ill examine other great orators to determine commonalities of effective speech.

Using what they have learned, students prepare a speech on a topic of interest to them. They should try use several of the skills identified. Invite students to present their speeches to the class in video or audio form as if they were a politician presenting to the nation through the media.