<P> In classical Greece and Rome, rhetoric was the main component of composition and speech delivery, both of which were critical skills for citizens to use in public and private life . In ancient Greece, citizens spoke on their own behalf rather than having professionals, like modern lawyers, speak for them . Any citizen who wished to succeed in court, in politics or in social life had to learn techniques of public speaking . Rhetorical tools were first taught by a group of rhetoric teachers called Sophists who are notable for teaching paying students how to speak effectively using the methods they developed . </P> <P> Separately from the Sophists, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all developed their own theories of public speaking and taught these principles to students who wanted to learn skills in rhetoric . Plato and Aristotle taught these principles in schools that they founded, The Academy and The Lyceum, respectively . Although Greece eventually lost political sovereignty, the Greek culture of training in public speaking was adopted almost identically by the Romans . </P> <P> In the political rise of the Roman Republic, Roman orators copied and modified the ancient Greek techniques of public speaking . Instruction in rhetoric developed into a full curriculum, including instruction in grammar (study of the poets), preliminary exercises (progymnasmata), and preparation of public speeches (declamation) in both forensic and deliberative genres . </P> <P> The Latin style of rhetoric was heavily influenced by Cicero and involved a strong emphasis on a broad education in all areas of humanistic study in the liberal arts, including philosophy . Other areas of study included the use of wit and humor, the appeal to the listener's emotions, and the use of digressions . Oratory in the Roman empire, though less central to political life than in the days of the Republic, remained significant in law and became a big form of entertainment . Famous orators became like celebrities in ancient Rome--very wealthy and prominent members of society . </P>

Online presentations and face-to-face presentations do not address the same general speech purposes