Oracy

Parents, politicians, teachers, students – you should all read this brilliant and immensely fun book. You'll never be quite the same again

Anthony Seldon

Oracy is the most creative and constructive innovation in educational practice of the past half century. Neil Mercer brilliantly shows why it should now be compulsory

Simon Jenkins

Neil Mercer's excellent and compelling book is essential for anyone who wants to develop effective speaking and listening skills, and understand why these skills are so crucial for success in school, work and life

Iain McNicol

Expressing yourself is something every child should master … oracy needs to be placed firmly at the heart of school life

Keir Starmer, The Times

Neil Mercer writes with wisdom, insight and humour, leaving us in no doubt about the power of talk to transform our lives and relationships. This is an essential book for parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone who works with children

Alison Peacock

A tremendous, necessary and enlightening book that takes us into how talk ticks, and why we need to nurture it. Neil Mercer shows us in fine detail how better talkers are better learners

Michael Rosen

Simply, concisely and with inescapable logic, Neil Mercer makes the vital case for a radical recentering of oracy at the heart of a deep, thoughtful and intellectually rigorous curriculum

Sammy Wright

This book is as overdue as it is informed. Wide-ranging and insightful, Professor Mercer draws on everything: the history of language, the inherent cultural depth in accent and dialect, the craft of collaboration, the life-changing impact of owning your voice from early years to university and beyond. In doing so, he debunks the long-held myth of traditional education and demonstrates – through examples and clear frameworks – how oracy, when taught well, is as educationally beneficial as it is personally liberating. One core skill within oracy is the ability to listen – the Department of Education would be well advised to listen to Neil Mercer.

Rufus Norris

Brilliant and inspiring

Alastair Campbell

Fantastic. In our increasingly fractured world, this timely, engaging and vital book shows us how to develop a meaningful culture of oracy

Jeffrey Boakye

As someone who has in-depth conversations for a living, even I found much to inspire and inform in this manifesto for oracy as a vital tool for how we learn, listen, communicate and evolve

Nihal Arthanayake

This is a superb, lucid introduction to the concept of oracy. It powerfully explains why it’s a game-changer for young people’s learning, essential to the craft of great teachers, and vital to our democracy by helping future citizens to debate, argue, and listen actively & critically. Recommended.

Geoff Barton

Oracy is the Answer to a Pupil’s Prayers – This has nothing to do with style, regional accents or slang. Nor, contrary to what some assume, does it have anything to do with elocution. It’s not about "speaking posh". It is about being able to speak fluently, accurately and confidently

John Humphrys, broadcaster