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Although evidence of public speaking training exists in ancient Egypt, the first known writing on oratory is 2,000 years old from ancient Greece. This work elaborates on principles drawn from the practices and experiences of ancient Greek orators.

Aristotle, one of the first oratory teachers to use definitive rules and models, believed that successful speakers combined, to varying degrees, three qualities in their speech: reasoning, which he called Logos; credentials, which he called Ethos; and emotion, which he called Pathos. Aristotle's work became an essential part of a liberal arts education during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The classical antiquity works by the ancient Greeks capture how they taught and developed the art of public speaking thousands of years ago.

In classical Greece and Rome, rhetoric was the main component of composition and speech delivery, both critical skills for use in public and private life. In ancient Greece, citizens spoke for themselves rather than having professionals, such as modern lawyers, speak for them. Any citizen who wished to succeed in court, politics, or social life had to learn public speaking techniques. Rhetorical tools were first taught by a group of teachers called Sophists, who taught paying students how to speak effectively using their methods.

Separately from the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle developed their theories of public speaking, teaching these principles to students interested in learning rhetorical skills. Plato founded The Academy and Aristotle founded The Lyceum to teach these skills.

Demosthenes was a well-known orator from Athens. After his father died when he was 7, he had three legal guardians: Aphobus, Demophon, and Theryppides. His inspiration for public speaking came from learning that his guardians had robbed him of the money his father left for his education. His first public speech was in the court proceeding he brought against his three guardians. After that, Demosthenes continued to practice public speaking. He is known for sticking pebbles into his mouth to improve his pronunciation, talking while running so that he would not lose his breath, and practicing speaking in front of a mirror to improve his delivery.

When Philip II, the ruler of Macedon, tried to conquer the Greeks, Demosthenes made a speech called Kata Philippou A. In this speech, he spoke about why he opposed Philip II as a threat to all of Greece. This was the first of several speeches known as the Philippics. He made other speeches known as the Olynthiacs. Both series of speeches favored independence and rallied Athenians against Philip II.

Aristotle's "Rhetoric"

In one of his most famed writings, "Rhetoric", written in 350 BCE, Aristotle described mastering the art of public speaking. In this and other works by Aristotle, rhetoric is the act of publicly persuading an audience. Rhetoric is similar to dialect: he defines both as being acts of persuasion. However, dialect is the act of persuading someone in private, whereas rhetoric is about persuading people in a public setting. Aristotle defines someone who practices rhetoric or a "rhetorician" as an individual who can comprehend persuasion and how it is applied.

Aristotle divides rhetoric into three elements: (i) the speaker; (ii) the topic or point of the speech; and (iii) the audience. Aristotle also classifies oration into three types: (i) political, used to convince people to take or not take action; (ii) forensic, usually used in law related to accusing or defending someone; and (iii) ceremonial, which recognizes someone positively or negatively.

Aristotle breaks down the political category into five focuses or themes: "ways and means, war and peace, national defense, imports and exports, and legislation." These focuses are broken down into detail so that the speaker can effectively influence an audience to agree and support the speaker's ideas.

The focus of "ways and means" deals with economic aspects of how the country is spending money.

"Peace and War" focuses on what the country has to offer in terms of military power, how war has been conducted, how war has affected the country in the past, and how other countries have conducted war.

"National defense" deals with considering a country's position and strength in the event of an invasion. Fortifying structures and points with a strategic advantage should all be considered.

"Food supply" is concerned with the ability to support a country in regards to food, importing and exporting food, and carefully making decisions to arrange agreements with other countries.

"Legislation" is the most important to Aristotle. The legislation of a country is the most crucial aspect because everything is affected by the policies and laws set by the people in power.

In Aristotle's "Rhetoric" writing, he mentions three strategies someone can use to try to persuade an audience: Establishing the character of a speaker (Ethos), influencing the emotional element of the audience (Pathos), and focusing on the argument specifically (Logos). Aristotle believes establishing the character of a speaker is effective in persuasion because the audience will believe what the speaker is saying to be true if the speaker is credible and trustworthy. With the audience's emotional state, Aristotle believes that individuals do not make the same decisions when in different moods. Because of this, one needs to try to influence the audience by being in control of one's emotions, making persuasion effective. The argument itself can affect the attempt to persuade by making the argument of the case so clear and valid that the audience will understand and believe that the speaker's point is real.

In the last part of "Rhetoric", Aristotle mentions that the most critical piece of persuasion is to know in detail what makes up government and to attack what makes it unique: "customs, institutions, and interest". Aristotle also states that everyone is persuaded by considering people's interests and how the society in which they live influences their interests.