Key Topics Covered

Oratory in Community Spirit

Report vs Presentation

Gap in Familization of Context

Conclusion

Oratory in Community Spirit

"Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. 

A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.

An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!!!”

Aragorn's battle speech, The Lord of the Rings

This speech from Aragorn's battle scene in The Lord of the Rings sets the tone for the battle. Its rhetoric was meant to keep the army moving forward with confidence in the face of fear (Tolkien, 1955). The writer J.R.R. Tolkien may have also drawn inspiration from historical battles, where an inspiring speech from a commander could account for half the victory. Historically, oratory of such was an ancient skill, cultivated and valued in every leader. This skill was as seen above used to lead people toward a purpose. Although many years have passed, the same skill is still needed to form a community spirit. To me, the true beauty of oratory here lies in its vulnerability: the courage to hold nothing back and embody a presence that makes communication authentic, powerful, and deeply human.

About 10 years ago, I attended my first top-tier global event: the Education World Forum. A quiet confusion ran through the entire experience in parallel form. Physically, I could feel attendees wandering through open halls without explicit guidance, finding an organic rhythm within the unfamiliar space. And mentally, that same disorientation surfaced as people stepped away from comfortable, established views to wrestle with fresh concepts. My state of mind, weighed down by confusion, was pleasantly freed as my thoughts found clarity.

That blend of confusion turning into joy stayed as a lifelong desire to learn that shapes how I now approach every conference experience. Embracing both of these paralleled discomforts allowed me to fully engage with the experience. This dual vulnerability peaked at the coffee break spots. There, disoriented yet eager thinkers gathered to put their internal dialogue into words, giving form to abstract thoughts and letting them expand through shared dialogue. If a brain scan could capture that process, those exact moments would have lit up with brilliant sparkles. 

I have experienced this productive discomfort and joy at conferences like the IAEA, but not consistently across all sessions. Too often, presenters frame their talks as routine progress reports or standard research presentations. This approach leaves audiences with a surface-level cognitive takeaway ('knowing from knowing') rather than the lasting, feeling-based connection ('knowing from feeling') created through effective oratory.

The key to this profound connection lay in the speakers' skill. Their oratory skills and preparation allowed the audience to feel the emotional touch of their arguments from beginning to end. The established leaders who rise within our community, such as keynote speakers, session presenters, and organization presidents carry a unique opportunity to drive positive change. When addressing major gatherings like the annual International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) conference, their dynamic communication has the power to touch both mind and spirit, leaving a lasting impact. They use oratory to convince their communities that things would get better in challenging moments. Some may go further, sharing the concern itself to lessen its impact. For example, leading a conference during the COVID period helped keep the community connected, much like an Azerbaijani proverb puts it, "Bölünən dərd yarı dərddir" ("a shared sorrow is half a sorrow").

My goal is to explore why many of our conferences struggle to achieve their complete promise. Whether a session is framed as a progress report or an empirical presentation, mastering oratory allows speakers on both sides to inspire their audience and convey their findings with lasting clarity.

Report vs Presentation

Let’s try to visualize something we may notice at conferences. A fragmented silence fills the room of a conference. The audience is visibly distracted, their concentration wavering as they shift between listening, looking around, and moving about. When we take a closer look at the scene, we may realize its cause. The presentation slides are packed with dense text, lack dynamic visuals, and use a poor choice of colors. The audience seems to disappear from the learning journey. And the attendance turns into a presence without learning. As a result of dense, uninterrupted delivery overloading working memory, the audience becomes passively present rather than engaged, leaving little room to actually process the content (Sweller, 1988). Mayer's research (2009) shows that structuring content to reduce this strain, through narrative, imagery, or a well-placed story, helps people learn and retain more effectively.

I come across this issue at many conferences, and it is a drawback that ultimately reduces the value of the experience. At the annual conferences of major assessment conferences, including the IAEA before going for a session, the audience frequently raises the question of whether a session will primarily feature a report on institutional activities or a presentation of research findings. Some presenters frame their input as a report, which is an account of work carried out over the year. On the other hand, others present it in the form of research conducted, complete with findings. Each of these input styles offers something different. Just as a room needs a spark of curiosity or a thought-provoking lead, the goal is to communicate content in a way that feels familiar and accessible, not a one-directional stream of messages.

Gap in Familiarization of Context

It is easy to picture a researcher preparing a talk by defaulting to rigid, dry structures that lack emotional resonance. Yet a topic like special-needs test accommodations could instead open with a simple physical artifact: a pencil held up to the room. The presenter might share its story, belonging to a candidate who broke their writing hand the day before the exam, received accommodations, and is now a successful doctor. Taking just one or two minutes out of a packed 20-minute slot, that humble pencil creates a lasting symbol. Long after standardized slides fade, it is these human moments that audiences remember years later (Dahlstrom, 2014).

If a presenter or researcher makes even a slight adjustment to a presentation or report simply because it is being delivered at an international event to a linguistically, culturally, and professionally diverse audience, that alone can make the audience feel respected and valued. For example, if a presentation focuses on the value of test analysis as a quality measure in Kazakhstan’s school-leaving examinations, the speaker should first outline how these exams drive certification and university admissions. Broadening the scope initially helps an international audience feel connected to the material.

A powerful presentation requires text that feels alive, conveying both meaning and scale. Separating "living" language from "dead" language is a craft, famously captured in Nora Gal's classic The Living and the Dead Word (Gal, 1972). Dynamism is what brings a text to life. Just as literature engages readers by combining a clear narrative arc, imagery, and insightful analysis, a presenter can follow the same principles. For example, in a talk on moving national exams to computer-based formats in rural areas, the speaker can first show the action (deploying mobile testing centers), explain the implementation (overcoming local infrastructure challenges), and conclude by analyzing how broader access improved pass rates and regional validity.

When a listener takes in dynamic ways of delivery of talks, they go silent. This moment of silence stems not from the distraction noted earlier, but the deliberate pause of someone reflecting deeply. Instead of just passively sitting there, they display clear signs of connection: nodding, murmuring in agreement, or raising their hands to ask questions. It is exactly this kind of connection that builds a bridge across countries, societies, and communities of practice in assessment and education policy: a bridge we must continue to strengthen.

Conclusion

Every prerequisite exists at the IAEA annual conferences to make this combination of discomfort and joy a reality in every session. The IAEA benefits from immense international diversity, with delegates from at least three continents contributing to each session, making sure that learning achieves universal acceptance. And with more than 50 years of history, the IAEA possesses both the seniority of its attendees, such as heads of assessment organizations who drive merit-based systems, and topics of critical importance that shape the future of assessment culture. This rich legacy sets the perfect stage for IAEA 2026 in Toronto, where realizing the art of oratory can inspire delegates, deepen connection, and unlock the conference's fullest potential.

About the Author 

Vali is an educational assessment expert and quality auditor recognized for advancing excellence and reform-driven growth within assessment organizations. Drawing on extensive field expertise, government experience, and a strong regional network, he mentors EdTech firms and assessment bodies on measurement excellence and reform alignment. He currently serves as the Regional Network Representative (Central Asia & Caucasus) for the e-Assessment Association and as an IAEA 2026 Conference Ambassador for the region.

He holds a master’s degree in educational policy from Boston University (USA) and Diploma of Educational Assessment from Durham University (UK). Vali has supported national reforms in Azerbaijan and, through his consultancy with AQA Global Assessment Services, works with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to align assessment systems with international benchmarks such as CEFR, PISA, and the UIS technical criteria. He also works as a quality auditor in partnership with RCEC and most recently audited CENEVAL in Mexico. In addition, he promotes awareness of the use of technology across the assessment cycle through his work with Vretta. Fluent in Azerbaijani, Russian, Turkish, and English, he brings a deep contextual understanding to cross-country projects.

If you would like to discuss how oratory can bridge the gap between static reporting and engaging research presentations, and how it can better inspire and connect international educational communities, please feel free to contact Vali Huseyn at: vali@bu.edu | LinkedIn

References

1. Dahlstrom, M. F. (2014). Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(Supplement 4), 13614–13620. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1320645111 

2. Education Quality and Accountability Office. (n.d). "IAEA Annual Conference." Accessed August 16, 2026. https://www.eqao.com/iaea-annual-conference/

3. Education World Forum. (n.d.). Education World Forum. Retrieved August 18, 2026, from https://www.theewf.org/ 

4. Gal, N. (1972). Slovo zhivoe i mertvoe: Iz opyta perevodchika i redaktora [The living and the dead word: From the experience of a translator and editor]. Kniga. https://books.google.az/books/about/%D0%A1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%B8_%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B5.html?id=ABcgAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

5. International Association for Educational Assessment. (n.d.). International Association for Educational Assessment. Retrieved August 18, 2026, from https://iaea.info/

6. Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811678

7. Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4

8. Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955). The return of the king. George Allen & Unwin. https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Return_of_the_King

9. The e-Assessment Association. n.d. "Central Asia and the Caucasus.”

   https://www.e-assessment.com/communities/international-networks/central-asia-and-the-caucasus

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