Oracy: The Transformative Power of Finding Your Voice

by Neil Mercer

'Brilliant and inspiring' Alastair Campbell 'Fantastic' Jeffrey Boakye
'Tremendous, necessary and enlightening' Michael Rosen
'Parents, politicians, teachers, students – you should all read this brilliant book' Anthony Seldon

Literacy. Numeracy. Oracy?

For generations our education system has been built on the twin pillars of literacy and numeracy. But what if a third – and equally vital – pillar has been ignored? Enter communicating effectively, articulating ideas and engaging with others through spoken language.

In this persuasive and powerful manifesto, Neil Mercer calls for oracy, as a subject and a set of skills, to have equal footing alongside literacy and numeracy. Oracy can and must be taught, so that students leave school not only as readers and writers, but as accomplished speakers and listeners. Mercer incisively shows how oracy education has nothing to do with speaking ‘proper’, or eliminating style, slang and regional accents, but instead about empowering people to find and express their own voice. In fact, oracy is a key driver of cognitive development, academic attainment and social mobility – helping every young person to achieve their potential and challenge the inequalities of language and power.

The Transformative Power of Finding Your Voice is the first book to bring this important step change in educational and social thinking to a wider audience. But it is also a guide to how to use talk to teach critical thinking and find creative solutions to life’s burning issues. After all, the impact of oracy doesn’t stop at the school we all need oracy skills for our personal relationships, professional networks and social lives.

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2025

Reviews

[Zowie Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the wonderful opportunity of listening to and meeting Professor Neil Mercer, and it was an absolute privilege. His passion for oracy, and his ability to communicate its importance with such clarity and warmth, left a lasting impression. Reading Oracy: The Transformative Power of Finding Your Voice felt like an extension of that experience — insightful, motivating, and deeply human.

This book is a powerful reminder that speaking and listening are not “soft skills,” but essential tools for learning, thinking, and connecting. Mercer’s argument that oracy deserves equal standing with literacy and numeracy is both persuasive and urgent. What I love most is his focus on authenticity — that oracy isn’t about speaking ‘properly’ or suppressing individuality, but about helping people find the confidence to use their own voice, in their own way.

As a reader, I came away not only with practical ideas but also with a renewed belief in the power of talk to transform learning and lives. This is a book that stays with you — one that challenges how we see education, communication, and even ourselves. I can’t recommend it highly enough for teachers, parents, and anyone who believes that words have the power to change the world.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A research-informed argument that promotes the transformative importance of oracy in classrooms and its impact on raising attainment. I will use this book to supplement the work I am doing to address the imbalance between didactic and dialogic teaching in my school.

An accessible text that does not claim oracy to be the solution to educational success, but that by ignoring its importance, we are limiting pupils' potential to think constructively and critically.

Let's hope that those involved in the current curriculum and assessment review are reading this book too!