Mykola Mykhailovych Ovcharov (born July 9, 1988) is a Ukrainian orator, lecturer and researcher of oratorical art as well as a Latin translator, film director and media artist.[1] He is the author of the contemporary rhetoric manual Master of Public Speaking, and other publications on ethics and philosophy. He also edits the scholarly magazine Unknown Orator.[2][3]
Ovcharov was born in Odesa, Ukraine. He studied at the Kyiv State Academy of Water Transport, and the Kyiv National University of Culture. He has collaborated with states and public organisations.
In 2009, he founded the Institute of Rhetoric, where he teaches oratorical art and publishes analytical articles on rhetoric, psychology, ethics, and philosophy.[4]
Ovcharov is the author of Master of Public Speaking (2017, 2023)[5] and publications on the ethics of public speaking. In 2024, he introduced two new books, Small Ethics and Evidence-Based Argumentation.[6][7]<
Contribution to contemporary rhetoric
Evidence-based argumentation
Ovcharov developed the concept of evidence-based argumentation as a method of pragmatic persuasion that combines empirical substantiation with rhetorical effectiveness. In his work Evidence-Based Argumentation (2024), he systematised approaches to constructing logically structured proofs in public speaking.
Theory of argumentation
Mykola Ovcharov identifies three primary forms of argumentation in contemporary rhetoric.[8]
Theoretical: Factual evidence from science, research, statistics, or analytics.
Theoretical: Factual evidence from science, research, statistics, or analytics.
Each type of argument must fulfill three criteria: authority, uniqueness, and support from an additional argument that reinforces the central thesis.
Influence on Ukrainian rhetorical school
Ovcharov's theoretical developments contribute to the institutionalisation of rhetoric as an academic discipline in Ukraine. The Institute of Rhetoric, founded by him in 2009, functions as a research centre that combines the study of classical tradition with the development of contemporary public speaking methodologies.[9] From 2025, Mykola Ovcharov publishes the journalUnknown Orator—the first Ukrainian-language scholarly-popular journal dedicated to oratorical art. The publication combines theoretical knowledge with practical advice for improving communication skills.[10]
Translation work
In 2025, he completed the first full Ukrainian translation of Cicero's First Catiline Oration[11][12] from the perspective of a practicing orator. Mykola Ovcharov paid particular attention to rhythm, textual dynamics, and oratorical techniques that are typically lost in literal translation.[13] The translation is accompanied by detailed notes on historical context, explanations of Roman life realities, and analysis of the speech's rhetorical features.[14] The work serves students and scholars studying Roman history, philosophy, and rhetoric.
Media art and cinema
In 2018, he presented his first video and media art exhibition The Interaction about human transformation from emotional to informational form.[15] The works were displayed at the Saatchi Gallery and Freedom Art Festival in London. In 2019, he directed his first wordless short film, Black Hole.[16] The film explores how people mutually absorb one another for their own development. It premiered on 11 July 2019 at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival (Australia).[17][18] On 29 September 2019, the film received a special jury prize at the "Bardak" Short Independent Film Festival in Kharkiv "for the director's clear handwriting, excellent and profound cinematography, and selection of distinctive characters. All elements and details work towards one goal—immersing viewers in the whimsical world created by the author".[19][20] In 2020, a second short film "Wild Opera" was shot, which the director decided not to release after editing.[21]
Public activity
Since 2019, he regularly conducts free masterclasses on oratorical art for specific social groups that are subject to or may face various forms of discrimination in Ukraine and globally (based on origin, gender, national or other identity) with the aim of reducing aggression levels and increasing effective communication between different people and tolerance levels.[22]
↑Ovcharov, Nikolay (2017). Master of Public Speaking (in Russian). Kyiv. p.212. ISBN9786177373956.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑Ovcharov, Nikolay (2017). Master of Public Speaking (in Russian). Kyiv. p.212. ISBN9786177373956.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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