Eight coaches of oral interpretation from colleges across the United States were asked to tape record the coaching sessions that brought eight novices to tournament readiness. All of the students used the same three-poem program on the general theme of animals and children, but each student was required to write the introduction and transitions. After the tapescripts had been prepared, the verbal interactions were analyzed to identify the oral interpretation topics covered in each session as well as the specified patterns in using types of verbal interactions and in presenting the topics. The 68 oral interpretation topics were grouped into five focuses: literary analysis, delivery, audience, manuscript, and forensics. The analysis revealed that the eight dyads touched on all but four of the 68 topics. Those omitted were repetition, muscle tone/tension, audience context, and functioning of tournaments. Not only did the dyads treat most of the oral interpretation topics, but they gave supremacy to literary analysis, reaffirming the prevailing notion among oral interpretation scholars that literary analysis is vital to unlocking the meaning of a selection and that delivery grows from this study. (HOD)