To explain to mom that an oral message is different from a formal assignment, one might say the following: when we convey information orally, each instance becomes a new creative act rather than a repetition of a single, immutable assignment.

The Dynamic Art of Oral Communication

To explain to mom that an oral message is different from a formal assignment, one might say the following: when we convey information orally, each instance becomes a new creative act rather than a repetition of a single, immutable assignment. In oral speech, there is no fixed "original" like there is with written text. Each transmission of information is an independent performance in which subtleties and variations can emerge, meaning it is not simply a copy of the initial message.

This can be confirmed as follows. As stated in one source,
"In the written dissemination of works, we have an original, once-and-for-all creative act which, through reproduction or copying, begins to exist as a series of instances or copies, but no matter how many such copies, reproductions, or variants exist—all of them still reproduce the same original creative act. In the oral dissemination of works, each new rendition represents an equivalent creative act, existing among other similar creative acts, which no longer allows us to speak of copies or variants." (source: link txt)

This means that an oral message is not defined by pre-fixed content but is constantly renewed with each utterance. A formal assignment, written on paper, remains unchanging and concrete, whereas an oral statement continuously undergoes a process of creative realization.

Another fragment also notes:
"In the oral dissemination of works, each new rendition represents an equivalent creative act, existing within a series of similar creative acts, which no longer allows us to speak of any copies or variants. Therefore, A. Lord writes that in the oral tradition, concepts such as 'oral dissemination,' 'oral creativity,' and 'oral performance' effectively represent the same thing." (source: link txt)

Thus, it can be said that an oral message is dynamic, mutable, and always contextually relevant, whereas a formal assignment is a fixed and reproducible object. This is the main distinction that is important to convey to mom, so she understands that an oral message is not equivalent to a strictly formal assignment.

I hope this explanation helps clearly illustrate the difference between the dynamic nature of oral transmission and the static quality of a formal assignment.