Essentials of Public Speaking by Warren C. DuBois (1921)

;

;

ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING BY

Warren

C.

DuBois, A.M., LL.B.

Author of '"Hints for the Political Speaker" Contributing Editor United Y. M. C. A. Schools' Course in Public Speaking Instructor of Public Speaking in Neiv York University and the

Y.

M.

C. A.

NEW YORK

CHRIS.

F.

MEYER

945 East Third Street

borough of brooklyn

V

r

•

*

Copyright, 1921

by

Warren

C. DijBois

ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter

Page

A

I.

Talk with Beginning Speakers

Consider the Audience

II.

The Purposes

III.

Preparing the Speech

V.

17

of Speaking

'Scope of the Speech

IV.

9

.

.

34

.

58

.

— Part

I

62

— Part

II

69

Material

Preparing the Speech

VI.

Arrangement VII. VIII.

IX.

X.

j

XL 4 XII.

4

Lines of Development

81.

Questionnaire

97

.

.

Delivery in General

103

Enunciation

108

....

112

.....

118

Emphasis Pitch

.

XIII.

Rate

XIV.

The Eye

123 of the Audience

Posture

127

—Carriage—Gesture

Facial Expression

XV.

Memory

....

XVI. J Health and Voice

.

146 156

PREFACE Short evening courses in public speaking

have become so popular that the problem of supplementing the work helpful

text

room with

in the class

material has given

great difficulty.

The average

text

instructors

book

is

too

large and night students have not the time to

carry out programs of selective reading.

The author has attempted by

to

fill

the essentials of the subject.

this

need

form only

setting forth in a brief, concise

He

does not

claim for the work any originality of analysis; his sole

aim has been

volume

a brief but comprehensive outline of

the

to include in

one small

fundamentals of effective speaking

logical

in as

an order as the subject permits.

Warren 165 Broadway,

New York

September

1st,

1921.

City.

C.

DuBois.

To

HAMILTON COLLEGE

The "Home of Oratory

9

•

3 3

ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING CHAPTER

I.

A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS Until recently the ability to speak in public

was regarded as an

asset required only

by

lawyers, clergymen, politicians and profes-

And even among

sional speakers.

was often considered an inherited than something that could be

it

acquired or

But recent years have shown that

developed.

speaking ability

men

business

these

gift rather

is

just as useful

generally,

an

art to

not only for itself

but for the self-confidence, poise and other by-products that result from practice.

The

results

its

study and

obtained by students

of short courses have proved the theory of the old

Roman, "Poets are

are made."

Lord Chesterfield wrote

son that every

an orator. fine

born, but orators

man

to his

of fair abilities might be

The vulgar, he

said, look

upon a

speaker as a supernatural being, endowed [9]

•

.

•

-

•


10

He himgood speaker is as much

with some peculiar gift of heaven. self

maintained that a

a mechanic as a good shoemaker, and that the two trades the

were equally

same amount of

It is

to

be learned by

application.

of the utmost importance that the be-

ginning speaker should approach his task with

Speaking

the proper viewpoint.

Your to

success

is to

is

an

activity.

be measured by your ability

do the very thing and not by your knowledge

of the principles that underlie

master

all the theories of

it.

You may

swimming and

be unable to take a single stroke.

still

You might

spend years on the study of rhythm, grace

and expression, and

still

be unable to dance

The study of speaksame way in

an old-fashioned waltz.

ing must be approached in the

which we begin Recall, if

to learn to

you can,

You had

learning to swim.

ready and willing mysteries of the

swim or dance. when you were

the days

to

art.

a host of friends

enlighten you on the

Each had a pet theory

which, put into operation, would enable you to learn in a few minutes. the novel sensations

But you found that

which accompanied your

A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS first

dips expelled all the instructions and

theories given you, to

11

keep in mind

would probably drown.

and

that if

all that

get

was

you had told you,

tried

you

mental cramp

a

Later, however,

when

and

the strangeness

of being in water began to wear

off,

your

mental calm returned and you were able try out

some of

advanced. until

the theories which

to

had been

Step by step, you acquired a form

you suddenly awoke

to the realization

you could swim. With that realization came a feeling that swimming was a natural activity and that if you had only had the selfconfidence in yourself, you could have learned in a few minutes. You forgot, however, that the viewpoint which made you laugh at your slowness in learning was a gradual growth

that

and not a sudden acquisition. So with speaking. acquired

is

The

first

the self-confidence that

thing to be

comes from

wearing away those novel sensations that

company your

first

ac-

attempts on the platform.

Practice alone will do

it.

No amount

of

reading or study of principles will obviate the necessity of passing through all the strange


12

feelings

and emotions

that attend first efforts.

In the words of Calvin Leslie Lewis, who, as

head of the department of oratory College, has probably trained

Hamilton

at

more

successful

speakers than any other living instructor of the subject, is

"The only way

to learn to

speak

by speaking." The first efforts are usually discouraging.

The novelty of being on a platform, facing a large number of silent mouths and eyes, awakens

all sorts of fears

Each speaker problem

is

is

and new sensations.

inclined to believe that his

different

and

insurmountable.

Whatever the form your sensations assume, they are all traceable to one thing experience.

And

—

lack of

with each additional

effort,

they will decrease and gradually disappear. Self -consciousness

most common.

and nervousness are the

Self-consciousness

of mental confusion resulting ity to

at

from

that state

the inabil-

focus all of one's mentality on the task

hand.

ject

is

Instead of concentrating on the sub-

matter of the speech, the novice divides

his thinking

Once

get

between the subject and himself.

accustomed

to the

platform and

this

A

mental

TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS state will

soon give place to confidence

and concentration. Nervousness is somewhat pation of a

difficult

can be consumed. a handicap,

Antici-

different.

task excites the nerves, and

the nerves in turn generate

is

13

If

more energy than

you think nervousness

you are mistaken;

it

is

your

Dr. Russell H. Conwell,

greatest blessing.

author of "Acres of Diamonds," and one of the

most experienced lecturers

in the world,

never speaks without a preliminary attack of nervousness that makes his friends wonder

why he

enjoys the

art.

An

interesting com-

ment on nervousness was made and for the

benefit of

handicap

is

general

it

men who

repeated here.

who saw

to the author,

think

it is

a

An American

service at the front in France

made a particular study of various types of men as they conducted themselves under fire. One of his conclusions was that the nervous men are the steadiest in a crisis and that the so-called "stolid" men, who show no uneasiness before going over the top, frequently "blow

up"

in

man-to-man

the difference

He explained which may not be

fighting.

by a theory

14


sound psychologically but which has a measure of truth which warrants

repetition.

its

'The nervous boy discovers early in his

youth that he suffers from a handicap which

must be considered takes.

he under-

in everything

Whenever he

must not only

acts he

expend the ordinary amount of energy but he

must also whip

his will to stick to the line of

The

action in spite of his nervousness.

of this constant effort

is

result

the development of a

certain force of control which enables

him

to

carry out his purpose in spite of his nerves.

A

battle is

something which no

prehend until he

is

in

The

it.

man

can com-

stolid

man

is

apt to find himself in a situation which shakes his

composure for the

first

time.

And

never

having built up a force which enables him to control his nerves, he

is

likely to 'go to pieces.'

But

to the

test

of his strength and courage, and with the

nervous man,

it is

merely another

aid of the 'antitoxin' which he has been un-

consciously building up for

many

years, he

comes through."

You may

not agree with this theory, but

serves a purpose.

If

you are nervous,

it

the

A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS greater

is

15

And

your need of speaking.

the

more you build up this "antitoxin," the better fortified you will be not only in speaking but in

every other activity that requires concentra-

tion in a trying situation.

A

word about

text book.

has

many

phases.

think of the will

the proper use of this or

If

many

you allow yourself

couraged as a weaponless of a den of wild animals.

platform

in this book,

and

all the

you

to

you must learn you

things

probably become as confused and as

to the

any

Speaking, like every other activity,

man If

in the

you

dis-

middle

try to carry

ideas and instructions

will get mental indigestion

fail.

The aim of

all

education

is to

enable the

student to master correct principles to the point where

they can

conscious habit. out

many

Your

be applied by subfirst

of the rules herein set forth.

your weaknesses and seek one by one. is

speech will carry

To undertake

to

too

Study

overcome them

much

far worse than to attempt too

at a

little.

time

After

considerable experience you will find yourself

applying

all the principles

with

little

or no


16

thought of them, just as you are able to read

your morning paper thinking of

The

at

breakfast

without

how to handle your knife and

fork.

arrangement of this book does not give

which

the elements of speaking in the order in

they should be acquired. in as logical a

It

simply

sets forth

scheme as the subject permits

the essential points to be learned

and applied.

Read it with that in mind. The manifestations of progress come in and starts. The curve of achievement

fits

re-

sembles the sky line of a range of mountains beginning at the sea and ending at the highest peak.

Between

depression. first

crests there

realization of progress, a period of

and discouragement if

are valleys of

After the beginner enjoys the

is

slump

likely to follow.

But

he keeps on he will get out of the valley

and reach another

crest

from which he can

see not only the goal of his struggle but the

height he has already attained. success

is to

the valley.

The slump

Every

is

effort

your goal.

The

secret of

keep faith and courage when in is

only imaginary.

carrying you a step nearer

CHAPTER

II.

CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE

The farmer

judged by the satisfaction

is

The

which his produce gives the consumer. successful

artist

is

the one whose paintings

give pleasure to those

speech that wins

is

who observe them. The

the one that produces in

the audience the thoughts, ideas, feelings or

emotions which the speaker experiences. That is

his goal

test,

A

and unless

his efforts

that

he has failed. great

many

have neglected

speakers fail because they

to take into consideration the

Audiences

viewpoint of the hearer.

But they are

and

meet

all

all

human

differ.

composed of human beings,

beings are alike in

many

ways.

Let us consider some of the laws which control all

minds.

Mental Energy

Every man possesses a certain degree of mental alertness.

When [17]

he

is

asleep,

it is

at


18

zero; if he were on a desert plain, standing

from wild animals

alone, defending himself

surrounding him, It fluctuates

would be

it

at its highest.

between these extremes, accord-

ing to the time of day, the state of his mental

and physical condition, and the task on which he

A

engaged.

is

accused of murder

any

to spring in

that

is

on his mental

back

sinks

meet the

ready

the strain of the

composure and

into

mental motor slows down sary to

toes,

The next hour

direction.

same lawyer, relieved of

trial,

man

lawyer defending a

his

to the point neces-

important problems

less

which confront him. Prehistoric

alone

man was

ever on the alert

—wild animals and

pelled

it.

hostile tribes

But when he joined his

when com-

tribe,

he

could afford to operate on fewer mental cylinders

—he

was

safer.

But we

still

historic

man when

if that

group

show

is

Life

has changed.

characteristics of the pre-

collected in groups.

engaged

in a

common

And

pursuit,

the individual consciousness blends with those

of the

comes

group and gradually each member to

regard himself as a part of the whole.


19

This group consciousness decreases the mental alertness of the individual

and

of mental energy of the individual a

decrease

this

member

of

crowd explains many characteristics of an

audience.

It

has a great lesson for the speaker.

An

audience will not keep on the firing line

the

same amount of mental energy

would

fore, if

that

separated into individuals.

if

you would succeed

it

There-

in getting

your

listeners to think or act,

you must not impose

any more of a burden on

their mental energies

than

is

necessary.

Herbert Spencer in his masterful essay on

"The Philosophy of Style" reduces cessful writing to

of

the

economy of

Whatever

may

law

reader's

the

attention.

no doubt but

that

it

is

in a speaker's success in so far

as his speech, apart

cerned.

suc-

be the value of that theory in

writing, there can be the first

all

observance of the law

its

from

The speaker

and feelings

into

The

delivery,

is

con-

translates his thoughts

language;

translates that language

and feelings.

its

back

latter

the into

audience thoughts

process must be

accomplished as the speech flows; there

is

no


20

opportunity to go over and over the words as

is

with

possible in reading. Unless the audience, its

decreased mental energy, can perform

this act as the

speech proceeds, the speaker

The

has failed to accomplish his purpose. task, then, is so to

frame the expression as

to

gain the desired result with the least effort on

who

the part of those

hear.

Mental Imagery and Imagination

Hold out your

right

hand and look

carefully for a few seconds.

and try

to recall its general

little effort,

you can see

of the details.

at

it

Close your eyes

appearance. With

that

hand with many

That picture which appeared

before you when your eyes were closed was a visual image, a photograph which the took, developed

mind

and printed while you per-

ceived the object with your eyes.

Whistle a few notes of some popular song.

Then

your mind run over the same notes. What you hear is an auditory image. You let

recalled the sounds of your

own

voice

means of auditory imagery. Recall, if you can, the taste of your

by

favorite

CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE fruit.

you succeed,

If

it

21

because of the

is

Run your

power of your gustatory imagery.

and the

finger over the cover of this book,

sensation

may

be renewed a few seconds later

by the aid of your

tactual imagery.

can enjoy the fragrance

of

If

your favorite

flower after the scent has passed,

because

it is

you possess olfactory imagery. We have completed the imagery of There are others

senses.

—

you

the

the five

imagery of

motion or motor imagery, thermal imagery or the

imagery of temperature

—but

they are

really parts of the original five.

All our knowledge

power of to

of the past,

recollection, rests

upon our

bring up mental images of what

heard,

felt,

all

tasted or smelled.

our

ability

we saw,

Every impres-

sion made upon our minds from the outside world must travel by way of one or more of the five senses. It is the work of the imagination to supply these mental images,

which are

present recollections of past realities.

There are two kinds of imagination ductive and reproductive.

image of

this

To hold

—

pro-

a mental

morning's breakfast table

is

— ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

22

merely the work of reproductive imagination. But to combine mental images of some friend,

and a camel, so

a desert

riding on

friend

necessitates

you can see

camel across a desert

a

cat

slats

The space

was too small, so

could extract was feathers.

Eli

chicken

clawing at a

the openings of the crate.

between the

that

productive imagination.

Whitney saw a through

that

all the cat

Later,

Whitney

recalled the scene with these modifications

instead of a chicken he

saw raw cotton with

seeds too large to pass through the openings.

This mental image gave us the cotton gin

one of the

many

creations of the

power of

productive imagination.

We

vary in our powers of imagination;

some can

recall

in

all

its

details

the

first

some can return from a musical comedy and hear again every lyric in the score; circus;

there are

men and women who can

recall the

taste of five or six varieties of apples.

the average individual, the visual the

strongest;

then

tactual imagery.

of a scene

is

come

That

more

is

With

imagery

is

the

auditory and

why

a delineation

easily appreciated than

23


a description of what the speaker heard or felt.

Needless to say, our imagination approaches but cannot be greater than our experiences.

To is

tell

a native of

Guam

that the Eiffel

Tower

higher than the Woolworth Building would

be as futile as explaining a passage in Greek to

an African by translating

it

into Chinese.

The mental images follow the experiences. The speaker must employ only those which by reason of

the audience can appreciate

its

experience.

Concrete Language

We

have seen that in order

goal, the speaker

and feelings will

in

translate

must express

such a his

way

to attain his

his thoughts

that the audience

language

back

into

the

thoughts and feelings which the speaker experiences.

This requires not only accuracy

but also proper selection, so that the mental processes of the audiences

may

be attended

with the least expenditure of energy.

Without

attempting to trace the course of a sentence

from

its

hearing

to

its

understanding and


24

assimilation,

it

should be stated that before

any given language can register clear thought in the mind of the recipient, it must pass

To through the stage of mental imagery. illustrate: a speaker states, "Some animals are faithful companions."

In order to get a clear

understanding of the speaker's meaning, the audience starts to turn the word "animals" into

some

Some may

mental image.

definite

think of dogs, others think of horses;

some

Those who think of dogs

may

think of cats.

will

probably attempt

to picture a particular

breed of dogs, such as an Irish setter or a

Newfoundland.

But

this

mental process

re-

quires a certain expenditure of mental energy

which could be avoided. said

Had

"Newfoundland dogs are

the speaker

faithful com-

panions," he would not only save this mental energy, but he would be certain that all got his

meaning.

calling is

up a

This illustrates the force of

distinct visual image.

The same

true of other imagery; "sour as vinegar"

means more than billiard ball" has

"bitter"; "smooth as a more of an appeal than the

mere word "smooth"; "fragrant as a rose"

25


requires no additional thoughts as does the

expression "sweet smelling."

So much for words.

The idea which

is set

forth in concrete rather than general language,

language which calls forth a distinct mental image, requires a less amount of energy

understand and appreciate, and the

more

principle is

effective.

Now

let

is

to

therefore

us regard this

from a larger viewpoint

—one which

concerned with comprehensive ideas rather

than with single tangible objects. Inductive and Deductive Thinking

A

student reads the lives of Washington,

He

Lincoln and Roosevelt. the

numerous incidents

is

impressed by

in the life of each,

which indicated great human sympathy.

comes

to the conclusion that

presidents were

sympathy.

men

He

our three greatest

of extraordinary

human

This process of reasoning, from

particular incidents to a general conclusion, is

known

as induction, or inductive reasoning.

This form of reasoning it

is

very simple in

comes so easily and naturally

ing of hasty conclusions causes

;

fact,

that the draw-

more pain and


26

Had

sorrow than evil motives.

made such

the student

a general statement to one

who

lives of these three

men,

had recently read the the statement

would immediately

same anecdotes

that both

be easily understood

up the and would

call

had read,

But

and appreciated.

suppose the hearer had not read biographies of the presidents, what would be the train of

thought following such a statement? In order better to illustrate the principle,

we will take "The desire than one

to

man

Assume for

A

different facts.

speaker

states,

be president has caused more to

die

of a

broken heart."

the purpose of the illustration that

a brief recess enables the audience to carry

Some member might

through the thought.

reason thus, "Oh, yes, Daniel Webster aimed for the presidency and failure killed him."

This process of reasoning, from a general statement to a specific instance,

is

known

deduction, or deductive reasoning. reverse of induction,

is

more

It is

indefinite in

as the its

progress, and requires considerable concentration

and mental energy

We

to

perform.

have assumed in the foregoing

illustra-

27

CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE tion that the audience

had the time and the

necessary knowledge with which to carry the general assertion over to a concrete instance.

The average instance does not afford opportunity.

And

this

speaker passes on

if the

without the audience's having translated the general statement into a general illustration or a specific instance, the statement remains indefinite to

and

make room

is

cast aside

by

the audience

for the ideas which follow.

The speaker should never indulge in abstract statements without supporting them with general illustrations or specific instances. a better rule first

and

is

to state

And

your concrete facts

then, if necessary, confirm the con-

clusion or induction

by a general statement.

Causes of Belief

So much speaking has for

its

ceptance of some belief, that

aim

the ac-

much can be

learned by a brief investigation of the causes of believing.

What does

the average

believe so strongly that if

he

is

likely to

man

you

become angry?

believe,

and

differ with

him

The

tenets of


28

How

his religion.

did he come to believe in

No, the average

them; by reasoning? vidual

who holds

a child.

At

to a faith,

acquired

when

that early age,

it

the

indi-

when mind

was incapable of reasoning, the parents and

Sunday Schools taught the child that there was a Supreme Being and that the conduct of the world was regulated by laws laid down by that Supreme Being. The child believed because neither its own mind nor that of others the

questioned or contradicted these statements.

Years

later,

when

the reasoning

child are developed, he the tenets of the faith in

But in a

crisis

may

powers of the

question some of

which he was reared.

which brushes away

frivolous thinking and compels

him

light

and

to act

on

what he really believes, he will probably be found clinging to the faith of his childhood.

What does this prove? Simply that everything we hear becomes a truth with us unless our own brain or that of another questions it

and thereby

raises

an

issue.

In the case of

a speaker addressing an audience, the prob-

lem

is to

combat the questioning of the audi-


speaker can win out, he has

If the

ence.

29

secured acceptance of the belief.

With

the decreased mental energy of the

audience and the power of the speaker's personality, the audience is at a disadvantage. It

requires mental energy to question a state-

ment, and ence

if

the force of the speaker's pres-

is sufficient,

But

favor.

if

the doubts are resolved in his

doubts arise they can be over-

come not only by reasoning but tion. The effect of repeating

also

by

repeti-

a statement

far greater than that of argument.

is

The prob-

lem, therefore, of getting others to accept a belief

is

not so

much

keen arguments, as

mind with

a question of fashioning

it

is

a task of filling the

that thought to the exclusion of

contradictory ideas.

cupy the same space

No two

objects can oc-

at the

same time; no

two ideas can occupy the brain at the same

moment.

Each time you repeat a statement,

you focus the attention of the audience upon it.

Gradually, whatever contradictory ideas

may have

suggested themselves lose ground,

and the speaker's statement occupies the entire thought of the brain.

Have you ever stopped

30


how our

to think of

are sold? sole

best advertised products

"Eventually,

argument of a

why

not

now?"

the

is

"The

flour manufacturer.

Prudential has the strength of Gibraltar"

is

repeated so often that no one has any doubts

—

they have been crowded out of the brain. American history teems with instances of

left

public

men

attaining their goals merely

asserting a conclusion so frequently

vigorously that the public

pel truth.

it

drove

mind and became accepted

He

the United States Bank.

sound.

and so

all opposition

Andrew Jackson sought

The

said

figures compiled

ents proved otherwise.

repeating "The bank

by

by

from

as gos-

to destroy it

was un-

his oppon-

But Jackson went on

broke and Biddle he won the public over to his is

knows

it" until

side.

Hiram W. Johnson, standing

alone,

elected

himself Governor of California by embracing one issue and hammering away at it

every night of the campaign.

state in his

Touring the

own motor

car, he addressed little groups in every hamlet and village, ending every speech with these words:

"And remember

this,

my

friends, I

am

go-

!


31

ing to be the next Governor of California, and

when

am,

I

I

am

going

to

kick out of this

government William F. Herrin and the South-

Good

ern Pacific Railroad.

night

Each time Johnson repeated

,!

this statement

he brought the minds of the electorate back to

Gradually

the idea.

it

and was accepted as

The

crowded out

effect of repetition

all

He was

true.

doubts

elected.

has never been better

expressed than by our old friend, Mr. Dooley: "I belave annything at to

me

Experience teaches us thing

ye only

all, if

tell it

often enough."

nearly

or

to

everything

question every-

we

that

hear.

Otherwise, our safe-deposit boxes would be filled

with worthless

has

Self-protection

nearly

oil

and mining

trained

every matter before

But before our minds begin thing,

the

definiteness

When

us

to

stocks.

question

taking

action.

to question any-

idea must reach that

degree of

which makes questioning possible.

the insurance agent says, "I want

to take a policy

for $10,000," the goal

Then

fectly definite.

tioning:

"Can

I

the

mind

is

you per-

turns to ques-

afford it"; "Couldn't

I

use


32 the

premiums

he merely icy, the

the

to better

advantage?'

But

if

presents the benefits of such a pol-

mind

of the prospect

arguments in

thinking he does

is

its

is

focused on

favor, and whatever

more

likely to be in the

nature of the conclusion that he should invest.

For that reason, the skilful salesman never puts the blunt question until he has caused

you

come

to

by your own

to that conclusion

thinking.

We

have seen that the mental energy of an

audience

is

limited.

If the

speaker stops short

of the goal, the energy of the audience

spent in carrying the thought to

There

is

little

its

is

conclusion.

or none left for questioning.

This method of convincing an audience by directing

its

thoughts toward the goal, but by

refraining from stating the goal until

thought has reached the point, gestion.

ing

its

is

its

own

called sug-

The audience believes that it is makown decision and its mind is so com-

pletely engaged

in carrying the thought to

that conclusion, that there is

no room or time

for opposing or deterring ideas.

.

Perhaps the greatest modern master of sug-

CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE gestion

is

33

William Jennings Bryan.

In the

campaign of 1896, he aimed to focus attention of the American people on the tainty of McKinley's defeat.

"McKinley

Had

the cer-

he said,

will be defeated," the audience

would have undoubtedly carried the thought over to the reasons why he would not be beaten.

True, had he repeated the statement

would have gained some

often enough, he effect.

But instead of repetition, he employed

suggestion.

Notice

how he

refrains

from a

blunt statement:

"McKinley was

among

most popular

the

man

and three months ago

the Republicans,

everybody in the Republican Party prophesied his election.

man who was

How

is it

today?

Why,

the

once pleased to think that he

looked like Napoleon

—

that

day when he remembers

man

shudders

that he

to-

was nomi-

nated on the anniversary of the Battle of

Waterloo.

Not only

that,

but as he listens

he can hear with ever-increasing distinctness the sound of the

lonely shore of

waves as they beat upon the St.

Helena."

;

CHAPTER

III.

THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING

No

architect

would think of beginning work

on the plans for a building until he was told the purpose for

to

which the structure was

to

be

Unless the speaker builds his speech

used.

meet the need of the occasion or the goal he

has in mind, he cannot hope to achieve success.

Viewed from sion,

there

the standpoint of the occa-

the

is

speech,

political

speech,

after-dinner

the

lecture,

the

board-of-

the

directors speech, the sermon, the talk to the jury, the the

argument before the bench of judges,

Fourth of July oration, and a host of

others.

Many

of these have

much

they overlap in so far as purpose

The only really fore, is one

the ultimate

in

is

common

concerned.

scientific classification, there-

based not on the occasion, but on

aim or end of

the speech.

Students of oratory, from Quintilian down,

have endeavored ing to the

to classify

aim of

speeches accord-

the speaker. [34]

It is

not the


35

new

analysis,

author's intention to invent any

but merely

to present a division that will

be

of most usefulness to the beginning speaker.

Roughly speaking, there are two main sions:

first,

divi-

the purely entertaining speech,

and, second, the speech which seeks to accomplish something

more

serious than merely to

please the listener during first

class

fall

the

its

delivery.

In the

after-dinner speech,

the

speech of welcome to returning friends, the

monologue of vaudeville, and merely aim

which

to please the listeners for the

time

Such speeches may or may not be

being.

humorous, but they should be piness

all those

is

felicitous.

the key-note of their purpose.

HapIf the

speaker holds the attention and amuses, he has achieved his end.

Most theatre-goers look upon tragedy as calling forth the highest art actors.

and

skill of the

But our greatest stage celebrities are

almost unanimous in the assertion that comedy is

the most difficult

and trying of

sounds discouraging, there

is

all.

hope

If this

in the tes-

timony of our greatest popular humorist, Irvin S. Cobb.

Mr. Cobb always keeps

his


36

on the ground; he never indulges in

feet

tery or blatant optimism.

everyone has the

But he

ability to

states that

develop into a

humorous writer or speaker. The idea it is a gift of birth he calls "bushwah."

The

make

ability to

two assets

—

first,

the cultivation of the eye for

humorous

the

knack of presenting what

side of every situation; second,

strikes our funny manner that will make others experisame sensation. There is really noth-

in a

ence the ing

that

others laugh requires

the

bone

flat-

new

in

humor.

All our brand-new jokes

are, as Mark Twain points out, old ones in new garments. If you question his- statement,

note the next fifty funny stories or sayings

you hear and you

will find that they fall into

one of a few classes.

Every man has a sense of humor and everyone possesses in some degree the ability to

make

others enjoy what

side of life.

It

is

to

takes time

much experimentation

him and

the

funny

effort

and

to find yourself in this

but practice will, as in every other field of endeavor, bear fruit. art,

Humor, of

course,

is

only one of the factors


Some

of entertainment.

37

of the others are:

(1) the vital; (2) the unusual; (3) the uncer(4) the antagonistic; (5) the animate,

tain;

and (6) the concrete.

By

vital

we mean

those things which touch

our most intimate interests in existence.

Pro-

fessor William James wrote that the average

man

developed but ten per cent of his ability;

recent statistics

show

that one out of every

ten marriages ends in the divorce court. These

are vital facts.

The Chinese pay the doctor while they are As soon as they fall ill, his income well. from the sick stops. That is unusual and therefore entertaining.

The uncertain

is

another

pended, or the surprise.

name

The

for the sus-

secret of writing

a good detective story lies in the art of with-

holding from the reader the solution of the

mystery until the very end.

Have you ever noticed how many books and plays consist merely of a hero trying

to

get something with a villain obstructing his efforts?

Combat of some

the antagonistic.

sort is the

key of

Tell an audience of some


38

struggle

— —and

"Life-like"

properties of

fight

battle,

tale.

describes

the

The

animate.

radium may not entertain

all

but few will fail to enjoy an account

how Madame Currie chanced upon

of

for

they respond like children

recognition

hearing a fairy

listeners,

game,

football

that

marvelous element.

The concrete

An

is

explanation of

the tangible,

why

the

the actual.

human body

will

sink in fresh water might not be interesting to the

average

man on

in the Great Salt

up

the street.

how

speaker discourse on

But

let the

body will float Lake and everyone "pricks the

his ears."

Perhaps the greatest virtue of an entertaining speech

is

the continuity of

its

interest.

Never allow the speech to "sag"; keep the minds of the listeners off the ground.

The second division to

—

the speech which aims

do something more than entertain

prises every other conceivable dress.

This class

may

—com-

form of ad-

be subdivided into four

groups, or into two groups of two subdivisions each:

39

THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING I.

II.

—Speeches without emotional (a)

Instructive.

(6)

Argumentative.

—Speeches with emotional (a)

Impressive.

(b)

Appealing.

appeal.

appeal.

The Instructive Speech j

The

itself to clearness.

this classification,

aims

speech

instructive

Nearly every speech

we

at

to

clarify.

some point confines

But for the purpose of are only concerned with

clearness as an end and not as a means.

Recently Elihu Root appeared before the !

'

;

|

!

I

members of City

the

with an

He

Nations."

Bar Association of

'The League of

address on told

them of

created by the League and

the

machinery

how the draftsmen He did not at-

intended

it

tempt

impress them with the magnitude of

to

should function.

the undertaking, nor did he !

New York

aim

to

gain their

acceptance of his belief in the efficacy of the

League or

in the

wisdom of

its

rejection

by

I

the United States Senate.

He made no

appeal

—


40

for action on the part of his listeners.

His

purpose was merely to make clear to the

members

of

the

bar the organization and

new

operation of this

super-state

Peace Commissioners had

which the

set up.

Here was an excellent example of the

in-

structive speech.

Lectures and most addresses

before

and professional meetings

business

come within

this class.

such speeches to

make

may

The

virtue sought in

be boiled down

to this,

the audience understand the subject

And

as clearly as the speaker.

in striving for

this virtue, there is a cardinal rule

nearly always applicable

known

which

is

explain the un-

in terms of the

known. Victor Hugo began his masterful description of the Battle of Waterloo by asking the reader to imagine

Each point of some part of the

a capital A.

assigned to

assisting the reader to build

image of the

up

the field letter,

was

thereby

a clear visual

struggle.

Never use technical terms unless (1) you are sure they are

known

to the audience, or

(2) you have preceded the use of the term

with

a

clear

explanation

of

its

meaning.


41

and

interest

Nothing will

kill

the attention

of an audience so quickly as the use of

word or phrase which

They immediately

is

some

unintelligible to them.

conclude

that

you are

"speaking over their heads" and become

Many

less.

speakers use technical terms with

the parenthesis, "I'll explain that later." is

also dangerous.

a coat If

upon

rest-

This

trying to hang

It is like

the wall before driving the nail.

you must use technical terms, explain them

immediately

or, better,

precede the use with

a brief definition.

Be sure instances

.

your

that

are

illustrations or specific

known

your hearers.

to

speaker, addressing a

New York

A

audience,

room on a battlenoonday in Rome.

likened the heat of the boiler ship to the temperature of

The

illustration

meant nothing.

tioned the heat of a

subway

Had he men-

train in

August

with the fans out of order, the simile would

have explained.

The

best mental images to call forth are

those easily seen, heard or felt ence.

by

the audi-

This usually means images which are

most frequently called

to

mind.

Beware, how-


42

hackneyed expressions as "white

ever, of such

as snow," "cold as ice," "sharp as a razor."

They are words

to

common

so

the

that they

merely mean

Repeated use has

listener.

robbed them of force and freshness.

Remember

that the average individual de-

velops his visual imagery

any of the

others.

therefore,

is

more than he does

The use of mental pictures, means of ob-

the most effective

taining clearness.

The Impressive Speech

When we

couple with clearness the emo-

tional association, our

Here

the appeal

the head.

is to

aim

is

impressiveness.

the heart rather than to

Not only must the idea be seen,

must also be

felt.

None

of us

highly developed intellectually stand the effect of emotion. stir,

A

it

—no matter how — can with-

Thoughts

may

but feelings move.

newspaper correspondent witnesses the Marne. He sees the Germans

Battle of the

attempt to cross the river, hears the roar of the French "seventy-fives," smells the light

brown smoke from

the guns, feels the

ground


43

beneath him shudder as the shells explode.

Every emotion

home

Returning

aroused.

is

to his

he appears before an

in Switzerland,

audience of his countrymen with an account of his experiences. of the Allies, he ation of

He

doesn't argue the cause

makes no appeal for a

—he simply

war

declar-

make them

desires to

run the gamut of feelings which he experienced as an eye witness.

His aim

is to

be impressive.

Eulogies of

dead heroes, patriotic addresses on national holidays, invectives

—

all fall

within this class.

Impressiveness can be gained by any one or

more of a variety of means. some of them. Quoting a well known acceptance of an idea, with which the

memory

Let us consider

man it

not only gains

stirs

of that

the feelings

man

A speaker addressing an audience

is

linked.

on the value

of utilizing all the faculties of the mind, inter-

polated this paragraph:

"Perhaps the secret of Roosevelt's greatness will never be revealed

more

by any biographer in a manner than by the man's own the last week of his life. Writing to

terse

words in

:


44 his

sister,

Mrs. Robinson, he defended his

'When

strenuous life in these words: twenty-one,

my

live I

can

promised myself that

I

life to the hilt until I

now say

that

Generalities

was

I

I

was

would

And

sixty.

have kept that promise.'

I

may

impress those who are

constantly endeavoring to frame their concepts

of the general laws of life and science, but

they

mean

little to

To say

audience.

the average

that

member

of an

Washington was tender-

hearted, kind and affectionate

is

not nearly so

impressive as the following lines from one of his biographies:

'The

General had finished his farewell

A

address.

around him. Greene

—

death-like

silence

gripped

Standing near was

all

General

Without a word spoken, Washington advanced toward him and kissed in tears.

him." Specific instances

which arouse sentiment

are the most impressive. told

of

by the

The following was

a student of the emotions as evidence close

alliance

between humor and

pathos

The drunkard

sat

on the curb with his

THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING shaggy head resting on his

him danced his

head

—

the

jests.

Suddenly the

sot raised

—one

of the boys

crowd scattered

own

father."

and anecdotes tend

to shock.

recognized the drunkard as his

Unusual

stories

Around spearing him

chest.

the village urchins,

with sticks and

45

The following quotation from Dr. W. Hanna Thompson is an excellent instance of the power of

the unusual. Speaking of the

Roman

Seneca and his base nature, Dr. Thompson writes : ".

.

.

he (Seneca) was the

man who

scan-

dalized even the hardened cynics of Nero's

Rome by

rising in the Senate to eulogize

Nero

for ripping open the body of his mother to see the If

womb

that bore

him."

you would make an idea impressive, you

must make the audience give more thought it

than

it

exposition. it,

to

ordinarily would in a short, cursory

By dwelling on

it,

by repeating

by using impressive words, you enlarge the

attention given the idea.

The

short Anglo-Saxon words are usually

preferable to the Latinized ones.

The Bible

and Lincoln's speeches owe part of

their liter-


46

ary immortality

to the superiority of the short,

terse quality of simple words.

poses of impressiveness

it is

But for pur-

sometimes advan-

tageous to use the longer word. cigarette

smoking by

little

To say

that

girls is nasty ex-

presses the idea very well, but to say that

disgusting

an

adds

impressiveness.

it is

Like-

wise, to call a spectacle stupendous gives

The

emphasis which the word grand lacks. reason for this superiority

is

the greater

an

num-

ber of syllables and therefore the greater

space of time in which the adjective occupies the attention of the hearers.

Repetition of an idea gains impressiveness for the same reason.

Notice

how

the cumula-

tion of evidence in the following

paragraph

hammers the thought home: 'The Germans had no scruples of conscience in

waging war.

ful

When

the invasion of peace-

Belgium was protested

neutrality, the

paper!'

in the

name

of

answer was, 'A mere scrap of

When Woodrow Wilson penned

his

protest against the use of the submarine, the

answer was, 'Stay

When

aged

fathers tried to shelter their daughters

from

off the seas!'


47

the invading hordes, the penalty consisted of

forcing them to witness the violation of their offspring on the open street."

Repetition

may

take the

form of continuous

reassertion as in the last instance or

it

may

be a recurrence at stated intervals throughout In either case, effectiveness

the speech.

best gained

each succeeding repetition than the

is

by a climactic sequence in which is

more

striking

last.

The Argumentative Speech

The argumentative speech aims an audience

to

persuade

to

accept the speaker's belief.

Where speakers

representing different sides of

a question present their arguments to the

same

audience, the contest

Such

is

called a debate.

contests require a strict adherence to rules,

cold,

mathematical appeal

to reason.

object of a speaker in a debate

a greater

amount of evidence

his contention than his his efforts are to

formal

and the speaking takes the form of a

is to

But the

adduce

in support of

opponent does.

judged by

men who

And

are sworn

weigh his arguments from an unprejudiced


48

But the average argumentative

viewpoint.

speech must do more. sent reasons,

it

must not only pre-

It

must secure belief.

The cardinal rule for gaining acceptance of any belief is to liken that belief with one or more already accepted by the audience. The following paragraph from a speech by an advocate of the League of Nations illustrates the application of this rule:

'The opponents of the League have spent

many words on the argument that whatever may be derived from its adoption will

benefits

be purchased at the cost of our American erties.

tain rights.

New York you

Flourish a revolver on Broadway, City, and, unless

you have a permit,

will soon find yourself

gentleman in blue

Where

lib-

All government means the loss of cer-

is

accompanying a

to the nearest police station.

your liberty?

But the next day,

you are fortunate enough

to secure bail, that

same policeman may save your assaults of a thug.

if

Would you

life

from

the

up

that

give

protection to regain the liberty of carrying

arms?

The next time you pay taxes on your you will find on examining the bill

real estate,


49

money collected goes to the You cannot deduct that State of New York. amount from the bill. Where is your liberty? But the money which goes outside your county helps to keep the state roads in repair. You that

some of

may

go anywhere in the State without paying

tolls to cross

the

bridges and without being held

up as a possible

alien.

these enjoyments

Would you

relinquish

regain the right to refuse

to

pay taxes? Recently, the United States Supreme Court told New York that it could

to

not tax residents of other states at a greater rate than

it

Where

taxed us.

taxing non-residents?

is

our liberty of

But that same Federal

stations representatives all over

Government

the world to protect us

business or pleasure. of dollars and men,

it

when we

At the

travel on

cost of millions

prevented an ambitious

conqueror from implanting the German lan-

guage on our land.

Are

the benefits worth

the cost?

'The advocates of the League would go a

They would protect us from the ravages of war, they would save us billions of

step farther.

dollars that

now go

into engines of destruction,


50

they would insure freedom to business all over the world.

What

those rights

is

the cost!

Simply the

which we have long ago

loss of

contrib-

uted to the cause of law and order in order to secure the blessings of peace and happiness."

The value of

and suggestion has

repetition

There

been discussed in a previous chapter.

remains one other important means of securing acceptance.

The

citing of testimony

some well known man

is

from

a very effective aid.

Nearly every great political leader has relied

upon

the opinions of deceased statesmen as

arguments in favor of his stand on important measures.

In defending his formation of the

Progressive Party,

Roosevelt

continually

quoted Lincoln's views on party loyalty and likened his leaving of the Republican Party to Lincoln's entrance into the

every Senator the

same party. Nearly

who opposed our entrance

into

League of Nations quoted Washington's

warning against entangling alliances.

The Appealing Speech

The purpose of secure action

—

the appealing speech

the highest

and most

is to

difficult

THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING goal of to

all.

The man who can

do his will

things,

is

—

an audience

not only an orator, he

This power

leader.

get

51

a function of

is

personality, reputation,

and

is

a

many

all the

virtues of speaking that are part of the orator's

But much may be gained by how to direct the appeal. Why do men toil, why do they perform any

equipment. learning

Such

act requiring the expenditure of effort?

a question propounded to six

would probably produce fitting

men on

the street

what that man wanted most

particular time. together

But

if

each

six answers,

that

at

those six were to

come

answers,

they

and compare

their

would probably agree on one common aim life

—

to live happily.

result of satisfying

But happiness

is

wants and desires.

in

the

In

order, then, to secure action through appeal,

we must show the audience that the line of conduct we would have them pursue will satisfy one or more of their desires. Man's wants are many.

Primitive

man

wanted only food, clothing, shelter and a helpmate. out, the

But, as students of advertising point

advancement of

civilization increases

—— ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

52

the complexity of life

and the resulting wants

To name specifically wants and needs would require the

and needs of mankind. all these

But for the pur-

space of a small dictionary.

pose of the speaker,

it

will suffice to

name

the

may

be

seven classes in which these wants

The order in which they are named an arbitrary one and does not signify their

grouped. is

relative importance.

"Self-preservation

I.

law of

the first

is

much quoted maxim, often used to explain the selfishness of human beings. But it is instinctive, and if we are to judge man by the animal kingdom in general, it is

nature,"

the

or

is

a

law of conduct.

first

last, it is

all.

But whether

an important factor

The erection of houses,

body, the caution

in

times

it is first

in the life of

the care of the

and places of

danger, the appropriations for military defenses

—

all

are testimonials of the desire for to

any

one of the countless desires flowing from

this

self-preservation.

instinct,

and you are sure

some human II.

Appeal, therefore,

to set in

motion

act.

"Love rules the world."

The psycho-

— THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING

53

human

thinking

analyst Freud attributes all

and action

to the attraction of the opposite sex.

But love in the sense

in

which we use

braces all the affection which

it

em-

we hold

for

—

rela-

persons and institutions outside of self tives, friends,

The love for each

and country.

varies according to the degree of relationship

and the number of the love of kin,

and sometimes

men

interests in toil

common.

from morning

sacrifice

all

tions; for the love of friends

For

to night

personal ambi-

men

risk their

worldly possessions; for the love of country,

men

brave death on the battlefield.

The

Property.

III.

money

or

its

equivalent

race and climate.

desire to accumulate

is to

be found in every

The very possession of it, it can buy, is an aim

apart from the things

common to nearly all of us. Show any man how he can increase his income, save money and become financially independent, and he will "prick

of property

up

his ears."

may

The accumulation

be frowned upon as a vain

purpose, but cannot be ignored as a mainspring of

human

endeavor.

IV. —Knowledge :

and Power.

The

desire

— 54


power are

for light and the desire for

we put them

closely interwoven that

A

heading. the

man's knowledge

need of

it

is

is

in one

so small that

"Knowledge

eternal.

so

power," links the two in a manner which

is

indi-

cates that the latter is the stronger of the two.

Power

is

that desire that

prompts men

to

labor

incessantly in order to develop superior skill in their business or profession,

them mastery over that leads kings to

others.

thus giving

It is this

motive

wage war, statesmen

to toil

night after night while their health suffers, orators to study the psychology of crowds, scientists to risk their lives in the

to wrest the secrets

laboratory

from nature, and

to die in the saddle

capitalists

long after they have pro-

vided for themselves and their heirs

unto

and fourth generation. Call it the of power if you will, but few men who

the third lust

once taste

it

are able to lay

Good Name. may think of me; V.

How

science."

mark?

It

admits of

is

little

it

down.

"I care not what others I

shall

often have

follow

a noble thought

argument.

my

we heard

And

con-

that re-

— one

which

yet, the

very

—

;


55

mentioning of "what others think of

me"

is

evidence of this ever-present consideration.

Even those who

risk their

good names

low certain ideas usually attempt

win back

later date to

plaining

why

that

to fol-

some

at

good name by

ex-

Which

they acted as they did.

proves that the desire for a good reputation is

rarely extinguished.

"Good name

in

man and woman,

dear

my lord,

immediate jewel of their souls:

Is the

Who

steals

my

purse steals trash;

'tis

some-

thing, nothing;

'Twas mine,

'tis

his,

and has been slave

to

thousands

But he that

filches

from me

my

good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed."

—Iago VI.

Emotions.

to Othello.

There are certain strong

emotions which once aroused, impel action.

The love of

justice, kindness, generosity

and

self-respect,

and the hatred of despotism,

dis-

honesty, cowardice and kindred vices are

some


56

of the feelings so strong that all of us find

ourselves at times slaves to their influence. VII.

and

We

Beliefs.

politics are

all

know

that religion

tabooed as subjects for

dis-

cussion at dinners and other social gatherings.

And

the reason

is

that the average individual

holds his ideas on each so closely to his heart

you

that if

Men

man.

you wound the whole

hit either,

will die for their religious faith;

they will part

company with

their best friends

because of political differences.

It is

a factor

which must never be used by the speaker unless he

is

sure to offend no one; for

it is

a

double-edged sword. If

it

were possible

psychological

to

laboratory

determine in some the

proportionate

strength of each of the seven groups in every

man, we would results.

all all

an amazing variety of

But the speaker's task

to the collective

The

find

best plan

is

seven channels

—

appeal

then you are sure to reach

on some one appeal.

feasible

is to

and not the individual man. to send your appeal through

you must

select

three considerations in

If that

plan

is

not

your channels with

mind: (1) the charac-


57

audience; (2) the subject, and (3) the appeal which you are best fitted to make. ter of the

The

latter consideration will

depend largely

on your individual philosophy of

human

conduct.

life

and

CHAPTER

IV.

SCOPE OF THE SPEECH

To

the speaker

making

his first address,

seconds pass like hours, and minutes crawl

But close on the heels of that

like months. first

realization of confidence

plaint, "I can't cover

time."

pain

It's

comes the com-

my subject

in the allotted

a healthy complaint

—notwithstanding

the faults

—

a growing

which

it

con-

fesses.

The trouble, of course, preparation.

lies

with the speaker's

The man who does not plan

his

speech with careful consideration of the time allotted

is little

who publishes

better than the railroad official

a time table without taking into

consideration the speed of the trains.

Anyone

who

attends dinners

men

are in public speaking classes, but they

ought to be.

knows

Nothing

is

that not all such

more boring than a

speaker who lacks "terminal facilities." the other hand, a speaker in the given time is

who

covers his point

always in demand. [58]

On One

SCOPE OF THE SPEECH

59

of the most pleasant features of the fall open-

ing at Hamilton College

Elihu Root

—one

is

the talk given

point, briefly but

by

comprehen-

sively expressed, in about three minutes.

What gard?

are the causes of failure in this re-

Lack of experience?

Yes, but even

most inexperienced speaker can succeed

the

avoiding this transgression by observing

in

two laws:

first,

make your

introduction as

short as possible; second, don't try to cover

too

'

much ground.

at length in a

The

first

will be treated

subsequent chapter; the second

will suffice for this.

A

student reads of the

immense

cost of

maintaining our army and navy, and that

1

dis-

armament would save every man, woman and

;

child in the United States

He

year. j

I

dollars each

Very

next three-minute talk before the class.

'good! ;

many

decides to use that subject for his

But

in turning the subject over in his

mind, he thinks of

disarmament life,

many

other arguments for

—prevention

business stability.

of wars, saving of

The

itinually enlarging, like a

;down a mountain

side.

subject

is

con-

snow-ball rolling

The probable

result


60 is

that he attempts to present the

whole cause

Can

of disarmament in three minutes.

done?

Yes,

if

he

is

content to

make

Had he

a mere table of contents.

it

be

his speech

confined

himself to the one phase of the subject, he

could have

made an

incisive,

comprehensive

appeal.

A

former Supreme Court Judge of

York expressed

New

the opinion that the successful

lawyers in our appellate courts confine their oral arguments to the strongest point in their briefs,

and are content

one point.

to

hammer home

The same practice

is

successful campaigners, salesmen

men.

that

followed by

and

clergy-

Instead of spreading yourself over an

acre, pick out the high spot

and confine your-

self to that area.

An

excellent

of your talk

method of limiting the scope speak or write to a friend

is to

something like the following: "I

am

going

to give a

morrow evening on

My

purpose

is to

three-minute talk

to-

the battleship of the future.

convince the audience that

our new dreadnaughts must be protected above as well as below the water-line.

I

shall sup-

SCOPE OF THE SPEECH

61

port the assertion by explaining the recent air-

bombing

tests

held off the Atlantic Coast."

Such a condensed statement, spoken or ten,

writ-

has the added advantage of revealing to

the writer or speaker the clarity of his thoughts.

CHAPTER

V.

PART ONE

PREPARING THE SPEECH Importance of Preparation There

so

is

much misunderstanding about

"extemporaneous" speaking that

tive as

art.

unfortu-

word ever became associated

nate that the

with the

it is

The dictionary

"done or made with

aration; offhand."

no such thing.

Of

women who have

defines the adjeclittle

or no prep-

Strictly speaking, there

course, there are

is

men and

a certain gift for concealing

their ignorance by glibly discussing a subject in lofty, voluble

decoys the mind lured the

language that

fills

listener

the stream./

becomes a victim of

that pernicious philosophy that teaches

can get something for nothing.

some

hope

him to mouth and en-

secret short-cut will teach

stand on a platform, open his thrall

you

He sometimes

joins a public speaking class with the that

and

from thought, as the Lorelei

German boatmen from

The unthinking

the ear

any audience on any [62]

subject.

Such

PREPARING THE SPEECH

men could employ better

their time

and money

63 to

advantage by inventing a perpetual

motion machine. Great speeches have been delivered without the speaker's preparing for the particular oc-

But

casion.

every such case, the effort

in

coupled a previous mastery of the thought with a well-developed ability in self-expres-

Daniel Webster's greatest speech was

sion.

Hayne.

his

Reply

the

Union had

to

just

The mellow orator of completed the argument

Supreme Court and walked into the Senate Chamber to find the spokesman of the South making an impassionate plea for of a case in the

State sovereignty.

Webster took up the chal-

lenge and met the issue with that masterful

argument which ended with, "Liberty and union,

A

now and

forever, one

and inseparable."

friend later remarked, "I didn't think that

even you could make such an extemporaneous speech!''

and Webster replied with a smile,

"I have been preparing that speech all

my

life!"

A

great speech requires great thoughts and

great expression.

The

latter is skill, but the


64

a possession which

former

is

work.

A

thinking

means study and

speech can be no better than the

it

Be

expresses.

you have something

sure, therefore, that

to give

before you attempt

to exhibit the generosity of

your eloquence.

Collecting Material

The

of

selection

a

subject

indicates,

or

that the speaker has given

should indicate, sufficient

thought to the subject to warrant the

choice.

He

should have, therefore, enough

material to guide

man who

wants

him

to

in collecting

do his

best,

more. The

however, will

never go on the platform with a mere handful

He

of facts and thoughts.

and think and

think.

lected the greater select,

is

will read

and read,

The more material colthe field from which to

and the greater the reserve the greater

The man who goes

the confidence.

into

a

business venture with a comfortable bank bal-

ance has It is

many

reasons for success.

surprising

how much

material

may

be

gained from the day's experience by keeping the subject

somewhere

in the

mind.

The good

fisherman focuses his attention on the task,

PREPARING THE SPEECH does no

harm

but

it

ing

from place

to

65

tow the line while mov-

to place.

Douglas Mathewson, former Borough President of the Bronx,

New York

City, once told

a class in public speaking that his ability to fill

so

many

speaking engagements was due to

had followed from youth.

a plan he

a notebook of speaking material.

He

kept

It

con-

tained jokes, anecdotes, extracts from books,

magazines and newspaper sorts of general

used in a public address. this

articles,

and

all

information which might be

By

looking over

book a few minutes before leaving home

^to speak,

he would get enough suggestions to

frame a speech This

is

to suit the occasion.

not given as a model, but

it

contains

a suggestion that the ambitious speaker will follow.

One

of the greatest evils in public

speaking classes the part of to get the

is

the lack of preparation on

many men. How

a

man

can expect

most out of a course without expend-

ing a reasonable

amount of

tion is difficult to

effort in prepara-

understand.

given to procrastination, here vice: pick

is

If

you are

a bit of ad-

your subject for next week's talk


66

before you retire on the evening of your

last.

While undressing, decide on what you are going to say. Force yourself to give a few minutes of each day

to

You

it.

will find that

your ideas, like snow-balls rolling down a hill,

gain size and form each day.

But the best plan

is to

keep as far ahead of

your appearances as you can.

Professional

writers and speakers often keep a cabinet of

manila envelopes

in

which they place

all sorts

of clippings and notes on which they intend

Once

write or speak.

data in this fashion

is

to

the habit of collecting

formed, the envelopes

are soon bulging with material.

Ida N. Tar-

bell once told a class in short story writing

that this plan

worked so

well, that she could

from her

collections in a very

write an article short time.

You

should adopt right

modification of this plan.

Here

now some

is

a begin-

ning: "I never let an idea escape me, but

write

it

on a piece of paper and put

in a drawer.

save

my

In that

way

I

it

sometimes

best thoughts on a subject."

—Abraham Lincoln.

67

PREPARING THE SPEECH Selecting Material

Experience in speaking gives a

man

a sixth

sense for appraising the value of any given material.

The beginner must learn

He

of keeping and discarding.

however, by following two rules: only such material as the subject;

is

the art

can be helped, use

first,

strictly relevant to

second, never employ material

which awakens the

interest of the

audience in

another subject.

In applying these rules, an

excellent practice

is to

focus the attention on

the particular material, apart If the

ject.

from

main idea leads you

the sub-

into a chan-

nel of thought other than the theme of your

speech, discard

it.

The second

rule

may

well

be illustrated by the following example:

A

speaker preparing a talk on

grit

came

across the following:

De man is

dat succeeds," said Uncle Eben,

de one dat has de

grit to git

up every

mornin' and put ditto marks under his

New

Year's resolutions."

The quotation certainly suggests it

also leads the

mind of

grit,

but

the reader to the

68


subject of good resolutions. in the latter

awakened,

it

With the is

interest

likely that the

audience will be led into that channel of thought and carry

its

subconscious ideas of

resolutions throughout the remainder of the

speech.

—

CHAPTER

VI.

PART TWO

PREPARING THE SPEECH Arranging the Material

A speech may be introduction,

divided into three parts

body and conclusion.

speeches, this division

sometimes hard

is

make, but the three parts are less.

The importance of

was very forcefully

In short to

there, neverthefirst

and third

stated in the

humorous

the

advice of Victor Murdock: "Get a good begin-

ning and a good ending;

you please."

stuff

it

with whatever

Opening and closing a speech

present peculiar problems and for that reason

we

will consider

Body.

them

Having selected

'next step is to arrange

order.

later.

it

the material, the

in the

most effective

This brings up a question of delivery

which might well be mentioned now.

The

beginning speaker, fearful of his memory,

tempted it

—

to write out the

is

address and memorize

a dangerous practice.

There are so many

reasons against such a procedure that a de[69]


70

tailed presentation of the fill it

volume of

a

is

this size.

arguments would

But at

this point

only necessary to state that the practice

quickly ripens into a habit which makes the

speaker a slave to to write out

it.

an outline

The better practice is and memorize it. In

arranging that outline we are guided by rules

which are readily deducted from the study of plays, novels, essays or short stories.

The wants

first

to

rule

is

that of order.

No

audience

work out a picture puzzle; with the speaker

little jDatience

his thoughts

and

has

it

who jumbles

shuffles his facts.

All the

material should be arranged in groups, just as the automobile bolts

manufacturer assembles nuts,

and plates

into parts before putting to-

gether the whole machine.

The order of

groups should, in turn, show method. impossible to lay

down any

will enable the speaker to

Each speaker must follow in

this

the

It

is

precise rules which

determine the order. his

own good

phase of the construction.

sense

But he

should keep in mind the viewpoint of the audience.

It

is

always a good plan

facts before theories,

to state

arguments before ap-

PREPARING THE SPEECH peal, evidence before conclusion.

which

is

essentially narrative

71

A

speech

need not pro-

Have

ceed in strictly chronological sequence.

you ever noticed

that

most

stories begin in the

middle of the action, then jump ning and carry the tale is

to the begin-

end?

to the

The same

permissible and advantageous in the spoken

story.

-"The second rule

is to

arrange the material

That means that come near the end. Many speakers summarize all they have to say in in the

most effective order.

the climax should

two or three sentences, and then

fill

out the

time by repeating the same ideas with no additions or illuminating illustrations.

This

method (or lack of method) of discharging your real ammunition on the in a

ever

weak

finish,

strength

theatre-goer

which

lay

in

offsets

the

who knows how

will never follow the interest that is

first

all

salvo results

much

of what-

beginning.

The

the play will end

action with the

same

borne of the curiosity to know

the solution of the problem.

Read

the last

chapter of a book and you will not have the patience to read the middle. The well-arranged


72

speech leaves the best

thrills for the end,

thus intensifies the attention

and

audience as the time passes.

3

The

third rule

the audience

is

and

interest of the

.

to relieve the tension of

by following each

striking point

with lighter and less serious material.

humor

dramatist plans his action so that light dialogue rests the

The or

audience after each

Shakespeare brought on the drunken

thrill.

porter immediately after Macbeth had killed

Duncan;

Juliet's

nurse prevented the

from burning themselves

tension

fires

out.

of

Like

the progress of the incoming tide, each big

wave

is

followed by a recession that makes

the next greater than the preceding.

ogy shows

that the attention is not a continu-

ous flow of heightened tension; waves.

Psychol-

If the

demand on

audience's attention the point snaps off

is

it

comes

in

the focus of the

greater than the supply,

and leaves a dull surface.

Introduction

The

relation of the introduction to the

of the speech

is

body

such an important considera-

tion that the opening

remarks can be best


73

framed after the body has been well prepared and arranged. The function of an introduction

That

introduce.

is to

is its

main purpose.

But there are two other virtues. an

First,

Second,

it

should

introduction

be

brief.

Some men

should secure attention.

are so constituted that they cannot begin

any

speech without tracing the world's history

from

the

time

is

We live

Garden of Eden, and long

up they reach

after their

the creation of Eve.

in such a rapid age,

quick action

is

so

imperative, that no speaker should try the

patience of an audience by too long an overture.

Select your

the door

Notice

key before you approach

and unlock

it

with speed

how advertisements

if

not haste.

are worded so

as to attract attention at the very beginning.

How often do you pass by a the

title

short story because

or the opening paragraph fails to

arouse your interest?

If the writer is a suc-

more time beginning than he has on any

cessful one, he has probably spent in writing the

other part of equal length in the entire story.

There are countless ways of making the opening remarks interesting.

The following


74

commonly

are merely a few of the methods

used by average speakers.

You have probably heard

Story.

that

it is

not good form to begin a speech with a story. The reason back of this rule, if it may be con-

sidered a rule,

the abuse of this

is

Many men

securing attention.

way

begin with a

to

means of

go out of their of

regardless

story,

whether the story has or has not a good connection with the speech as a whole. practice

is

just as

cheap as the vaudeville stunt

of saving a poor act

American

Such a

by dragging out

flag at the close.

the

Telling a story

is

not the most dignified method of beginning an address, but

if it is in

point and

keeping with the speech, there objection to

it.

some piece of Quotation.

—from woman

By

in

no substantial

story, of course,

we mean

fiction.

A

quotation

the writings of is

is

its spirit is

—prose

or poetry

some great man or

an excellent opener.

interested in successful people

We

are always

and cannot

get

their opinions. When we hear wellknown people quoted, we unconsciously pay

enough of

the person quoting

some of the respect and


75

admiration we hold for the person quoted. in quoting poetry

Sometimes omit the

name

it

better to

is

when

of the poet, particularly

known.

the lines are well

Here, again, the

quotation should have a real connection with

what follows.

If the

audience gets the im-

pression that you are dragging in a story or

quotation by the ears simply for

them, you will soon feel

We

Startling Statements.

such opening remarks

man

murderer" "Might makes ;

ments never tention.

fail to

have

on

heard

all

'The majority

as,

always wrong"; "Every

effect

its

resentment.

its

is

a potential

Such

right."

state-

arouse an audience to

Whether because of

is

at-

sweeping

the

character of the remark or because of the

paradox, we

sit

up and

But when you use

you

listen to

this

what follows.

method, be sure that

satisfy the curiosity

it

Unless

arouses.

your succeeding statements explain

its

mean-

ing to the satisfaction of the audience, your startling statement will

Uistgzy.

from

Some

history,

prove a boomerang.

interesting fact or anecdote

particularly

when

around a well-known personality,

it

is

centers

probably


76

the best

method of opening an address.

There

something about the past which holds a

is

charm for

all.

And when we hear

a

man

go

back into history we instinctively increase our respect for his knowledge

and

ability.

Personal Experiences are always welcome.

An

audience

life

and habits of the

is

always eager

man

pry into the

to

addressing

it.

By

taking them into your confidence, you increase

The average speaker

their interest in you.

is

far too modest in his aversion to the use of the first

person.

Outline.

Sometimes, when the subject mat-

ter or the lack of time

makes

introduction inadvisable,

it is

by

the ordinary

proper

to

open

setting forth in brief, crisp fashion the pur-

pose of your speech, the main headings and

your method of presentation.

method of

the debater

opening remarks

This

is

and the lawyer

to the jury.

The

the

in his

plain, frank

character of this method holds a certain appeal to the

average

commend

man

in the audience.

itself to the

speaker when

It

should

it is

desir-

able above all to win the confidence of the

hearers in his simple, above-board attitude.


77

In using any of the foregoing methods, be careful of two things.

First,

do not

select

an

is so much more interesting much more important in subject matter

introduction which or so

than the remainder of your speech, that

it

will

put you at a disadvantage in holding the attention.

In other words, the tail should not

the dog.

Second, an introduction should never

antagonize any part of the audience. particularly important

This

when your speech

is is

Frequently a political talker

argumentative. will

wag

open with a partisan remark which closes

the ears of every neutral in the audience.

every argument there

is

common

ground.

In Be-

gin there and gradually turn the attention to

your side of the

issue.

exception to this rule. is

openly hostile, an

There

is,

however, one

Where your audience

initial

"blow between the

eyes" will sometimes secure more attention

and respect than honeyed phrases. A classic example of this happened in the national campaign of 1900.

As

for vice-president,

the Republican candidate

Roosevelt was sent into

Nebraska, the home of Bryan and Free Silver.

The audience

at

one meeting was as hostile

\


78 a

as

group of Bolshevists would be

A

directors' meeting.

the

at

a

death-like silence, like

calm before a storm, greeted the speaker's

arrival.

He broke

the

tension

with these

words, biting off each syllable with characteristic

precision:

The Republican

"Ladies and Gentlemen:

Party stands for the Gold Standard; and

it

stands for the Gold Standard in the State of

Nebraska

just as

it

ard in the State of

stands for the Gold Stand-

New

The audience burst

York."

into tears.

Conclusion Orators of the old school of the peroration.

made

a great deal

They always worked out

a

closing appeal with a view to stirring the

emotions of the audience to the highest pitch.

Time has changed tice,

the popularity of this prac-

but the need of a strong ending

present and always will be.

graph of a speech dinner.

If

it is

is

The

is still

last para-

like the last course of a

bad,

joy that went before;

it

much of the good, we leave

destroys

if it is

the table with that contented feeling which

PREPARING THE SPEECH tends to wipe out the

memory

unpleasant that preceded It is difficult to

79

of everything

it.

give concrete directions for

But a few rules will help.

closing a speech.

Above all, the ending should be strong with ring and sting. Where it is possible, the last paragraph should summarize and tie together all that

so as to

Where

has been said in the body of the speech,

make

the unity of the

whole stand

the purpose of the speech

action, the closing

is to

out.

secure

remarks should take the

form of an appeal. Here

is

one instance where an exception

the rule against

to

memorizing your speech might

be pleaded. Webster's

command

of oratorical

language was so masterful, that he rarely paid

any attention

to

words he would

the exact

use until he got on his feet.

But he always

worked out and memorized a strong closing paragraph.

Another suggestion might be made here. It is

a

always profitable

to leave

happy frame of mind.

A

an audience

in

happy closing

sentence might win applause for an otherwise

mediocre address.

In talking to an entering

80


class at

Hamilton College, Elihu Root selected

as his subject the effect of education on the

physical beauty of the face.

He

told

how knowledge and wisdom threw charm over

the features of the ugly,

them

a certain

and how

mental stagnation and ignorance clouded the attractiveness of the face of perfect proportions.

The speech was a

bit abstract,

closing sentence left a feeling which

but the is

still

remembered by those who heard it: "I hope you will all grow in wisdom and truth until

your beauty will surpass that of the

president and faculty of Hamilton College."

CHAPTER LINES OF

VII.

DEVELOPMENT

The preceding chapters have

dealt only with

those principles of speech construction which the beginner can appreciate

and apply.

chapter aims to open the door to

new

This

fields of

improvement and development. Importance of Clear Thinking

Language

is

but a means to an end;

only a vehicle for thought.

it

is

Unless the speaker

has something worth while to say, the highly

developed transportation system use.

Is the

the freight?

is

Yes, provided

of your best thinking.

individuality which

from

have the

little

it is

the product

Nature never repeats.

The Creator has given every being ent

of

product of your thinking worth

makes

his thinking differ-

that of every other being. faith, the

a certain

But few

courage and the industry

dig deep enough into the mine of their brains to find the precious metal. [81]

to

own


82

Two

American

of the greatest thinkers in

history have bequeathed to us the secret of their

power:

"When until

I

got on such a hunt for an idea,

I

got

or

it,

over, until

It

had got

I

had repeated it

in

am

I

bounded

it

bounded

it

was

language plain I

knew

to

This was a kind of passion with

has stuck by me, for

now when

I

it,

over and

it

thought, for any boy

I

comprehend. me.

I

had put

I

enough, as

thought

I

not satisfied until

and

never easy

handling a case until

north,

and bounded

and bounded

east,

am

I

it

it

have

I

south,

and

west."

—Abraham Lincoln. "Men

give

the genius

I

me some

have

subject in hand,

and night its

it is

bearings.

with

it.

Then

credit for genius.

lies in this:

study

I

it

before me.

When

I

have a

profoundly. I

explore

All

it

Day in all

My the

mind becomes pervaded effort which I make is what

the people are pleased to call the fruits of

genius.

It is

the fruit of labor

and thought."

—Alexander Hamilton.

DEVELOPMENT

LINES OF

The speaker must

83

see the idea clearly with

his own mind's eye before he can hope to

make

apparent

it

to

the

mental vision of

He must examine the subject from

others.

— above,

every angle

below and around

probing every inch of the ground by

—

self-

Discussion of a subject with a

questioning.

friend enables the speaker to detach himself

from

the ideas

and

to see

He sometimes

viewpoint.

them from a new finds that his

own

ears are good critics in detecting the shallowness of his thinking or the flaws of his reasoning.

Above

degree of

the practice will reveal the

all,

clearness

which the ideas have

assumed.

many viewand writers make it a

In order to get the benefit of points,

some speakers

practice never to part with a subject until they

have considered

it

for a certain length of time

and during every part of the day. teaches

all

that

the

Experience

problem which seems

fraught with obstacles at night takes on a

hopeful appearance when viewed in the morning,

and many a morning's worry fades

shadow when considered by lamplight.

to a

Each


84

speaker must study his own nature and the most of his

knowledge of

make

self.

Rhetoric Rhetoric has been defined as the art of writing or speaking effectively. all phases of discourse

mar, as

It

style, figures of speech, etc.

we

embraces

—vocabulary,

gram-

Inasmuch

are considering oral discourse alone,

we

can eliminate such elements as punctuation

and

spelling.

We

are training the ear and not

the eye.

Reading Aloud

Modern methods

of teaching languages in

our schools would seem to indicate that the Creator gave each race a set of rules of gram-

mar

with instructions to build up a language

in accordance therewith.

Students labor for

hours over the study of syntax, write pages

and pages of composition, and then proceed to

butcher their mother tongue in conversation

outside

the

class-room.

The

fault lies in

the failure to follow in teaching the great

truth that language

is

a science of the ear and

LINES OF

A

not of the eye. lish in the

home

DEVELOPMENT child

who

will speak

85

hears good Eng-

good English even

though he never learns a single rule of gram-

His ear has been trained

mar.

music

to the

of the language and does not need

to

apply

rules in order to detect a discord.

The

shortest cut to the mastery of

English

is

ing aloud passages

Make

from standard

that the basis of

The

guage.

good

the cultivation of the habit of read-

style

authors.

your study of the

lan-

of oral discourse differs

from

that of written discourse.

able,

therefore, to read the works of great

speakers

It is

prefer-

—Burke, Hamilton, Webster or

Lin-

coln.

Vocabulary

A

good vocabulary means something more

than the ability to define a large

words;

it

means

the ability

number

of

and practice of

using those words in writing or speaking. Increasing one's vocabulary necessitates syste-

matic labor.

Most masters of English employ

some scheme of daily words

to their

list.

effort in

There

is

adding new

a simple

method

86


which

everyone

When you

can

follow

to

advantage.

chance upon a word which

is

new

or which you are not accustomed to use, look

up

its

meaning

are satisfied that

its

meaning

is

clear to you,

in four or five sentences.

use

it

the

word aloud, you make

you

When you

in a dictionary.

it

By

will be surprised to find that

probably have use for

it

A refined use of the

uttering

your own, and

you

before the day

is

will

over.

mother tongue demands

not only a large stock of words but discrimina-

Every word has cermeaning which no other single

tion in their selection.

tain shades of

word

possesses.

If

you would acquire

this

refined choice of words, consult a

book of synonyms and antonyms. Take, for instance, the word emissary. The ordinary dictionary it as a spy or scout. Fernald's "EngSynonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions"

defines lish

groups spy,

emissary

detective,

under one heading, with

this

and scout

explanation:

'The scout and the spy are both employed to

obtain information of the numbers, move-

ments,

etc.,

of an enemy.

The scout lurks on

the outskirts of the hostile

army with such

LINES OF

DEVELOPMENT

concealment as the case admits

87

of, but

without

disguise; a spy enters in disguise within the

enemy's

A

lines.

scout, if captured, has the

rights of a prisoner of

have forfeited

war; a spy

and

all rights,

is

is

liable, in case

An

of capture, to capital punishment.

sary

is

held to

rather political than military;

emissent

rather to secretly influence opponents than to

bring information concerning them; so far as

he does the

latter,

he

not only an emissary,

is

but a spy."

There

is

no study more fascinating than the

Once begun,

study of words.

the habit of in-

quiring into the precise meaning of the units of language becomes irresistible.

rammar The

rules of

grammar

are so numerous that

unless the student has had a good grounding in the science the better

good usage

is to

correct English. help, but the

method of learning

train the ear to the sounds of

Silent reading

number

is

of students

of

some

who pass

written examinations in English with flying colors

and then proceed

to violate

every rule


88 in

the

indicates

conversation

of

necessity

grammar as an oral rather than as a Some of the more common science.

teaching visual

errors have been illustrated in the following

In each case, the second

sentences.

correct one. in order to

Read

it

is

the

aloud at least six times

accustom the ear and the

lips to

the correct usage.

dont know, you don't know. you don't know.

1.

I

don't know, he

2.

I

don't know, he doesn't know,

1.

Between you and

2.

Between you and me, the company

2.

When When

1.

It is

2.

It is /.

1.

/,

the

company

I

hear of you going,

I

hear of your going,

I

He He

is

not near so tall as

is

not nearly so tall is

1.

Such a course

is

no

2.

Such a course

is

of no use.

1.

bankrupt.

me.

2.

2.

is

shall follow.

runs too slowly for the team.

1.

bankrupt.

shall follow. I

He He

1.

2.

is

runs too slow for the team.

am.

I

I

am.

use.

You better prepare before speaking. You had better prepare before speaking.

DEVELOPMENT

LINES OF

we come home we came home

1.

Last night

2.

Last night

1.

Those kind always

2.

That kind always

in the rain.

in the .rain.

fail.

fails,

Those kinds always

know know

89

or

fail.

would say that. I would say that.

I

don't

2.

I

don't

1.

2.

The The

1.

Between the three of them there was but

as

I

that

size of audiences vary. size of

audiences varies. five

dollars. 2.

Among

the three of

them there was but

five

dollars. 1.

2. 1.

2.

He He

He He

is

up

is

at the theatre.

to the theatre.

has been thrown in the

pit.

has been thrown into the

pit.

1.

Can

I

have permission to inspect

it?

2.

May

I

have permission to inspect

it?

1.

I

don't care what you think of me,

and you will 2.

I

don't care what

and you shall 1.

2.

shall speak

I

listen.

you think of me,

listen.

He went like he came. He went as he came.

I

will speak


90

2.

He hadn't ought to swim in such places. He ought not to swim in such places.

1.

To

1.

safely cross the river in such weather re-

quires good seamanship. 2.

To

cross the river safely in such weather re-

quires good seamanship. 1.

I

will either hire

you on commission or on

straight salary. 2.

I

will hire

you

either

on commission or on

straight salary. 1.

I

think

I

shall lay

2.

I

think

I

shall lie

1.

2.

down for an hour. down for an hour.

He would of done it, had I permitted it. He would have done it, had I permitted it.

2.

Stand in back of him. Stand behind him.

1.

I

2.

I

1.

1.

2.

saw them saw those

He who I He whom

girls yesterday.

girls yesterday.

trusted has deceived me. I

trusted has deceived me.

Style Style

is

the

in language.

ing;

it

is

manner of expressing thoughts It

has

little to

do with think-

only concerned with the means of

LINES OF

DEVELOPMENT

91

putting the product of the brain into tangible

The

form.

artist

has a vision; the manner in

which he uses his brushes, his colors and

his

canvas to portray that vision in concrete form is

of painting.

his style

The speaker has

thoughts and feelings and the tools of lan-

guage; the manner in which he uses the tools to interpret the creation of his is

mind and

soul

his style.

There

is

thinking

is

no standard

style; as

each man's

from that of every other manner of using what tools

different

man, so must

his

of language he possesses be distinctive.

problem of perfecting one's

lem of acquainting one's

The

style is a prob-

self with the various

implements of language and of attaining in the use of these implements.

The

skill

latter is

largely a question of practice and experience,

but the former can be acquired by the study of

language in general.

The

best style to cultivate

is

your own.

In

you cannot

cultivate any other. "Use what language you will," says Emerson, "you fact,

can never say anything but what you are."

But that does not

mean

that

you can perfect


92

by confining your study to yourself. Greece, Rome, Spain and England reached the height of their civilization by profiting

your

style

from

the successes

zations.

and failures of other

civili-

Burke, Webster and Lincoln studied

and analyzed the best works of the best minds, and used the materials thus gained construction of their

own works.

in the

No man

has

ever attained perfection in any art without

making use of is

the experiences of others.

not imitation.

This

The difference between

imitator and the creator

is

the

that the imitator

is

content to put a thin coat of paint over the

house of another and call

it

his own, while

the creator goes over the house,

makes a note

of all the desirable features and ideas, and

makes use of

these best ideas in improving

the plans of his own.

In acquiring and perfecting the use of the tools of language, the speaker should

keep

mind

style

the two cardinal virtues of

instant intelligibility less the

and

good

effectiveness.

in

Un-

audience can instantly perceive and

appreciate the expression, the speaker's words are like so

much

indigestible

food in the

LINES OF stomach.

And

nourishment, the

it

DEVELOPMENT

unless

93

food possesses

that

has no stimulating effect upon

mind and body.

How

can a speaker acquire the tools of

Simply by studying and

style?

effective

analyzing the work of other speakers. take a paragraph velt

and

investigate

some of

which a speaker secures

"The

the

means by

effect:

secret of Roosevelt's greatness

boundless courage.

on every deed

Let us

from an address on Roose-

was

Boldness stamped

in the

Rough

his

itself

Rider's career.

The marvelous physique which enabled

the

ex-President to push into the darkest regions of Africa and Brazil was not a gift of birth,

but the trophy of a youth's battle with asthma

and a sickly to the

His second election

constitution.

New York Assembly

victory

—was

—

his first political

the answer to a challenge of the

organization that would have shattered the spirit

of an ordinary warrior.

As Police

Commissioner, when his program of reform

evoked dire threats from the underworld, he carried out his orders by personal visits to the caves of lawlessness

—

at night.

When

the

——— ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

94

arrogant Kaiser, like the bully of the

street,

gathered around him the nations of Europe in an attempt to frighten little Venezuela into submission, he encountered not the gloved

hand of a diplomat sparring for time while the typewriters clicked out feeble protests, but the clenched

fist

of Theodore Roosevelt, ready

Well chosen were the words of

to strike.

his

son Archie when Death had stabbed him in the dark: "The old lion I.

Unity.

but one idea

The

—

is

dead."

entire

paragraph deals with

the courage of Roosevelt as the

main cause of his greatness. Nothing leads the mind into any other channel of thought. II. Repetition. The first sentence expresses the key-note of the paragraph.

however,

is

The thought,

strengthened by repetition in the

The remaining sentences develop

second.

the

idea by citing specific instances in his career in support of the general statement in the first

and second. stance

is

Notice

more

how each succeeding

striking than

the last,

in-

thus

strengthening the assertion by climactic ar-

rangement. III.

Sentences.

No

sentence ends weakly.

—— DEVELOPMENT

LINES OF

The

gist

95

of the thought comes at the end,

thereby keeping up the interest of the reader until the last

IV.

word

spoken.

is

Concreteness.

Every sentence

ex-

is

pressed in words which call up distinct mental

images.

The reader need not expend more

minimum amount

than a

of mental energy to

grasp the thought. V.

him as

Figures of Speech. "Death had stabbed in the

dark"

a figure of speech

is

because

personification

it

known

attributes

to

inanimate things the characteristics of living beings. simile.

"Like the bully of the street"

A

simile

is

compares one thing with another. illustration of this figure

sentence,

"A man

a

A

better

can be found in the

without ambition

When

bird without wings." implied, the figure

is

a figure of speech which

is

like a

the comparison

known

as a metaphor; "he can never soar in the heights above, but must walk like a weakling, unnoticed, with is

is

crowd below." The figure "The old

the

an

epithet, a

son.

A

lion

is

dead"

is

called

very effective means of compari-

recent writer referred to Joffre as


96

"The Gibraltar of

Marne," another

the

excel-

lent illustration of epithet.

The purpose of

figures of speech

is

to secure

clearness or emphasis and to stir the imagination.

The speaker who uses

to bring forth fresh

effective

weapon

his imagination

comparisons has a very

in speaking.

To quote Oliver

Wendell Holmes: "There

is

no power

that of seeing analogues isons.

I

envy so much

I

—

as

and making compar-

don't understand

how

it is

that

some

minds are continually coupling thoughts or objects that

seem not

each other, until certain light

all at

in the least related to

once they are put in a

and you wonder

that

you did not

always see that they were as like as a pair of twins. gift."

It

appears

to

me

a sort of miraculous

CHAPTER

VIII.

QUESTIONNAIRE

The value of

self -questioning as a

means

of putting forth your best effort cannot be

overestimated.

whose

goal

perfection.

is

questionnaire

a necessary habit for all

It is

is

preparing the speech, although as such.

But

it

The following

not designed as a guide in it

may

be used

does give the student a series

of checks that will enable

him

to criticize

improve his preparation before delivery. is

make

of others will

It

The ambitious student

purposely brief.

will

and

and

that

by constructing a questionnaire

that

the most of his experience

remind him of

his

shortcomings and

weaknesses. Subject

A. 1.

Scope

What

is

the

Can you summarize

subject of your speech? it

in

[97]

one compact sentence?


98

Are you trying to cover too much ground? Can you not strengthen the effect by confining 2.

yourself to a smaller division of the subject?

Can you cover your point in the allotted time? Have you actually timed its delivery to make sure? 3.

Purpose

B. 1. is

Which

yours

—

of the five purposes of speaking

entertainment, instruction, impres-

siveness, persuasion or 2.

State

appeal?

your purpose

in

one compact sen-

Are you endeavoring

tence.

to

accomplish

more than your material and time warrant? 3. Have you given adequate consideration to the character of the

audience, the occasion,

and the time? ditions

Can you visualize all under which you will speak?

the con-

Material

Have you gathered your talk? Or are you

real

1.

your feelings 2.

Is all

to

material for

relying merely on

carry you through?

your material

in

keeping with your

QUESTIONNAIRE

Does any of

subject?

99

tend to lead the mind

it

of the audience into other channels? 3. //

your aim

entertainment, have you

is

selected your material with a view to holding the attention every second of the time?

Have you made use

your humor fresh? such factors as the

vital,

Is

of

the uncertain, the

unusual, the concrete, the animate, the antag-

Will you leave onistic? happy frame of mind? 4. //

your purpose

the audience in a

instruction,

is

have you

made every point clear? Have you likened the unknown to the known? If you are using technical terms, are they known to your audience? If not, will you make them perfectly clear before using 5. //

them?

your purpose

you selected material skin"?

Will

it

is

impressiveness, have

that will "get

stir the

under the

emotions and feelings

Have you made full use of Can you quote a well known man or woman to advantage? Are your illustra-

of the audience? repetition?

tions

and

6. //

specific instances striking?

your purpose

is

persuasion, do your

arguments prove your point?

Considering

— 100


each argument separately, does

it

lead to the

Have you made use of repetition and suggestion? Can you strengthen Have you your case by citing testimony? conclusion asserted?

reduced your arguments

to the simplest

terms?

// your purpose is appeal, have you considered the motives which lead men to act 7.

self-preservation,

property, knowledge

love,

and power, good name, emotions and beliefs?

you cannot use

If

you are best

all,

fitted to

have you chosen those

employ?

the particular audience 8.

Is

your material concrete?

mental images?

in

Will they move

you are

to

Does

and

the

it

deal

Have you considered

specific instances

the

Do your

mental energy of the audience? illustrations

address?

come within

knowledge and experience of your hearers?

9.

Are your

figures of speech fresh?

they add clearness or emphasis?

Do

they

Do stir

the imagination?

Construction

A. 1.

Introduction

Will

attention?

your opening paragraph secure

»

>

QUESTIONNAIRE 2.

Is

3.

Does

it

brief? it

iOl

Can you not shorten

it?

contain the key-note of your

whole talk? 4.

Will

it

audience?

antagonize any portion of the

Will

it

secure good-will toward

yourself and your subject? 5.

If

you open with an anecdote, quotation

or striking statement, are you sure

keeping with the entire speech? Will

an

interest or a curiosity

it

is

in

arouse

it

which the remainder

of your speech will meet? B. 1.

ings

Body Outline your speech in the form of head-

and sub-headings.

logical?

Will

sequence with a

the

Is the

audience

minimum

arrangement follow

of effort?

Is

your

your

material classified so as to avoid confusion of ideas? 2.

Is the

speech so arranged as to heighten

the interest as

come 3.

at the

it

goes along?

Does the climax

end?

Have you

rested the

mind of

the audi-

ence by following the high spots with lighter material?

to

J

'•

102 4.

4

9

#

,


Experiment with your arrangement. Put

your headings in different order. gain greater clearness and effect the sequence of C. 1.

your paragraphs?

Conclusion

Does your closing leave a strong impres-

Does

sion? 2.

Can you

by changing

Does

it

it

drive the point

summarize

home?

all that

has gone be-

fore? 3.

Is

it

not desirable to write out your end-

ing and memorize it? 4.

in the 5.

Does the conclusion leave the audience proper frame of mind?

Does

it

tie

up with your introduction?

Miscellaneous 1.

Have you

tested the effectiveness of

your

speech in conversation?

Have you reviewed your speech at various times of the day? Have you tested it from every viewpoint and in every mood? 2.

—

CHAPTER

IX.

DELIVERY IN GENERAL Lord Erskine, England's eloquent

barrister,

once confessed that when he addressed the court for the

first

time he was so overcome

with confusion that he wanted to

down.

sit

"At

that time," he added, "I fancied I could

feel

my little

I

made an It is

children tugging at

effort

my

—went on—and succeeded."

doubtful whether Lord Erskine could

have bequeathed

to posterity a

legacy than that confession.

more valuable It

should

every beginning speaker with hope.

an audience for the

and

if

gown, so

a

confused,

man it is

to hesitate.

first

fill

Facing

time takes courage;

of Lord Erskine's parts was

no disgrace for lesser mortals

"I

made an

—went

effort

on

and succeeded."

Those words contain the

secret of success in

overcoming the hobgoblin

of the platform.

—

effort

go on

—he

If the student will

bound

is

make an

to succeed.

In considering the second division of the [103]

104

ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING of speaking

subject

going to

are not

any chambers of mystery.

enter

Every phase of

—delivery—we

this

branch of the subject has

been considered consciously or subconsciously

by every normal man. Everyone has applied at some time or other each of the virtues in But good speaking

ordinary conversation.

we employ them

requires that

all.

a cardinal rule of nature that

It is

we do

those faculties which

we

not use.

lose

The

bedridden patient finds on recovering health that his legs will not support his body.

shipwrecked

sailor, living alone

for a protracted period, must learn again

Few

to talk.

It is

tion to

how

of us keep alive by daily prac-

tice all the virtues of

tion.

The

on an island

speech and gesticula-

necessary, therefore, to call atten-

them and

to

awaken

their proper func-

tioning.

Both delivery and composition must act in

harmony ing

—

to

to

perform the one purpose of speak-

convey

to the

mind of

the listener the

thoughts and feelings precisely as they are

perceived and felt by the speaker. sity for

harmony leads us

This neces-

to the first rule for

— 105

DELIVERY IN GENERAL good delivery

pounded

—

"What is the chief And the answer

the question,

in good delivery?"

earnestness

What

is

his

proasset is

—enthusiasm. earnestness and enthusiasm?

not a result rather than a

When you

Many have

earnestness.

man

a

tell

speaking, he

is

to

Is

it

means? Yes and No. put enthusiasm into

inclined to

regard the

same way in which he would Real enthusiadvice, "Be rich."

direction in the

receive the

asm

in speaking

the heart

the result of a gripping of

is

as well as

the

head.

Until the

speaker has lived with his subject a length of time to realize

cannot exhibit

sincere

therefore, depends

its

sufficient

importance, he

enthusiasm.

upon turning

Much,

the subject

over and over in your mind until you appreciate all the points of contact between

the occasion.

and

Unless the salesman believes

in his article, he cannot

success in selling fail to sell.

it

Here

it.

hope

to attain

much

But many who believe

steps in the old

adage which

bids us to acquire a virtue by assuming

On

first

seling a

it.

consideration, this sounds like coun-

man

to build a roof before digging


106

But experience has proven that

the cellar.

when a speaker assumes

the virtue of enthusi-

asm, his real enthusiasm, dormant but never dead, rises to meet, support and join

Go on

it.

is

the

most important

history,

and you

soul

engaged in the

is

Try

the platform with the attitude that

your message

When

it.

will soon find that

a speaker

sarily concentrated

is

in world's

your whole

task.

enthusiastic, he is neces-

on his

subject.

And

con-

mind gives free play to all the natural movements of the voice and body which we shall discuss. centration of the

We

have seen that the listener has neither

the energy nor the time to go over

your language, as he can in reading, your meaning.

A

speech must

mediate impression or fail of

its

and over to grasp

make an object.

im-

The

elements of delivery which we are about

to

consider are the means of aiding the audience to

grasp the meaning of your words as they

are uttered.

Every impression which the outside world

makes upon

the

the five senses.

mind must travel by one of Only two of these are avail-

DELIVERY IN GENERAL able to the speaker

—hearing and

107

seeing.

We

therefore divide the subject of delivery into

two parts that

—

which

that

which

affects

affects the eye.

the

ear,

and

CHAPTER

X.

ENUNCIATION Roosevelt's

Without discussing

history as an orator, there

Colonel was

the

Critics

place

no doubt but

is

in

that

very effective speaker.

a

mentioned his strong presence,

virile

gestures and earnestness, but few spoke of the

most

effective

element of his delivery

He always

precise enunciation.

measured manner

slow,

that

—

his

spoke in a

seemed

to glory

The most in the beauty of every syllable. commonplace words and phrases came from his lips with a force and dignity of meaning that

made

life

and

the idea behind

them

bristle with

color.

Our language,

the

most beautiful

in the

world, receives cruel treatment from the lips

Whether because

of the average American.

of our disregard for the fine arts or because of the influence of so dents,

we

many

foreign-born

resi-

are careless and slovenly in our

every-day utterance.

What [108]

is

the

remedy?

ENUNCIATION

Roosevelt's

109

William

biographer,

Roscoe

Thayer, states that when in college the future President found

it

cause of asthma.

and

tinct

to

win that transformed a weak

powerful machine of muscle and

into a

would not

sinew,

speak be-

difficult to

his syllables frequently telescoped.

But the will

body

very

His enunciation was indis-

rest until

had turned a

it

defective speech into an exceptionally accuone.

rate

improve

If

by concentrating on

it

perfecting

your enunciation

it

is

careless,

the task of

to the highest degree.

Slovenly enunciation

is

due

to the laziness

of the muscles of the mouth, tongue and lips,

and

to

improper co-ordination between the

positions of the tongue these

little

and

Gradually

teeth.

muscles of the mouth become soft

and weak from lack of exercise.

Put them

to

work, and work them so hard that they will develop a strength that will crave for exercise in every-day utterance.

Read aloud

the follow-

from one of Roosevelt's speeches. syllables, opening the mouth verti-

ing passage

Read

it

in

cally as well as laterally,

and exaggerate the

enunciation of every sound:


110 "It

must be un-der-stood, as a mat-ter of

course, that if this pow-er

is

grant-ed

it is

to

be ex-er-cised with wis-dom and cau-tion and

The

self-re-straint.

In-ter-state

Com-merce

Com-mis-sion or oth-er Gov-ern-ment

who

in the right a-gainst an-y clam-or, ter

of-ficial

failed to pro-tect a rail-road that

how

no mat-

on the part of the pub-lie,

vi-o-lent,

would be

was

guilt-y of as gross a

wrong as

if

he cor-rupt-ly ren-dered an im-prop-er ser-vice to the rail-road at the ex-pense of the pub-lie.

When

I

say a square deal

deal; ex-actly as rich

man

much

I

mean

a square

a square deal for the

as for the poor

man; but no more.

Let each stand on his mer-its, re-ceive what

due him, and be judged ac-cord-ing serts.

To more he

is

to his de-

not en-ti-tled, and less

is

he shall not have." "I could hear every often have

member

of

we heard an

word he that

audience?

speaker's delivery

is

said."

How

comment from Nothing

in

more desirable than

a a a

clean-cut enunciation that gives full expression to every syllable.

But platform speaking

demands more careful enunciation than

ordi-

:

ENUNCIATION nary conversation, so that

if

111

you want

to ac-

quire this asset in your speaking, you must

The

cultivate greater care in conversation.

habit of reading aloud very slowly enables

your ear

to detect all the little slurs

and flaws

of your speech, just as the athlete sees the

imperfections in his form is

when

his high

jump

reproduced on the screen with the action

slowed eight times by means of the ultra-rapid

camera.

man

Let a

to this practice

improvement

give three minutes a

and he

day

will soon notice the

in his speech both off

and on the

platform.

A

great deal of indistinct enunciation on a

platform

is

due

to the fact that the

does not open his mouth vertically.

jaw should be dropped so

speaker

The lower

that the complete

formation of the vowels should not be handicapped. of the

In order to learn the correct position

mouth

in

speaking,

read aloud the

following, prolonging all the italicized vowels

Rolling rocks resounded.

CHAPTER XL EMPHASIS

A

clock's tick, a

cow

bell's tinkle,

and the

singing of a lullaby are excellent remedies for

insomnia.

In the

first,

rate; in the second,

we have

regularity of

sameness of pitch; and

The

in the third, evenness of force or stress.

reason back of the effect of each

is

the fact

that the ear, like the receiving instrument of

a radio

set,

adjusts itself to one rate, one pitch

and one degree of force.

The

stability of

any

one of these keeps the mechanism of the faculties

of hearing in a state of inaction, and

inaction

faculty

produces sleep.

by

Tire

repetition of the

any single

same movement

and you put the entire body

to

sleep.

In

speaking we call this sameness monotony.

Here the old saying, "Variety life," understates the fact

is

the spice of

—"Variety

The speaker must, therefore,

is

life."

cultivate all the

virtues of delivery that militate against monot-

ony.

And one

of the most important of these [112]

113

EMPHASIS

one we are about to consider,

virtues, the

is

emphasis.

Emphasis

mous with

often considered as synony-

is

But

force or stress.

broader term.

It

means whereby

may

it

a

is

much

be defined as any

the speaker focuses the atten-

tion of the audience

on the important words of

a sentence in order to aid the listeners in

understanding his thought.

Every sentence has but a few really important words

—

the rest are

merely connectives

The speaker's thought

and modifiers.

around these important words. his

sentences in the

station trains,

agent

chants

If

same manner his

centers

he utters that the

announcement of

he throws upon the audience the entire

burden of selecting the centers of his thought.

To increase the effect of his words and to remove the burden from the audience, the speaker must employ some means of making these big If

words

strike

home.

you have ever read an

editorial in a

Hearst newspaper, you will find the important

words underlined, capitalized or That

is

italicized.

the writer's only method of emphasiz-


114

ing the centers of thought as the reader's eye

But the speaker

runs over the printed page.

must use other means, and he

fortunate in

is

having a great variety, both visual and audi-

Leaving aside for the present the visual

tory.

means

(gesticulation),

methods which appeal I.

us

let

consider

the

to the ear.

—The common method

of emphasis

is

the

use of force or stress, a method, however,

An

which many speakers ignore completely. excellent

example of the use of

means of emphasis

is

stress as a

the following:

Sir James: Now, pray,

sir,

don't beat about

the bush, but explain to his lordship jury,

who

are expected to

and the

know nothing about

music, the meaning of what you call accent.

Witness Cooke: Accent in music is a certain stress laid upon a particular note in the same manner that you would lay stress upon a given

word for

understood.

the purpose of being better

Thus,

an ass," the accent to say,

James.

"You

if I

were

rests

to say,

on ass; but

are an ass,"

it

rests

"You if I

are

were

on you, Sir

— 115

EMPHASIS

you have

If

difficulty in stressing

important

words, you can acquire the art by keeping the

hands raised before you, one palm over the other, bringing

them together with a clap every

time you utter a word which you think should

be emphasized.

The

necessity

making

of

yourself heard above the clap forces you unconsciously to give the words greater force.

This method of emphasis includes the de-

Some-

crease as well as the increase of stress.

times the lowering of the voice to a whisper is

the most effective

means of making

or words stand out.

when we wish

to

This

is

the

word

particularly true

emphasize contrast, as

in the

following: "If this II.

—We

is

peace, give us warF'

have seen in a previous chapter

that while the short

Anglo-Saxon words are

preferable to the Latinized ones, the longer

ones are sometimes more effective.

same reason

that

makes them more

the greater space of time in

the

effective

which they hold

the attention of the audience

other

And

—

furnishes an-

means of emphasizing them.

Note the


116

effect of

prolonging the enunciation of the

italicized

word

in the following sentence:

"The Germans wrote home that the fire of the Blue Devils was not deadly, but murderous." III.

—Raising

or lowering the pitch of the

voice on certain words

is

a desirable

means of

emphasis when the thought repels the idea of emphasis through force. true

when

This

is

particularly

the speaker wishes to preserve a

mild, subdued tone of voice.

Note the

of raising the voice slightly on the

and lowering

it

"If, then, that friend

I

word

less

on the word more:

rose against Caesar, this that

effect

loved Caesar

less,

demand why Brutus is

my

but that

answer: not I

loved

Rome

more." IV.

—Nothing

is

more

effective in focusing

the attention of the listener on an important

word than a pause immediately before

it.

The

void arouses the attention and curiosity, so that the to

meet

mind of it.

the listener

is

poised on toes

Nearly every writer on the subject

of speaking has lamented the fact that the

pause, the most effective means of emphasis, is

so rarely

employed by public speakers.

If

— 117

EMPHASIS

its power by forced applicable, will never fail to he is when it use, make use of it when the opportunity presents The dash in the following represents itself.

the student will but learn

the place of the pause:

"I was creeping on

my

stomach, trying to

Germans by The number

locate the position of the

of occasional flashes.

bodies forced I

me

passed them by as

For some reason lay beside

me

abled

my

make I

it

it

would

aroused

of dead

repeated detours. so

But one of them arrested

age.

I

to

the light

my

much

my

wreck-

attention.

So

curiosity.

until a bursting star shell en-

to recognize the features.

It

was

brother."

It

is

sometimes advantageous

to

combine

two or more of the foregoing methods in order to

gain the proper emphasis.

The speaker

should develop by practice his use of

Then,

if

his

mind

is

concentrated

all.

on the

thought and feeling of his speech, his subconsciousness will select the proper channel or channels of emphasis.

CHAPTER

XII.

PITCH Every voice has

Some

own

its

natural

some are low, and

are high,

range between the two extremes.

much

concerned not so

pitch.

the rest

But we are

with the pitch of the

individual voice as with the necessity of using

range affords.

all the variety that its

Variety of pitch in speaking for two reasons:

varying

first,

sympathetic tone;

second,

militates against the

important

a proper expression of

and feelings

thoughts

is

requires

a

change of pitch

monotony which

is

so

fatal to the life

and

interest of the audience,

not to speak of

its

reaction on the speaker

himself.

Many

instructors

and writers on the subject

of elocution have attempted to

work out a

chart which will guide the student in selecting the proper pitch of the voice.

The following

will illustrate the classification: [118]

119

PITCH Excitement

— Very High Pitch

"Oh, John, the house

is

lost!

Hurry up!"

Enthusiasm

—High Pitch

baby's

"I

have learned

on

secret

the

and the

of

effective

Watch me,

speaking, and now watch me! I

fire

said!"

Pleasure and Calm Statement "That's a beautiful

me

little

—Medium

Pitch

boy you have. Let

play horse with him."

"Just follow the road and you'll cross the track in about twenty minutes."

Seriousness

"You

—Low Pitch Don't you think you

don't look well.

should take a vacation?"

Solemnity

— Very Low

Pitch

"The pardon reached

the prison too late.

Phelps had already been executed."

Your common

sense

tells

you

that

would have used the prescribed pitch tively in conversation.

And platform

you

instinc-

speak-


120 ing to

nothing more than conversation enlarged

is

meet the demands of the

But

situation.

until the speaker has acquired ease on a plat-

form, his variety of pitch

by reason of

ited

his

is

likely to be lim-

The

inexperience.

nervous strain which public speaking produces in the beginner tends to stiffen the voice,

and narrow the range.

heighten the pitch,

But until the student has overcome the handicap of inexperience he can be aided by a few concrete directions.

What

is

your medium pitch?

range of your speaking voice?

What

is

the

Find out for

yourself by delivering the following interrogation,

first,

with a rising and second, with a

falling voice.

"Do we want

to see the fruits of victory

destroyed in a flood of anarchy?" Deliver the sentence several times until the first

and

last

words

strike the highest

lowest notes of your register.

If

taken both comfortably, the middle pitch.

That

is

the pitch

conversation, because effort.

it

you use

and the

you have is

your

in ordinary

comes with the

least

PITCH

121

The necessity of being heard and

the greater

force required in platform speaking

we use

that

used

a pitch a

trifle

But the

conversation.

in

demand

higher than the one

beginning

speaker opens on a pitch altogether too high.

And

the audience detects

it

and becomes un-

easy.

Go on begin

the platform with a firm resolve to

medium

on a

Whatever the

pitch.

thought of your opening remarks, you will find that they can best be expressed in a medi-

um

As an aid

tone.

in carrying out the reso-

lution, look squarely into the eyes of

member

of the

some

audience seated near you.

Such a practice brings you nearer the conversational style

and

pitch,

and

is

an effective

means of increasing naturalness and

self-

confidence.

As

the speech proceeds,

you

will find that

the increasing interest, both of yourself

and

of the audience, tends to raise the pitch.

Un-

less this

tendency

soar until

it

that reason,

is

checked, your voice will

reaches the highest point. it is

well to

your speech, before

its

mark some

For

point in

delivery, where

you

122


may lower the voice to a conversational tone. Many speakers handicapped by a highly strung nervous system and a consequent high pitch have

employed

able results.

this

means with remark-

CHAPTER

XIII.

RATE Rate, the speed of speaking, has a close affinity

with pitch, both in degree and variety.

Usually thoughts or feelings calling for a high pitch should be delivered at a high rate, while those

fitting

a low pitch

demand

a slow

rate.

Variety of rate

is

important not only as a

means of contrasting thoughts or emphasizing the relative importance of ideas, but also as

an antidote of monotonous delivery. pitch, the beginning

As with

speaker must overcome

the tendency toward sameness.

The value of change of

rate as a

means of

focusing the attention of the audience on certain

words has been mentioned under empha-

sis.

As the sight-seeing motor car, speeding commonplace dwellings, slows up while

past

passing points of interest, so must the speaker decrease his rate not only to call attention to the centers of thought but to enable the audi-

ence to appreciate them. [123]

124


Whether because of nervousness or a fear that unless the audience is engaged by a rapidfire

of language,

will lose interest, the in-

it

experienced speaker often enters into a race with time. Such a practice exhibits a lack of self-confidence

and the audience takes you

your own valuation. slow,

and a dignity and

On

measured delivery that

is

at

the other hand, a

evidence of a poise

always attract attention

respect.

The thought and feeling should, of course, rate. Most speakers, excepting

determine the

those handicapped find

it

easy

by a limited vocabulary,

to talk quickly.

But few have

learned the art of using a slow rate.

When

experience has developed confidence and con-

on

centration

instincts will

thought.

the

platform,

the

speaker's

vary his rate according

The beginner

to the

can, however, gain

some of

the benefits of appropriate rate by holding himself down at the beginning of his

speech.

With some

almost as

difficult

as holding in check a restless horse.

So we

must devise First,

this is

aids.

begin with a clean-cut enunciation,

RATE

'

125

prolonging the vowels as you did in reading the passage

from Roosevelt's speech

You

chapter on enunciation.

in the

make an

cannot

your

effort in this direction without bringing

rate near the normal.

Don't try to gain this

end merely by pausing between words

common makes

habit with some

—

a

for that merely

Lengthen the

the delivery jerky.

—

itali-

cized vowels in the following sentence and

note the effect on the rate:

"Over

the hill arose the tall, gaunt

form of

Joseph."

Second, focus your attention on the eyes of

someone seated near the platform. pitch, the effect of this

down

to that

is

to

As

in

bring the rate

used in ordinary conversation.

Pause has been mentioned

in a previous

chapter as a means of emphasizing certain

words or phrases. sets in

motion a chain of thought

of the hearers.

"sink in,"

If

in the

it

minds

you want a sentence it. The silence

pause after

golden because its

Every expressed thought

to is

permits the thought to run

course unchecked by the necessity of aban-

doning

it

for succeeding

ideas.

Note the

126


effect

gained by pausing after the italicized

words

in the following passage

"Our Not

strength grows out of our weaknesses.

until

shot at, itself

from Emerson:

we

are pricked and stung and sorely

awakens the indignation which arms

with secret force.

willing to be

little.

A great man Whilst he

is

sits

cushion of advantages, he goes to sleep.

he

is

always

on the

When

pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a

chance

to learn

his wits,

something; he has been put on

on his manhood; he has gained facts; is cured of the insanity

learns his ignorance;

of conceit; has got moderation and real skill."

CHAPTER

XIV.

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE Modern writers on salesmanship make much of the value of engaging all the senses of the prospective buyer.

for instance,

is

the customer's

The shoe salesman,

taught to put his sample into

hands

in order that the senses

of sight, touch and perhaps smell utilized as well as the hearing.

back of

this practice is

world their if

They

to the brain.

The

very simple.

senses are the only channels

may

be

The reasoning

from

five

the outside

vary, of course, in

powers of engaging the

attention.

But

they are all focused on one object, the

chances of distraction are reduced to a mini-

mum.

Each additional sense

that is called

into action increases the strength of the im-

pression

made upon

Applying

this

the brain of the customer.

theory to speaking,

that there are but

sight.

find

—

him a message hearing The preceding chapters on delivery

the speaker can send

and

we

two senses through which

[127]

128


have dealt with those phases of speaking that concern the ear.

We now

come

to the eye.

you can, "The Merchant of Venice" presented on a darkened stage. How Imagine,

if

long could Sir Henry Irving or Ellen Terry

have held your interest and attention under

Then think of

such circumstances?

the

num-

ber of hours you have enjoyed the silent art

Mary Pickford or Douglas Fairbanks. The eye has a much stronger hold on the attention of

than the ear.

"If the eye do not admire, the

heart will not desire."

Long before primitive man developed an language he communicated with others by means of signs. Relying almost auditory

wholly on visual language, he developed it to a high degree. And in spite of the cultivation of speech, the visual appeal potent of the two.

A

is still

frown

is

the

more

much more

eloquent in meaning than any words into which it

might be translated a finger pointed toward ;

a door

is

more expressive than "Go"; a smile

produces more results than any equivalent in speech.

Modern

life tends to

develop to the highest

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE

129

The nerves

degree this vehicle of thought.

from

the eye to the brain are shorter than

those

from

The message sent over delivered and understood

the ear.

the visual wire

is

long before the auditory telegram

Entertainment

through

the

ganda through the printed ing by electric signs

—

cinema,

propa-

bear testimony

all

Its

has developed the sense of sight

The eye

recorded.

circular, advertis-

the strength of the visual.

proportions.

is

to

constant use to

enormous

a hungry animal,

is

The speaker must satisfy it.

ever seeking food.

Let us consider all speaking from the standpoint of the eye.

Let us analyze the situation

for the purpose of

making

the visual appeal

as strong as possible.

Distractions

Many an

unattractive waiter clearing

away

the debris of a dinner has captured the attention of itor

to

an audience;

many

a conscientious jan-

moving noiselessly around an auditorium

open the windows has drawn the focus from

the speaker to himself. pitiful about the

way

in

There

is

something

which an audience

130


will turn to

eyes from a distinguished orator

its

watch the motions of an usher, a latecomer

or a stray dog.

No

speaker can compete suc-

cessfully with counter attractions; no speaker

When

of experience wants to try.

such a

dis-

traction enters the field, the skilful speaker

attempts to join forces with

While Bourke

it.

Cockran was addressing an audience on "The

World War"

with

interrupted 1

States?' until he

in 1916, a

man

in the gallery

'What about the

The speaker ignored saw

had become a Then he interpolated,

that the heckler

center of visual interest.

'The United States

is

only part of the world,

New York is only a part of the and that man is only a very New York." The

first

United

the question

problem, then,

United States, small part of

is to

eliminate as

far as possible all competing attractions.

platform should be free from

have any visual appeal.

The

all objects that

Many

a prominent

speaker has been handicapped by a group of individuals sealed on the stage.

movement of

The

slightest

the hands, the shifting of knees,

the occasional

nod of approval

—

all

tend to

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE draw

eyes

the

speaker.

If

of

you are able

conditions under which address, be sure to

you

from

the

stipulate

the

audience

the

to

you

name

131

will

make your

a setting in which

will be the only attracting object.

The next consideration the face

—

is

the appearance of

In order to focus the eyes on

the speaker.

only proper place

the

—no

other

part of the body should attract attention.

has often been said that the best dressed is

the one

It

man

whose clothes are never noticed.

But the proper appearance of a speaker means more than putting aside the checkerboard vest and the bright green socks, or keeping a crease in the trousers

and out of the

sleeves.

A news-

paper or note-book protruding from a pocket or a visible pen or pencil

is

almost as danger-

ous as a noisy necktie.

The

First Impression

Nearly every living testifies

the

to the

man who heard

Lincoln

great handicap under which

Emancipator spoke.

his clothes misfitted

Tall and awkward,

and baggy, the author of

the greatest short speech in

American history

132


made

a poor

first

impression, which was never

completely removed until some time after he

had begun speaking.

Daniel Webster, on the

other hand, with his huge frame, large head

and coal black eyes, gripped

moment he appeared.

his audience the

His contemporaries

man could be Few of us are

often remarked that no

so wise

Webster looked.

blessed

as

with that physical attractiveness that reaches out and arrests the attention of those

be-

hold us; fewer

the

still

are those

who who have

resources of a Lincoln with which to efface a

bad

make

But every

impression.

first

man

a favorable impression at the start

can if

he

will but give the matter the required consid-

eration and effort.

Long before a speaker utters a word, the audience has appraised him and formed an

What

opinion.

The

attire

are the bases of that appraisal?

has already been referred to as a

potential distraction. into the

As an element

entering

making of a good impression,

serve a double purpose.

—clean shined shoes — groomed

linen,

If a

speaker

clothes is

well

creased trousers and

not only does the audience ap-

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE prove of his appearance, but

it

133

also gets the

benefit of the increased self-respect

and

dig-

nity which consciousness of a neat appearance

produces in the speaker. If

you are on

the platform before

you are

introduced, maintain an easy but dignified position.

Every

movement

little

watched by the audience. to the

If

being

is

you must walk

platform, do so in an alert but measured

manner, with no unnecessary movements of the arms,

Two

head or body.

breaths will do

much

or three deep

to quiet the nerves

and

overcome the tendency toward haste. Self -consciousness in a beginning speaker

often manifests itself in the all-hands-and-feet sensation. This usually results in the speaker's

throwing

all his

weight on one foot, spreading

his legs, folding his

hands

in front or

or putting them in his pockets.

nerisms can be avoided

if

attention on two things

—

high; second,

let the

behind

All these man-

you but focus your first,

keep the chest

arms hang loosely

at the

sides as though they were paralyzed.

Have you ever noticed how actresses

open the

first

actors

and

scene in a quiet, sub-

134


dued voice? is

their

No,

it

imagination.

isn't

and forcing the audience

ists

attention.

noisy,

to

sharpen

its

Whether or not your audience

you can focus the

your speech

until

attention

is

by delaying

you have surveyed every

room

in that

attention" manner.

That

portion of the

most

That

method of quieting the conversational-

"when

I

have your

pause

little

is

the

effective preface.

Posture and Carriage

The next time you walk along a crowded thoroughfare, notice the difference between

The man of the man-

movements of individuals.

the

ability usually reveals his

power by

ner in which he carries himself

—head

erect,

with the back of his neck pressed against his collar, chin in,

no swinging arms or swaying

body, each step measured and firm.

When

he stops to speak with another, he maintains

an

erect, dignified posture instead of settling

in a

heap or leaning against a mail box. These

You would like man he has your

characteristics impress you. to

do business with that

confidence and respect.

—

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE The

on the platform

posture

correct

135 is

neither a slouch nor a West Point "attention."

former.

If

body

of the

more preferable than the you would know the best position

latter is far

But the

in speaking, go through the fol-

lowing exercise: "Bend forward (if

they can).

until the fingers touch the toes

Raise and stretch the arms and

trunk slowly, taking a deep breath at the same time, until

your arms, head, trunk and legs form one

straight

line.

ground.

Keep

Do

not raise the heels from the

the chest high while you stretch

the arms backward and downward, exhaling slowly.

When

the

the entire

little

finger touches

arm and

let

it

your trousers, relax

hang

lifeless

from the

shoulder."

Such a posture gives an impressive bearing, facilitates proper breathing and gives the

freedom of movement. Every student has seen some prominent

greatest

speaker put his hands in his pockets, fold his

arms

in front or behind, lean

spread his legs.

on a table or

In addition to the fact that

such practices detract

from

the visual attrac-

tiveness of the speaker, there

is this

consider-

136


ation

—when

position,

the

body

in

is

this

unnatural

speaker must go through the

the

motions of untangling himself before he can gesture

orator like Chauncey his

hypercritical to

may seem practice. Many

condemn

the

an instructor has been told is

—"Mr.

this

an

M. Depew speaks with

hands in his coat pockets,

answer

When

or change his position.

Student,

it

The best when you ac-

so.

quire the ability and reputation of a Depew,

you are privileged

to fold

your arms, play

with your watch chain or perform any other stunt that the audience will stand for. until

you reach

watch every

can't afford to

A

you had

better

of propriety

—you

that eminence,

little

detail

But

do otherwise."

speaker's change of position on the plat-

form must be guided by good judgment and moderation.

He

should not stand glued in

one spot, nor should he walk from side to side like a

caged tiger seeking an

change of position

at the

exit.

A

slight

beginning of a new

turn in the speech breaks the monotony, refreshes the audience and aids the speaker in

varying his pitch, rate and force.

Rarely

is it


137

desirable to walk while delivering an import-

ant sentence. detracts

The action

time merely

at this

and makes the audience

restless.

Gestures Gesticulation, properly speaking, includes

every physical movement of the speaker on

But we are using

the platform. restricted

sense

— movements

it

here in

of the

its

arms,

head and body, but not including a change of position or facial expression.

Everyone

gestures in conversation; the toss of the head

and the outstretched hand are as natural as the dropping of the voice at the end of the

But

sentence.

the

accompanies speaking

self-consciousness in public tends to

that

break

the connection between thought and physical

The

expression.

first task,

lish that connection.

first

inside

it

is to

re-estab-

Force the blood of ex-

pression into the arms.

At

then,

Put them in motion.

might seem as though something

you broke

loose.

Very

shows that you need more of ness will soon wear

point where

it

off.

well, that only

it.

The

Don't carry

strangeit

to the

becomes a "babbling of the


138

hands," but

your trouble

if

of movement,

it

is

better to overdo

start; practice will teach

good

an entire lack

is

it

at the

you moderation and

taste.

The prime purpose of

gesticulation

feeling of the speaker.

and

follows, therefore,

It

that if the gesture is to serve it

aid

is to

the audience in understanding the thought

must be appropriate and

its

real purpose,

The

fitting.

be-

ginning speaker frequently develops a gesture which he uses for everything

denounce the Bolsheviks and virtues of the habit?

How

women.

By

—

to

praise the

to

he to overcome

is

No,

eliminating that gesture?

the only solution for this

pet

monotony

lies

in

There are hundreds and

cultivating others.

hundreds of gestures, and many new ones are in

process of invention while this

written.

But as

all

ploy the same scales and notes,

may

is

being

musical compositions emall gestures

be classified as modifications of a few

standard below.

ones.

Some

Read aloud

of

these

are

given

the following sentences

and then deliver them with the appropriate gestures.

Practice each until

it

is

yours:

—

— THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE "Wait a minute,

A.

sentence." (Arm raised

in front,

I

haven

t

139

finished

my

hand open, with palm facing the

audience.)

B. I

—

"If you sell this house, where shall

go?" (Arms stretched

of the thigh,

C.

out, with hands open and palms facing the audience.)

—"Balboa went alone

to the

at the level

summit and

out before him, stretched the vast horizon of the Pacific." (Right arm stretched down, sweeping from

D. big

—

fist

straight

from the shoulder, palm

left to right.)

"I carry no 'big stick,' but I have a

and

(Clenched

I intend to use it." fist

agitated on level with shoulder, back of

hand facing the audience.)

E.

—

If

and you

you

re-elect

him Mayor, you and you

will suffer."

(Arm stretched out, index finger pointing toward a member of the audience. Change its direction on each you. This

the so-called schoolmaster gesture.)

—"At

is

F.

first

he merely became indifferent,

but with the loss of his position and his family,

he sank

down, down, down,

until

he

reached the gutter of despair." (Arm stretched midway between the front and the side, hand with palm up on a level with the thigh. Lower the arm and hand on each succeeding down so that it is at the side on the word despair.)


140 G.

"Here

(Arm

bent,

is

hand

my

proposition"

in front

on level with the waist, palm

and thumb up.)

—"That

H.

when

but say,

I

"Away

sophistry

hear a

man

may

appeal to some,

use that argument,

I

with it!"

(Right arm bent, hand on level with chest, with palm facing the audience. Thrust it to the right.) I.

—"Shall we

fight for ourselves or

throw

up our hands and cry 'Help!' (Arms bent, with hands raised at the side the head, fingers apart and relaxed.) It is

and above

not to be expected that you will execute

Weblimber up

these gestures with Bryanesque grace or sterian force.

the

But practice will

speaking muscles, tune

and soon you

voice,

them

all,

them with the

will feel at

flavoring each with that

home with little

dash

of individuality that proclaims you a creature of

God and

not an adding machine.

In executing a gesture, keep a firm control

over every muscle.

ment

is

A

sloppy, careless move-

never an ornament.

Many

inexperi-

enced speakers deliver a gesture too soon,

dropping the hand

words

it

is

before

completing

intended to accompany.

the

Hold

it

I


141

few

sec-

onds after the sound has died from your

lips.

right through and, if appropriate, a

Movements of

head and body should

the

be used sparingly.

A

be very eloquent, but

toss of the if

head may

used frequently

it

destroys the reputation for dignity and self-

The same

control.

is

true of the trunk.

The

speaker should never permit a movement of

arm

the

wag

to

sway

the body; the tail should not

the dog.

Facial Expression

"As the language of the face very comprehensive;

'tis

and crowds a great deal

Some

of

is

universal, so

the shorthand of the in a little

'tis

mind

room."

—Jeremy Collier.

our greatest living actors are

Why?

failures in the movies.

Principally

because the speaking body has not been devel-

oped fine

to the point

it

can express

all the

shades of thought and feeling without the

aid of the voice. in the

appeal is

where

cinema is

is

Perhaps the greatest asset facial expression.

just as strong

on the screen.

But

on the platform as

its it


142

movements of

Little

and mouth

the eyes

are constantly employed in conversation, both to color

our words or

to take the place of

them.

But the nerves which connect them with the centers of thought and feeling

seem

to suffer a

complete paralysis on the platform. sult, in the

beginning speaker,

The

re-

sometimes a

is

"poker face."

You know how

unsatisfactory

it is

to

a conversation in the dark.

The reason

you have been accustomed

to

is

hold that

use your eyes

as well as your ears in interpreting remarks.

The audience looks for movements the

in a speaker,

the

same

and

if

little

facial

you can meet

demand, you have another weapon with

which

to

enchain the attention and to strengthen

the impressiveness of

What

is

the

your delivery.

remedy?

It lies in

ing the nerves controlling facial to the point

where they cannot be paralyzed

by platform ates his smile

likewise.

strengthen-

movements

sensations.

The

actor exagger-

and sneer; the speaker must do

Limber up

the muscles of the face.

The next time you attend the movies, follow in mimicry every little movement of the eye

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE and mouth.

It

will soon

when you go upon about

all

it

—

it

become a

the platform,

143

habit.

Then

you can forget

have become as natural

will

as breathing in sleep.

The Speaking Body

is

As previously stated, a physical movement much more eloquent than language. A

shrug of the shoulders, a raising of the eyebrows, a snapping of the fingers,

may

express

an idea more accurately and forcefully than

Bryan

the finest figure of speech.

is

never

more eloquent than when he ends a sentence with a pause followed by some graceful movement of the hand.

A

was once The next day

class in public speaking

hear Wendell Phillips. structor asked each

man

of Phillips's gestures.

sent to

the in-

to write a criticism

The

results

indicated that they didn't attend.

might have

But the truth

was they couldn't remember anything about his gestures.

Why?

Because the speaker's

was so highly perfected that each physical movement lost its identity in the unity of his art

delivery and the resulting singleness of im-

144


Any

pression.

which

movement

gesture or bodily

calls attention to itself is a distraction

rather than an aid.

We know when our tell us. We cannot see

ourselves as

before an audience.

But we can get a fair

voices crack; our ears

we appear

idea of our visual appeal by using a contriv-

ance quite

Wendell

common among

Phillips,

Edward

finished orators.

Everett and Lord

Mansfield used to rehearse for hours before

—

a silent critic

That

the mirror.

you as carrying the matter too thing has

its

price and the

far.

may

strike

But every-

man who would

carry his art to the goal of perfection must

pay

the freight.

Not many years ago students of psychology were stirred by a new theory of the emotions enunciated simultaneously by Professors Will-

iam James, of Harvard, and Carl Lange, of Copenhagen. the

In brief, the theory holds that

bodily changes that accompany certain

emotions are not in reality the resulting expressions of the emotions, but the causes of

them. The theory has gained almost universal acceptance, although

some psychologists

still

THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE refuse

came

But whether the hen or the egg

it.

first,

each owes

its

existence to the other

and the specie cannot perpetuate both.

145

When

itself

without

the speaker expresses his anger

by shaking his clenched

fist,

the physical ex-

pression, in turn, increases the anger.

And

the stronger the emotion in the speaker the

easier

it

delivery.

will be for

him

to

interpret

it

in

CHAPTER XV. MEMORY So many men complain of bad memory as an obstacle to their development as speakers, that

a brief analysis of the subject and

its

applica-

tion to oral discourse ought to be profitable.

many

There are ing.

They

all

courses on

accomplish

in methods, but they all rest

laws

-

— attention,

man

sufficient

vary

repetition.

these laws will

memory

but

knowledge

to

not cure a diseased

train-

on three basic

and

association

The mere understanding of each

memory

results, they all

it

will give

diagnose his

particular case with a view to finding and

strengthening the

weak

link in the chain.

Attention

Lord Chesterfield once applying attention,

"The power of steady and undissipated, said,

to a single object, is the sure

rior genius."

power

to

a

mark

of a supe-

Whether or not you possess superior degree, [146]

it

this

requires no

MEMORY argument

147

support the proposition that

to

if

you would remember any particular fact or idea, you must make sure that your original grasp of the fact or idea

impression that

means

you would

is

as clear as the

later recall.

you must focus your

that

This

attention

sufficiently to get a clean-cut conception of

what you would remember; the photographic print does not

grow brighter with

age, neither

does the picture that you store away in the recesses of

memory.

Association

Assuming

that

ing of what you

you have a clear understand-

would remember, where

in

your mental storehouse are you going to place this

information or idea?

facts or opinions will

a it

new is

set of

it

Next lie?

to If

what other

you placed

cooking utensils in the bedroom,

not unlikely that you would have great

difficulty in

hurry.

many

placing your hands on them in a

That

may sound

ridiculous,

and yet

of us do not even take time to place

newly acquired information the mind.

in

any room of


148

Napoleon once explained

memory by

likening his

his

mind

marvelous

to a chest of

drawers, with everything put in the proper

drawer and

in the

proper place in that drawer.

Nothing was dismissed from his consciousness until

it

had been assigned

proper place.

to its

This methodical disposition of

and knowledge seem. in the

is

new

not so difficult as

The main thing

is to

it

ideas

might

keep the matter

foreground of your mind until you have

assigned

it

Dates are the stumbling

a place.

blocks in the study of all history. But see what

can be done by association.

remember such years and 1898.

Now

Everyone can

as 1492, 1776, 1861,

suppose you were told that

the Protestant Reformation

began with Martin

A

Luther's revolt in 1513.

few seconds'

re-

flection will suggest the fact that the latter

event took place exactly twenty-one years after

Columbus landed

San Domingo; a man

at

born in the year of Columbus's discovery

would have reached defied

Pope Leo X.

his majority

You

forget the latter date. association.

when Luther

will probably never

That

is

the value of

MEMORY

*

149

So-called memory experts have devised many schemes for tying together various facts so that

by

getting hold of one the others follow

There

like the links of a chain.

that these

methods produce great

when we consider how time

it

mental scheme,

artificial

is

no doubt

But

results.

they are, the

takes to master the scheme, and the

energy it

consumed

in

applying

does seem that there ought

the

to

be

some method more natural and more conducive to general development of mind.

men

Most

wisdom have satisfactory Some might argue that the secret

of ability and

memories.

of their success was memory. likely that their

But

it is

more

good memories were the by-

products of their ability to analyze situations

and

to associate the various

component parts

with other facts and ideas they already knew.

Every idea has attached

more

strings, if

we

our minds long enough angle.

to

it

a hundred or

will only turn to see

By following every

it

it

over in

from every

string

and tying

some other subject to which it naturally we turn this floating fact or idea into an immovable buoy in our memory.

it

to

leads,

150


The common saying so often heard, "I can remember faces but not names," is simply a testimonial to the greater force of the visual as

compared with

the auditory.

Make

use of

by employing pictures as a means of remembering. Had you never seen this greater force

a print of it

Abraham

Lincoln, you might find

difficult to recall that

tall

and

he was described as

thin, slightly stooped,

black hair.

and with

thick,

But having seen his picture, you

can easily remember a dozen or more details of his appearance.

Repetition

The eminent authority on memory, Dr. Buckley, once remarked that

it is

incorrect to

say that we cannot remember, because in fact

we remember nearly

everything.

If

you doubt

number of times some event in the

this statement, think of the

that a friend has recalled

distant past which, until he recalled

thought

memory.

had faded

completely

Unless he recalled

it, you from your

it, you never would have been able to bring it to the foreground of your mind. This proves that the

MEMORY weakness

lies

memory but with And this weak-

not with your

your power of recollection. ness

151

.

bad

the fatal spot in the so-called

is

memory.

You have no

difficulty

recalling your

in

house or telephone number.

Why?

you have occasion

it

that

it

is

so frequently

becomes engraved on your mind.

tice, then,

ting

to recall

Because

Prac-

or repetition of the act of recollec-

the secret of

overcoming

this

weakness.

Dr. Buckley prescribes an exercise which, in his

opinion, should develop the weakest

memory.

Here

it

is:

after getting into bed,

trace all the events of the

day

in the order in

which they occurred, from the moment of ing until the minute of retiring.

aris-

Half a dozen

high spots will stand out, the rest of the day will

be screened in a fog.

effort will bring forth

But persistent

one or more events

each blank period and then the fog will

many

and you

will recall

cise will

consume about

night, but within to

others.

five

in

lift

This exer-

minutes the

first

two weeks you will be able

cover the day in one or two minutes.

The poor memory of which

the

speaker

152


complains

is

three things

:

usually due to one or (

1

)

more

of

memorizing the speech word

for word; (2) failure to assemble the material in

an orderly fashion and with a proper

sequence, and (3) insufficient practice in going over orally or mentally the

main

points of

the speech.

One

of the greatest dangers in the path of

the beginning speaker

is

the tempting practice

of writing out a speech and committing it to memory, word for word. It is like the drug

habit

—once

formed,

work without

it.

be cited against

it,

to

is

it

almost impossible

So many arguments can that

it

seems like a waste

of time to dwell on the evil.

But

men

will

persist in using this apparent

harbor of refuge,

and for

the disadvantages

that reason,

some of

should be stated. First,

memorizing a speech robs you of one

of the greatest benefits of speaking

ment of

memorize an

to turn ideas

language. self,

develop-

the ability to think on your feet.

child can

man

—

oration, but

and thoughts

Frequently a

man

it

A

takes a

into effective

will say to him-

"I will memorize just this one so as to

MEMORY be sure

will go all right, but I won't

it

Well,

after this."

next time

And

153

you do

if

do

will be harder to speak without

it

after a while

as a one-legged

you

man

will

it

this time, the

it

need

it

it.

as badly

needs a crutch.

Second, unless you are a skilled actor, you

cannot speak from a memorized version and

What do

keep the fact from the audience.

you think of a speaker when you learn has committed his talk Third, talking from

mental focus from the

that he

to memory? memory transfers

and

life

subject to the cold word.

The

spirit of

the

your

result is a life-

less delivery.

Fourth, you run the danger of forgetting the exact language you had decided upon, and that

may

If the

be

fatal.

speaker has assembled his material in

some orderly fashion and has run over in his mind the outline a half dozen times, there is little

danger of his forgetting

it.

Sometimes,

however, a long speech which necessarily covers a variety of ideas

is

difficult to

mind without some scheme. tion?

We

What

is

hold in the solu-

eliminate the practice of carrying

154


notes in the

does

hand

The

it.

—no

best

experienced speaker

method

is

summarize

to

each heading or paragraph into a word and then construct a sentence embodying all the

Suppose you outline a

descriptive words.

speech on prohibition in this fashion:

PROHIBITION 1.

vided

IS

A SUCCESS

Average workingman's family

is

better pro-

for.

2. Jails

harbor fewer persons.

3.

Alcoholic Diseases are decreasing.

4.

Enforcement

5.

Rising generation

is

improving every day. is

not beset by dangers of

intemperance.

Each of

the five headings might be

ized in one

word which

summar-

will suggest the

whole

idea: 1.

Workingman.

2. Jails. 3.

Diseases.

4.

Enforcement.

5.

Youth.

Putting these into a sentence

ingman it

jails diseases

doesn't

make any

we

get

"Work-

enforcing youth." True, sense,

but

it

is

easily

MEMORY

155

remembered, and remembered,

key

to

each part of the speech.

Another method rite

gives the

it

with

is

the visual one

Mark Twain.

—

a favo-

Construct a picture of

each heading in which some part will suggest the succeeding picture.

Or imagine

a series

of actions in which the chronology will give

you

the order of ideas, for instance: "a brick-

layer (workingman) finds a diseased

Ridiculous?

how

well

it

walks into a

man forcing a

Of

and

youth to drink."

course, but try

works.

jail,

it

and see

CHAPTER

XVI.

HEALTH AND VOICE Health and Speaking "I don't

know why

across tonight;

it

I

went

couldn't put that speech

instructor.

How

Many

fine in practice."

times has that complaint been

made

an

to

often does he inquire about

the speaker's health?

The It

activity of speaking is a strenuous one.

requires accurate co-ordination of nearly

every part of the body and brain.

way

health in any

anism of Nearly

either, the all

strength; Lincoln

speaking will suffer.

—Webster

was a

was a champion wrestler strenuous

from

in

the

campaigns for

Unless you are preparing

political battle

men

lion in

Bryan and Roosevelt amazed

country by their office.

mech-

our great orators have been

of strong physique

his teens;

poor

If

affects the delicate

the stump,

it is

to

wage a

not neces-

sary that you possess a bull-dog constitution.

But

to

do your best on any given occasion, [156]

it is

HEALTH AND VOICE

157

imperative that your condition be good, with

every organ functioning properly.

Care of the Body

Every tion to

man who

has given the slightest atten-

his health has

learned long before

maturity the peculiarities of his own body.

He knows if

and weakness, and

all his strength

he follows the advice which his own experi-

ence has formulated, he will probably keep

himself

fit.

Nevertheless,

Most of our causes.

it

is

well to call

few points concerning health.

attention to a

When

ills

arise

man

a

from alimentary

takes good care of his

stomach, his doctor's bills are usually small.

Eat only such foods as are easily digested; cultivate the habit of

The

less liquid

Keep

chewing

it

thoroughly.

drunk with meals the

better.

the bowels open.

A strong nervous every speaker

You may

—

system

—very

desirable to

feeds on muscular exercise.

pride yourself on your health in

spite of soft muscles, but

when you

platform you will find that the art part of sedentary

life.

Get up

five

take the is

not a

minutes

158


earlier

tomorrow morning and go through two

or three sets of exercises before dressing.

Keep

up for a week and note on your thinking and contentment. this

How much

Do you

do you smoke?

for tobacco at certain intervals? is

the effect

If

you

you are indulging

a sure sign that

Aside from the fact that

it

crave do,

injures the throat

and other parts of the vocal mechanism, cessive

it

to excess.

ex-

smoking decreases appetite, impairs

digestion and destroys that fine nervous control

which

so essential to effective speaking.

is

Colds, heavy or slight, have a pernicious effect

on the proper functioning of the various

parts of the body. the throat.

many men you

A to

Nearly

all colds

begin in

simple prevention has enabled

overcome chronic

rise in the

When

colds.

morning, exercise the muscles

of your neck for one or two minutes.

around, bend break.

it

in every direction

Roll it

it

won't

After your bath, dash cold water on

your neck and

chest.

increase the resisting the point

weather.

—

where

it

This daily practice will

power of your throat

will stand the

to

most inclement

HEALTH AND VOICE

159

«

Breathing

Have you ever noticed

that opera singers

are usually well developed, radiate health and

have a superabundance of energy? is

more, they live

to a ripe old age.

And what What is

the reason?

In ordinary breathing

we use about

cent of the capacity of the lungs.

and

in

filled,

deep breathing

ten per

In singing

all the little cells

are

each extracts the oxygen from the air

and gives

it

to the blood.

The blood

carries

the nourishment to every part of the body.

You know

the

"A hundred deep TB away,"

result.

breaths a day keeps the germs of is

one physician's favorite prescription.

But

before discussing further the subject of breathing, let us consider the

organs used in breath-

ing and speaking.

The trunk the

is

divided into two large cavities,

abdomen and

the chest.

In the abdominal

cavity are the stomach, liver, intestines, and

other organs ; the heart and lungs cavity.

The two

fill

the chest

cavities are separated

by a

sheet of strong muscle called the diaphragm.


160

This partition, the seat of breath control,

is

shaped like a saucer turned upside down.

When

the lungs are filled, this

flattens

tions,

On

and presses out the

and massages the

the roof of the

The

the lungs.

muscular

tissue

ribs in all direc-

liver

diaphragm

and stomach.

rests the

base of

lungs, larger at the bottom

than at the top, where their expansion

is

lim-

are composed of innumerable cells con-

ited,

nected with the windpipe by bronchial tubes.

What we

call

the

"Adam's apple"

is

the

larynx, or "voice box," which tops the windpipe.

Across the opening

(glottis) at the top

of the "voice box" are stretched membranes.

The

air

from

the lungs passing over these

membranes causes them duce sound, just as the forth music

by

to vibrate

violinist's

and pro-

bow

oscillating the strings.

brings

These

membranes may be tightened or slackened, the

first to

low

pitch.

membranes

produce a high and the second a

The proper functioning of these impeded by any tension of the

is

The sound produced by the vibration of these vocal cords flows upward until it reaches the base of the mouth. muscles of the throat.

HEALTH AND VOICE

161 <

There some of

some of act as

it

passes into the

it

into the nasal cavity.

Both cavities

sounding boards or amplifiers.

The

working with the

teeth,

soft palate, the tongue

and the

mouth and

lips

transform the sound into speech,

while the nasal cavity gives

it

volume and

ring.

In order to produce the best quality of tone, it is

or

necessary that the air be plentiful.

diaphragmatic breathing

from

and

the

lungs

an adequate support

the bottom up, gives

to the voice

fills

Deep

relieves the muscles of the

throat of the necessity of straining to produce sufficient

vocal volume.

It

physics the lungs,

tones the nervous system and

increases the

physical and mental energy.

Once formed,

the habit of deep breathing

becomes stronger than any desire for stimulant.

Open your window,

artificial

then go through

the following exercise:

"Stand erect with head and chest high,

abdomen

in,

balancing the weight on the balls

(not the heels) of the feet.

Drive

all the air

out of the lungs, keeping the chest as high as possible.

Inhale

slowly

through

the

nose

(keep the mouth closed), sending the air to

162


Do

the bottom of the lungs.

When you

shoulders.

the fullest capacity,

have

not raise the

filled the

do not hold the

lungs to air,

but

exhale slowly through the nose and mouth, the

jaw relaxed." Breath control speaker as

is

just as essential to the

to the singer.

In order to develop

that control, repeat the

above exercise, with

modification

this

— while

exhaling,

hold a

lighted candle before the mouth; practice ex-

haling so steadily that the flame of the candle

assume a fixed angle. Then go through the same exercise, exhaling so slowly that the will

flame will not flicker at these exercises

is

in the

A

substitute for

the practice of slow breath-

ing while walking.

home

all.

When you

leave your

morning, time your inhaling and

exhaling so that each will be measured by six steps.

On

The next morning increase

it

to eight.

the third, try ten.

Voice Mend

your speech a little Lest you may mar your fortune.

John T. Morse,

Jr., in his life

of Jefferson,

writes that the weakness of Jefferson's voice,

HEALTH AND VOICE

163 «

more than any other thing, prevented him from becoming successful in trial work. Henry Clay, on the other hand, was a great advocate, one of the chief reasons being that

he had a voice that was marvelously musical

and of rare power. If

you think

that

your voice

is

as unchange-

able as the color of your eyes, you are wrong.

The

greatest orator of all ages

—had,

—Demosthenes

in his youth, a weak, raspy voice.

And,

what was worse, he had an impediment

in his

speech.

But by systematic training, which

included

declaiming by the

seashore

with

pebbles in his mouth and talking while run-

ning uphill, he developed the greatest speaking voice of his generation.

In approaching the subject of improving the

we are reminded of that saying so common among the Micawbers of this day, "Don't interfere with Nature." Well, we are not interfering with nature we are merely removvoice,

;

ing the obstructions which you have placed in her

way.

Let us consider a few phases of

vocalization.

Faulty enunciation

is

usually the result of


164

a clumsy tongue.

Nature intended that

this

organ should perform the major portion of the

But

task.

labor

its

man

among

jaw and the

mands

spares the tongue and divides the muscles of the throat, the

lips.

Distinct enunciation de-

a strong, flexible tongue capable of

rapid and accurate adjustment.

by rapid

Strengthen

body of

the top of the lower teeth, roll the

out between the lips.

wag it

the tongue

it

Pressing the tip against

exercises.

Open

upward and downward.

curl like a snail's body.

it

mouth and

the

Make

Accurate enuncia-

tion is often a function of the proper co-ordi-

nation of the tongue and teeth. thinks he cannot pronounce th

for

this.

If

The Teuton

—he

says dis

he would but watch an American

place his tongue against the upper teeth, he

could by imitation learn to enunciate the word in less than five minutes.

The success of Joseph H. Choate lawyer has been attributed of his voice.

No juryman

to the

as a trial

resonance

could go

to sleep

while his organ-like voice was working.

You

can acquire some of that resonance

will

but

make

use of the

if

you

human sounding board

HEALTH AND VOICE

165 «

That undesirable "twang"

the nasal cavity.

which

is

sometimes called "speaking through

the nose"

is

the result of preventing the pas-

When we

sage of sound through the nose.

make

use of this sounding board, the result

similar to that of talking in a rain barrel.

is

A

great deal can be accomplished in this direction

by keeping the

the mouth, nose tions.

Wax

air passages connecting

and ears free from obstruc-

in the ears

and dust

in the nose

and nasal cavity rob the voice of the ring just as rags in a cornet muffle

A little

salt

bell-like its

and water gently snuffed up

tones. in the

morning and a weekly application of warm water and soap

to the ears will

be of great

help to the quality of resonance.

You have

seen

many

advertisements setting

forth the wonderful powers of certain lozenges

and throat sprays.

If half of the testimonials

by opera singers are true, it is a wonder how many of them find time to do anything but try cures and write recommenda-

written

tions.

The

specialist,

late Dr.

H. Holbrook Curtis, throat

was consulted by nearly

concert singers in

New York

all

as well as

the

by

166


He

prominent speakers including Roosevelt.

usually prescribed voice exercises, the most

common

of which was

humming

the scale

up

and down.

Humming

an excellent practice for devel-

is

oping resonance, because through the nasal cavity.

it

forces the air

Robert

J.

Hughes,

the voice specialist, prescribes a very simple

exercise in this direction.

and

hum "minim"

the m's

and the

Take a deep breath

continuously, prolonging

n's.

That harsh, raspy tone of voice, which limits the success of so

as professional men,

ing the voice

from

is

many

business as well

partially due to forc-

the throat instead of relax-

ing the throat and supplying the energy from the lungs.

Never speak, on or

form, without breath support.

off the plat-

Think of

while dictating to your stenographer or

this tele-

phoning, and your work on the platform will take care of Flexibility

itself.

of

voice

—

the

foundation

of

—

modulation and inflection can be acquired by reading aloud poetry and verse. Recite the following lines on Opportunity

by Senator

HEALTH AND VOICE

167 4

sym-

Ingalls, putting into its delivery all the

pathy you possess:

"Master of human destinies love and fortune on

and

fields

fields

walk:

I

my

am

Fame,

I!

footsteps wait.

Cities

penetrate deserts and

I

remote, and passing by hovel and mart

and palace, soon or every gate!

late I

If sleeping,

turn away.

knock unbidden

wake;

if

feasting,

the hour of

rise

before

fate,

and they who follow me reach every

I

It

is

at

state

mortals desire, and conquer every foe save death; but those

demned in vain

who doubt

to failure,

or hesitate, con-

penury and woe, seek

and uselessly implore.

and return no more!'

:

FINIS

I

me

answer not

By

Same Author

the

"Hints for the Political Speaker'' 112 pages

— Cloth—$1.00 postpaid

invaluable to the ambitious

It is

public speaker

who

desirous

is

of entering the realm of politics.

C

It

gives

him

plainly

and concisely the funda-

mentals by which the quality

—the

incorrectness of a political speech ively

determined.

It

gives

can know "why" his speech it;

or

"why"

it

is

correctness or

—

is

construct-

him "reasons." is

He

good, and explain

bad, and improve

it.

Entire

courses of instruction in public speaking, costing

many the

times the price of this work, are based on

same

principles

in this $1.00 book.

CHRIS.

F.

which are so

Why

MEYER,

945 East Third Street

fully explained

should you pay more?

Publisher Brooklyn, N. Y.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

Essentials of Public Speaking by Warren C. DuBois (1921)

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