Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/effectivepublicsOOrobiricli EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING FREDERICK B. ROBINSON, A.M., Ph.D. Professor, Department of Public Speaking:, The College of the City of New York lasalle extension university CHICAGO 1919 ^ Copyrighted, 1914, 1015, LaSalle Extension University CONTENTS I. ORGANIZATION j^ 1. Introduction — Organization of Ideas 1 t J. General Plan of a Speech 17 ^ 8. Purpose of the Introduction 31 - 4. Purpose of the Introduction (Continued) 49 * 5. Arrangement of ^Matter in the Body of the Speech 67 r 6. The Conclusion 85 II. DELIVERY 7. Physical Aspects of Delivery 105 * S. Subjective Aspects of Delivery 129 III. DETAILS OF COMPOSITION T 9. Images and the ]\Iind of the Audience '. . 151 "^ 10. The Expression of Images — Vocabulary Luihling 171 — ' 1 1 . Vocabulary Building 193 -{'"■12. General Ideas or Concepts 211 13. Arguments and their Presentation 229 1 4. Inductive and Deductive Arguments 251 15. Argumentation, Briefing, and Floor Tactics 273 -^1 (5. The Appeal to Action 291 IV. PRACTICAL PR0BLE:\IS OF DELIVERY 17. Speech Material and Its Preparation 311 4-18. Attention of the Speaker and of the Audience 327 -^19. Purpose of a Speech 345 iv CONTEXTS 20. The Expressive Voire 363 21. Gestures 381 22. Hygiene for Public Speakers 399 V. PRACTICAL SPEECH DIRECTIONS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS 23. Practical Speech Directions for Special Occasions.... 411 24. Practical Speech Directions (Continued) 427 25. Practical Speech Directions (Concluded) 443 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING introduction Efficiency, What It Is Ours is the age of efficiency. Everywhere men are devising the most efficient methods of performing the operations of their callings. Business men seek the most efficient system of filing and bookkeeping, the manufac- turer organizes his labor force and machinery so that every ounce of effort gives the greatest possible return in goods. The railroads are replacing steam with electric power, and surgeons spend many hours planning the best way to remove an appendix in the shortest time. Mechanical inventors speak of a machine as efficient when it does its work without loss of power. If a hundred pounds of steam pressure are applied to it, the full hundred pounds are accounted for in valuable engine power. There is no w^aste. Any instrument is efficient when it gets the most work from a given amount of effort. When we attempt to apply the idea of efficiency to public speaking, wo find that it is best expressed by the word ''effective." The two words ''efficient" and "effective" have, to be sure, very much the same signifi- cance. ' ' Effective, ' ' however, throws the emphasis a little more upon the tangible result, upon the effect produced by any instrument. Now speech is one of our most use- 1 2 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ful instruments. It is employed to cany messages from one mind to many otliers. If it carries the message truly and forcefully, it is effective; but if it loses part of the message or gives it in such weak form that it does not impress the other mind at all, it is ineffective. Speech, U then, is an instrument through which one mind works upon others. It ought to be made most effective. Effective Speech, Thought, and Expression Probably the most remarkable product of nature, in its centuries of evolution, is the human mind ; and the second wonder of the universe is the communication of the thoughts and feelings of one mind to others by means of the voice in speech and by means of the body in ges- ticulation. Each man is limited in the position he may assume in the world by the development of his mind. If he has stored up in it a reliable memory of many experi- ences, if his judgment is well trained, if his ideas are good and his will is strong, then is he a source of tre- mendous power. But to exert it upon others, to make his ideas their ideas, to lead them to accept his judg- ments, and to bend them to his will, his speech must be efficient. It must transfer to others, without loss, the complete creations of his brain. Each of us is therefore a source of power. But we are unable to get the full benefit of it unless we can ex- press all our ideas well, '^^^lat good would it have done the American people if Patrick Henry had felt immeasur- able indignation at the wrongs England was heaping upon the colonists, Imt had not been alile to give them eloquent tongue in his famous *'Ap])eal to Arms"? A business manager may kiicnv precisely how he can organ- INTRODUCTION 3 ize liis corporation so that the community will benefit in better commodities and the stockholders reap larger dividends; but to put his ideas into operation, he must first, by exposition and argument, win over the board of directors. He must be able to make clear to the proper people what is perfectly clear to him. In short, no argu- ment is necessary to prove that a speaker who wishes to influence others, either in conversation or conference, in court of law or on pulpit or platform, must be able to express his entire thought and purpose by means of speech. Natuke of These Lessons The object of this course is to develop effective speech. Incidentally the student will be led to improve his general mental hal)its; he will be trained to systematic reading, research, and thought. But the attention will be directed primarily to the organization and delivery of speeches. It would be ridiculous to suppose that a man who needs training in speech-making can become eloquent merely by spending a few minutes a day reading a book on pub- lic speaking in the privacy of his home or office. Speech is an art which can be mastered only by much practice under competent direction. These lessons will give simple explanations of the principles of speech-making and they will outline practical directions for exercises; but the student must do his own practicing ; he must actu- ally make speeches as directed. There can be no doubt that the best way to learn to speak is by daily lessons under the direct, personal guidance of a teacher of the art. But if a student who cannot follow the ideal course will carefully carry out the written directions to be found in these lessons, he ought steadily to improve. If he 4 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING perseveres, there will be no limits to his attainments save those set by his own general capacity. The ancients had a saying which is true, *'The poet is born, but the orator is made." By patient j^ractice, you can make of yourself a successful speaker. In order that the student may have a general idea of the development of effective speech, we shall enumerate the broader requirements for success. Qualities of Good kSpeakixg to be Developed 1. Clear .Oi:ganizafion of the ideas in the mind of the speaker is the first necessity. The speaker has an object to accomplish by his speech and he selects ideas and gi'oups them so that they will be best understood and re- tained by the audience which will act upon them. 3. Retention of the Well-Organized Ideas During De- livery is next necessary. This is related to self-posses- sion, ease, and confidence. 3. Mastery of Language. — Even though the ideas may be clear and well organized in the mind of the speaker, he must have a large vocabulary and skill in the choice and arrangement of words to express his ideas. 4. Technical Control of Voice in Speech and of Body in Gesture. — Some men cannot speak for more than a few minutes without becoming hoarse or having their voices "break." Their voices may be monotonous and unexpressive or weak, without carrying power. Their gestures may also be awkward. Such deficiencies must be overcome. All these excellencies cannot be attained at once. The lessons begin with the matter of clear thinking and the organization of ideas. THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS 6 LESSON 1 the organization of ideas Logical Grouping of Ideas Not all tlie ideas wliicli fill our minds are clear. Fur- thermore, tliey are not, as a rule, organized in logical groups. If we wish to use some of them as speech mate- rial, they must be clear and well arranged. When a man plans to make a speech, he draws upon the full stock of his mind, but he carefully tests his information to see if it will have weight with his audience, and he arranges it in the most convenient manner for their understanding. Let us illustrate. If I were to ask you suddenly to tell me immediately all your, ideas about trade unions, a great unorganized number of impressions would seek haphazard expression. You might say: "Labor unions start strikes ; sometimes there is disorder and even blood- shed ; they have walking delegates ; I know a union man who received financial help from his organization wfeen he was ill ; unions try to get more pay for their members ; there is a local chapter of the building trades in my neigh- borhood ; I visited one of their meetings once ; unions try to get an eight-hour day, etc." But if you were given some time for reflection, you would organize your thoughts somewhat as follows : 1. Wliat labor unions are: They are organizations of laborers for mutual protection and improvement. 2. What they seek to accomplish among their members: (a) social improvement, (b) sick benefit, (c) life in- - surance. 6 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 3. What they seek to exact from the employer: (a) shorter hours, (b) better pay, (c) better working conditions, such as ventilation, safeguarded ma- chines, clean rooms, etc., (d) exclusion from thv shop of non-union men. 4. Results of unionism: (a) good results, (b) bad results, etc., (c) means they use to accomplish their objects. 5. Our consequent attitude towards unions. Benefits of Grouping Ideas Such an arrangement or organization of thoughts does three things. First, it insures a thorough and clear grasp of each idea by the speaker. We often let hazy and un- trustworthy impressions hold sway in our careless think- ing of every-day life. However, if an idea is to be put into an organized plan, the very act of classifying it makes us inspect it more closely. Therefore, careful, organized thinking about a" topic leads to a clearer understanding and approval of every idea involved. Second, the plan puts the speech in an order easy for the audience to grasp and retain. Ideas thrown out ha]j- hazard do not form part of a well-arranged whole ; they are confusing. Certainly all cannot be remembered. Third, the organization helps the speaker himself to stick to his topic and to develop all of it. Exercise to Secure Organization of Ideas To acquire the ability to organize readily, follow the directions of this lesson most carefully, one step at a Ihne before proceeding to the next. Read the whole h'sson through before you attem])! any of the exercises suggested. THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS 7 1. Eead this passage from the speech which Henry Ward Beecher delivered in Liverpool: There are two dominant races in modern history: the Ger- manic and the Romanic races. The Germanic races tend to per- sonal hberty, to a sturdy individualism, to civil and pohtical liberty. The Romanic race tends to absolutism in government; it is clannish ; it loves chieftains ; it develops a people that crave strong and showy governments to support and plan for them. The Anglo-Saxon race belongs to the great German family and is a fair exponent of its peculiarities. The Anglo- Saxon carries self-government and self-development with him wherever he goes. He has popular government and popular INDUSTRY ; for the eifects of a generous civil liberty are not seen a whit more plainly in the good order, in the intelligence and in the virtue of self-governing people than in their amazing enterprise and the scope and power of their industry. The power to create riches is just as much a part of the Anglo-Saxon virtues as the power to create good order and social safety. Now^ read it again. 2. Turn this page over so that you cannot see the passage and write in your own words the ideas which Beecher conveyed to his English audience. Do this even though the composition may be very imperfect. 3. Now read the passage again with this plan in mind. Beecher develops three ideas: (1) The character- istics of the Germanic races, (2) the characteristics of the Romanic races, (3) the way the Anglo-Saxon carries the Germanic idea into industry as well as government. 4. Consulting the following notes, once more write the composition, in your own words. The notes are to 8 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKLXG help you retain Beeclier's ideas but not his words or forms of expression. I. Germanic Races. II. Romanic Races. 1. Personal liberty. 1. Love chieftains. 2. Individualism. 2. Clannish. 3. Civil and political 3. Absolutism and showj liberty. government. III. The Anglo-Saxon belongs to the Germanic group and shows its characteristics in industry as well as in government. 5. Take the following more general outline. Memorize it and then speak the development. In your oral amplification, do not try to remember words which Beecher used before. Merely keep your three ideas in mind and develop them in the same way you would make clear any thought of your own in con- versation. Outline : I. Characteristics of the Germanic Races. II. Characteristics of the Romanic Races. III. Place of the Anglo-Saxons. AVlien you make your oral development, it is well to have a real audience. If you could get a group to listen to you, it would be well. Or in conversation with some friend you might refer to the Anglo-Saxons and quote the ideas of Beecher. You might also speak your ideas out loud in a room, by yourself, but Ix'fore a mirror. In this case, do not repeat or make false starts and go all over again when displeased with a word. Go right ahead without a l)reak, no matter how imperfect the perform- ance is. Tli(M-e is no harm in going over the whole orally many times, l)ut it is undesiraWo to l)reak off in the middk'. THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS 9 Exercise in Original Analysis for Thought Groups Read the following i)iiragraplis from Henry W. Grady's "The New South" (delivered before the New England Society, December 22, 1886) and make your own top- ical outline. Then write your own complete expression of these same ideas. Preserve all of these exercises carefully in your notebook. Also practice oral amplifi- cation of a memorizeil outline. Follow directions given in the preceding exercise. Under the old regime, the negroes were slaves to the South ; the South was a slave to the system. The old plantation, with its simple police regulations and its feudal habits, was the only type possible under slavery. Thus was gathered in the hands of a splendid and ehivalric oligarchy the substance that should have been diffused among the people — as the rich blood, under certain artificial conditions is gathered at the heart, filling that with affluent rapture but leaving the. body chill and colorless. The old South rested everything on slavery and agriculture, unconscious that these could neither give nor maintain healthy growth. The new South presents a perfect Democracy, the oligarchs leading in the popular movement, — a social system compact and closely knitted, less splendid at the surface but stronger at the core ; a hundred farms for every plantation ; fifty homes for every palace and (instead of agriculture alone) a diversified industry that meets the complex needs of this complex age. In making your notes, be sure to get the central thought — the contrast between the old South and the new South. In your development, do not make a running- contrast; rather treat the old South fully, di'op it, and then take up the new South for complete treatment. Note the following difficult, running contrast, a form of 10 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING composition which shoukl not be attempted by the inex- perienced speaker. Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent is serious, sober, grave and respectable; tact is all that and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five. * * * Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is momen- tum ; talent knows what to do, tact knoAvs how to do it ; talent makes a man respectable, tact makes him respected; talent is wealth, tact is ready money. — From the London Atlas. Complete the Discussion of Each Topic Such a running contrast is not the characteristic treat- ment of a speaker; it is rather the product of a writer wdio has time to meditate and arrange w^ords — even to erase and rearrange. Most speakers would give a rounded idea of tact first, then a thorough exposition of talent. The contrast might be driven home by a few additional remarks. There are some master speakers wdio might carry the contrast along, but such a task is too difficult for the beginner. His rule should be the clear develop- ment of one idea at a time and an orderly arrangement of those ideas in proper sequence. Also, the audience gets more out of the simpler and easier treatment. A speech like the passage above leaves them with the impression that tact and talent are con- trasted and that the speaker accomx^lished a brilliant feat; but they do not carry away a satisfactory notion of the nature of either tact or talent. The development of one idea at a time makes for clearness and force of impression. THE ORGANIZATION OP^ IDEAS 11 Develop One Idea at a Time Observe, in the following- x)assage from Abraham Lin- coln's Eulogy of Henry Clay (delivered July 16, 1852, in the State House at Springfield, Illinois), that one idea is taken up at a time and developed fully. Furthermore, nothing is introduced which does not contribute to the amplification of the thought under immediate considera- tion. It is just as important to keep out distracting mat- ter as it is to put in that which contributes to the direct expression of the central idea. A star is printed at the beginning of each idea that Lincoln amplified. * The spell, the long enduring spell with which the souls of men were bound to him, is a miracle. Who can compass it? It is probably true he owed his preeminence to no one quality, but to a fortunate combination of several. He was surpass- ingly eloquent; but many eloquent men fail utterly, and they are not, as a class, generally successful. His judgment was excellent; but many men of good judgment live and die unnoticed. His will was indomitable ; but this quality often secures to its owner nothmg better than a character for useless obstinacy. These, then, were Mr. Clay's leading qualities. No one of them is very uncommon; but all together are rarely combined in a single individual, and this is probably the reason why such men as Henry Clay are so rare in the world. * Mr. Clay 's eloquence did not consist, as many fine speci- mens of eloquence do, of tropes and figures, of antitheses and elegant arrangement of words and sentences, but rather of that deeply earnest and impassioned tone and manner which can proceed only from great sincerity, and a thorough conviction in the speaker of the justice and importance of his cause. This it is that truly touches the chords of sympathy; and those who heard Mr. Clay never failed to be moved by it, or ever after- ward forgot the impression. All his efforts were made for practical effect. He never spoke merely to be heard. He never 12 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING delivered a Fourth of July oration or a eulogy on an occasion like this. * As a politician or statesman, no one Avas so habitu- ally careful to avoid all sectional ground. Whatever he did, he did for the whole country. In the construction of his measures, he ever carefully surveyed every part of the field and duly weighed every conflicting interest. Feeling as he did, and as the truth surely is. that the world's best hope depended on tho continued Union of these States, he was ever jealous of and watchful for whatever might have the slightest tendency to separate them. * ]\Ir. Clay 's predominant sentiment, from first to last, was a deep devotion to the cause of human liberty — a strong sympathy with the oppressed everywhere, and an ardent wish for their elevation. With him this was a primary and controlling pas- sion. Subsidiary to this was the conduct of his whole life. He loved his country partly because it was his own country, and mostly because it was a free country; and he burned with a zeal for its advancement, prosperity and glory, because he saw in such the advancement, prosperity and glory of human liberty, human right and human nature. lie desired the prosperity of his countrymen partly because they were his countrymen, but chiefly to show to the world that free men could lie prosperous. .Exercise of Amplifying Simple Plans of Speech In order to get practice in the amplification of a gen- eral thought by the grouping of subordinate thoughts around it, amplify orally the following outlines — all or such as interest you. It might be well to jot down all your information on the subjects before trying to or- ganize the matter according to the outlines here sug- gested. Then undertake the oral development as de- scribed l)efore. Sul)stitute outlines of your own if you prefer. 1. Washington was an ideal American gentleman, (a) He was courageous. THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS 13 (b) He was patient. (c) He was courteous. (d) He was sagacious. (e) He was patriotic. (f ) He was unselfish. 2. The Government should own the railroads. (a) The whole people should j^rofit by the use of the highways. (b) Shippers and passengers would get fairer treat- ment. (c) Better service would be rendered. (d) Money could be made to pay governmental expenses. 3. Government ownership of railroads would be unde- sirable. (a) Railroading is a private business which should be left to the enterprise of individuals. (b) Government enteri3rises foster corruption and graft. (c) There would be no incentive to improve the service. (d) There would be a deficit which would have to l)e met by heavier taxes upon the people. 4. Labor. (a) What is labor? (b) The necessity for labor. (c) The unpleasantness of labor. (d) The blessings of labor. Observation and Criticism of the Grouping of Other Speakers At the next meeting you attend where someone speaks at length (as in church, political meeting, or club meet- 14 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ing) take notes of the address. Put down the headiHgs or topics which are treated in the address. Then ob- serve how the speaker develops his topics. Does he clearly hold one idea till it is fully expounded! Are all his ideas clear f Do they follow each other in a natural order? AVhat faults in grouping does the speaker have? Is the speech so well organized that you can repeat its essential message in your own words from the notes you take? This criticism of other speakers is a great help toward self -improvement. Within the next three or four weeks, if you have the opportunity, prepare carefully a detailed report of such a speech which you heard. Append the outline and your criticism. This exercise is optional. General Suggestions Get the Habit of Systematic Thouglit. — You must cul- tivate the habit of orderly and systematic thought. Carry this into your daily life. If you read the news- paper, see if the writer of the article you are reading holds to his topic or wanders. Analyze the magazine articles you read. Even in conversation, organize your expressions. If you say that President Wilson was right in delaying intervention in Mexico, be able to amplify thus: — because (a) reason one, (b) reason two, and (c) reason three. Do not have slovenly opinions. Crystal- lize all your thoughts. ' Put them to the test of organiza- tion. Indulge in Much Oral Practice. — You nuist indulge in a great deal of oral expression. Speak in large gather- ings whenever the opportunity arises. Always have your thoughts organized ; do not let them come out in HE ORGANIZATION OF IDKAS 15 "^ chance order or no order at all. At any rate do niucli oral practice alone. No one ever became an effective speaker without actually speaking. Assignment of Work for Five Days The written exorcises in tliis entire lesson should be carefully worked out. Keej) copies of tlie written exer- cises in your notel)ook. First Day. — You have read through the first lesson. Now study it again carefully, mastering its contents. Do not attempt any of the special exercises in the first or second reading. Second Day. — Write the exercises in connection with the Beecher speech (p. 7), and criticize carefully your own work : then rewrite it. Practice in your own words the oral re- production of the Beecher speech. Third Day. — Do the exercises in connection with the Grady speech (p. 9). Prepare carefull}^ the outline and amplifica- tion of the Grady speech and criticize and rewrite as sug- gested in the work for the second day. Fourth Day. — Fill out orally the outlines given which begin with the character of Washington (p. 12). Make similar outlines for matters of current interest which you read ahout and concerning which you have formed opinions. Fifllt Day. — Outline and criticize some speech you have heard. Remember that criticism means appreciation as well as adverse comment. It is hoped that this lesson has impressed you with the value of organized thought and given you suggestions which will start you in the direction of a better organiza- tion of your own thoughts. The second lesson will take a nominating speech for its model and show how a long speech is made up of certain great divisions, each one of which contains its thought groups. TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for the student to use in testing liis knowledge of the principles in this lesson. They are suggestire merely, dealing largely with the practical application of the principles, and are to be placed in tlie notebook for future reference. I. State what efficienc}'- is. Give tlie best illustration of it you know. — 2. Why is effective a better word than efficient to apply to public speaking? 3. What is the most effective speech you have ever heard? Why? 4. What benefits of "grouping ideas" are discussed in the lesson ? 5. AVhat are the four qualities of good speaking the student should develop ? 6. AVhat is meant by the expression "develop one idea at a time ' ' ? 7. What does Beecher's paragraph on "The Germanic and the Romanic Races" illustrate as to the grouping of ideas? 8. What four ideas does Lincoln "develop one at a time" about Henry Clay? 9. What are the main headings of an address you have re- cently heard ? 10. In Henry W. Grady's paragraph, what are the chief points of contrast between the Old and the Xew South? II. What ideas have you about Clay's eloquence, from Liii- eoln 's paragraph ? 12. In a conversation about "The kinds of men I work with,'' what would be the main lines of your talk ? 13. If you desire more practice, outline for a short talk one of the following topics: Workmanship, Reliability, Woman's Suf- frage, High License, Books I Like to Read, My Job, My Em- ployer, My Ambition, 16 LESSON 2 THE GENERAL PLAN OF A SPEECH. THE DETAILED TREATMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF A NOMINATING SPEECH All but the very simplest messages which we can deliver in a speech are made up of several parts. This was insisted upon in the first lesson when we discussed the proper organization of those parts. A message was considered well organized if the nature of each part was clearly and forcefully presented and the relation of each part to the whole was made evident. Consequently we concluded that it is most necessary that we make a care- ful analysis to determine just how our thoughts hang- together before we try to impress them upon other people. The Body of a Speech Now let us suppose that you have a message to deliver which summed up is simply this : The Democratic Party ought to nominate Woodrow Wilson for president once more. Upon analysis you discover ten good reasons for this belief. You pass all these reasons in review before you and find that they are well founded. Then you 17 18 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING organize them so that they Avill form a well-arranged group, easy of comprehension and forceful in its combined strength. An amplification of this will constitute the body of a speech nominating your candidate for the office of president. The Introduction Yet that does not exhaust all the planning for such a speech, for you do not always wish to plunge imme- diately into the bod^^ of an address. The audience may not be ready to receive it. They may be so unfavorably prejudiced against you that they will not listen to your message till you woo them and win their favor. They may have some preconceived notions against your candi- date or the platform upon which he expects to stand. In fact, a thousand and one untoward circumstances may exist which will make necessary some preliminary efforts to incline them to an impartial hearing of what may be said. This portion of the general speech is called the introduction. Its function is to prepare the way for the most favorable recejjtion of the message proper. There are other things besides prejudice and unfriendly feeling which stand in the way of a good reception of the message, but we shall not enumerate them in this lesson. Whatever they are, the introduction is used to clear them away. The Conclusion- Besides the introduction and body, a speech may have a third part, the conclusion. The i)urpose of the conclu- GENERAL PLAN: NOMLNATLXG SPEECH 19 sion is to gather together the combined force of all the parts of the body of the speech and to drive home or apply them. It has been said that every speech — no matter how long or how short, no matter what the subject or the pur- pose — must have three parts: an opening or introduc- tion, a body or argument, and a conclusion. This is not true, for sometimes the situation is favorable to an imme- diate presentation of the message without preliminary words and sometimes the speaker prefers the audience to draw its own conclusions and to make its own applica- tions. Yet it is well for the student to know the nature and use of all these parts so that he can employ them when desirable. We shall later make a detailed study of the intro- duction and conclusion and discuss when they may be omitted. Just now we shall assume that a nominating speech has these initial and terminal parts while we attend primarily to the nature of the material used in the body of the speech. Our study in this lesson will be the organization of the body of a nominating speech. Conklixg's Speech Nominating Grant for President, 1880 We take as our model Eoscoe Conkling's nomination of General Grant for president, in the Chicago Conven- tion of the Republican Party, 1880. It will be remem- bered that Grant served as president for two terms (1868- 1876). He then traveled around the w^orld, visiting all the civilized nations and receiving the homage of the greatest men and rulers of the earth. Mr. Conkling nominated him to run for a third time in the following 20 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING speech. Read the speech slowly and thoughtfully, trying to sense its structure. When asked what State he hails from, Our sole reply shall be, He comes from Appomattox, And its famous apple-tree. In obedience to instructions I should never dare to disregard, expressing also, my own firm convictions — I rise to propose a nomination with which the country and the Republican part}' can grandly win. The election before us is to be the Austerlitz of American politics. It will decide, for many years, whether the country shall be Republican or Cossack. The supreme need of the hour is not a candidate who can carry ^Michigan. All Republicans can do that. The need is not of a candidate who is popular in the Territories, because they have no vote. The need is of a candidate who can carry doubtful States. Not the doubtful States of the North alone, but doubtful States of the South, w^hich we have heard, if I understand it aright, ought to take little or no part here, because the South has nothing to give, but everything to receive. No, gentlemen, the need that presses upon the conscience of this Convention is of a candidate who can carry doubtful States both North and South. And believing that he, more surely than any other man, can carry New York against any opponent, and can carry not only the North, but several States of the South, Neiv York is for UUjsses S. Grant. Never defeated in peace or in war, his name is the most illustrious borne by living man. His services attest his greatness, and the country — nay, the world — knows them by heart. His fame was earned not alone in things written and said, but by the arduous greatness of things done. And perils and emergencies will search in vain in the future, as they have searched in vain in the past, for any other on whom the nation leans with such confidence and trust. Never having had a policy to enforce against the will of the people, he never betrayed a cause or a friend, and the people will never desert nor betray him. Standing on the highest eminence of GENERAL PLAN: NOMINATING SPEECH 21 human distint'tion, modest, tirm, simi)le and self-poised, having filled all lauds with his renown, he has seen not only the high- born and the titled, but the poor and the lowly in the uttermost ends of the earth, rise and uncover before him. He has studied the needs and the defects of many systems of government, and he has returned a better American than ever, with a wealth of knowledge and experience added to the hard common sense which shone so conspicuously in all the fierce light that beat upon "liim during sixteen years, the most trying, the most portentous, the most perilous in the nation's history. Vilified and reviled, ruthlessly aspersed by unnumbered presses, not in other lands but in his own, assaults upon him have seasoned and strengthened his hold on the public heart. Calumny's ammunition has all been exploded; the powder has all been burned once ; its force is spent ; and the name of Grant will glitter a bright and imperishable star in the diadem of the republic when those who have tried to tarnish that name have moldered in forgotten graves, and when their memories and their epitaphs have vanished utterly. Never elated by success, never depressed by adversity, he has ever, in peace as in war, shown the genius of common sense. The terms he prescribed for Lee's surrender foreshadowed the wisest prophecies and principles of true reconstruction. Victor in the greatest war of modern times, he quickly signalized his aversion to war and his love of peace by an arbitration of inter- nal disputes, which stands as the wisest, the most majestic exam- ple of its kind in the world's diplomacy. When inflation, at the height of its popularity and frenzy, had swept both Houses of Congress, it was the veto of Grant which, single and alone, overthrew expansion and cleared the way for specie resumption. To him, immeasurably more than to any other man, is due the fact that every paper dollar is at last as good as gold. With him as our leader we shall have no defensive campaign. No! We shall have nothing to explain away. AVe shall have no apologies to make. The shafts and the arrows have all been aimed at him, and they lie broken and harmless at his feet. Life, liberty and property will find a safeguard in him. When he said of the colored men in Florida, "Wherever I am, 22 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING they may come also" — when he so said, he meant that, had he the power, the poor dwellers in the cabins of the South should no longer be driven in terror from the homes of their childhood and the graves of their murdered dead. When he refused to see Dennis Kearney in California, he meant that communism, lawlessness and disorder, although it might stalk high-headed and dictate law to a whole city, would always find a foe in him. He meant that, popular or unpopular, he would hew io the line of right, let the chips fly where they may. His integrity, his common sense, his courage, his unequaled experience, are the qualities offered to his country. The only argument, the only one that the wit of man or the stress of poli- tics has devised is one which would dumbfounder Solomon, because he thought there was nothing new under the sun. Hav- ing tried Grant twice and found him faithful, we are told that we must not, even after an interval of years, trust him again. My countrymen ! my country^men ! what stultification does not such a fallacy involve? The American people exclude Jefferson Davis from public trust. Why ? why ? Because he was the arch- traitor and would-be destroyer; and now the same people are asked to ostracize Grant and not to trust him. Why? why? I repeat : because he was the arch-preserver of his country, and because, not only in war, but twice as civil magistrate, he gave his highest, noblest efforts to the republic. Is this an electioneer- ing juggle, or is it hypocrisy's masquerade? There is no field of human activity, responsibility, or reason in which rational beings object to an agent because he has been weighed in the balance and not found wanting. There is, I say, no department of human reason in which sane men reject an agent because he has had experience, making him exceptionally competent and fit. From the man who shoes your horse, to the lawyer who tries your cause, the officer who manages your railway or your mill, the doctor into whose hands you give your life, or the minister who seeks to save your soul, what man do you reject because by his works you have known liini and found him faithful and fit? What makes the Presidential office an exception to all things else in the common sense to be applied to selecting its incumbent ? Who dares — who dares to put fetters on that free choice and GENERAL PLAxX : XO.MINATLXG SPEECH 23 judgment which is the birthright of the American people ? Can it be said that Grant has used official power and place to per- petuate his termf He has no place, and official power has not been used for him. Without patronage and without emissaries, without committees, without bureaus, without telegraph wires running from his house to this Convention, or running from his house anywhere else, this man is the candidate whose friends Iiave never threatened to bolt unless this Convention did as they said. He is a Republican who never wavers. He and his friends stand by the creed and the candidates of the Republican party. They hold the rightful rule of the majority as the very essence of their faith, and they mean to uphold that faith against not only the common enemy, but against the charlatans, jayhawkers, tramps and guerrillas — the men who deploy between the lines, and forage now on one side and then on the other. This Conven- tion is master of a supreme opportunity. It can name the next President. It can make sure of his election. It can make sure not only of his election, but of his certain and peaceful inaugura- tion. IMore than all, it can break that poAver which dominates and mildews the South. It can overthrow an organization whose very existence is a standing protest against progress. The purpose of the Democratic party is spoils. Its very hope of existence is a solid South. Its success is a menace to order and prosperity. I say this Convention can overthrow that power. It can dissolve and emancipate a solid South. 'It can speed the nation in a career of grandeur eclipsing all past achieve- ments. Gentlemen, we have only to listen above the din and look beyond the dust of an hour to behold the Republican party advancing with its ensigns resplendent with illustrious achieve- ments, marching to certain and lasting victory with its greatest ^larshal at its head. Read the speech again, out loud witli all the enthusiasm you can work up. If possibh?, read it to friends as an example of convention oratory. Now let us consider its plan. 24 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING A. Introduction (to the words "grandly win"), merely to attract attention; very brief. B. Body of the Speech. 1. The need of the party : to carry doubtful states, will be met by Grant. 2. The virtues of the candidate. (a) He is popular with all classes. (b) His travels and studies abroad have im- proved him. (c) He has risen superior to all criticism. (d) His acts show calm, common sense; policy of peace ; money policy. (e) He makes possible an aggressive campaign. (f ) He was the courageous advocate of freedom on several occasions. 3. Objections to him are ridiculous. (a) The third-term objection is counter to the practice in all walks of life where experi- ence is a recommendation. (b) Grant never used the power of place or pat- ronage to get this nomination or election. C. Conclusion of additional, reenforced enthusiasm. 1. Grant is the great Republican. 2. Opportunity of the convention to name a president. 3. Denunciation of Democrats. 4. Prophecy of victory. Tliis speech is not so well organized as it might be, yet it serves very well as a model of enthusiastic nomination. We shall now make a model plan for a nominating speech wliich can l)e filled in on almost any occasion of nomina- tion. AVe nnist call attention to one marked deviation GENERAL PLAN: N0:\IINAT1NG SPEECH 25 from Coiikling's plan. As a rule it is best not to name the candidate till well on in the speech. Sometimes it is best to excite curiosity and arouse the audience so that they are in a state of intense expectation when at last you name the man. Conkling did not use this device, because Grant was not a new man and it was well known that Conkling was going to nominate him. But in most cases it is well to describe the ideal man and show how such a candidate will meet the needs of the hour ; then at the climax of the virtues to be expected, name the man who has them all. The plan which we therefore suggest is the following: Type Plan for Nominating Speech A. Introduction (according to circumstances that arise at the time of delivery). B. Body of the Speech. 1. Need of the party, club, or organization. 2. The general characteristics a candidate should have. (a) Experience. (b) Character. (c) Popularity, etc. 3. The platform he will stand on. What he pledges himself to do. 4. Name him who has all these in the highest degree. 5. Objections to him, if any, disposed of. Best not mention these if they can be avoided. Take the defens'-ve only when it is forced on you by the situation. 6. Eulogy of the candidate. (a) His past record. (b) His present renown. (c) His excellent qualities. / J 26 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING C. Conclusion. Prophecy of success, advancement, or victory with him as the standard-bearer. Lan- guage enthusiastic and treatment rapid. Characteristic Features of the Nominating Speech Style Notice certain features in the style of the nominating speech which spring from the purpose of the speaker and the occasion on wdiich such a speech is delivered. The meeting is one for quick decision rather than long or careful deliberation. The candidates are not carefully discussed. After one has been named, there is no system- atic testing of all his points of strength and weakness. No one cross-questions the nominator to see if his claims are just ; no debate of a solid character is carried on. So far as speaking is concerned, all that takes place is the favorable naming and eulogizing of several men by their friends. To be sure, there may be some quiet managing on the floor of the convention, but the purpose of the nominating speaker is to bring the delegates to a high point of enthusiasm. He seldom offers proof, for close reasoning is usually incompatible with high excitement. From this it follows : / 1. The argTiments, if any, must be short and crisp. There is no time for labored demonstration. 2. Striking statements form the major part of the speech. These must be vivid. Bold figures of speech are allowed. Notice ''Standing on the highest eminence of human distinction, and having filled all lands with his renown," "The ammunition of calumny had all been exploded," ''General Grant's name will glitter as a bright star in the diadem of the Republic," and other sti'iking figures. X GEMiixvAi^ lUAX: XO:\riXATING SPEECH 2'< 3. The movement must be rapid. 4. Each sub-topic must be carefully worked out so that no false or blundering step will be made. In this kind of speech, there must be no confusion, repetition, or blur- ring of the brilliant effect. Furthermore, the amplitica- tion of each topic must be in the order of increasing importance. The crowning glory must be named last so as to draw forth applause. Thus the whole speech is a series of smaller climaxes with a great one at the naming of the candidate and a very great one at the end. DiEECTIONS FOR ORIGINAL AVoRK A. Select one or more of the following subjects for a nominating address. 1. Colonel Goethals as the first governor of the Panama Canal zone; delivered before the United States Senate. 2. A neighbor of yours as candidate for your party for state assemblyman ; delivered before a pri- mary gathering in your district. 3. A man in the office in which you work for the position of general manager ; delivered before the board of directors or other body with ap- pointing power. Make believe you are a mem- ber of the board or are someone else who might properly make such a nomination. 4. A fellow member of some society to which you belong for the position of president or treas- urer, etc. ; delivered before the members of the society. 5. Theodore Roosevelt for president; delivered be- fore the national convention of the Progressive Party. 28 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 6. Any man for president; delivered before the jjroper convention. B. Make a note of all the ideas you can gather which would contribute material for the speech. This is your available storehouse of subject matter. C. Plan the speech by grouping the matter under the general heads suggested in our type plan. Ask yourself "Just what points will reach that par- ticular audience!" "What will influence them so that they will agree with me?" Throw aside all that does not meet your needs and arrange the rest as recommended. Later you may vary from the type and attempt an original order, but at first it is best to follow the model form. D. In amplifying the various points in the plan, use the enthusiastic, nominating style already de- scribed. 1. Amplify orally with the plan before you. 2. If you can do it, amplify orally with no notes in hand but with the greater sub-topics memo- rized. This must be done sooner or later. If you do not succeed at first, keep on trying Make the sijeech simple with but few sub- divisions. When you can retain such a plan in the memory and develop it orally, then make the next one more elaborate. 3. Eeduce your amplification to writing. Assignment of Work The written exercist'^; in tliis entire lesson should he carefully worked out. Keep eopies of the wiitten exer- cises in your notebook. First Day. — You luive read throuj^h the lesson. Now study it again careCulIy. mastering ils contents. Do not atttMnpt any GENERAL PLAN: NOMINATLNG SPEECH 29 of the (.'xercises until after the second reading. Read the Conkling- speech orally. Second Day. — Write a criticism of the Conkling speech. What do you like about it ? Is there anything you dislike ? Why does he devote so much space to the third-term idea 1 Do you think it is wise for Conkling to speak slurringly of the Demo- crats ? What does he gain by the verse at the opening ? Tell why the first sentence is effectively written. INIake a list of the references to definite services, like ' ' terms of Lee 's surren- der," "veto of expansion in currency." TJiird Day. — Make a simple outline of an original nominating speech, taking one of the subjects suggested near the end of this lesson. Write out the speech. Criticize and rewrite carefully. Fourth Day. — Imagine that you are to make an address following the points in your outline. Develop them orally, as if talking to an audience. Go through the entire outline in this way, without stopping to repeat or to improve any parts. Fifth Day. — If you contemplate making a real nominating speech or any other kind of speech, prepare your outline carefully as suggested, and criticize your own work severely. Final AYord In making these speeches, try to put yourself in a real situation. Nominate men about whom you know and about whom you are enthusiastic. In practice, throw yourself fully into the subject; vividly realize the occa- sion, living it all out in imagination. The speaker who is thoroughly filled with his subject and who is in earnest usually makes a good impression. Therefore, if you master your message and determine to deliver it as planned, you have to be exceedingly poor in speaking to spoil the success of your speech. But remember, each group of ideas must be well organized and the whole speech must be planned along distinct, clean-cut lines. 30 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Without the reenforcement of such thorough preparation, your enthusiasm will vanish and your earnestness will give way to doubt and confusion. Prepare j'ourself well, then speak to win. TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for the stiulent to vise in testing his knowledge of the principles in this lesson. They are suggestive merely, dealing largely with tlie practical application of the principles, and are to he ])laced in the notebook for future reference. -^ 1. What are the three major parts in the organization of a speech ? 2. In your own writing and speaking, do you use the terms '"first," "second," etc.. for the main divisions of your thought? •'). Kecall some speaker whose thought seems confused. Recall the speakers to whom it is easy to Hsten. Is not the important difference between them in clearness of outline? 4. Remember an audience that was hostile to a speaker. What was the hostility? 5. How did the speaker endeavor to overcome the hostility? Did he succeed? 6. When may a speaker plunge into his topic without an introduction? 7. Recall without consulting the text the main divisions of Conkling's speech nominating Grant. 8. What was the greatest objection to the nomination of Grant? 9. Wliy does Conkling leave that point until well toward the end of his address? 10. Do you recall a recent national convention in which a nominating speaker faced practically the same objection as ( 'onkling did? 11. Conkling's speech seems rather florid (flowery). When is this style justifiable? In what kinds of addresses Is it entirely out of place? 12. Reproduce from memory the general outline suitable for most nonnnating speeches. 13. Recall some nominating speech you have heard. How does it compare with Conkling's? LESSON 3 THJS PURPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTION We have seen that a speech has for its central purpose, the (leHvery of a certain body of information — the ex- pression of a message in which the speaker believes and with which he hopes to influence his hearers. That mes- sage constitutes the bqd^ of the speech. It may have many parts or subdivisions, but all of them, taken to- gether, round out the message the speaker has to deliver. We have briefly suggested that it is often wise to smooth the way for this message by some introductory remarks. It will be the aim of this lesson and the following one to show some of the obstacles which must be smoothed away by the introduction and to indicate the proper methods of doing this. We shall consider the purpose of the intro- ^ duction under three heads: (A) To put the audience in a state of favorable feeling; (B) to arouse interest and secure attention; and (C) to prepare the audience to understand the message. One caution must be given: While planning the introduction and making a detailed study of its particular functions, the whole speech must be kept in mind all the time. All other parts merely set the scenes, as it were, or throw a stronger light upon the central theme. (A) TO PUT THE AUDIENCE IX A STATE OF FAVOR- ABLE FEELING If the audience is well disposed to the speaker and his subject, and if it is in a favorable emotional state — one 31 32 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING of good will or entliusiasm, tlien one of the services of an introduction is unnecessary. That service is to render the autlience favorable, from an emotional or feeling standpoint, to the reception of the message. But if there is the slightest ill will, bad temper, or even indifference, something nnist be done to remove it before the main business of the speech is taken up. We all know that our enemies condenm our views before they are stated. Ill feeling is transferred from the man to his ideas. Not only are strong feelings of hatred a bar to a fair hearing, but even a slight inditference is sufficient to stand in the way of an unl)iased reception. Then also, .the deliv- ery of a speech may be surrounded by special circum- stances which will make the auditors inclined away from rather than toward the speaker and his cause. Later in this lesson we shall enumerate various unfavoi-able emo- tional states, discuss the circumstances which give rise to them, and indicate methods of offsetting them. Just now, while Conkling's nomination of Grant is fresh in your mind, we shall show how Garfield undertook to counteract the enthusiasm it aroused, in order that he might present the name of another candidate. How Garfield Wox a Hearing Imagine the high excitement which reigned in the con- vention when Conkling finished and had been ably sec- onded by Bradley of Kentucky. To stem this tide of feeling was (Jarfield's first necessity. He wanted to nom- inate Sherman of Ohio. It would have been foolish to jidvance a single thought in the line of his pui-pose until he had brought his hearers to a state of (';diH and had PURPOSE OP THE INTKODUCTIOX 33 them forget, for a time at least, the words of Conkling. Notice how he did it. I have witnessed the extraordinary scenes of this conventioji with deep solicitude. Nothing touches my heart more quickly than a tribute of honor to a great and noble character; but as I sat in my seat and witnessed this demonstration, this assein blage seemed to me a human ocean in tempest. I have seen the sea lashed into fury and tossed into spray, and its grandeui- moves the soul of the dullest man ; but I remember that it is not the billows, but the calm level of tVie sea, from which all heights and depths are measured. When the storm has passed and the hour of calm settles on the ocean, when the sunlight bathes its peaceful surface, then the astronomer and surveyor take the level from which they measure all terrestrial heights and depths. Gentlemen of the Conv(5ntion, your present temper may not mark the healthful pulse of our people. When your enthusiasm has passed, when the emotions of this hour have subsided, we shall find below the storm and passion that calm level of public opinion from which the thoughts of a mighty people are to be measured, and by which final action will be determined. Not here, in this brilliant circle, where fifteen thousand men and women are gathered, is the destiny of the Republic to be decreed for the next four years. Not here where I see the enthu- siastic faces of seven hundred and fifty-six delegates, waiting to cast their lots into the urn and determine the choice of the Republic, but by four millions of Republican firesides, where the thoughtful voters, Avith wives and children about them, with the calm thoughts inspired by love of home and country, with the history of the past, the hopes of the future, and reverence for the great men who have adorned and blessed our nation in days gone by, burning in their hearts, — there God prepares the verdict which will determine the wisdom of our work tonight. Not in Chicago, in the heat of June, but at the ballot-boxes of the Republic, in the quiet of November, after the silence of deliberate judgment, will this question be settled. And noAV, gentlemen of the Convention, what do Ave want ? * 34 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Bear with me for a moment. "Hear me for my cause," and for a moment "be silent that you may hear." Twenty-five years ago, this Republic was bearing and wear- ing a triple chain of bondage. Long familiarity with traffic in the bodies and souls of men had paralyzed the conscience of a majority of our people; the narrowing and disintegrating doctrine of State sovereignty had shackled and weakened the noblest and most beneficent powers of the national government ; and the grasping power of slavery was seizing upon the virgin territories of the West and dragging them into the den of eternal bonda.ge. At that crisis, the Republican party Avas born. It drew its first inspiration from the fire of liberty which God had lighted in every human heart, and which all the powers of tyranny and ignorance could not wholly extinguish. The Republican party came to deliver and to save. It entered the arena where the beleaguered and assailed Territories were struggling for freedom, and drew around them the sacred circle of liberty^ which the demon of slavery has never dared to cross. It made them free forever. Strengthened by its victory on the frontier, the young party, under the leadership of the great man who on this spot, twenty years ago, was made its chief, entered the national Capitol, and assumed the high duties of government. The light which shone from its banner illumined its pathway to power. Every slave-pen and the shackles of every slave within the shadow of the Capitol were consumed in the rekindled fire of freedom. Our great national industries by cruel and calculating neglect had been prostrated, and the streams of revenue flowed in such feeble currents that the treasury itself was well-nigh empty. The money of the people consisted mainly of the wretched notes of two thousand uncontrolled and irresponsible state banking corporations, which were filling the country with a circulation that poisoned, rather than sustained, the life of business. The Republican party changed all this. It abolished a babel of confusion, and gave to the country a currency as national as its fiag, bas(Ml upon the sacred -faith of the people. It threw its protecting juiii ;i round our great industries, and PURPOSE OP THE INTRODUCTION 35 they stood erect with new life. It filled with the spirit of true nationality all the great functions of the government. It con- fronted a rebellion of unexampled magnitude, with slavery behind it, and, under God, fought the final battle of liberty until the victory was won. After the storms of battle, were heard the calm words of peace spoken by the conquering nation, saying to the foe that hiy prostrate at its feet: "This is our only revenge — that you join us in lifting into the serene firmament of the Constitution, to shine like stars for ever and ever, the immortal principles of truth and justice : that all men, white or black, shall be free, and shall stand equal before the law." Then came the questions of reconstruction, the national debt, and the keeping of the public faith. In tlie settlement of these (luestions, the Rej^ublicau party has completed its twenty-five > ears of glorious existence and it has sent us here to prepare it for another lustrum of duty and of victory. How shall we accomplish this great work? We cannot do it, my friends, by assailing our Republican brethren. God forbid that I should say one word, or cast one shadow, upon any name on the roll of our heroes. The coming fight is our Thermopylae. We are standing upon a narrow isthmus. If our Spartan hosts are united, we can withstand all the Persians that the Xerxes of Democracy can bring against us. Let us hold our ground this one year, and then "the stars in their courses" will fight for us. The census will bring reenforcements and continued power.** But in order to win victory now, we want the vote of every Republican — of every Grant Republican, and every anti-Grant Republican, in America — of every Blaine man and every anti- Blaine man. The vote of every follower of every candidate is needed to make success certain. Therefore I say, gentlemen and brethren, we are here to take calm counsel together, and inquire what we shall do. We want a man whose life and opinions embody all the achievements of which I have spoken. We want a man who, standing on a mountain height, traces the victorious footsteps of our party in the past, and, carrying in his heart the memory of its glorious deeds, looks forward proparod to meet the dangers 36 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING to come. We want one who will act in no spirit of unkindness toward those we lately met in battle. The Republican party offers to our brethren of the South the olive-branch of peace, and invites them to renewed brotherhood on this supreme convic- tion — that it shall be admitted forever, that in the war for the Lnion we were right and they were wrong. On that supreme conviction we meet them as brethren, and ask them to share with us the blessings and honors of this great Republic. Now, gentlemen, not to weary you, I am about to present a name for your consideration, — the name of one who was the comrade, associate, and friend of nearly all the noble dead, whose faces look down upon us from these walls tonight ; a man w ho began his career of public service twenty-five years ago, — who courageously confronted the slave power in the days of peril, on the plains of Kansas, when first began to fall the red drops of that bloody shower which finally swelled into the deluge of gore in the late rebellion. He bravely stood by young Kan- sas, and, returning to his seat in the national legislature, his pathway through all the subsequent years has been marked by labors worthily performed in every department of legislation. You ask for his monument. I point you to twenty-five years of national statutes. Not one great, beneficent law has been placed on our statute books without his intelligent and powerful aid. lie aided in fornuilating the laws to raise the great armies and navies which carried us through the war. His hand was seen in the workmanship of those statutes that restored and brought back "the unity and married calm of states." His liand was in all that great legislation that created the war cur- rency, and in all the still greater work that redeemed the prom- ises of the government and made the currency equal to gold. When at last he passed from the halls of legislation into a liigh execntive office, he displayed that experience, intelligence, firnniess, and poise of character, wliich liave carried us through a stormy period of three years, with one-half the public press crying, "Cracify him!" and a hostile Congress seeking to pre- vent success. In all this he remained unmoved until victory crowned him. The great fiscal affairs of the nation, and the vast business interests of. the country, he guarded and preserved PURPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTlOxX 37 while executing the law of resumption, and etfceted its object without a jar and against the false prophecies of one-half of the press and of all the Democratic party. He has shown himself able to meet with calmness the great emergencies of the government. For twenty-five years he has trodden the perilous heights of public duty, and against all the shafts of malice has borne his breast unharmed. He has stood in the blaze of "that fierce light that beats against the throne"; but its fiercest ray has found no flaw in his armor, no stain upon his shield. I do not present him as a better Republican or a bet- ter man than thousands of others that we honor; but I present him for your deliberate and favorable consideration. I nominate John Shei-man of Ohio.^ Observations ox How Garfield Changed the Feelings of AN Audience in an Unfavorable Emotional State 1. He does not harshly attack Grant or Conkling or say anything to offend tliem or their friends. 2. He flatters the audience positively by such expres- sions as ''this brilliant circle" and "delegates * * * to determine the choice of the Eepublic." In a somewhat negative way he appeases them by call- ing their faults "enthusiasm" and comparing them in grandeur with the ocean. 3. Only gradually does he bring about the feeling that possibly a calmer frame of mind is necessary and prefer- able to the tempest of enthusiasm (to point marked * on page 33). 4. Then he holds them on another topic about which all present agree, namely, the glories of the Republican >V, 1 It is interesting to laiow that tliis speech won the nomination and consequent presidency not for Sherman, but for Garfiekl himself. It called attention to the availability of Garfield. The vote that nominated Garfield was: Garfield, 399; Grant, 306; Blaine, 42; Washbourne, 5; Sherman, 3. Necessary for choice, 378. 38 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING party from its birth all tlirough its legislative accomplish- ments. This was introductory and designed to efface the emo- tions in which he found his audience. After that, he de- livered a speech almost identical in form with that of Conkling's speech. Compare the part from the two stars (**) to the end, with the nomination of Grant. Garfield gives virtues to Sherman similar to those already attrib- uted to Grant, and the whole eulogy is as like the other as two separate speeches could possibly be. But ob- serve that he leaves the naming of his man to the end. That was a wise course when we consider that Sherman was a dark horse and' the eulogy was likely to strengthen the name rather than the name secure favorable attention to the eulogy. Introduction is Used Whenever Any Change Whatso- ever IS Wanted in the Emotional Set of the Audience It must not be thought that the introduction to influ- ence the emotional state of the audience is used only when the audience is in a state of more or less violent opposition ; it is of service whenever a change in the emo- tional atmosjjhere (if we may use that expression) is desirable. The little child acts this out when he resorts to all sorts of blandishments before asking his mother for money to buy candy. The travelling salesman knows it when he tells innumerable funny stories before showing his samples. The after-dinner speaker feels the need of a favorable mood when he begins with puns and jokes. Remembering that it is not wise to plunge into your message until you get the audience in a favorable (-mo- tional state, let us (without pi-etending to be exhaustive) PURPOSE OF TIIP] INTEODUCTTON 39 cnumorate some of tlio typical situations to be faced and suggest methods of meeting them. How TO Meet Typical Intkoductory Difficulties (a) Strong Enthusiasm fur Another Cause'^ Seek to get the audience into a state of calm; talk for a while upon something about which all agree. Keep this up until the first emotions are well in the background. Then gradually introduce the new message and work for your pwn effects. (h) Direct Hostility Strong feeling against you or your cause. The time- honored example of this situation is the Liverpool speecli of Henry Ward Beecher. He was in England to speak for the Northern cause during the Civil War. Liverpool was a great shipping center and did an enormous busi- ness importing raw cotton from the Southern States and exporting to them manufactured goods and machinery. The people not only sympathized with the South and hated th^ North, but they had been inflamed against Beecher. He had been misquoted on public placards; the words, attributed to him, made him the arch-enemy of England. His character had been painted most black ; he had been threatened with death. When he faced his audience, he was greeted, with a roar of derision, cat- calls, arid threats. For an hour and a half he worked on the audience until he had a fair degree of sympathetic attention; then he proceeded with his arguments. The 2 Illustratoil in the rfarfield speech. 40 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING following extracts from his introduction will indicate his method. For more than twenty-five years I have been perfectly famil- iar with popular assemblies in all parts of my country except the extreme South. There has not for the whole of that time been a single day of my hfe when it would have been safe for me to go south of the Mason and Dixon's line in my own coun- try, and all for one reason : my solemn, earnest and persistent testimony against what I consider to be the most atrocious thing under the sun — the system of American slavery in a great, free republic. * * * I have passed through the period when the right of free speech was denied me. * * * Now since I have been in England, although I have met M'ith greater kindness and courtesy on the part of most than I deserve, yet on the other hand I see that the Southern influence jirevails to some extent in England. (Applause and uproar.) * * * One thing is very certain — if you do permit me to speak, you will hear very plain talking. (Applause and hisses.) * * * And if I do not mistake the tone and temper of Englishmen, they had rather have a man wlio opposes them in a manly way than a sneak who agrees with them in an unmanly way. (Applause and "Bravo.") If I can carry you Avith me by sound convictions, I shall be immensely glad (applause) ; but if I cannot carry you with me liy facts and sound arguments, I do not wish you to go wdth me at all; and all that I ask is simply fair play. (A voice: "You shall have it too.") The method here is to make an open, manly appeal foi" fair play. The manner should be conciliatory but not sub- servieni Make it clear that fair play is expected from such an audience. Get the personal good will of the audience. Then treat some matters of general truth or principle u])on which all will agree. Such ideals as those of freedom, justice, honor, integrity, etc., may be used. Then with these general matters of agreement as a point of depai'ture, gradually shoAv the reasonaldeness of your PURPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTION 41 sjjecific message because it is in harmony with what they already accept. Be most cautions and tactful as you pro- ceed to new topics; never lose the grasp you obtain. When the audience is with you from the start,l)C>tdness is a virtue and you can carry all before you with a rush. But when the audience is originally hostile, after securing a hearing, proceed with great care. (c) Indifference or Lack of Positively Favorable Emotions This is the condition in which most audiences are found. They have not been excited in any definite direction be- fore the speaker begins to address them. Whatever emo- tions or moods exist, they are individual and not collect- ive. One man may be happy and his neighbor depressed. The speaker here seeks to create a general or common emotional state favorable to the reception of the mes- sage. Here we may well discuss those things in the speaker or in the way he approaches his subject that al- ways incline the hearer favorably toward him. 1. The Speaker Must Always Appear Modest. — Even our friends are inclined to give us a rap or two if they think us conceited. Those who are indifferent are turned from us by a display of egotism, while our enemies openly deride us for it. Therefore, a speaker must always be modest. It is a noteworthj^ fact that this quality is evi- dent in the opening remarks of over seventy-five per cent of the speeches we have examined. Tlie manner, as well as the actual words used, is of great importance. Indeed the words without the manner is only mock-modesty, an irritating and undesirable evidence of the greatest egotism. The virtue of modesty must appear throughout 42 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING the speech, but a lack of it is more evident in the begin- ning. Observe the following opening of John Hancock's Oration upon the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1774). The attentive gravity, the venerable appearance of this crowded audience; the dignity which I behold in the counte- nances of so many of this great assembly ; the solemnity of the occasion upon which we have met together, joined to a consid- eration of the part I am to take in the important business of this day, fill me with an awe hitherto unknown, and heighten the sense which I have ever had, of my unworthiness to fill this sacred desk. But, allured by the call of some of my respected fellow-citizens, wuth whose request it is always my greatest pleasure to comply, I almost forgot my w^ant of ability to per- form what they required. In this situation I find my only sup- port in assuring myself that a generous people will not severely censure what they^ know was well intended, though its want of merit should prevent their being able to applaud it. And I pray that my sincere attachment to the interest of my country, and hearty detestation of any design formed against her liber- ties, may be admitted as some apology for my appearance in this place. 2. Sincerity is the next quality which must make its impression upon the audience at the outset. It is some- times thought that sincerity is a quality only displayed in very serious speeches. But we do not limit ourselves that way in our use of the term. A man may be sincerely jolly as well as grave. By sincerity, we mean that a person truly jentei's into the fegling which his words out- wardly express. A speaker has impressed his sincerity upon an audience when those in it believe that he is ^m- self , expressing his own thoughts and f eeling s and not })retending for the sake of effect. Notice the sincerity as well as modesty in the example r rCRPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTION 43 just given and also in the following- from "The Claim of Socialism," by William Morris: I have locked at this elaiin by the light of history and my owu conseieiiee, and it seems to me — so k)oked at — to l)e a most just claim, and that resistance to it means nothing short of a denial of the hope of civilization. This, then, is the claim : It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do which shall be worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do : and which should be done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious. Turn that claim about as I may, think of it as long as I can, I cannot find that it is an exorbitant claim; yet again I say if Society would or could admit it, the face of the world would be changed; discontent and strife and dishonesty would be ended. To feel that we were doing work useful to others and ] leasant to ourselves, and that such work and its due reward could not fail us ! What serious harm could happen to us then ? Of course protestations of modesty and sincerity should not be made in tiresome profusion. Booker T. Washington began an address to the Harvard Alumni as follows: "If through me, an humble representative, the eight millions of my people in the South might be permitted to bring a message to Harvard * * * that message would be," etc. The aim is to be of gentle- manly modesty and to avoid offensive cock-sureness. Too great a display of confidence at the outset offends most men. Flippancy also gives the impression of shallowness and lack of sincerity. The following extract shows an excellent blending of the qualities desired with a winsome good humor. It is the beginning of John Hay's speech on Omar Khayyam and Fitzg&rald, deliv- ered before the Omar Khayyam Club of London, December 8, 1897. 44 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING I cannot sufficiently thank you for the high and unmerited honor you have done me tonight. I feel keenly that on such an occasion, Avith such company, my plac^is below the salt; but as you kindly invited me, it was not in human nature to refuse. Although in knowledge and comprehension of the two great poets whom you are met to commemorate I am the least among you, there is no one who regards them with greater admiration, or reads them with more enjoyment than myself. I can never forget my emotions when I first saw Fitzgerald's translation of the Quatrains. Keats, in his sublime ode on Chapman's Homer, has described the sensation once for all: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken. The exquisite lieauty, the faultless form, the singular grace of those amazing stanzas were not more wonderful than the depth and breadth of their profound philosophy, their knowledge of life, their dauntless courage, their serene facing of the ultimate problems of life and of death. — From Addresses of John Hay, Century Co., 1906. 3. Add to the two (jualities mcntioiied personal atfracf- iveness, composite of all those indescribable things which make one person more universally liked than an- other. Of course that cannot be prepared in a moment as part of the introduction of a particular speech. The whole life of goodfellowship, kindliness, and accomplish- ments gradually builds it u]). A speaker can, however, earnestly try to keep the w(dfare of the audience before him and speak to them from the vantage point of high ideals. If this be done, his best personality will show through his words and live in every gesture. There are other ways in which the introduction pre- pares the wayjor the message proper, but they are not matters of emotion or feeling. For instance, the intro- PURPOSE OF THE IXTRODUCTrON 45 (luction servos to attract and hold the attention so that the ideas will all be properly grasped; it x)i"fp<^i'es or edn- cates the audience to an understanding' of the subseciuent speech and it marks out the subject an 1 method of treat- ment. But all these services are connected with the in- tellectual or knowing aspect of speech-making and not the emotional. In this lesson we confined ourselves to the emotional side. Summary Let us sunnnarize our lesson in somewhat different order and also add some directions. 1. Never attempt to deliver your message until there is a favorable emotional "atmosphere." 2. Secure good will by being your best self and by being truly well-disposed toward what is right. Be modest and sincere. 3. Set out deliberately to secure a state of calm or a removal of undesirable emotions. Then work to incline the audience so as to receive your own message most favorably. 4. Never forget that what is gained by the introduc- tion in emotional favor nuist be maintained throughout tlie speech. 5. The introduction may have to be made impromptu, for it is not always possible to foresee just how the audi- ence will be feeling when you meet them. If you have planned an introduction which is found to be unhappy, discard it and deal directly w4th the actual situation you face. Of course it is often possible to prepare a perfectly usable introduction beforehand. It is especially advis- able to have in the introduction some reference or refer- 46 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ences to events that have happened, or words that have been said, just before you begin to speak. 6. Always prepare the body of the speech before doing- any work on the introduction. 7. Observe the manner of speakers you hear and deter- mine what there is winsome or repulsive about their open- ing remarks. Also note when and why a discordant note is struck during the body of the speech. More can be gained by observing real speakers than by reading books ; most can be secured by much speaking on your own part. These lessons serve to guide and direct, but The examples of real life must be observed to make the subject live. Assignment of Work The written exercises in this entire lesson should be carefully worked out. Keep copies of the written exer- cises in your notebook. First Day. — You have read through the lesson. Now study it again carefully, mastering its contents. Do not attempt any of the exercises until after the second reading. i^ccond Day. — Take a nominating speech such as you prepared for the last lesson and write out an introduction Avhicli would be appropriate when the audience is in a state of enthusiasm for another nominee. Third Day. — AA^rite out an introduction for one of the following speeches : 1. In favor of the closed shop ; delivered before an employers' association. 2. In favor of the open shop ; before a union which now tol- erates only tlie closed shop. 3. Against child labor ; before a body of mill owners. 4. In eulogy of Abraham Lincoln ; before an audience in Charleston, South Carolina. 5. In eulog}^ of Calhoun; before an audience in Boston. 6. In favor of woman's suffrage: delivered in New York. PURPOSE OF THE IXTRODUCTIOX 47 7. Against woman's snffrage ; delivered in Illinois or some other sntt'rage state. Fourth Day. — Prepare a eomplete outline or plan of a speech you might be called upon to make, and with it an introduction written out fully. Append a note stating the occasion of the speech and the nature of the audience. Fifth Day. — Give this speech in full orally several times. Go over the introduction often but do not memorize it. Let what will, recur during the oral development, but make no effort to remember exact words. Have the outline of the body well in mind, and develop it by headings. Remember to keep the headings well grouped. Amplify each heading fully before passing to the next. TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for the student to use in testing his knowledge of the principles in this lesson. They are siigyestire merely, dealing largely with the practical application of the principles, and are to be placed in the notebook for future reference. 1. How did Garfield endeavor to offset the intense enthusiasm aroused by Conkling? 2. Do you recall any other speaker who used, for a similar l)urpose, a striking figure of speech like Garfield's figure of the storm-tossed ocean? 3. State for yourself the facts in regard to the formation of the Republican Party as outlined by Garfield. 4. What elements in Garfield's speech may have helped win for him the nomination he desired for Sherman! Do you remember another speech which won a nomination for the presidency? 5. How could you introduce remarks complimentary to a gen- eral audience in your town if you were pleading for money for a new park? 6. What'are the features in the quotation from William ^Morris which would tend to prepare the minds of the audience for a favorable hearing? 7. "What elements in Beecher's introduction will always succ(^ed in overcoming direct hostility on the part of an audience? 48 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING --. 8. Indifference is the diffieulty most speakers have to face. What three qualities in the speaker himself will go far toward removing indifference '? 9. Recall the speaker who seems to you the most sincere man you have ever heard. How does this sincerity modify his speaking ? 10. A very important point in this lesson is the wisdom of referring in your introduction to something that has been said or done or has happened just before you begin to speak. Plan some such extempore remarks for the following situations : (a) A preceding speaker has cast reflections on your sincerity. (b) The presiding officer has referred to you as "eloquent." (c) There has recently occurred a public disaster. (d) A man in your town has received some merited public honor. (e) You are the memlier of a defeated faction in recent elec- tion. (f) The preceding speaker has taken a large part of your time. LESSON 4 THE PURPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTION (Continued) 111 our last lesson, we dwelt upon the necessity of hav- ing the audience well disposed. In this connection we considered the first purpose of an introduction, namely, to put the audience in a state of favorable feeling. All hostile feelings must be overcome at the outset and a strong effort made to secure the positive good will of the hearers. But the student must not get the notion that a few magic words in the introduction will establish pleasant relations once and for all. Quite the contrary; throughout the whole address, the speaker must, by his frank, modest, and earnest manner, by his careful state- ment of some things and his tactful avoidance of others, preserve and cultivate the desired mood of his auditors. Great trial lawyers have been known to labor with jury- men for hours in order to touch the responsive chord in each one. Such master-students of the human heart are too wise to proceed with a contention until they are sure that the hearers are in a s^Tupathetic emotional state. And whenever new material is to be introduced or a change of viewpoint is necessary, these men seek to establish the new trend of thought without spoiling the favorable attitude. (B) TO AROUSE INTEREST AND SECURE ATTENTION Besides this first purpose of creating friendly feelings there are two other ends which the speaker muBt smi^mv 49 50 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING plish and toward wliicli he usually begins to work in the introduction. One of these is to arouse the interest of the auditors in order to secure their best attention. Although related, it is distinct from the emotional set just consid- ered. We need not demonstrate the necessity of atten- tion. Without it, the speaker can no more hope to de- liver his message than a telegraph sender can expect to transmit a message with the receiver asleep at the other end of the wire. The various devices to be used to gain the attention may be classified under two main headings : those which are of the nature of ah nipt shocks and those which are promises of reward. The audience may be thrilled into attentiveness or they may be won by the expectation of hearing something of advantage to them. Either or both of these kinds of artifices may be used. By attention, we mean a state in which the hearer ex- cludes other meditations and concentrates his mind upon the words of the speaker. It is a condition of intellec- tual acuteness. The Striking Stim.ulus to Attention As we have noted, the shock is one means of securing attention. It is especially valuabh^ at the very begin- ning of a speech, but it may be used at any place where the speaker perceives that he is losing his griji ui)on the audience. French orators are very fond of th(> striking opening. Notice the effect of these words of Victor Hugo, used at the beginning of liis defense of his son: Geiitk'UH'U of the jury, if there is a euljii'it here, it is not my son, — it is myself, — it is I 1 1. who for these twenty-five years have opposed capital pniiishuK^iit, — have contended for PURPOSE OF THE INTKODUCTION 51 the inviolability of human life, — have committed this crime for \\hich my son is now arraigned. Here I denounce myself, Mr. Advocate General ! 1 have committed it under all aggravated circumstances, deliberately, repeatedly, tenaciously. Yes, this old and absurd lex talionis — this law of blood for blood — I have combated all my life — all my life, Gentlemen of the Jury ! And while I have breath, I will continue to combat it, by all my efforts as a writer, by all my words and all my votes as a legislator ! 1 declare it before the crucifix; before that victim of the penalty of death, who sees and hears us; before that gibbet, to which, two thousand years ago, for the eternal instruction of the gen- erations, the human law nailed the Divine ! Robespierre began his last speech, delivered two days before his death, with these words : The enemies of the Republic call me tyrant ! Were I such they would grovel at my feet. I should gorge them with gold, I should grant them immunity for their crimes, and they would be grateful. Were I such, the kings we have vanquished, far from denouncing Robespierre, would lend me their guilty suji^ port. There would be a covenant between them and me. Henry Ward Beecher is said to have begun a ser- mon, one hot Sunday morning, while mopping his brow, with the remark: "It is hotter than hell!" Naturally\ , tliis shocked his very moral audience into attention, and be did not lose his initial hold on them until he had com- pleted his talk on the punishment of sin. Once, when he was to speak in the Broadway Tabernacle, on the Death of John Brown, he waited in an ante-room, not going to the platform until the very moment his lecture was to begin. Then, suddenly opening the door, he sprang to the platform, dragging a massive chain after him. Facing the audience, he cried out: ''These shackles bound the limbs of a human being ; I hate them ; X 52 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING I trample them under foot!" and suited tlie action to the word. Henry AV. Grady, a Soutlierner, speaking before the New England Society, in New York, introduced his ad- dress on the New South as follows : "There was a South of slavery and secession — that South is dead. There is a South of union and freedom — that South, thank God. is living, breathing, growing every hour." These words, delivered from the immortal lips of Benjamin II. Hill at Tammany Hall iu 1866. true then and truer now, I shall take for my text tonight. In all these examples, we see that an unusual or un- expected thing was said. It forced attention. A i)ara- dox, epigram, or striking sentiment may always be de- pended upon to have the desired effect. But attention attracted in such a way is, as a rule, momentary only. If prolonged concentration is wanted, other agencies must be used to sustain the interest. Attextiox Tjirough Promised Gaix The influence to be used to get and maintain more per- manent attention is the promise of gain. The audience must have some hope of reward. If all can be made to believe that the speaker will treat a very vital subject — one touching tlieii* welfare or affecting those enter- prises in which tliey ai-e engaged, they will remain at- tentive. Pati'ick Henry, in his Appeal to Anns, ini))ressed the lieai-ei-s with the iiiijtoi-taiice of tlie discussion not (udy to tlieir own but also to the nation's (h'stiny. Mr. I'r.'si.lciit Xd ..lie thinks m..iv liiulily llian 1 do of the ])atri()tisiii, as well as the al)iliti('.s. of the vrvy werlliy tiriil Iriiicii PURPOSE OK TJIE INTRODUCTIOX 53 who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, tlierefore, I hope it will not seem disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining, as I do, opinions quite contrary to theirs, I speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house is one of awful mo- numt to this country. For my part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery ; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fultil the great responsibility which we owe to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time as this, I should consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the ^lajesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. This part of Patrick Henry's speecli does not directly promise a reward to his hearers for their attention, but it strongly intimates that the discussion will help to avoid impending- disaster, Edward Everett, in his ad- dress before the scholarly Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard, after a few preliminary remarks, stated his subject and aroused interest in it with these words : But from the wide held of literary speculation, and innumer- able subjects of meditation which arise in it, a selection must be made. And it has seemed to me proper that we should direct our thoughts not merely to a subject of interest to scholars, but to one which may recommend itself as peculiarly appropriate to us. * * * I shall need no excuse to a society of American scholars, in choosing for the theme of an address, on an occasion like this, the peculiar motives to intellectual exertion in Amer- ica. In this subject, that curiosity which every scholar feels in tracing and comparing the springs of mental activity, is height- ened and dignified by the important connection of the inquiry with the condition and prospects of our native land. 54 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Men in all walks of life and in varions organizations have certain tastes and interests. If the speaker can judge his audience aright and extend a promise that their desires will be satisfied and their welfare consulted, he has taken a step in the direction of securing their un- divided attention. Once secured, it must not he lost. If the attention falls off, it must be stimulated anew. Th(> mental attitude of the speaker also must be one of alert- ness, for if he observes any signs of inattention, he must quicken his hearers to renewed application. (C) TO PREPARE THE AUDIENCE TO UNDERSTAND MOST THOROUGHLY There is still another duty usually performed by the preliminary portion of the speech; this third duty is to prepare the way for an intellectual grasp or understand- ing of the message. This is not a matter of feeling, but of knowing. A man may like you ever so well, and in- deed be anxious to hear and to appreciate all you care to say; but if you inflict an argument upon him before ho is acquainted with the facts of the case, he will not un- derstand your reasoning any more than a stranger would understand the charge of a judge to the jury if he should enter the conrt after all the testimony has been taken. We may put it directly by saying that an audience must be educated up to understanding your argument. To explain this matter concretely, let us suppose that you had been asked to prepare a speech favoring reci- procity with Canada, in 1911, when the question of reciprocity was -before tlie two countries. Before you could j)roceed witli your reasons for favoring the ar- rangement, you would have to ex])1niii the situation — the PURPOSE OF THE IXTRODrCTION 55 commercial relations of the two comitries, the nature of the proposed measures, and the exact meaning of any technical terms which might be used. Note the follow- ing fragment as an appropriate introduction to such a speech. Ladies and Gentlemen : As you already know, we are here tonight to discuss the probable economic advantage which would be gained by the Ignited States if the proposed reciprocity agreement with Canada should be put into operation. Being a good Yankee, I am inter- ested wherever my pocket-book is affected. It was probably this sort of interest which led me to undertake a most careful study of the trade agreement under consideration ; and I believe I have delved deeply enough to be able to make it clear that you and I will profit by the kind of reciprocity contemplated. There is, in my mind, not the slightest doubt that the cost of living will be reduced to an appreciable extent while our manufactures and other industries will be stimulated. Let us survey the situation which confronts the nation. The United States and Canada are aliout equal in size, but very dis- similar in development and wealth. That each derives some benefit from the industry of the other is evident from the great trade which now passes across the border. The United States sells Canada nearly twice as much as Great Britain, our nearest competitor for her trade, while we purchase from Canada almost as much as does the mother country. Last year, Canada sent us approximately $98,000,000 worth of goods, while she bought about .$216,000,000 worth from this country. At present the commerce is carried on under artificial and difficult conditions. Each country imposes duties of varying severity upon the goods of the other which seek entrance. For example, Canada charges a duty of 25'/; of the value on all live cattle sold by American ranchers to Canadians, 12 cents a bushel on wheat and 40 cents a barrel on apples; while the United States shuts out the same goods coming in from Canada by a tax of 27% on cattle, 25 cents a bushel on wheat and 25 cents a bushel on apples. It is now proposed to remove these barriers to free trade between 56 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING the two countries, in the case of some articles and materially to reduce it in the case of others. What would be the effect of lowering the commercial wall, upon the welfare of the United States, and therefore upon us? What we mean by economic welfare or benefit may need some slight explanation. The economic man of modern society does two things; he produces goods which he expects the rest of society to consume, and he consumes goods which he expects the rest of society to produce. A country secures an economic benefit whenever its citizens are given a larger opportunity to use their productive powers to advantage and Avhen they are enabled to consume to greater satisfaction. As producers, they look for wider and more profitable markets; as consumers, they seek cheaper and better commodities. I believe the proposed arrangement will benefit us in just these two ways. Before going into the details of the matter let us get a clear idea of the general nature of the agreement. It is not to take the form of a treaty, but both nations are to enact its various schedules and provisions simultaneously as tariff laws. The agreement provides that fishing privileges, hitherto denied, be granted to American fishermen in Canadian waters and makes tariff provisions for certain listed goods in four great schedules. Schedule A enumerates a number of raw commodities such as live animals, grain, fish, and dairy products, as well as a small number of manufactured articles— all to be admitted to both countries duty free. The articles in schedule B are either par- tially the result of a manufacturing process, as meats and flour, or they are wholly manufactured, as farm implements, cutlery, and automobiles. At present both countries put very high duties on these goods. Furthermore, the duties are not uniform. .The proposal is that a reciprocal rate be put on every article men- tioned so that each country has an equal chance at the market of the other. This rate is, in most cases, lower than the one now existing on cither side the lino. Schedule C contains Canadian specialties tiiat are to have the American duty against them low- ered though the Canadian rate is to remain unchanged. Sched- -nle D does the same thing for American specialties that will presumably be shipped to Canada. ^ PURPOSE OF THE IXTRODUCTTON 57 AVc slinll take up the agreenu'iit ai'ticlc l)y article and show that tlie i)r()visioiis of the four selie(hih'S make for the eeoiiomic advantage of the majority of the eitizens of the United States. Read that passage again and note the following char- acteristics : 1. The opening though apparently boastful is in real- ity modest, for the speaker attributes his expert knowl- edge not so much to personal superiority as to hard work })rompted by money interest. 2. The attention of the audience is secured by appeal- ing to their economic interest. This is reenforced at the end of each paragraph. 3. Necessary information is given to prepare the way for a later argument on details. Note the following de- tailed arg-ument (taken from the body of the same speech) in connection with Schedule D and see liow much an understanding of it is helped by the general informa- tion of the introduction. The first thing to notice ahout this schedule is that it does not affect the American tariff shutting out the Canadian goods. It ])rovides only that the enumerated American goods going into Canada shall be let in at a reduced rate. Consequently the lirmest Protectionist could not object to it. No intricate argu- ment is needed to show that this lowering of the barrier will ( reate a wider and better market for American goods. Thus is il a benefit to the United States as a producer; it will give more work to labor, more profit to American managers and call into use more American cnyntal. But besides the general advantage, a knowledge of a typical article emphasizes the desirability of this provision. Portland cement is produced in the United States to a value of about fifteen times the product of Canada (U. S., $55,900,000; Canada, $3,700,000. See 1909 International Year Book). The Itusiness, however, has been at a standstill since 1907, due to the 58 EFFECTIVE PFBLIC SPEAKING failure of many concerns in the panic. The twelve per cent reduction of the tariff on this commodity will give the producers a better chance to sell in Canada^ Such an opening up of a })etter market is just the sort of helj) the industry needs to put it once more on the prosperous footing it had in 1906 and insure its still greater development. Tlie next article for specific con- sideration is l)ituminons coal. * * * Tlie information in the introduction displays the rela- tion between the two countries and outlines the proposed change. Without this knowledge, the detailed argu- ments coukl not be understood. 4. It defines the meaning of "economic benefit" and exactly designates the agreement as "simultaneous tariff laws" rather than "reciprocity treaty." This is the definition of terms. 5. It tells the audience, in the last paragraph, the plan of the entire speech. 6. It definitely states the proposition or object of the speaker, namely, to demonstrate that the pro])osed agreement will be of economic benefit to the United States. All this aids the audience to receive and understand the message. Every speech, however, does not have such material covering all these points and grouped to- gether at the very beginning. We shall consider each part of an introduction, to determine just how and when information should be used and wdien omitted. (d) Preparatory information is not necessary when llic audience is as w^ell acquainted wdth the general field "as yourself. For instance, if an army surgeon were to read before a medical society a paper on the prevention of typhoid by means of the new^ inoculation treatment, he would not have to explain the nature of the illness PURPO.se of the IXTRODrCTIOX 59 or the technique of iiiocukitiiig'. He coiiKl proceed im- mediately to a discussion of the effect of the treatment, knowing- that those listening- would have a good general background of understanding. But if he were to make an address to the soldiers themselves to convince them that they ought to submit to inoculation, then he would have to give them elementary information about medicine. In his introduction he would have to offer a simple ex- planation of the causes of typhoid and the manner in which the disease runs its course. Then he would have to tell how inoculation is accomplished and wdiat it is supposed to do to the organism. After that the soldiers might be expected to follow^ the arguments and under- stand the statistics of successful treatment. In the pas- sage about reciprocity, just quoted, we see a treatment designed for a popular audience and not for a board of specialists who are thoroughly familiar w^tli tariff matters. Then there is a second problem. Shall all the infor- mation be given at the beginning or shall it be scattered with the arguments throughout the body of the speech? The advantage of the first is that it gives a good, com- prehensive view of the whole subject. Its disadvantage is that parts might be forgotten when the portions of the development most related to them are reached. To overcome this last objection and yet preserve the advan- tage of the general view at the start, sometimes it is ad- visable to repeat parts of the information — in less extended form — when special points are reached which call for their recollection. Notice how that course w^as pursued in the detailed argument about Portland cement, when the provisions of Schedule D were recalled (page 57). 60 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING (b) Definition of tenns also depends upon tlie famil- iarity of the audience with the general field in ^YhLch the speech is included. Yet to define terms at all times is not a grave offense, and it sometimes proves a safeguard against misunderstanding. A speaker (and especially one who is arguing for a cause) must always have very clear terms for his ideas, and he should be careful that the audience gets his exact meaning. It is better to take the chance of giving a definition when it is not absolutely necessary than to omit it when it may be needed. Again, the definitions may be all recorded at the beginning, or they may be introduced in the discussion where they are most needed. (c) To announce the plan, or, as it is known in formal argiunent, to state the issues, is a question of policy. The advantage of the course rests in the fact that the audi- tors are given an idea of the end in view and the road by which it is to be reached. If they can be put in pos- session of a simple, general plan, they are better able to follow the amplification and at the same time keep the whole message in mind. The ancient rhetoricians called this part of the speech "the partition." Preachers of the old school were very fond of it and used to depress^' their congregations with an enumeration of the firstly, secondly, thirdly, and so fortli, which were to be treated in the sermon. This last reference reminds us of the disadvantages of the partition, or statement of points. It may discourage the audience. In some cases, also, it may rob each later portion of its freshness and charm. Certainly, the pos-. sibility of surprise is diminished. Wherever the speaker is addressing an audience which he knows is unfriendly to his line of reasoning, he should not disclose his plan. PURPOSE 01^^ THE INTRODUCTION 61 but should let it develop in their minds as he establishes each point. A captain of industry trying to convince a j;'roup of Socialist workmen of the reasonableness of proiits — if such hardihood can be imagined — sliould keep his plan to himself and endeavor to establish his con- tentions point by point. So also, a Socialist trying- to win over a hostile audience to his belief would be very foolish to announce his plan of procedure beforehand. It would arouse the opposition of his hearers before he had a chance to give his reasons. From these illustrations we see that the announcement of the plan is a device to pro- mote a clear and unified grasp of the entire speech, but it must be used with care; the speaker must put the gain in intellectual grasp in the balance over again the pos- sibility of arousing prejudice. (d) The statement of the object or purpose of an ad- dress may also be made only after careful consideration. If the situation is favorable at the ouiset, to a confiding of the purpose of the speaker, if it seems safe to state his beliefs or subject before he proves its reasonableness, then to do so makes for a clear grasp of the development. Sometimes, a speaker reserves the purpose to be accom- plished until the end of the address. Again, he may never reveal it. One of the most powerful kinds of ad- dress is that which influences the hearer by suggestion. The mind is filled with the material which will work it- self out in an action the speaker is wise enough to keep to himself. But though not expressed, the purpose must be very definitely in the thought of the speaker to guie.^ him at every stage. 62 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Summary of Introduction (a) Part to secure good will — to get favorable emo- tional state. (b) Part to secure attention or concentration. '^ (c) Part to prepare the mind to understand — in- tellectual preparation. 1. General, preliminary information. 2. Definition of terms. 3. Partition or announcement of plan. 4. Statement of subject, purpose, or belief. While it lias been made clear that these parts are not always necessary to a speech, and while it has been shown that they may not always be grouped together in the beginning, nevertheless it is best for the novice to follow the summary plan just given above. After he has become somewhat proficient in accomplishing the pur- poses here set forth, in a well-defined part of the speech, lie may then exercise his individuality by variations. It is true that few expert speech-makers follow a formal plan with all these sub-divisions, but they probably did so at first. Thorough drill of this sort insures coherence and unity when flexibility comes as the fruit of experi- ence. But the fluent and easy speaker who has no plan is but a charming and ineffective rambler. He usually leaves the audience with a general sense of pleasure or stimulation but with no definite ideas. In conclusion, we may say that, whether these parts of the introduction are each taken up separately or not, their functions must be performed somehow; no speaker can impress his message upon the audience unless he has rendered them favorable to himself and his message, unless he has secured and held thcMr attention and uidess PURPOSE OF THE INTRODUCTION 63 he has given them an adequate preparation for the under- standing of the speech. Assign MEXT of AVokk The writton exercises in this entire lesson sliould be carefully worked out. Keep copies of the written exer- cises in your notebook. First Day. — You have read through the lesson. Now studj^ it again carefully, mastering its contents. Do not attempt any of the exercises until after the second reading. Second Day. — Write out a short, startling introduction to a speech on one of the following topics : 1. The Rich Man in America. 2. The Practical Influence of the Church on Morality. 3. The United States in Mexico. 4. A Poor Plan's Club — the Saloon. 5. Napoleon. At the same time, keep your introduction of a character to incline the audience favorably toward you. Third Day. — AVrite a short introduction on one of the topics named in the second day's work or on some other topic of interest to you, using the promise-of-gain method of securing attention. State the kind of audience you imagine you are addressing. Fourth Z)« (/.^Reproduce orally the two introductions which you wrote in the second and third days' work. Do it without notes. Do not memorize. Fifth Day. — AA^rite a full introduction, with all the type parts, for a speech on a subject of interest to you. Use any one of the following suggestions, or you may select a topic of inter- est to you : 1. The laiited States ought to pay a sum to Colombia to remove any ill-feeling which may have arisen in con- nection with the acquisition of sovereignty over the Canal Zone. 2. The Germans who fought in th(^ Civil War. 64 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 'A. The Freedom of Speech. 4. Patriotism. 5. Any technical subject on which you have special, knowl edge ; the speech to be before a non-specialist, mixed audience. With your outline of this introduction liefore you, develop it orally many times. Indeed, do the planning and oral amplifica- tion before 3'ou write it out in final form in your notebook. TEST Ql'ESTIOXS These questions are for the stiuk'iit to use in testiii;jj his kno\\ie(l<;-e of the ])rincipk's in this h-sson. Tliey are siinr/rslirr merely, dealing largely with the ])raetical application of the jirinci])les, and are to be ^'l^^'^^l ii^ ^^^6 notebook for future reference. 1. Imagine that you are addressing a small group of people. Explain to them, so they will understand, the three major pur- poses of an introduction. 2. Give your own definition of attention. Eecall an instance in which, with relaxed attention, you have listened to a speaker. Can you remember what he said ? What, then, is the relation of attention to memory 't 3. Recall the astonishing exclamations of Beecher, and try to remember speakers whom you have heard use similar devices. •4. What other device is used to secure a different kind of attention? What kind is it? What is its advantage?. 5. What is the appeal to gain in Patrick Henry 's introduction ? 6. (a) In a speech to sell goods, what might secure attention? (b) In a letter applying for a position, what might secure attention? (c) In a speech for the change of your city gov- ernment to the commission form, what might secure attention? 7. What is meant by necessary preliminary information? What effect has it upon the reception of the speaker's direct message ? 8. You can see the necessity of this preliminary information by imagining what preliminary questions you would ask a speaker about such topics as Sixteen to One, Branch Banking, Recognition of Panama, Paying Indemnity to Colombia, Asset Currency, or any other suliject with which you are not familiar. 9. When is a careful definition of terms particularly necessary ? 10. Try to define for an average audience the following terms : Efficiency, workmanship, courage, ledgers, balance slieet, sales talks, etc. Take the technical terms of your own vocation witli wliich the audience may not be familiar. 65 66 TEST QUESTIONS 11. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of announcing the plan of the speech ? 12. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of announcing the object or purpose of the speech? 13. Can you state any reasons why it would be tactful, in a business conference with a manager, for you to introduce pre- liminary information in the most unobtrusive way possible? What risk would you run by leaving it out altogether ? 14. Suppose that you had been asked to prepare a speech against reciprocity with Canada, in 1911, when the question was before the two countries. Prepare your introduction. LESSON 5 GENERAL BASES FOR THE ARRANGEMENT OF MATTER IN THE BODY OF THE SPEECH By this time, no doubt, the student has inferred that a speech is always planned with the probable mental state of the audience as a guide. If it is foreseen that the audience is likely to be unfriendly or insufficiently informed, the speaker casts about for the means of remedying these deficiencies. Furthermore, if he dis- covers any unforeseen barriers to the most favorable reception of his message, when he faces the audience or during actual delivery, he readjusts himself and mod- ifies his statements so as to mould the auditors' minds to a state of favorable feeling, acute attention, and intel- ligent insight. Since it is most generally probable that such efforts must come at the very beginning, we have considered them as natural parts of an introduction. Yet it is pos- sible that the speaker cannot always prepare for every portion of his entire address at the outset. He may have to make many little or subordinate introductions to new points as they arise during the course of the speech. Still, even though scattered throughout the discourse, these eiTorts are introductory in character, for they seek to prepare the way for something which would not be received without them. Understanding, then, that the formal introduction, when used, may be re-enforced throughout the body of the speech, let us leave the intro- 67 68 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING (luction in order to consider the arrangement of the body. General Arrangement of the Body of the Speech Naturally enough, the body of a speech differs with every occasion and theme. It is extremely difficult to lay down any but the most general rules for the arrange- ment of the divisions of the message proper. In a later lesson, we shall give directions concerning the details of the body of the speech ; just now only the larger mat- ters of general arrangement will be taken up. If the address be very short, the problem is not a serious one; but if it be long, much depends upon the order in which the various points are presented. The introduction may promote the most favorable emotional response and prepare for the easiest intellectual grasp, but the arrangement of the body must be depended upon to preserve these desired ends. Therefore, in de- termining the sequence of material in the body of the speech, be guided by some plan which will dovetail with the efforts of the introduction. Two principles for gen- eral guidance suggest themselves : (1) Follow^ the natural divisions of the subject which exist because of the way things hang together in nature. (2) Modify or adapt this order to meet the peculiari- ties of the particular audience to be addressed. The first of these, if it can be followed, insures a clear grasp of the matter just as it is, irrespective of any- one's bias. The second takes account of the truth that all men are biased and must have their peculiar short- comings made up by the skill of the speaker. THE BODY OF THE SPEECH 69 (a) Natural Sequence in the Body of the Speech All the things which a speaker may wish to include in the body of his speech have a natural relationship; this relationship should help to determine the order of pre- sentation. Typical relationships are those of time, place, magnitude, and causation. Let us make this clear. Relationship of time is the most simple. If we wish to narrate a series of events which followed one after the other, then the simplest arrangement of details is to present them in the order of actual occurrence. Sup- pose your speech to be a eulogy: A man's life is to be reviewed and appreciated. There are two kinds of ideas to be presented to the audience — the concrete facts of the life and the abstract qualities or characteristics which are to be appraised. Evidently the easiest order in which to offer these things is to begin w4th the man's ancestry, then tell of his birth, his childhood, his early education, his young manhood, and his later career, and then close with his death. This is simple, chronological sequence. The following extract from Carl Schurz's eulogy of Charles Sumner, delivered in Boston Music Hall, April 29, 1874,^ will illustrate. After an introduction in which he spoke of the nation's loss in the death of one of its great senators, the orator mentioned his own friendship for Sumner. Then, remarking that Americans usually liked to speak of their heroes as self-made men, he said : But not such a life was that of Charles Sumner. He was descended from good old Kentish yeomanry stock, men stalwart of frame, stout of heart, who used to stand in the front of the 1 Tn a memorial volume published hy order of the Commonwealth ol Massachusetts, 1874. 70 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING fierce battles of Old England ; and the first of the name who came to America had certainly not been exempt from the rough struggles of the early settlements. But already from the year 1723 a long line of Sumners appears on the records of Harvard College, and it is evident that the love of study had long been hereditary in the family. Charles Pickney Sumner, the Senator 's father, was a graduate of Harvard, a lawyer by profession, for fourteen years high sheriff of Suffolk County. His literary tastes and acquirements, and his stately politeness are still remembered. He was altogether a man of high respectability. He was not rich, but in good circumstances, and well able to give his children the best opportunities to study, without working for their daily bread. Charles Sumner was born in Boston, on the sixth of January. 1811. At the age of ten, he had received his rudimentary training ; at fifteen, after having gone through the Boston Latin School, he entered Harvard College and plunged at once with fervor into the classics, polite literature, and history. Graduated in 1830, he entered the Cambridge Law School. Now life began to open for him. Judge Story, his most distinguished teacher, soon recognized in him a young man of uncommon stamp ; and an intimate friendship sprang up between teacher and pupil, which was severed only by death. He began to distinguish himself not only by the most ardu- ous industry and application, pushing his researches far beyond the text-books — indeed, text-books never satisfied him — but by a striking earnestness and faculty to master the original principles of the science, and to trace them through its development. His productive labor began, and I find it stated that already then, while he was yet a pupil, his essays, published in the "American Jurist," were "always characterized by a breadth of view and accuracy of learning, and sometimes by remarkably subtle and ingenious investigation." Leaving the law school, he entered the office of a lawyer in Boston, to acquire a knowledge of practice, never much to his taste. Then he visited Washington for the first time, little dreaming what a theatre of action, struggle, triumph, and suf- fering the Jiational city was to become for him; for then he THE BODY OP" THE SPEECH 71 came only as a studious, deeply interested looker-on, who merely desired to form the acquaintance of the justices and practicing lawyers at the bar of tlie Supreme Court. He was received with marked kindness by Chief Justice Marshall, and in later years he loved to tell his friends how he had sat at the feet of that great magistrate, and learned there what a judge should be. Having been admitted to the bar in Worcester in 1834, when twenty-three years old, he opened an office in Boston ; was soon appointed reporter of the United States Circuit Court ; published three volumes containing Judge Story's decisions, known as ' ' Sumner 's Reports ' ' ; took Judge Story 's place from time to time as lecturer in Harvard Law School ; also Professor Greenleaf's, who was absent, and edited during the years 1835 and 1836 Andrew Dunlap's Treatise on "Admiralty Practice." Beyond this, his studies, arduous, incessant, and thorough, ranged far and wide. Truly a studious and laborious young man who took the business of life earnestly in hand, determined to know some- thing, and to be useful to his time and country. But what he had learned and could learn at home did not satisfy his craving. In 1837 he went to Europe, armed with a letter from Judge Story's hand to the law magnates of England, to whom his patron introduced him as "a young lawyer giving promise of the most eminent distinction in his profession, with truly extraordinary attainments, literary and judicial, and a gentleman of the highest purity and propriety of character." This was not a mere complimentary introduction ; it was the conscientious testimony of a great judge who well knew his responsibility, and who afterwards, when his death approached, adding to that testimony, was frequently heard to say, "I shall die content, as far as my professorship is concerned, if Charles Sumner is to succeed me. ' ' In England, young Sumner, only feeling himself standing on the threshold of life, was received like a man of already achieved distinction. Every circle of a society, ordinarily so exclusive, was open to him. Often, by invitation, he sat with the judges in Westminster Hall. Renowned statesmen intro- duced him upon the floor of Parliament. Eagerly he followed 72 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING the debates, and studied the principles and practices of parlia- mentary law on its maternal soil, where from the first seed-corn it had grown up into a magnificent tree, in whose shadow a great people can dwell in secure enjoyment of their rights. Scientific associations received him as a welcome guest, and the learned and great willingly opened to his winning presence their stores of knowledge and statesmanship. In France he listened to the eminent men of the Law School in Paris, at the Sorbonne and the College de France, and with many of the statesmen of that country he maintained instruc- tive intercourse. In Italy he gave himself up to the charms of art, poetry, history, and classical literature. In Germany he enjoyed the conversation of Humboldt, of Ranke, the historian, of Ritter, the geographer, and of the great journalists, Savigny, Thibaut, and ^littermaier. * * * He returned to his native shores in 18-10, himself like a heavily freighted ship, bearing a rich cargo of treasures col- lected in foreign lands. He resumed the practice of law in Boston; but, as I find it stated, "not with remarkable success from a financial point of view." That I readily believe. The financial point of view was never to him a fruitful source of inspiration. Again he devoted himself to the more congenial task of teaching at the Cambridge Law School and of editing an American edition of "Vesey's Reports," in twenty volumes, M'ith elaborate notes contributed by himself. But now the time had come when a new field of action was to open itself to him. On the Fourth of July, 1845, he delivered before the city authorities of Boston, an address on the "True Grandeur of Nations." So far he had been only a student — a deep and arduous one, and a writer and a teacher, but nothing more. On that day his public career commenced. This chronological order is continued throughout the long speech. But it must be noticed that Schurz is not satisfied with a mere encylopedic statement of bare facts ; he makes them render up their testimony concern- ing the character of Sumner. Tliroughout the address, THE BODY OF THE SPEECH 73 he makes them show that Sumner was a man of (a) dil- igent application, (b) wide learning, and (c) high ideals and that he viewed all problems from the lofty eminence of those ideals. This chronological order is the simplest possible; it therefore imposes least upon the skill of the speaker. But it has the danger l)TT5mig^~l3arreir^incl tiresome. Too often a mere string of colorless happenings is re- corded. Although the simple order may be followed, use some judgment in the matter of emphasizing this event and subordinating that, and of extracting an in- terpretation of the spirit. Place gives us the next hint of arrangement. Ob- viously, it is useful only when dealing with things which distribute themselves in space. Place dictates that when describing a magnificent building, we begin, let us say, from the top and proceed downward in treating the de- tails, or that we begin at the bottom and go up. In either case, there is an orderly and systematic succession of details wdiich tends to bring about a unified grasp of the whole. Sometimes in memorial or historical addresses, the sequence in time is set aside in favor of a grouping ac- cording to place. Thus if one w^ere narrating the Civil War campaign of 1863, instead of telling of each battle on the date it occurred, he might well group the engage- ments somewdiat as follows: (a) The campaign in the East with its climax at Gettysburg, (b) the campaign in the West with the taking of Vicksburg and the open- ing of the Mississippi River, (c) the war in the middle ground of Kentucky and Tennessee, including the en- gagements at Chattanooga and Chickamauga and the storming of IMissionary Eidge. / v_- 74 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Such an arrangement is a safeguard against confu- sion. On the other hand, to enumerate the various en- gagements of the year according to the calendar, now one in the East, then two on the Mississippi, back again to the East, then three in close succession in Kentucky, and so on, would give only the perplexing impression of a tangled mass of details. The suggested grouping makes for a rational and clear grasp of each particular, properly placed in an organized whole. Magnitude is the qualitative or mathematical rela- tionship. One of a group of similar things is smaller or greater, less important or more important, than another. Sometimes it is wise to group the details of the body of a speech according to their magnitude. The climax is such a grouping, for it begins with the least impressive and then proceeds in an ascending scale to the most im- pressive. Other variations based on a difference in magnitude readily suggest themselves. AVe find a good example of climax in Burke's speech impeaching War- ren Hastings. The whole speech is too long to quote, but this extract from the conclusion will indicate a plan for use in the body of the address : Therefore it is with confidence that, ordered by tlie Commons^ I impeach Warren Hastings, Esquire, of high crimes and misdemeanors. 1 impeach him in the name of the Commons, in Parliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust ho has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain, whose national character he has dishonored. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose laws, rights, and liberties he has subverted; whose properties he has destroyed ; whose country he has laid waste and desolate. THE BODY OF THE SPEECH 75 I impeach him in the name and by virtue of those eternal laws of justice which he has viohited. I impeach him in the name of hunuin nature itself, which he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes, in every age, rank, situation, and condition of life. Such a speech would proceed from the proof of rela- tively minor matters of civil offense to a climax of crim- inal outrage far beyond the pale of excuse or forgive- / ness. _ / Causation is the relation which exists between causes ^ and their effects. The arrangement may be, first the causes and then the effects, or it may be reversed. In the arguments of criminal lawyers, we often find the body of the speech to be arranged as follow^s: (a) Causes. 1. Motives. 2. Opportunity. (b) Effect — the crime. (c) Traces or evidence of the crime. Nearly all the orators who spoke of the Boston Mas- sacre, used the cause-and-effect arrangement. No doubt the student will recollect the accounts of the quartering of British troops in Boston in 1770. Between them and the citizens there grew up a strong animosity which led to minor disturbances and to frequent brawls. But on the evening of March 5, 1770, a violent outbreak oc- curred. The troops fired upon the citizens, killing sev- eral. For a number of years, the anniversary of this event was celebrated, one of the features of the day being an oration. These exercises were kept up until 1783, when they were replaced by Fourth of July exer- cises and orations. Most of the Boston Massacre speeches discussed : 76 p:ffective public speaking (a) Causes which led up to the massacre. 1. Acts of despotism, oppression, and taxes. 2. The quartering troops in the town. (b) Immediate effect — the massacre. (c) Final effect — the attitude of resentment on the part of the colonies and a justification of senti- ments of freedom. While these four typical relationships of time, place, magnitude, and causation are very fundamental, still any other classification of the way your matter hangs together in nature will serve as a basis for the arrange- ment of the body of the speech. For instance, if you are to support a bill, like the act favoring reciprocity with Canada, mentioned in Lesson Four, you may take the order of the provisions of the bill as the plan for the body of your speech. In this case, the bill has four schedules ; then you Uiay make the body of your speech correspond to them in sequence by taking them up in regular order — A, B, C, D. Another point to be noted is that while the great di- visions of 3^our discussion imxy follow one basis of arrangement, any of the further subdivisions might follow another. Thus in appealing to Congress to give the Filipinos their independence, we might make a primary arrangement as follows : 1. The Filipinos are now able to govern themselves. 2. To retain them longer is financially unprofitable. 3. To retain them opens us to easy attack in time of war. 4. To retain them longer is a violation of our national ideals of freedom. This is an arrangement according to magnitude or importance of the various considerations. But the sub- THE BODY OP THE SPEECH 77 divisions under tliose heads niiglii follow one of the other types. Take the first of these primary divisions and notice the following sub-arrangement as a cause-to- effect argument. 1. The Filipinos are now able to govern themselves, because : (a) Education (cause) has raised their general in- telligence (effect) since 1898. (b) English as a common language (cause) has brought them to a state of harmonious co- operation (effect). (c) A measure of participation in the general gov- ernment (cause) and complete control of local governments (cause) has rendered their leaders sufficiently expert to conduct their own government in a state of freedom (effect). These and other plans may be followed in the arrange- ment. Whatever type or combination you may select to guide you in the ordering of details in the body of the speech, let it be well defined and calculated to reveal the truth as it actually exists. (h) Modified Arranr/emenf to Suit a Particidar Audience Yet the combination of things as they normally hang together in nature is not always the best gTiide in arrang- ing them for a presentation to a particular audience. Sometimes a variation from the natural order will pro- mote an easier understanding of the material. Thus, in the reciprocity speech, from which extracts were pre- sented in the last lesson, we find these words immediately following the first quotation given : 78 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING But I shall not follow the order of the bill. It will be simpler to begin with Schedule D, for that schedule is the easiest to comprehend and analyze. Its provisions call for the least change from the existing order of things. It enumerates articles produced extensively in the United States and to a considerably less degree or not at all in Canada. The artich^s are cement, trees, condensed milk, biscuits, canned fruits, pea- nuts, and bituminous coal. All together they constitute about one quarter of the volume of the commodities to be affected by the entire agreement. This estimate is based on last year's exportation figures; but with the dropping of the Canadian duty on them as proposed, no one can tell to what enormous proportions their shipment may grow. Then followed the second, detailed argument quoted in the last lesson. Throughout the rest of this speech, wdiicli is too long to be given complete, there is a modi- fication of the order of the bill to promote clearness for a popular audience. Sometimes the diatural order is not the most tactful when the prejudices or feelings of the particular lis- teners are considered. In pleading for Filipino inde- pendence, it might be wise to show first that their furthei- retention would mean increased financial loss. If the money side of such a question can be so disposed of, most audiences are likely to respond to altruistic inducements. Or, if you could not prove a financial advantage in giving the Filipinos" their freedom, you might make military safety your first issue. After that has been driven home, the question of their fitness to govern themselves could ])e taken up. Naturally these modifications need not be made if the audience is without bias, and the nature of the modifications depends upon the nature of the exist- ing bias. Thus, in planning the body of his address, a speaker THE BODY OF THE SPEECIT. / 79 endeavors to put himself in the phice of his hearers. He tries to estimate their beliefs, their prejudices, their feelings. He asks himself, "How should I want to be approached upon this subject if I felt about if as these people do \ ' ' Consider the following plan as illustrating how the natural order may be varied to suit the prejudices and the beliefs of the audience. A socialist is speaking in behalf of his cause to an audience opposed to the socialist program. An excellent order of procedure is as follows : A. Introduction Facts and figures showing the startling growth of the socialist party in the United States. Con- sequently it is to the interest of all citizens to study a propaganda which is influencing the political thought of the country. B. Body 1. Answer to certain objections that lie in the mind of the audience. (a) Socialism does not propose to reduce all men to a level of mediocrity. (b) Socialism does not mean anarchism. (c) Socialism does not mean agnosticism. (d) Socialism does not propose to abolish pri- vate ow^nership entirely. 2. The common nse by society of the fundamental socialistic principles. (a) They are used in charitable institutions. (b) They are used in mutual insurance compa- nies. (c) They are used in public ownersliip of post office. 80 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING (d) They are used in profit-sharing e x p e r i - nieiits. 3. The constructive program of socialism. (a) Socialism aims to secure equality of oppor- tunity. (b) Socialism aims to give labor its share of the profits of industry. (c) Socialism aims to secure the public owner- ship of the natural monopolies of produc- tion and distribution. C. Conclusion Therefore it is advisable for all thoughtful citizens to accept the doctrine or at least give it further, careful consideration. Naturally an opponent of socialism would take just the reverse course. SUMMAEY Thus, we seek to plan the body of the speech so that all its material will grow up in the mind of the hearer in a manner most calculated to make him understand it as it is understood by the speaker himself. Careful arrangement is the device which he uses to suit the limited understanding or the prejudiced feelings of the auditors. It aims to preserve during the piecemeal delivery of the message all the advantage gained by a successful introduction. The type arrangements sug- gested have been : A. Follow the order of natural relationship: 1. According to time — esjiecially in narrative work. 2. According to place — especially in description. 3. According to magnitude or impressiveness — espe- cially in appeals to action. THE BODY OF THE SPEECH 81 4. According to cause and effect — especially in argu- ment. 5. According to any special plan inherent in the topic. B. Modify this order to accommodate the peculiarities of the particular audience : 1. Peculiarities of limited understanding. 2. Peculiarities of bias or emotional opposition. Assignment of Work The written exorcises in this entire lesson should he carefully worked out. Keep copies of the written exer- cises in voui- notebook. First Day. — Read the lesson again carefully to master its con- tents. Answer the test questions appended, to determine if you have grasped the ideas to be learned. Second Day. — In the speech of Garfield (Lesson 3, page 33), what type arrangement is used from the first star (*) to the second stars (**) ? What tj^pe is used from the twci stars to the end? Study the Conkling speech (Lesson 2, page 20) again. Its body treats, first, a need, and, second. a man to meet the need. What type plan is this? What IS the plan of the subdivisions under the ma/i-division ? Third Day. — Take the following plans; modify them to suit some special audience ; add the necessary introductions and develop them orally. Do this at first with the notes before you and then with the outline kept in the mind only. I. Abraham Lincoln. (a) His physical nature. (b) His mental nature. (c) His spiritual nature. II. The ]\riners' Strike in Colorado (1914). (a) Causes of the trouble. (b) Actions of both sides during the strike. (c) A basis of settlement. 82 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING III. Reorganization of the department or business in which you are employed. (Make your own plan through- out.) IV. Causes and Conduct of the Mexican War of 18-47. Speech in commemoration of those who died in that war. (Make your own plan throughout.) For ex- ercise purposes, a brief account of the war can be had in any good encyclopoedia. Consult one in the nearest library. For a finished speech, the matter should be read up most thoroughly. Fourth and Fifth Days. — Taking as your model, the portion of Schurz's "Eulogy of Sumner" in this lesson, construct a eulogy of one of the following or of some other great man with whose life you are familiar. (a) Alexander Hamilton. (b) Karl Marx. (c) Henry George. (d) Daniel Webster. (e) Robert E. Lee. Supplement the plan you construct with a statement of the type followed. // ijou wish, you may also prepare an amplifica- tion of the outline. But do not get the idea that all speeches must be first written out. Rather cultivate the habit of developing your outlines orally. TEST QUESTIONS Tlieso questions are for the student to use in testinji liis knowlef the whole speech. The summary is usually more justitied if the issues or plan have not been announced in the introduction. In short speeches, it is obvious that a formal and detailed summary is unnecessary. So also in humorous speeches where the purpose is general good feeling rather than concise grasp of an organized message, the summary as illustrated may be omitted. The Short, Crisp Summary. — Sometimes the formal summary enumerating all issues is omitted, but a short, crisp, or epigrammatic resume takes its place. Again, the terse summary is used to supplement the formal one. It puts the whole contention in a nutshell. After his long argument about the actions, political and military, of Great Britain, Patrick Henry crisply summarized his call to arms (just before making the passionate appeal) with the words : "We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight. An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us." Senator Elihu Root summarized in a very terse and effective way his speech advocating the repeal of the bill giving United States coast-w^ise vessels an advantage in Panama Canal tolls. After proving that such a pref- erence to our vessels was in violation of our solemn promises in two treaties with Great Britain — treaties which we ourselves sought to contract, and after show- ing that we have agreed to arbitrate such differences in matters of treaty interpretation with Great Britain, he said: "Mr. President, there is but one alternative con- sistent with self-respect. We must arbitrate the in- terpretation of this treaty or we must retire from the position we have taken." 92 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING (h) Conchision as an Application or Pcioratiun But a summary of the contents of the speech is not always the whole conclusion. Often one wishes to make a general application of the message, draw a moral, or bring the whole close to the life and feelings of the audi- ence. This is bringing it home to them. Note the con- clusion of Carl Schurz's speech on ''True Americanism," delivered at Faneuil Hall, Boston, in 1859. Sir, I was to speak on Republicanism in the West, and so I did. This is Western Republicanism. These are its principles, and I am proud to say that its principles are its policies. These are the ideas which have rallied around the banner of liberty not only the natives of tlie soil, but also an innumerable host of Germans, Scandinavians, Scotchmen, Frenchmen, and a goodly number of Irishmen also. And here I tell you, those are mistaken who believe that the Irish heart is devoid of those noble impulses which will lead him to the side of justice, where he sees his own rights respected and unendangered. (Applause.) Under this banner, all the languages of civilized mankind are spoken; every creed is protected; every right is sacred. There stands every element of Western society, with enthusiasm for a great cause, with confidence in each other, with honor to themselves. This is the banner floating over the glorious valley which stretches from the Western slope of the Alleghanies to the Rocky ]\Iountains— that valley of Jehosaphat, where the nations of the world assemble to celebrate the resurrection of human freedom. (Tremendous rpplause.) The inscription on the banner is not, "Opposition to the Democratic party for the sake of placing a new set of men in office"; for this battle cry of speculators, our hearts have no response. Nor is it "Restriction of slavery and restriction of the right of suffrage," for this — l)elieve my words, I entreat you — this would be the signal for deserved, inevitable, and disgraceful defeat. But the inscription is "Liberty and equal rights, common to all as the THE CONCLUSION 93 air of Heaven — Liberty and equal rights, one and inseparable." (Prolonged cheers.) AVith this banner we stand before the world. In this sign — in this sign alone and no other — there is victory. And thus, sir, we mean to realize the great cosmopolitan idea, upon which the existence of the American nation rests. Thus we mean to ful- fill the great mission of true Americanism — thus we mean to answer the anxious question of down-trodden humanity — ■'Plas man any faculty to be free and to govern himself?" The answer is a triumphant "Aye," thundering into the ears of tlie despots of the old world that "a man is a man for a' that" — proclaiming to the oppressed that they are held in subjection on false pretenses, cheering the hearts of the despondent friends of man with consolation and renewed confidence. This is true Americanism, clasping mankind to its great heart. Under its banner we march ; let the world follow. Here the particular points which he developed in the l)ody of his speech are applied and coupled with certain ideals and sentiments in which Americans take pride. The specific cases are dropped and the oratory branches out into broad and almost poetic fields of universal and undying interest. It is this tendency to look beyond the narrow particulars of the immediate subject to its wider applications, which makes perorations so poetic and so attractive for declamatory purposes. Sometimes, this broadening of the treatment takes the form of leaving the details which go to make up the opinion established by the speech and treating, in an enthusiastic manner, the broad principles involved. In his famous second reply to Hayne, Daniel Webster dealt with specific acts and rules of constitutional law in the body of his speech, but his peroration was as follows : I profess, sir, in my career hitherto, to have kept steadily in view the prosperity and honor of the whole country, and tha 94 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING preservation of our Federal Union. It is to that Union we owe our safety at lionn', and our consideration anil dignity abroad. It is to that Union that we are chiefly indebted for whatever makes us most proud of our country. That Union we reached only by the discipline of our virtues in the severe school of adversity. It had its origin in the necessities of disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined credit. Under its benign influences, these great interests immediately awoke as from the dead, and sprang forth with newness of life. Every year of its duration has teemed with fresh proofs of its utility and blessings; and although our territory has stretched out wider and wider, and our population spread farther and far- ther, they have not outrun its protection or its benefits. It has been to us a copious fountain of national, social, and personal happiness. I have not allowed myself, sir, to look beyond the Union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recesses behind. I have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving liberty when the l)onds that unite us together shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom the depths of the abyss below ; nor could I regard him as a safe counselor in the affairs of this government, whose thought would l)e mainly bent on con- sidering, not how the Union may be best preserved, but how tolerable might be the condition of the people when it should l)e broken up and destroyed. While the Union lasts, we have high, gratifying, exciting prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant that, in my (hiy, at least, that curtain may not rise! God grant that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind ! When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored frag- ments of a once glorious Union, on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or di-enched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather bcliold the gorgeous ensign of llic I'cpublic, now known and honored lliroiigliout Ihc cj'.i'th, still full lii.uh advanced, THE CONCLUSION 95 its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased nor polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, '"Wliat is all tills worth r' nor those other words of delusion and folly, "Lib- erty first and Union afterwards"; but everywhere, spi-ead all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind in the whole heavens, that other sentiment dear to every true American heart — Liberty and LTnion, now and forever, one and inseparable ! It is this tendency to take a universal point of vievv^ in the peroration which has led many speakers to use not only poetic diction and imagerj^ but even actual ex- tracts from poetry itself. An example is to be found in the peroration of Henry W. Grady's "New South," an oration often quoted. Now what answer has New England to this message ? Will she permit the prejudice of war to remain in the hearts of the con- querors when it has died in the hearts of the conquered? Will she transmit this prejudice to the next generation, that in their hearts, which never felt the generous ardor of conflict, it may perpetuate itself ? Will she withhold, save in strained courtesy, the hand which straight from his soldier's heart. Grant offered Lee at Appomattox ? Will she make the vision of a restored and happy people, which gathered about the couch of your dying captain, filling his heart with grace, touching his lips with praise and glorifying his path to the grave ; will she make this vision, on which the last sigh of his expiring soul breathed a benedic- tion, a cheat and a delusion "? If she does, the South, never abject in asking for comradeship, must accept with dignity its refusal ; but if she does not — if she accepts with frankness and sincerity this message of good will and friendship — then will the prophecy of Webster, delivered in this very Society forty years ago, amid tremendous applause, be verified in its final and fullest sense, when he said: "Standing hand in hand, and clasping hands, we shall remain united as we have l)een for sixtv vears, citizens of 96 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING the same country, members of the same government, united all, united now, and united forever." There have been difficulties, contentions and controversies, but I tell you that in my judgment, "Those opposed eyes, AVhich, like the meteors of a troubled heaven, All of one nature, of one substance bred. Did lately meet in th' intestine shock. Shall now, in mutual, Avell-beseemiiig ranks March all one Avav." J • V (c) The Peroration as an Appeal When some action is sought, its necessity is driven home in the appeal of the peroration. Of course, many- actions might spring from feelings developed in the concluding remarks just quoted from Schurz, Webster, and Grady. But their application was very general. On the other hand, a very definite act is sometimes sought and deliberately urged in the peroration. Note this con- clusion of Senator Root's speech looking toward the repeal of the Canal Toll Bill. Mr. President, there is but one alternative consistent with self-respect. We must arbitrate the interpretation of this treaty or we must retire from the position we have taken. 0, Senators^' consider for a moment what it is that we are doing. We all love our country; we are all full of hope and courage for its future; we love its good name; we desire for it that power among the nations of the earth which will enable it to accomplish still greater things for civilization than it has accomplished in the noble past. Shall we make ourselves in the minds of the world like unto the man who is known to })e false to his agrt^ements, false to his pledged word ? Shall we have it understood the whole world over that "you must look out for the United States or she will get the advantage of you"; that we are clever and cunning to get the better of the other party to an agreement, and th;it at the end — THE CONCLUSION 97 Mr. Brandegee: ''Slippery" would be a bettor word. Mr. Root: Yes; I thank the Senator for tiie suggestion — "Slippery." Shall we in our generation add to those claims to honor and respect which our fathers- have established for our country, good cause that we shall be considered slippery ? It is worth while, Mr. President, to be a citizen of a great country, but size alone is not enough to make a country great, A country must be great in its ideals ; it must be great-hearted ; it must be noble; it must despise and reject all smallness and meanness; it must be faithful to its word; it must keep the faith of treaties ; it must be faithful to its mission of civilization in order that it shall be truly great. It is because we believe this of our country, that we are proud, aye, that the alien, with the first step of his foot on our soil, is proud to be a part of the great democracy. Let us put aside the idea of small, petty advantage ; let us treat this situation and these obligations in our relation to the canal in that large way which befits a great nation. Mr. President, how sad it would be if we were to dim the splendor of the great achievement of constructing the canal, by drawing across it the mark of petty selfishness ; if we were to diminish and reduce for generations to come, the power and influence of this free Republic for the uplifting and advance and the progress of mankind, by destroying the respect of man- kind for us ! How sad it would be if you and I, Senators, were to make ourselves responsi])le for destroying that bright and inspiring ideal which has enabled free Amer^»a to hnid the world in progress toward liberty and justice ! Here the appeal to action is on the ground that such action will be in keeping with lofty ideals. Note the fol- lowing appeal in Cnrran's speech in defence of Patrick Finney, charged with liigli treason. It was made after lie had analyzed the testimony in a thorough manner. The character of the prisoner has been given. Am I war- ranted in saying that I ani now defending an innocent and un- fortunate fellow-subject, on the grounds of eternal justice and immutable law ? On that eternal law, I do now call upon you to 98 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING acquit my client. I call upon you for 3'our justice ! Great is the reward, and sweet is the recollection in tlie hour of trial, and in the day of dissolution, when the casualties of life are pressing close upon your heart, and when, in the agonies of death, you look back to the justifiable and honorable transac- tions of your life. At the awful foot of the Eternal Justice,^ I do, therefore, invite you to acquit my client ; and nuiy God, of his infinite mercy, grant you that great compensation which is a reward more lasting than the perishable crown we read of, which the ancients gave to him who saved the life of a fellow-citizen in battle. In the name of public justice, I do implore you to interpose between the perjurer and his intended victim ; and, if ever you are assailed by the villainy of an informer, may you find refuge in the recollection of that example, which, when jurors, you set to those that might be called on to pass judgment upon your lives; to repel at the human tribunal the intended effects of hireling perjury and premeditated murder! If it should be the fate of any of you to count the tedious moments of captivity, in sorrow and in pain, pining in the damps and gloom of a dungeon, recollect there is another more awful tribunal than any on earth, which we must all approach, and before which the best of us will have occasion to look back to what little good he has done on this side the grave ; I do pray, that Eternal Justice may record the deed you bave done, and give to you the full benefit of your claims to an eternal reward, a requital in mercy upon your souls! Of course, an appeal is usually charged with emotion. While it is best for the speaker to suppress feeling and maintain an intellectual calm during his statement and proof, he is justified in showing his feelings after a good ground for them has been established. There is not only the natural feeling of the speaker himself, but there is a conscious attempt on liis part to (^xcite the ejiiotinus of tlu^ audience, for action springs fi-om IVcliug. Notice tluit Currau's ])eroratiou shows his own strong feelings, THE CONCLITSION 99 works on the sympathies of the jury, and even arouses fear of retribution if there be an unjust verdict. A typical appeal is the one used by Henry Clay in support of the New Army Bill, January 8, 1813, in the House of Representatives. The war, declared in June, 1812, had been a failure and the administration had al- most been defeated in the election by a ''peace candi- date. ' ' In his speech. Clay tried, in general, to stir the nation to renewed activity and, in particular, to pass the proposed bill calling- for the organization of twenty new regiments. * * * ^jj honorable peace is attainable only by an effi- cient war. ]\Iy plan would be to call out the ample resources of the couutiy; give them a judicious direction; prosecute the war with the utmost vigor ; strike wherever we can reach the enemy, at sea or on land, and dictate the terms of peace at Quebec or Halifax. We are told that England is a proud and lofty nation, which, disdaining to wait for danger, meets it ialf way. Haughty as she is, we once triumphed over her, and, if we do not listen to the counsels of timidity and despair, we shall again prevail. In such a cause, with the aid of Providence, we must come out crowned with success; but if we fail, let us fail like men, lash ourselves to our gallant tars, and expire together in one common struggle, fighting for free TRADE AND SEAMEN 's RIGHTS. Naturally, there are as many different perorations as there are different audiences, purposes, and occasions for address. But these three general aims — to sum- marize, tcuapply, and tp appeal — are very typical and indicate the nature of the functions of the conclusion. Preparation of the Conclusion We cannot leave this topic without giving a practical hint about the preparation of the concluding matter. 100 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Have it well prepared. Know just how you expect to strike. Do not rise to begin a speech without knowing precisely how you will end it. Too many speakers ramble on and on, never knowing when or how to stop and never driving home whatever of good they may have said during the speech proper. A necessary preliminary step is to determine clearly just what great divisions of thought you will cover in the body of the speech. Until you become very expert and fully capable of changing plans in the midst of a talk, it is well to have your points fully planned. Your task is to treat Point A , Point B , and Point C ; these and no more. Do not attempt to deviate from or add to these points, but, having finished the task assigned, conclude briefly and sit down. It is evident that even if the conclusion is well thought out and the speech proper poorly planned, the uncertainty and rambling will take place. If, perchance, you do find yourself wandering and at a loss for further ideas, the safe thing to do is to pause, and then summarise . Even though you may not be able to make an application or appeal, the summary gives the sense of completion and is therefore an acceptable con^ elusion. Furthermore, it may have the effect of enabling you to collect yourself to make a peroration of the other types. Never sit down when in the midst of wandering or fragmentary remarks. Never say, with uncertainty, "Well, I guess that is about all I have to say," and sit down. Rather make a crisp, business-like summary. That at least gives the impi-ession of completeness and mastery. A student, whether or not he becomes a master of the poetic, tln-illiug ])er()ratioii and tlie appeal, must by all I THE CONCLUSION 101 means cultivate facility in terse and accurate summary. No other single asset is so valuable to the speaker, es- pecially to the speaker who has to reply to opponents or has to address popular gatherings. In debate, the sum- mary of what the antagonist has said is the logical foundation of an attack upon his position. No one can reply well unless he can analyze and summarize well. So, also, in making your ow^n independent speeches, sum- maries are necessary, not only at the end, but also to recapitulate throughout the body of the address. Assignment of Work 'i1i(' written exercises in this entire lesson sliould he carefully worked out. Keep copies of the writtcMi exer- cises in voiir notebook. First Ddj). — You have read through the lesson. Study it care- fully and test your mastery of its contents by answering the appended questions (page 103). Eead aloud many times and with the best effect possible all the conclusions quoted. Throw yourself into the situation and read the matter with enthusiasm. Second Day. — Clip out an editorial from a current newspaper or magazine. Analyze it, and tlien write the topics it treats, thus : A (giving the sense in a single sentence) . B. . . (using a similar topic .sentence). C Then develop it orally, adding an original summary of the ivliole. If you can make many analyses and summaries, the work will be of great benefit to you. Third Day. — Write perorations which take the ])roader and loftier viewpoint, assuming that the speech preceding it has proved. 1. Free public education has reduced crime. 102 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 2. Free public education has improved the economic effi- ciency of the masses. 3. Free public education has elevated the intellectual capacity of the nation. 4. Free public education has cultivated higher forms of appreciation and amusement. Make a similar topical outline or brief of any other sub- ject, and write out in full the kind of peroration designed. You should always develop your ideas orally several times before writing them out. Oral composition should always precede the written composition, especially when a man is training to become a speaker. Fourth Day. — Make a topical outline for the following speeches and write out an appeal in full. Follow directions given above for the third day. 1. To a church society, a speech requesting funds to establish free-milk stations for babies in the slums. 2. To the mine owners of Colorado, a speech asking them to arbitrate their differences with the miners. 3. To a large manufacturing board of directors, a recom- mendation to make a whirlwind, advertising campaign. ■1. To the superintendents of education, a speech advocating more vocational or trade schools. 5. A speech in the behalf of any cause in which you are interested. Work out other exercises on several similar topics. Fifth Day. — Take a long newspaper article reporting a law case, civil or criminal, and make a topical analysis. Then write out (a) a formal summary, (b) a crisp summary to re-enforce it, (c) an appeal for acquittal or conviction. It might be well for the student to memorize one or two of the peroratioiis given in this lesson. This is not intended to get liim in the habit of speaking from memory, but to give him permanent possession of one or two models and to give him the spirit of tlie peroration. TEST QUESTIONS These qm-stions are for the student to use in testing his knoAvU'djre of the principles in this lesson. They are si)(/f/e.stivc merely, dealing largely with the practical application of the principles, and are to be placed in the notebook for future reference. 1. Corax made his type plan to meet the needs of citizens who had to plead land-claim suits ; that is, in Sicily, when there was a dispute over the title of a piece of property, each citizen argued his own cause. Why do you think the arrangement Corax made was a good one for the purpose ? 2. Why is it better to divide the speech into three parts — introduction, body, and conclusion — than to enumerate five or eight separate parts? 3. Did you ever hear a speaker who made a fairly good speech but did not succeed in driving it home? What man do you know who does drive home his ideas most thoroughly? 4. Why should the conclusion be in the mind from the start? Why prepare the introduction last ? 5. Did you ever hear a long speech and find it impossible to remember the message of the speaker ? Would a summary have helped any? Why? 6. Why do you think a formal summary is more necessary in a legal plea than in a eulogy? When is the service of a formal summary indispensable ? When may it be omitted ? 7. What advantage has the crisp summary over the formal summary? What disadvantage? 8. Were you ever repelled by a speaker who was highly emotional at the very beginning? Were you ever "carried away " by an emotional burst at the end ? Why do you tolerate at the end what might be offensive at the beginning? 0. Why is it better to tell what you want the audience to do in an appeal at the end than to tell it in a statement in the beginning? 103 104 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 10. What is a good note of appeal to strike with most juries? Why do lawyers defending murder cases often demand a death sentence or acquittal, but not a compromise sentence for a period of years? 11. What is a good note of appeal to be used with gatherings of business men? 12. Do you think the poetical quotation at the end of Grady's "New South" strengthens or weakens the effect? 13. Were you ever stirred by a speaker but were h?ft with the feeling that while you would like to do something, you did not know just what to do? Why should most appeals be very definite ? 14. What is the effect on the speaker himself of uncertainty concerning the ending of a speech ? What effect does rambling have on an audience ? 15. Why is the summary an efficient means of stopping ram- bling ? LESSON 7 physical aspects of delivery 1. Introduction Thus far we have spoken about the mental side of speech-making: The clear thinking out of ideas, their arrangement in the most effective order, their proper introduction, their application and appeal — all these are matters of mental exercise. But now we must turn for a while to the physical side of the delivery of a speech. A cornetist might have the most wonderful melodies in his mind, but if he had no instrument and if his breath were insufficient to make it produce sound, other people would never get the benefit of his musical genius. The body with its lungs, vocal cords, and tongiie is the in- strument of the public speaker. Without a good control of the body, there can be no adequate expression of ideas by means of voice and gesture. Therefore, we shall consider the most important of those physical things which influence the effectiveness of a speaker. We do not intend to give minute directions about the way the finger should be pointed or the eyebrow raised. We are not concerned with the conscious control of de- tails of gesture or grimace. But we do face this situa- tion: Some men get out of breath when they speak; some become hoarse if they talk continuously for five or 105 106 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ten minutes; some sjjeak so poorly that they cannot be heard even in a small hall; some have their voices "break." All these are practical obstacles to efficiency. We must show the student how to overcome or avoid them. But besides these very obvious weaknesses of most untrained speakers, there are the less generally recog- nized deficiencies of unpleasant tone, jerky delivery due to poor breathing, and individual mannerisms. With these, also, we must deal. Fortunately, if the student will acquire a few simple habits of posture and breathing, most of tlio matters of voice range, quality, and ease will take care of them- selves. These habits are to speaking what normal liv- ing is to health. If one lives properly, he need never attend to his health, for it will take care of itself, and he need never consult a physician. So, also, the speaker who habitually stands well and breathes properly will unconsciously produce pleasant, strong tones and make graceful gestures. Furthermore, easy posture and cor- rect, deep breathing have a wonderful influence upon the mental calm and effectiveness of the speaker. We shall, then, devote this lesson to fundamental, physical consid- erations which have a far-reaching effect upon the mind and voice of the speaker. 2. Posture By posture, we mean the way the speaker stands — how he rests upon his feet, how he holds his trunk, or torso, and the attitude of his head and arms. There is a good posture which makes for efficiencv and there are PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 107 bad ones which interfore with delivery. The ideal pos- ture shouhl do two things: (1) It shoukl be the most comfortable position of rest from which the speaker may make the most direct, easy, and graceful movements when there is a natural impulse for him to do so; and (2) it should be the best position to foster the kind of breathing- which is most desirable for the public speaker. (a) The Position of the Feet The first and easiest thing to explain about posture is the disposition of the feet. They should be placed so as to support the body in easy balance, permitting the simplest change of position when the speaker moves about on the platform or shifts his weight in gesture. There are, of course, many different attitudes which a speaker may assume during an address. We shall de- scribe now the normal posture, or standard position, from which the speaker departs in assuming the others and with wdiich others are compared. Look at the outline picture of Demosthenes and note the position of the feet. Y^ou will see that the right foot is somewhat in advance of the left, thus bringing the right hand, with which most men usually make the most gestures, nearest the audience. (The Greek orator has that arm free of drapery so that its movements will be unhampered.) Neither foot points directly at the au- dience, though the right foot comes nearer to doing so than the left. If a line were drawn through the right foot and back to the left foot, it would pass through the left heel. The right foot is advanced so that the heel is about as far forward as the toe of the left. The accom- Figiiro 1 DEMOSTHENES Statup in tho Vatican Museum PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 109 panying diagram (Figure 2) shows the relative posi- tions of the two feet and indicates that they are turned at about an angle of 45 degrees. (b) The Weight of the Body It is from this normal position, as a point of de- parture, that the speaker changes during the progress of his speech. The feet having been so placed, the next problem is the determination of the disposition of the weight of the body. Look at the picture of Demos- thenes. It shows a man in the normal position at rest. You can imagine him just facing the Athenian audience waiting quietly until their applause of greeting sub- sides. His weight is almost entirely on the left foot and the right knee is somewhat bent. But when he straight- ens up to speak, the bend at the right knee will disap- pear ; the shoulders will be thrown back and the weight, though still more on the left foot than on the right, will be almost equally borne by both. This is the nornud position in action. With the feet in the normal position, the weight may be shifted so as to be almost wholly on the left foot, now equally on both, and again all on the right. While wait- ing, or in a retiring attitude, there is a normal tendency ^ rest easily on the back, or left, foot. In straightfor- 110 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ward, natural discourse, the weight is borne equally by both feet. With increased energy, the weight shifts more forward, and in very aggressive speech the weight is almost entirely on the forw^ard foot. In great anima- tion the speaker may even lean forward with the heel of the left foot well oif the floor. Yet the normal position for normal delivery calls for both feet placed firmly on the floor ; their positions in relation to eacli other should be as indicated in the diagram and the w^eight should be carried almost equally. The legs are straight and the body held upright. (c) Practice Assume the normal position at rest and as you say these words, straighten up in action as described in the paragraph above : ' ' Mr. President, I am pleased to ad- dress the House on the question of the freedom of the F'ilipinos." At this point, the weight is carried equally l)y both feet. As you continue, shift a little more weight to the right foot, saying, ''Where human liberty is to be gained, there will I always take my stand." Note that at rest, the body bends in somewhat at the waist and the left hip sinks. In action, the body is erect. In earnest address, it is more vigorously erect. Con- tinue your exercise by improvising a number of quiet openings which gradually change to more spirited ex- pression. In each case, start from (1) the somewhat subdued position of rest to (2) the easy balance of nor- mal action, and {?>) the more tense posture of animated delivery. The student should continue his exercises witli the view to securing easy balance in all positions and du- ring the shifting of weiglit. Tlirongliout tlie actual de- PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 111 livery of a real speech, one does not attend to these things; he either does them well or poorly, but he does not consciously direct his body. The exercises we sug- gest are to train the body so that it will take care of itself when the mind is engaged in the business of send- ing thoughts to the audience. Indeed, all mechanical exercises in connection with speech are to be forgotten during the delivery of the speech itself. It is hoped, however, that their effects will be evident in excellent performance. (d) The Posture of the Trunk We shall now consider the way the body from the waist up should be held. Again we take a normal, or standard, posture as the point of departure. We want a posture which will be manly and pleasing and which will facilitate good breathing. It is a well-known fact that clerks who sit hunched over a desk do not fill their lungs properly with air. Their posture prevents them from doing so. In order to get a full breath, the shoulders must be thrown back and the chest held high. Then, at the same time, there must be freedom at the waist so that a deep inlialation may be possible. It will be clear, before we end this lesson, that if the student can get the habit of standing with the shoulders held properly, the back hollow, stomach in, and chest up, he wHl be able to breathe in the proper, public-speaking style. No doubt you have seen in drug stores the braces which are advertised to '^make you breathe cor- rectly." This indeed they do, for they draw the shoul- ders back and force the body into the position just described. The exercises we shall give will also force you to breathe properly, because they will strengthen 112 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEi^ING the muscles which must work to enable you to hold the correct posture. It is better to strengthen the muscles than to wear a band or brace. (e) Exercise (a) Stand in a military position and bring the two fists together on the chest at the level of the shoulders. (Fig. 3.) The thumbs and fingers face the floor. The backs of the hands, the elbows, and the shoulders are all in a straight line. Figure 3 (b) Keeping the elbows steadily in position and using them for a center, describe a quarter-circle with the fists. The two thumbs face each other during the move- ment. Do it with strong tension and resistance all the time, so that the muscles feel the strain. (c) When the fists have reached the top of the curve, slowly twist them so that the thumbs turn away from the face and the backs of the two hands are opposite each other. Then continue the movement of the fists, describ- ing the rest of a full half-circle. The two arms PHYSICAL ASPECTS OP DELIVERY 113 are now fully extended at shoulder level with the thumbs down toward the floor. The strain is continued through- out. (d) Now gradually bring the two fists forward, at shoulder level, until they meet once more at the original position on the chest (Fig. 4). All this time bear down I Figure 4 '•— • strongly under the shoulder so that the greatest tension is felt under the shoulder blades. Maintain this position for a moment and notice that the chest has been raised by the strong action of the muscles of the back and shoulder. This is the West Point ' ' high-chest. ' ' (e) Now drop the hands lightly to the sides, but main- tain the chest posture by an effort under the shoulders and in the back. It will be noticed that the back is arched inwardly, or is hollow^, and the chest is high. This is ideal for a big lung capacity. Consequently, it is excellent for both health and public speaking. Repeat this exercise in your I'oom; do it often just before starting for a w^alk. Get the habit of holding 1]4 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING the chest up. While walking, remember to maintain the West Point chest. Even while sitting at the desk, main- tain it. When you bend forward, let it be from the hip, not from the ivaist. The line from the base of the back- bone to the neck should be kept a hollow curve ; never let the shoulders droop forward, the back bow out, and the chest cave in. If these directions are followed, you will cultivate the ideal posture of the upper body. (f) Flexibility While it is true that the chest must be held up, still the student must not allow this to influence him to be- come generally stiff and restrained in his movements. Do not draw the chin in stiffly or keep the arms in a muscular cramp. After taking the exercise just de- scribed and while still holding the chest well up, allow the head to roll limply from side to side. Then allow it to circle around, with the jaw relaxed and the chin dropped. Do this until you get the ability to hold the chest well and at the same time move the head and jaw with the utmost freedom. There must be no stiffness in the speaker's jaw or throat. Now do the same with the hands and arms. Keeping the chest up, loosely swing the arms back and forth. Then fling the hand out as in a greeting, saying, ''I welcome you to our country place." Then wave the hand to the side as though saying, "All these lands are open to you." In short, see to it that while the chest is kept high by the muscles under the shoulders and in the ])ack, the rest of the body is flexible and unrestrained. After a while, the pi'oper muscles wliich control the PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 115 chest posture will do their work without direction from the mind. That is the goal toward which constant ex- ercise and practice will lead. 3. Breathing It would not have been safe to give the student breath- ing exercises before he had mastered the correct posture of the chest, for breathing under incorrect posture con- ditions only fixes bad habits. It is unfortunate to give, as many works on elocution do, numerous exercises on the intake and outlet of air without first teaching pos- ture. This we avoid ; we urge the student to get posture as a necessary preliminary to correct breath control. Breathing to sustain life differs somewhat from breathing to supply the motor power for speaking. In the former case we are mostly interested in a deep inhalation to fill the lungs with oxygen and a quick expiration to get rid of the devitalized air. But, in speaking, we wish to regulate the expiration so as to use the air slowly as it passes out, in much the same way as steam is used to make an engine w^ork. Consequently, we shall study with care, not only the best way to get the greatest amount of air into the lungs, but also the way to regulate its emission so that it will most effi- ciently work to produce the sounds in speech. (a) Inhalation The lungs rest in the chest and are surrounded by the ribs in all directions save the bottom. Here they rest upon an extensive surface of muscle and tendon called the diaphragm. This flexible wall of muscle is like a 116 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING bowl turned upside down; and it separates the chest from the abdomen (Fig. 5). The size of the chest can be in- , ^ Figure 5 I — First rib. II — Second rib, etc. A — ^Voice box or larynx. B — Wind pipe or tracliea. C — Collar-bone. I) — Lungs. R — Breast-bone. V — Diaphragm. creased in two ways: (1) By raising the ribs so as to in- crease the upper girth, and (2) by flattening the dia- pliragm so as to increase the depth (Fig. 6). The exercises for posture suggested in the first part of this lesson are designed to raise the ribs and keep them raised. Tliis gives a steady magnitude in the girth PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 117 of the upper chest. Figure 6 indicates how the raising of the ribs accomplishes the desired object. It is im- portant to note the following points : 1. The bony framework of the chest should be stead- ily held up by the muscles behind the shoulders. It should not be raised by the inflation of the lungs. It should hardly move at all during speaking. 2. The great movement during speaking should be (a) (b) Figure 6 (a) Ribs and Spinal Column, sliowing 1st and Ttli ribs in position of relaxa- tion and in "high chest" position when drawn up by muscles of the bacli and shoulder. (b) Scheme showing the chest walls and diaphragm with air expelled and (dash outline) with a full breath; diaphragmatic, high chest combination. just below the point at which the ribs meet the breast- bone and on a level with the little, floating ribs. The 7novement is caused hy the rise and fall of the diaphragm. This second observation brings us to a discussion of the diaphragm. To appreciate its action for the first 118 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING time, it is best to lie fiat upon your bacli wlien you are undressed and ready to retire for tlie night. While thus reclining, the ribs, not being weighted down by the arms and their own bulk, easily assume the correct position of maximum girth. While lying on your back, place the hand just below the breast-bone and take a good, deep breath. Notice how that part of the body rises and falls with the breathing. The reason for this is that the diaphragm flattens so that its edges push out the lower ribs on the sides and the upper abdomen in the front. Feel the lower ribs on both sides wliile taking the breath. The great fault with most men is that they take too shallow a breath and do not work the diaphragm enough. Furthermore, they raise the shoulders and upper chest when taking a breath and let the chest fall flat when they exhale. Now stand upright with the hand on the center of the upper abdomen; concentrate the attention on that part of the body; hold the chest high and take a deep breath. Do this many times until you are able (1) to maintain a motionless high chest, and (2) to breathe by the action of the diaphragm. During actual speaking, one does not attend to his movements. Furthermore, there will be some slight activity of the upper chest. But try to keep a steady upper chest during exercises consciously done. (b) Exhalation You will have noticed that the intake of breath with central breathing as described above gives the sensation of increased effort in the region of the diaphragm. The deeper the breath, the stronger the sensation of tighten- PHYSICxVL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 119 ing. During exhalation, there should be a gradual re- laxation of that effort. To appreciate what is wanted, take a slow, deep breath, feeling the effect grow stronger and stronger. Then retain the air in the lungs by main- taining the effort at the diaphragm. {Do not hold in the air by constricting the throat. If there is any sensa- tion in the throat, your method is wrong.) Now sound S-5-5-.S-5 continuously and slowly by having the air pour out smoothly. It is released from the lungs by a slow and steady release of the muscular tension of the dia- phragm. There must he central control of emission and not throat control. It will be noticed at first that the air and the sound of s will come out in spurts. This is be- cause your control is not good. But constant practice will give you such control that you can let the air out at a sloiv and steady rate. It will also probably be noticed that after a certain amount of the air is out there is a tendency for all the rest to burst forth with a rush. That is because the control becomes more difficult as the diaphragm relaxes. , (c) Breathing Exercises to Increase Capacity 1. Stand in the normal posture, but with the palms of the two hands resting lightly on the upper chest. Breathe through the nostrils. Slowly inliale with the dia- phragmatic effort and gently pat the chest with the hands. This tends to force the air into partially unex- panded air cells. 2. Repeat exercise 1 and have someone else gently tap you all over the back. Do not hit hard, but rapidly and gently. • 120 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 3. Stand in tlie military position with the chest well up and the hands at the sides. Then as you slowly in- hale, raise the arms, fluttering the hands until the two backs meet over the head. As you slowly exhale, let the hands return to the original position at the side. These three exercises are excellent for one who has been standing in a poor posture and breathing incor- rectly with the result that a great manj^ of the little air cells of the lungs have remained undeveloped. The fol- lowing exercises should be used after those given above have been used for a few weeks. 4. Standing with the hands on the waist so that the fingers lie along the abdomen and the thumbs are in the hollow of the back, take a comfortable, full breath, ac- cording to the method just described. Then, by an effort of the diaphragm, draw in a little more and a little more air until the absolute limit is reached. Expel quickly through the nose. With this effort there must be no "sipping" or "packing" in the throat. There must indeed be no effort whatsoever at the throat; all the strain should be on the diaphragm as it is forced flatter and flatter and held so. (d) Breathing Exercises for Control of Emission 5. Take a full, though comfortable, breath as de- scribed. Then slowly and steadily count aloud, one, two, three, four, etc., so that all the sounds are firm and of equal force and clearness. They come at regular inter- vals. As you proceed, there is a gradual relaxation of the diaphragm, the steadiness and evenness of which determine the character of the sounds. Do not attempt I PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 121 long-distance records at first. Stop as soon as the sounds lack firmness and precision. 6. Kead aloud anything you may select; try to take as few breaths as possible, while maintaining a strong and pleasing tone. Regulate as noted in Exer- cise 5. (e) Comhinafion Breathing Exercise 7. Assume the standard posture of the trunk; breathe through the nostrils; (a) inhale slowly with diaphragmatic effort as you silently count off three sec- onds; (b) hold the breath by central (and not throat) effort for three seconds; (c) exhale slowly for three sec- onds; (d) rest for three seconds. Repeat this twelve- second cycle for about ten minutes. If difficulty is ex- perienced in keeping the three-second rest, leave it out at first. Then introduce a rest of one second, then two, then the full three seconds. The idea is to have regular, i-hythmic breathing. While taking this exercise, move the head about freely; also move the arms, for the whole body should be perfectly flexible and at ease, and in no wise hampered by the breathing. An excellent application of this exercise may be made during walking. Make each portion of the cycle four ])eats instead of three, for each step is likely to be quicker than a second interval. While walking, with the steps as the measure, do the cycle. Keep the arms swinging freely and let the head move as when looking about to observe surroundings. If you swing the Indian clubs or use dumb-bells, the breathing exercise can be performed during the regular and rhythmic moves of your gymnastics. But above all, use your walking time 122 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING to improve yonr breathing; this is the best way to get the iiecessaiy, constant practice. (f) Conditions for Breathing Exercises You may make as many combinations of the exercises given above as you please; you may also add different tricks of rapid or slow intake, explosive expulsion, sigh- ing, sobbing, and yawning. But observe the following conditions when taking the exercises: 1. Never exercise just before or just after a meal; disturbances of the digestive process may result. 2. Have the windows open or be out of doors. You ought to use only clean, fresh air. 3. Do not raise the shoulders, but maintain the steady, high chest. 4. Have perfect freedom at the waist and at the small ribs ; do not have clothes tight in this region. 5. All the breathing eiTort should be at the diaphragm not at the throat. 4. CoNCLUDixG Remarks Because these exercises are to be practiced carefully and every movement is to be regulated by the mind, it must not be thought that the speaker, while delivering his address, stands and breathes by rule. On the con- trary, all his physical acts should take care of themselves while he centers his attention upon the audience and his message. The most effective state a speaker can be in is one of earnestness, where he is driving straight onward toward his object without giving thought to the physical means PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 123 he is using. But, nevertheless, those medianical parts are the agencies tlirough which he readies the autlience, and tliey nmst be cultivated so that during the act of expression they will worthily represent the mind. Nature has beneficently provided that good habits of breathing and posture, once secured through training, will take care of themselves while the mind is engaged with ideas. Consequently, your effort in exercise will not be lost even though, during speech, you forget Jioiv you breathe or stand. You should not despise good form and depend solely upon ideas, for they cannot fully display themselves if the form is poor. A novice will do well to see carefully that his posture is good, at least at the beginning of a speech. After he is once started, let the form take care of itself. This it will do if the exercises have left their traces in habitual movements. In most cases, a good start will insure continued excel- lence. On the other hand, a poor start is likely to estab- lish an undesirable situation very difficult to overcome. If you begin by slouching or with the hands in the trousers pockets, you will find it difficult to change to a less offensive attitude. Do not play with a spoon, a _ glass, or a salt cellar on the table, or a book, or even a watch charm or a button on the coat. Assume the normal posture with the hands hanging easily and nat- urally at the sides. As the speech proceeds, there will be changes, but a good beginning helps toward making the later movements simple, unembarrassed, direct, and effective. Often one is a little nervous just before beginning to speak. It will usually be noticed that one of the symp- toms of this nervousness is high, shallow breathing and 124 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING consequent unpleasantness in the throat. The remedy is a few slow, deep, steady breaths of the diaphragmatic type. Indeed, a sj^eaker may always do well to take a few steady, deep breaths, not only as a means of having sufficient air to begin with, but also as a calmer. Even during the address, the speaker may notice that he is becoming nervous, that his breath is shallow^ and his rate too fast. The corrective is to pause, breathe low, and then proceed more deliberately, even attend- ing consciously for a time to the deep, diaphragmatic breathing. Certainly this course nuist be pursued if the speaker feels his voice weakening or about to *' crack." This matter of breathing and posture is most impor- tant. It is at the very foundation of physical efficiency. Actors have ruined plays by bad breathing; ministers have driven people from their churches by bad breath- ing; political campaigns have been lost by the bad breathing of candidates; and thousands of voices have been ruined by the same pernicious evil. We urge most emphatically, therefore, that the student make his body fit to carry out the orders of his mind. Only through a harmonious development of the mind and body can the highest efficiency be attained. Assignment of AVork Tlip written ■xcrciscs in this (Mitirt lesson shoi Id be carefully worke 1 out. KtH' ) nip cs of tlie written exer- ciscs in voiii' n( tfhook. First Da!j. — You have n-ad tlu> lesson. Now read it more slowly, performing all the exei-cises once, according to direc- tion. Tlien read it a tliird lime so as to get a coherent grasp of the \vlio](> h'S.son. I PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 125 Second Day. — Exercise with the position of the feet. Although this day is especially devoted to the position of the feet, keep the correct trunk posture. Take the speech on page 2(3, Lesson 2. Assume the normal posture of the feet and read with animation. Note tliat the weight tends to swing for- ward on the words, "The supreme need of the hour is * * * ." Read this whole speech, holding the book in the left hand and gesticulating as freely as you please with the right. Do this before the mirror. Notice the constant shifting of the weight. Do the same thing with the Garfield speech, on pages 33-37, Lesson 3. Third Day. — Do the exercise for trunk posture (page 112). Add the following: Stand in an open doorwaj^ with the hands shoulder-high against the two sides, keep both feet together; now fall forward, bending at the ankles, until the shoulders are further forward than the hands ; then, by push- ing with the hands, come back to the original position. Take any other exercises designed to draw the shoulders back and consequently to raise the chest. Standing in the normal, or standard, position, and with the back well arched, develop orally an outline or two, such as those suggested on page 12, Lesson 1. Prepare and organize your thoughts carefully before trying to amplify them orally. Never undertake to speak unless you have your matter well prepared. Fourth Day. — Do all seven of the breathing exercises carefully. Try speaking aloud, first with shallow breathing and then with the approved kind. Note the difference in the sound of the voice. Note also the difference in sensation. Carefully regulating your breathing, recite a passage j-ou have memorized — the Webster or the Clay peroration, page 93 and page 99, respectively, of Lesson 6. Read all the conclud- ing passages of Lesson 6, holding the book in the left hand and gesticulating freely as you will with the right. Carefully regulate the breathing. Fifth Day. — Plan an entire speech with introduction, body, and conclusion. The following topics are offered as suggestions: (1) The rise of Japan. 126 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING (2) Private Ownership of Laud. (3) The Practieal Results of Social Legislatiou. (4) Base Ball, the National Sport. (5) The Right to Inherit Wealth. Do not make more than three main points in the body of the speech. While delivering the speech orally, observe your breathing. This is for practice and instruction. When ad- dressing a real audience, pay no attention to your breathing unless you get into trouble, then use correct breathing as a remedy. TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for the student to use in testing his knowledj^e of tlie piiiiciples in this lesson. They are siigfiestife merely, dealing largely' with the practical application of the principles, and are to be placed in the notebook for future leference. 1. AVhy should a speaker exercise so as to iini:)rove his posture and breathing! 2. If a man has good ideas and is in earnest, does it nuike any difference in his effectiveness as a speaker if he stands awk- wardly and breathes poorly? 3. Have you ever observed a speaker whose voice was weak and unpleasant to listen to ? How did it affect yon in listening to his ideas? 4. The next time you hear such a speaker, watch him closely and see if there is anything the matter with his trunk posture or liis breathing. Do his shoulders rise and fall during his speak- ing? Is he hunched over? 5. Did you ever observe the curve or line of the back of an opera singer? Do singers who make full, carrying tones slouch, or do the}^ stand erect with chest high? Have you noted the place of greatest movement when they breathe? Observe the men rather than the women, for the dress of the latter interferes with their movements during breathing. How does a speaker compare with a singer in the matter of producing sounds ? 6. When you take your breathing exercise, do you become dizzy ? If you do, rest a moment or even slap the cheeks lightly and the dizziness will cease. As you progress, this symptom will disappear. 7. Does the deep breathing make you a bit tired? It will if you have been breathing incorrectly hitherto. Practice will strengthen the muscles inVolv(Ml and they will work without weariness. 127 128 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 8. What are the two ways of increasing capacity mentioned in the lessons"/ 9. Why would it be bad to take breathing lessons to increase capacity and control if the posture were poor? 10. Someone said of a great speaker, "He owes his success to liis diaphragm." What does that mean? Could it be true? Why? 11. Do you stand correctly? Practice the exercise given for tlie second day and the exercise given on page 110, over and over again. Do they help ? 12. Which breathing exercises do you find most helpful? 13. What is the normal position ? 14. Who was Demosthenes? AYhat are some of his famous orations ? 15. What is the value of a "good start"? How can you over- come nervousness? LESSON 8 SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY While the mechanical requirements of correct posture and breathing must be met, there are also certain sub- jective attributes which are essential to effective de- livery. To insure success with audiences, attractive personal qualities must exist in the speaker. These qualities re-enforce the message itself, they add to its weight, or they make its acceptance more agroealjle. Because, of deficiency in these subjective attributes, many a keen thinker is listened to stolidly, if not defi- antl}^, and his fairest conclusions only grudgingly granted. Yet, on the other hand, there are speakers with whom audiences are glad to agree so long as their ideas have the barest plausibility. Evidently something in the speaker either helps or hinders the most favor- able acceptance of his w^ords by the audience. It is the purpose of this lesson to outline the inner or subjective trnits which make for efficiency and suggest methods of cultivating them in the speaker. 1. Personality \ The broadest term we can use to designate the sub- jective elements of charm, power, and attractiveness of a speaker is personality. It sums up those genernl, ])er- manent attributes which show through all his transitory words and deeds. If that underlying, permanent self 129 130 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING appeals to us, we say that the man has a good person- ality. Naturally all do not have the same taste in this matter and a man may seem pleasant to one person and be colorless or even repulsive to another. Indeed, as widely as individuals differ, just so wide is the diver- gence in response to personality. Yet there are certain attributes which are quite universally looked upon as positive elements in a good personality. Let us enu- merate some of these features which are especially sought for in a speaker. (a) Magnetism The term magnetism is often used instead of good personality. It is peculiarly applicable to successful speakers and directs attention not so much to what is the source of the man's power as to the effect it has upon others. By magnetism we mean a composite of personal attributes which draws people to the speaker and tends to incline them to sympathize with or rally around him. An old gentleman once recounted to the writer the fol- lowing incident in the life of Henry Ward Beecher. The gentleman was from the British West Indies and was visiting New York, just before the Civil War. All his sympathies were with the South on the slavery ques- tion and he could not understand why people like Beecher should agitate for abolition. Yet, out of curi- osity, he went one Sunday to the Broadway Tabernacle to hear Beecher speak on slavery. In those days, such special lectures were advertised by hand sticko-s or posters slapped up against telegraph poles and walls. On this occasion the announcement said, ** Henry Ward Beecher will speak on Slavery, at the Broadway Taber- SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 131 iiacle, " etc., etc. Tliere was in New York at that time a volunteer fire company made up of ruffians who would now be called election repeaters and strong-arm men. It was led by a great bully and corrupt politician — let us call him John Doe. The posters had not been up long before there appeared, under the announcement that Beecher would speak, the words, "Like Hell he will. — John Doe." Consequently, those who attended the lecture came expecting trouble and possibly blood- shed. The gentleman from the West Indies was in the front of the gallery. As he looked down, he saw there on the ground floor, filling all the seats back from the stage one-third into the house, a great number of the red-shirted, volunteer firemen-ruffians. The leader stood in front cursing and threatening in violent language what he would do to Beecher. At the appointed time, Beecher suddenly ascended the steps of the platform and began to speak. There was a pause in the uproar and then dead silence. Even John Doe and his follow- ers were hushed. In that, moment Beecher became master. The stranger in the gallery afterward said, ''If that red-shirted devil had dared to stir a finger to harm Henry Ward Beecher, I'd have jumped down on his neck and killed him." Others must have felt tlie same way; even the would-be rioters were subdued by the spiritual power of the speaker. This was a victory of character, personality, and magnetism, quite inde- pendent of ivhat Beecher said. Possibly we do not often get such a dramatic proof of the power of magnetism, but we have all experienced the force which some men display in manner, attitude, and presence — external signs of something permanent and admirable within. Others, less fortunate, have to con- 132 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING tend not only with the audience but also against their own unfortunate selves. Before enumerating some of the foremost elements of a good personality or magnet- ism, we may note two things: First, magnetism is purely subjective — it resides in the speaker irrespective of what he is saying at a given time ; second, it seems to have a twofold source — mental and physical. We shall list mental traits first. 1. Friendliness is the first attribute of a magnetic speaker. His attitude toward those he addresses is one of trustfulness. He approaches with a coiifiding air; he treats them as friends. The opposites of this are coldness, arrogance, superiority, and distrust. It is well known that every speech occasion is made by the audience as well as the speaker. He contributes to the situation, but so do they. What they add depends greatly upon the friendliness he displays. If they feel his cordiality, they will respond and the very atmos- phere will vibrate with stimulating good feeling between the two. The young speaker must not get the notion that he can easily pretend to be friendly, that he can smile and assume an agreeable air when delivering a particular speech. All this may help, but the real spirit of uni- versal friendliness must be a permanent part of his char- acter. If such is not the case, isolated pretenses of friendliness are apt to be patronizing performances which repel by their conscious condescension. Now the question arises, how can one develop this trait if it is wanting or weak? At all times, the speaker must be friendly in thought and act. His daily intercourse with all people must be frank, cordial, and interested. He must converse with SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 133 the deck hand on the ferry boat, the conductor on the car, and all classes of men. He must speak to them about their affairs, their interests, and their views. In a sim- ple and straightforward way, he must mingle with all and enjoy the contact. Examine yourself well and see if there is any shrink- ing from your fellows, any awkwardness, any aloofness. If it exists, set about to eradicate it; cultivate acquain- tances, and make many friends. At least try to be friendly; let your attitude be one of welcome and good will. 2. Sympatliy is not identical with friendliness, though it may be a consequent. We know many good-natured, friendly people who never have any insight into our feel- ings and wdio never understand us. They mean well, but they have no penetration or understanding. The word sympathy means to feel with another. A sympathetic person is able to sense a situation, to enter into the feel- ings of others, to appreciate their attitudes. One reason why a great many well-meaning men can never become successful speakers is that they are unable to get the other fellow's point of view or to apprehend his joys and pains. Edward Rowland Sill expressed it very well in his Fool's Prayer when he said: These clurasy feet, still in the mire, Go crushing blossoms without end ; These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust Among the heart-strings of a friend. The ill-timed truth we might have kept — Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung ? The word we had not sense to say — Who knows how grandly it had rung? 134 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING The speaker must know, through sympathy, just where the heart is sore and just what is the word to cheer. One false step here may estrange individuals and whole audiences to such an extent that nothing can possibly be said to win their trust and support. In political and social (economic) speeches, the matter of sympathy with the hearers is very important. No headway can be made when the apparently strange point of view of the other fellow is not seen and under- stood. Those who are well fixed with the world's goods, speaking from pulpit and political platform, often fail utterly to understand the dissatisfaction and bitterness of the poor ; nor can they sympathize with the hot, blind revolt against economic oppression and social inequality. They are incapable of knowing the hearts they seek to win. So, also, the rule works the other way. Often labor agitators and social reformers, who seek perfectly reasonable and laudable ends, fail when addressing a cultivated audience because they are unable to sympa- thize with the point of view which the ''upper half" holds. It will not do to say, "Their view is wrong; I'll have none of it." If the object is frankly to antagonize and win through crushing force, very well; but few movements can win through sheer, crushing, brute force. Even though a speaker cannot approve the ideas, atti- tudes, and feelings of his audience, he must be able to put himself sympathetically in their place and work around to new ideals, with that place as the starting point. A good father understands the impulses of his wayward boy ; it is that very thing which enables him to deal effectively with his son. Sympathy comes only from wide experience and the *'rul)bing against" one's fellow-men. But even this is SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 135 not enough; the student must forget himself for a time and take an interest in the affairs of people apart from his own, narrow interests. The best practical way to get into this sympathetic relation with others is to do them servi ces a nd sho w t heiii kindne sses. It is not merely a piece of goody-goody advice to say to the oratorical aspirant, "Forget yourself and become ab- sorbed in acts of kindness"; for it is only through that sort of intercourse that the heart of mankind becomes as an open book. It is a wonderfully interesting book which tells much to eyes sometimes blinded by tears, sometimes hardened by glimpses of depravity, but far, far more often lighted up by a thrilling insight into unexpected, fundamental^ nobility. It is difficult to say where sympathy does the speaker the greater service — in the intelligent search for truth or in the skilful imparting of it after it is found. Through it, his understanding of all things is broadened and deepened ; through it he makes it most acceptable to the audience which he understands and knows how to handle. Again, let us give the warning that pretense will not do; neither can it be worked up for special occasions. Each address shows it as an individual exhibition of a broad and permanent part of the speaker's character. That character is built up day by day, hour by hour, while speaking in public, in private conversation, during personal observation and even in the silence of meditation. To speak this way of sympathy as an essential part of a speaker's character does not imply that all speeches should be mild in tone and of a gentle, pleading kind. It does mean that the sympathetic speaker senses the 136 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ♦ tone which will be most effective; he gets in touch with the prevailing condition of the audience-mind. If some thing must be vigorously denounced, by all means let the speaker be vehement in his righteous indignation. But let him not denounce what the audience is unpre- pared to hear treated in that manner. Sympathy will tell him where he must get them before opening the attack. 3. Earnestness is next to be considered. In a sense, it balances frieiidttness and sympathy, for while they tend to make a man considerate, this characteristic drives him right onward, sometimes even rough-shod, to his object. Earnestness may be called the impelling or motive force within the speaker which arises because of his interest in the audience, his theme, or some object he expects to accomplish. No man can be in earnest who does not believe what he says or who is indifferent to its effect upon his hearers. When the trait does exist, it is of considerable weight, for earnestness covers a multitude of the sins of bad delivery and poor arrangement. The road to earnestness is honesty. Say only what you truly believe and say it for reasons which strongly commend themselves to your judgment. Never speak merely for the sake of saying something, but arise when you have a real object before you and when you are sure you have matter which is worthy of utterance and likely to accomplish that object. In Lesson 8, we spoke of sincerity as one of the qual- ities of a speaker which, during tlie opening remarks, win the good will of the audience. Sincerity and earnest- ness are closely related and often go together. In fact, sustained earnestness — intensitv of conviction and force SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OP DELIVERY 137 of expression — usually imply the existence of sincerity. But earnestness is the broader term; it connotes not only honest, straightforwardness but also steady, eager, persistent etfort in the desired direction. Be earnest in your research, earnest in your attention to plan and organization, and above all, be earnest in your delivery. This last will be most natural if the others exist first. In short, keep your object before you from the very beginning and strive toward it with all your might. 4. Cansd£jtw^_is a potent influence on personality. We do not expect to treat it exhaustively here. But this much can be said : If a man is advocating a cause which is not approved by his conscience, his power w^ith an audience is greatly reduced. Two classes of persons make out successful cases — those of great virtue and clear conscience and those immoral beings with no con- sciences at all. But fortunately for the world, there are very few^ of the latter. Most men, even wicked ones, have consciences which can be abused. This matter of conscience is not only a thing directly connected with the object of a particular speech; it has a wider bearing. We need not argue to prove that a man is handicapped when he tries to present to an audi- ence a case which he knows is false or "queer." But we do wish to state a less obvious truth, namely, that a man whose conscience is gnawing at him for any reason whatsoever is thereby less capable to treat effectively any subject, whether or not it is related to the thing- bothering his conscience. For this inner embarrassment interferes with his frank relations with men. He has something to conceal, he is on the defensive, his air is evasive. Meditation on this subject makes us realize the deep significance of the statement concerning Sir Galahad 138 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING — that his strength was of a hundred men because his heart was pure. Let no man try to move others while his conscience is reminding him of his unfitness. 5. Physical Wcll-Being obviously augments magnet- ism. Since speaking, in one way, is a physical feat, a sound constitution is a necessary aid. The speaker's lungs must be well developed, his throat and vocal ap- paratus in good condition. We have already considered the matters of posture and breathing; later we shall give the general hygiene or health rules for a speaker. But good health also has a psychological effect upon audience and speaker. Men are drawn to the speaker who is physically vigorous and in good tone. He need not be exceedingly large (though that sometimes helps) but the appearance of fitness attracts others. The greatest influence that good health has is upon the mind of the speaker himself. It makes him think clearly and act with sureness and confidence. When the physical tone is low, one becomes timid, querulous, uncertain of himself. Physical well-being is the founda- tion of mental balance. 6. Other Less General Contributions to Personality Are to he Desired. While all men can cultivate to a high degree, friendliness, sympathy, earnestness, con- science, and physical fitness, by much the same methods, tliere are other magnetic traits which are more individual or particular. Among these are wit, humor, resourceful- ness, breadth of information, and individual charms and specialties. Here we can give no definite directions for their cultivation though we fully recognize the power of individuality. Later we shall me it this topic again. But even at this point of development, the student may profit by one hint: Whatever is lacking in individual magnet- SUBJECTIVE ASI'ECTS OF DELIVERY 139 ism may be fostered and whatever exists to a small extent, ^^•ill be augmented by much practice in actual speech-making. To enlarge your individual powers, practice. 2. Confidence Whatever the general personality or magnetism of a speaker may be, he must have confidence during the actual delivery of a particular address. By confidence we do not mean self-control, for one who is carried away by his passions and loses his temper may be a man with a great deal of confidence though of very little self- control. We do mean by confidence a trait which en- ables us to be natural — to be ourselves. One has con- fidence when he has no fear or hesitancy when facing an audience and delivering a speech. He may do poorly, l)ut if he is confident, his shortcomings are due to his limitations as a thinker, a speaker, and a man, and not to a temporary apprehension or fear. Confidence, then, is a steadying trust in self, ease of mind, freedom from fear, and an assurance that all will be well. The opposites of confidence are trepidation, fear, panic, and nervousness. Let us suppose that a great banker knows more about currency and banlving prob- lems than any other man in the country. He is the master mind in the field of finance. But all his life he has been confined to his business and has never ad- dressed large audiences. Suddenly he is called upon to outline his plan for baulking reform before the legisla- ture. Of what use is his great stock of knowledge to him at this juncture, if the unusual situation of making a speech to senators and congressmen throws him into 140 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING a panic? A better showing might be made and more good accomplished by a professional speaker who had crammed enough information to meet the immediate needs of the occasion. Confidence, an ease which en- ables us to use our powers to the full, is fundamental to efficient speaking. (a) Confidence — A Tiling to Be Preserved, not to Be Acquired Confidence is not so much a positive virtue as the absence of weakness. Confidence is normal and lack of it is abnormal. As a rule, men going about their regu- lar business in life do so with confidence ; it is the unusual or exceptional thing which suddenly robs them of it. How, then, shall we preserve our usual equanimity, even under the stress of public address? Our jjroblem is not to create a new characteristic, but to prevent our losing a good trait when making a speech. Let us therefore see what are the things which pull our ease and complacency from under us so that we fail, through embarrassment. The undertaking of something which is strange or new, especially in the presence of others, tends to de- stroy confidence. The uncertainty or newness of the activity is the basic reason for loss of confidence, and the presence of others is an additional aggravating or embarrassing circumstance. School teachers who con- duct their classes with the calm of a postmistress lick- ing a postage stamp, report that they trembled with" timidity the first time they faced a room full of pupils. But repeating the performance made it commonplace jind usual. The first safeguai'd against a loss of con- SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OB^ DELIVERY 141 fidence is much speaking in public. Begin modestly and join in all the discussions of any club, order, or society to which you may belong. Gradually lengthen your contributions to discussion or debate, until the thing becomes ordinary or usual. This matter of newness or strangeness is the stumbling-block of inexperienced speakers. (h) Preparation and Confidence The second destroyer of confidence is the knowledge on the part of the speaker that he is poorly prepared. This is the AVaterloo of the experienced speaker. Often one who has had much practice as a speaker and who has been successful attempts to speak impromptu on subjects not properly mastered. Sometimes he makes a strong beginning, but as he realizes that his material is poor in quality and unorganized in arrangement, he begins to flounder and his confidence leaves him. With this, his panic increases and, unless he wisely cuts the address short, he gets deeper and deeper into trouble, making a most unfavorable exhibition of himself. It naturally follows therefore that one should have ample material well mastered not only as to content but also as to arrangement. The ideas must be so thoroughly mastered that the speaker will never be seized with the apprehension that possibly he might be at a loss for something to say. The greatest fear of the good speaker is that he will be on his feet, before the audience, with nothing to say. Yet it is the difficulty most easily pro- vided against. Follow the simple rule "Never attempt to speak impromptu at any length." If the speech be written out and read, the preparation should be so thor- 142 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING ough that the speaker has no fear that he will stumble in the reading. If it be written and committed to mem- ory, the memorizing should be perfect. If it be pre- pared in thought but extemporaneous in form (as most of the best speeches are), it should be thoroughly pre- pared. It is to this last kind of preparation that we pay most attention, for this is the style of address most useful to the average man of affairs. (c) Rules for the Preservation of Confidence From the two principles of confidence through fa- miliarity and confidence through preparation we get the following practical rules : 1. Set yourself a definite task for each speech. 2. Have the task simple enough so that it is not beyond a speaker at your stage of development. 3. Have it thoroughly planned and mastered. 4. Do not be tempted to go beyond tlie ])lan. 5. Sit down when through. 6. Do ALL OF THESE VERY OFTEN. (d) Auto-Suggestion and Confidence* It has been said by some who ought to know about confidence (for they are in a sense, confidence men) tliat it should be developed by a process of self-suggestion — a sort of auto-hypnotism. Their practical direction is that the speaker say to himself each day, words to this effect: '^I am a powerful thinker; my ideas are pro- found and I grow greater every day. I see myself sway- ing audiences; I believe and know I am a convincing speaker; the others believe it, too." SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 143 The principle is true, but the suggestious are uot the best. To a certain extent we grow into what we suggest to ourselves we ought to be. It is also true that a good opinion of one's^^^f soiiietinies fosters a like opinion in others. Usuall}^ when it is empty conceit it has an opposite effect. Therefore it is foolish to persuade your- self that you are profound and eloquent when you are not. Suppose a little peanut-head of an individual were to succeed in convincing himself that he is a master mind. Having no real attainments, he becomes an in- sufferable pest because of his empty cockiness. It is true, that if we face audiences with fear and uncertainty, we are defeated before the battle begins. It is also true that one who constantly depreciates him- self will lose in impressiveness. But on the other hand, our suggestions should be based on real merit and be calculated to build up constantly not only confidence but a just ground for it. Woe unto him of inflated con- fidence when he gets before an audience and discovers that he has nothing to deliver. Consequently we rec- ommend that one do not suggest to himself that, in gen- eral, he is a person of much weight; but rather that he suggest,* before each specific task, that he is well pre- pared and thoroughly fit to carry it out successfully. The statements to be reiterated may be: 1. I have thoroughly prepared this matter. 2. I possess fully tested evidence that my ideas are sound. 3. They are worth standing up for. 4. I will deliver them as prepared and then sit down. 5. Thus, certain of my thoroughly prepared and care- fully arranged matter, I cannot fail; the audience will agree with me. 144 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING If this be done each time any task is undertaken, gen- eral confidence, resting on a sure foundation, will be steadily built up. 3. Self- Control A lack of self-control is the besetting sin of very vigorous and enthusiastic speakers. These men often work themselves up to a state of such excitement that they (a) exaggerate, (b) say things they had not planned or wanted to say, (c) forget to say what they wanted to say, and (d) display feelings which they should have restrained. Any newspaper reporter will tell you how general is the fault of poor self-control. Public men, because of it, make speeches for which thej are sorry and sometimes, we regret to state, they brand a true report of such an address as a lie. Newspapers are blamed for ''misstatements" which in reality are the true records of utterances made without self-control. The most general precaution to insure self-control is careful planning. The tendency is to adhere to a well- made plan, while lack of preparation encourages the pursuit of any chance fancy. Yet one may have the opportunity to modify a plan successfully because of some circumstance which emerges during the delivery of the speech. If, in embracing such an opportunity, or if the speaker realizes that, for any other cause, he is not having himself well in hand, then a remedy must be found. The best retreat ^vhen self-control is beginning to slip away, is to pause, go slowly, and cast about for a means of retui'ning to the safe phm or of terminating the speech SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 145 gracefully. Imitate the tortoise. When in troubl(>, he stops, draws into his shell, and then goes ahead slowl}'. 4. Tact Read once more the little extract about tact on ])age 10 of Lesson 1. It says that tact is not a sixth sense, but the life of all five. A tactful person sees little things hidden from others, he hears unspoken opinions, he senses a situation. Volumes could be written on this subject. AVe have time for but three brief remarks. (a) Tact comes from much contact with other people. This intercourse must be wide and intimate so that their multitudinous peculiarities are impressed — sometimes even without the student's being aware of it. Tact is developed through mistakes. If one is pricked by an- other's resentment, the lesson teaches him to avoid that line of communication. The tact of a speaker is but a complex combination attained after much intercourse with individuals and many appearances before audiences. (b) In speaking, tact is usually more a matter of know- ing what not to say than what to say. People offend, generally, when they grow expansive and over-amplify. Sometimes a speaker will try to cram down the throats of his audience what his judg-ment tells him they will not tolerate. This is a great mistake. It is far better to leave a thought unsaid than to say it when it is sure to have a bad effect. Of course one cannot be instructed in the details of tact, but a speaker will be working in the right direction if he inclines to the side of brevity ratlier than verl)osity. (c) Tact is a general development which can be at- tained through the cultivation of all the virtues men- 146 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING tioned in this lesson and through constant contact with all sorts of people in all sorts of gatherings. 5. Conclusion Character, personality, tact — in fact all virtues which make for social (and that means oratorical) success are the general results of many particular victories. No one can have a pleasant disposition who has not thought many pleasant thoughts and done many kind acts. Masterful confidence is the result of a multitude of small tasks successfully planned and carried out. General earnestness grows out of interest in a number of worthy objects. Therefore we suggest that each evening the speaker set aside a "time for reflection" when he can quietly review the details of the day's affairs. At such a time he may take stock of Inmself, asking: Reflection Hour 1. Did I make a new friend today! 2. Did I let pass an opportunity to make a friend ! (a) If so, why! (b) Did pride stand in the way! (c) Did selfishness! (d) Did bashfulness! (e) Did fear or cowardice! (f) Did any bitterness or inner embarrassment! (g) Then, what did? 3. Did I niako, oi- lei sli]), a chance acquaintance! 4. Did I do anything to mak(» some one happier! 5. Did I let slip such an opportunity? Why? (). Did anvone coufide in me today ! SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS OF DELIVERY 147 7. Did I offend anyone today I (a) If so, was it necessary! (b) Did it serve any good purpose! (c) Did I lose personally by itf (d) What difference did it make in my temporary mental quiet, in my general disposition, in my actions! (e) Did it, even for a time, make me less efficient in the performance of some duty or less pleasant to others with whom I had no quarrel whatsoever! 8. Did I learn something new today that I can "pass on" to others or that will increase my efficiency! (a) AVhat from a book! (b) What from the speech of others! (c) What from personal observation! 9. Did I do or say something I cannot thoroughly ap- prove! Something wiiich hurt someone? Is this becoming habitual! 10. Is there something undone or unsaid which I ought to have done or said or can yet do or say! Note. — (Do it now, if possible; if not, make a memo- randum which will be followed at the proper time.) Assignment of Work The written exercises in this entire lesson should be carefully worked out. Koep copies of the written exer- cises in your notebook. First Day. — You have read through the lesson. Now study it again carefully, niasteriug its contents. Do not attempt any of the exercises until after the second reading. ^Second Day. — Select for a speech with at least three sub-topics, one of the following subjects : 148 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 1. Tiie Federal Government should (or should not) regulate "big business." 2. President Wilson is (or is not) right in his contention that the slackness in business is psychological. 3. Workmen should (or should not) be compensated b}^ so- ciet}^ according to their needs rather than their esti- mated productivity. 4. The denial of the right of women to vote is in accordance with (or counter to) the provisions of the Constitution. 5. Some other subject in which you are interested. Devote this day to careful reading and note-taking on the subject. Third Day. — Further reading and note-taking. Whenever using material not your own, be sure to label all material with author's name and the place where found. Fourth Day. — "Slake a plan of your proposed speech. Work it out very carefully, using in the most effective way all your personal knowledge and all the material you gathered. Fifth Day. — Apply the list of rules on page 142 and statements on page 143. Then commit your outline to memory and orally develop your speech. Keep a list of all the sources of information you consulted. Final Word From now on, keep the precautions on page 142 always in mind when working on a speech. Go over the list of assertions on page 143 every day in connection with a speech or other task yon had to perform. Every evening indulge in the Eeflection Hour outlined on page 146. TEST QUESTIONS Those questions are for the student to use in testing his knnwletige of the principles in tliis h'sson. 'J'hey iire siun/csfirc nu-rely, dealinji laroely with the practical application of the principles, and are to be placed in the notebook for future reference. 1. What do we mean by a good personality? What is mag- netism ? 2. Have you ever liad dealings with a man against whom you had ])een prejudiced, but who won your respect? Can you tell just what there was about him which impressed you? 3. What advantages could you gain as a speaker through friendliness? What advantages in your usual lousiness? Coidd you lose anything? 4. Is sympathy a sign of weakness or of strength ? What can a speaker gain in preparing his matter through his ability to sympathize? How does it help his delivery? 5. What do you mean by earnestness? How does it differ from forwardness ? Is it ever apt to lead to forwardness ? 6. Have you ever had something on your conscience which affected your thoughts on other topics, the tone of your voice, and your attitude to individuals and groups? 7. Which is more important, intellectual equipment or physical well-being? Are they related at all? Why should a speaker be in especially good physical condition? 8. What is the difference between confidence and conceit? Why do you dislike a conceited man? Why do you approve a confident man? 9. Why must general self-reliance and confidence be sought through particular, small deeds? 10. What are the two surest precautions to secure con- fidence ? 149 150 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 11. Is it well to lie to other people ? Is it well to lie to your- self about yourself? What kind of auto-suggestion is best to help build up confidence? 12. Who is the most tactful person you know ? What seems to be the secret of that person 's success ? 13. What do you think of the possible benefit to be reaped from our Reflection Hour questions? 1-4. On the basis of 100 per cent for a "perfect" personality, what would you grade yourself? Your best chum? Your boss? A number of friends ? 15. What percentage in your good i)ersonality scale Avoiild you give for perfection in the following lines : Tact? Physical Weil-Being? Magnetism? Wit? Friendliness ? Education ? Sympathy ? Resourcefulness ? Earnestness? Self Control? Confidence ? What others would you add? 16. What are the rules given for the preservation of confi- dence ? 17. What is the value of auto-suggestion? 18. Could you build up a "Reflection Hour" along the lines of "personal efficiency" and daily work? u LESSON 9 IMAGES AND THE MIND OF THE AUDIENCE In our first six lessons, we assumed that the speaker had a purpose to accomplish through the delivery of a mass of material, referred to as the message. Those lessons were designed to indicate an effective way to adjust the message as a whole to the mental condition of the hearer. The principal means suggested was a judicious organization of the main subdivisions of the speech. But details of treatment, such as the choice and arrangement of words, the description of scenes, the narration of events, or the use of evidence in argu- ment — all these were subordinated and, for a time, neg- lected in order to focus attention upon the larger mat- ters of planning. We shall now take up the study of the details of speech composition. 1. Word-Painting, or the Representation of Images (a) Images and Important Detail of the Organized Whole This does not mean that we are to set aside and for- get the general principles of larger organization. The perfection of a student in his treatment of details must not be at the expense of good general planning. If the structure of a whole speech is poor but some detail of description is beautifully worked out, the effect is ridicu- lous because a part attracts more attention than the whole. Good organization i nsures tha t each detail used in JJie_.de.Yelapinent_wilLJie_gi^:fiii_its just emphasis or . JTnpnrt flTicp — no more and no less. 151 152 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Another good reason for keeping the principles of gen- eral arrangement in mind is that they are useful guides even in the treatment of details. For instance, just as a favorable emotional set may be needed to pave the way for an entire address, so also it is often desirable to pre- pare the audience in a similar manner for the reception of a particular incident. While interest and attention must be secured in relation to the whole message, like attitudes must always be maintained if a detail is to make its own impression. Furthermore, it is almost as important to plan the arrangement of minor descrip- tions and to fit their new thoughts to the intellectual capacity of the auditors as to make similar precautions for the oration as a whole. Indeed, the same principles are applied. The principles of favorable emotional set, attention, interest, adjustment to previous knowledge, and sequence of parts are so universal that they apply first to the general plan, then to each division, and doAvn to the smallest subdivision. When we speak of the details which make up or com- pose a message, we mean the smallest mental states (thoughts, feelings, impressions, ideas, reasons, etc.) which a speaker has in his own mind and which he seeks to re-create in the minds of his hearers. For instance, the speaker may have a clear impression of a great mul- titude cheering one who speaks for freedom. He might close his eyes and, in imagination, see the animated orator, high above the crowd, his attitude majestic, his face as one inspired, his gestures bold, and his voice like the bugle call to battle. This picture we term a mental image. He who experiences it wishes it to arise and be- come just as vivid for each of his hearers as it is for himself. He also wants them to' feel the same thrill which he feels as he recalls the original, stirring scene. Or, on the other hand, he may have in mind a recollection IMAGES ■ 153 of the ideal of liberty which was behind the message of the orator. Such an abstract notion we term a concept. The speaker may want to expound the concept to those about him. More intricate still, he may have an elabor- ate line of argument to establish for their acceptance, justifying the speech of his hero. These are typical mental states which, more or less complex, are welded to- gether as the details that go to make up the message of the speaker. All of them must be reproduced in the minds of the hearers, not only as they arise individually, but also as they are integral parts of an organized whole. Before we leave the topic of details of composition, we shall treat the more important and clearly distinguish- able mental states which a speaker may have and which he may wish to transfer to the audience by means of words. Just now^ we wish to confine ourselves to images, or mental pictures. These are not abstract notions of goodness or badness, right or wrong, beauty or ugli- ness; they are vivid recollections of something actually seen, heard, felt, or tasted. Their originals were real persons, things, and events. They live in the mind of the speaker and he seeks to re-create them for his hearers. (h) Word-Pa lilting One who can arouse vivid, concrete pictures by his Y/ords is sometimes called a word-painter. When Amruzail describes what he has seen, Speaking of sands and flocks and hilltops green, Such magic in his voice and language lies, That all his hearers' ears are turned to eyes. The ability to do this is one of the most fundamental attainments necessary to the effectiveness of a speaker. But just what does he paint? Some idea of the nature of the mental image which he re-creates has already 154 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING been given. But we may well pause to make the subject clearer by illustration. Slowly and critically read the following passage from Edward Everett's "The Glories of Morning." The blue sky now turned more softly gray ; the great watch- stars shut up their holy eyes ; the east began to kindle. Faint streaks of purple now blushed along the sky ; the whole celes- tial concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light, which came pouring down from above in one great ocean of radiance ; till at length, as we reached the Blue Hills, a flash of purple fire blazed out from above the horizon, and^ turned the dewy tear-drops of flower and leaf into rubies and diamonds. In a few seconds the everlasting gates of the morn- ing were thrown wide open, and the lord of day, arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of man, began his state. Notice that Everett does not express any generaliza- tions, such as ''The sunrise is most inspiring" or "The first light of day is thrilling to the beholder." If he had said such things, they might have been accepted as true, but no strong realization of the picture of the sky at sunrise would have been obtained. Instead he re- vives the actual colors and brightness of the sky just as they strike a beholder at a particular time and place. He does not use such words as "pleasant," "soothing," or "beautiful" as he describes the first streaks of light; nor does he label the last burst of sunlight as "thrill- ing," "dazzling," or "inspiring." He simply re-cre- ates the pictures and lets them make their own sub- jective impressions on the hearers. This is objective word-painting. Now read the following from Victor Hugo's speech in defense of his son on the question of capital punish- ment. (The introduction to this speech has already been given in Lesson 4, page 50.) Notice that Hugo also re-creates an actual scene. But he colors it with his own feelings. The object is not so much to make clear IMAGES > . 155 his own horror as to fill the hearers with horror. Just whether expressing his own feelings makes the impres- sion deeper than it would be if the scene were objectively presented to make its own appeal, is a difficult question to settle. But this is a good example of an orator ^s at- tempt, not only to re-create a scene, but also to express the feeling it aroused in an original witness. What are the circumstances? A man, a convict, a sentenced wretch is dragged, on a certain morning, to one of the public squares. There he finds the scaffold ! He shudders, he strug- .gles, he refuses to die. He is young yet — only twenty-nine. Ah! I know what you will say. ''He is a murderer!" But hear me. Two officers seize him. His hands, his feet are tied. He throws off the the two officers. A fearful struggle ensues. His feet, bound as they are, become entangled in the ladder. He uses the scaffold against the scaffold 1 The struggle is prolonged. Horror seizes the crowd. The officers, — sweat and shame on their brows, — pale, panting, terrified, despairing, — despairing with I know not what horrible despair, — shrinking under that public reprobation which ought to have visited the penalty and spared the passive instrument, the execu- tioner, — the officers strive savagely. The victim clings to the scaffold and shrieks for pardon. His clothes are torn, — his shoulders bloody, — still he resists. At length after three quarters of an hour of this monstrous effort, of this spectacle without a name, of this agony,— agony for all, be it under- stood, — agony for the assembled spectators as well as for the con- demned man, — after this age of anguish. Gentlemen of the Jury, they take the poor wretch back to his prison. The People breathe again. The People, naturally merciful, hope that the man will be spared. But no, — the guillotine, though vanquished, remains standing. There it frowns all day, in the midst of a sickened population. And at night, the officers, reenforced, drag forth the wretch again, so bound that he is but an inert weight, — they drag him forth, haggard, bloody, weeping, pleading, howling for life, — calling upon God, calling upon his father and mother, — for like a very child had this man become in the prospect of death, — they drag him forth to execution. He is hoisted on the scaffold, and his head falls 1 And then through every conscience runs a shudder. These two selections illustrate the way a speaker may want to present to an audience a picture of things just 156 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING as they occur in nature. The simplest mental state to be re-created in the mind of the hearer is the objective image, uncolored by the expression of the emotion it aroused in the speaker. Psychologists would not agree that the image is the simplest possible mental state. They have, by analysis, classified the simplest intellec- tual states as sensations. Thus, if the mind could be im- pressed simply with the sensation of red without as- sociating it with any object, such as an apple, a book, or a dress, then it would experience a simple, isolated sen- sation. But in adult life we seldom, if ever, experience these simple sensations unrelated to an external cause of them. We get our red along with a number of other sen- sations of size, shape, taste, smell, etc., all joined to- gether and coming from a recognized source, such as an apple. This combination makes up our picture, or image, of the apple. Even if a speaker did have a simple, unre- lated sensation in mind, he would have little if any rea- son for trying to convey it to an audience. But there are many good uses for fully composed pictures, or images. Most of the pictures which fill our minds and which we may wish to re-create are far from simple. We see our apples, of many hues of red and yellow, growing on spreading trees with green leaves backed up by the blue of the sky. And as we look, the leaves are lifted by the wind so that they move and make a rustling sound, and the breeze brings to our nostrils the scent of the grass in the meadows and the ripening fruit in the orchard. Consequently, though aware of the theoretical sensation of scientific psychology, we shall consider a wJiole pic- ture as the simplest mental possession which a speaker may want to share with an audience. It is almost im- possible to keep such a picture free from the feeling of pleasure or aversion which naturally accompanies it. As IMAGES 157 a result, the pure, objective image is less frequently used than the image colored with subjective feelings. (c) Pictures of Rest and of Action The representation of images of objects at rest is some- times called "description" by rhetoricians, while the term "narration" is retained to designate the recount- ing of a series of events. But both processes, so far as the mental state of the hearer and the speaker is con- cerned, are essentially the same. They necessitate the re-creation of concrete, actual things, originally per- ceived through the senses as parts of the world of fact. Consequently, whether the speaker treats his audience to an oratorical stereopticon view (one picture at rest) or to a vitagraph reel (a number of pictures represent- ing motion), his own mental work and his method of treatment will be almost identical. In both cases he must recall mental pictures; the first is a single one while the second is a constantly changing series. Indeed, most good narratives begin with a description as the starting point, while the remainder of the discourse merely notes the successive changes in the picture. The added feature is that attention must be particularly paid to the change, involving, as it does, sequence of events, interaction, rate of movement, and conclusion. Because of their essential similarity, we shall group together all the impressions which the world of actuality makes upon the mind in the form of images. To arouse, by means of speech, like pictures for the hearer (without attempting to explain or justify them) we call "word- painting. ' ' Read the following selection slowly, pronouncing each word to yourself carefully so that each image makes its 158 p EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPE AXING 3ail: impression. This will make clear the truth that a narrative involves a succession of images. Venerable men, you have come down to us from a former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives that you might behold this joyous day. You are now where you stood fifty years ago, this very hour, with your brothers and your neighbors, shoulder to shoulder, in the strife for your country. Behold, how altered! The same heavens are indeed over your head; the same ocean rolls at your feet; but all else, how changed! You hear no roar of hostile cannon ; you see no mixed volumes of smoke and flames rising from burning Charlestown. The ground strewn with the dead and dying; the impetuous charge; the steady and successful repulse; the loud call to repeated assault; the sum- moning of all that is manly to repeated resistance ; a thousand bosoms freely and fearlessly bared in an instant to whatever of terror there may be in war and death — all these you have witnessed, but you witness them no more. All is peace. ^ 2. The Use of Images in a Speech The following are tAT)ical ways in which images may be employed in a speech. (a) Used for Their Intrinsic Worth as Information We find this use mostly in geographical lectures and travel talks. The modern use of a stereopticon or even moving pictures has reduced the necessity for skillful word-painting by the lecturer. But whether the words of the speaker or the lantern slide is the means, the pur- pose of the image is to make the auditor realize just how, let us say, Mount Blanc or the Matterhorn — great Al- pine peaks — looks. The lecturer is not especially con- cerned as to whether you like the appearance or not. He seeks first to show you nature as it is, whether you like it or not. An engineer trying to make clear to a board of directors the nature of a stretch of country through 'Webster's First Bunker Hill Address. IMAGES 159 which he contemplates constructing a railroad might find it useful to create a series of images of landscapes. (b) Used to Convey Strong Emotional Appeal We feel most strongly what we can actually realize and we can realize concrete images better than general- izations and abstractions. Eead once more all the ex- tracts quoted thus far to illustrate this lesson. Notice the emotional response you have to Everett's sunrise scene and to Hugo 's guillotine scene. Contrast this with the lack of emotion as you read the argument on Cana- dian reciprocity on page 55 of Lesson 4. If one w^ere to say, ''Public executions are repugnant to humanity," would it arouse so strong a feeling as the detailed imag- ing of a single execution? The newspapers tell us that ten thousand German soldiers fell before Liege. But we cannot conceive the scene; we cannot realize the horrors of the battlefield. Our sympathy, pity, and horror of war's ruthless brutality come forth more readily as we get a true picture of the suffering and death of a single, brave, young soldier boy. The following extract from Henry Clay's speech on the war with England shows a skillful use of the concrete, because of its emotion-producing power. It is impossible that this country should ever abandon the g:allant ta. - who have won it such splendid trophies. Let us suppose that the Genius of Columbia should visit one of them in his oppressor's prison and attempt to reconcile him to his forlorn and wretched condition. She would saj' to him, in the language of the gentlemen on the other side, "Great Britain intends you no harm ; she did not mean to impress you, but one of her own subjects; having taken you by mistake, I will re- monstrate, and try to prevail upon her, by peaceful means, to release you, but I cannot, my son, fight for you." If he did not consider this mere mockery, the poor tar would address her judgment and say, "You owe me, my country, protection; 160 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING I owe you, in return, obedience. I am no British subject ; I am a native oi old Massachusetts ; where live my aged father, my wife, my children. I have faithfully discharged my duty. Will you refuse to do yours?" Appealing to her passions he would continue: "I lost this eye in fighting under Truxton, with the Insurgente ; I got this scar before Tripoli ; I broke this leg on board the Constitution, when the Guerriere struck." If she remained still unmoved, he would break out in accents of mingled distress and despair — "Hardj hard is my fate! once I freedom enjoyed, Was as happy as happy could be ! Oh! how hard is my fate, how galling these chains!" I will not imagine the dreadful catastrophe to which he would be driveii, hy an abandonment of him to his oppressor. It will not be, it cannot be, that this country will refuse him pro- tection. An emotion is a very vital thing. It is not the cool, well-established sentiment of approval or disapproval that we feel when balancing the pros and cons of a well- worked-out argument. It is an impulsive flood of feel- ing that rushes forth in the face of a lively, concrete ex- perience. In order to be concrete and to succeed in arousing the strongest emotions, a speaker often has to limit the extent of the image he tries to re-create. If one were master enough to make the Avhole, appalling im- pression of a battlefield strike the hearer with all its force, then the most powerful emotions of awe, dread, terror, and revulsion would be stirred. But few are able to conceive such a scene adequately, and even if they could, their re-creations would be beyond the grasp of the average audience. It is for this reason that most orators limit their concrete images. This limitation en- hances the probability of their being realizable, and in proportion to the degree of reality is their emotional effect. IMAGES 161 (c) Used as Illustration of a Whole Class of Facts It has already been pointed out that images make deep impressions. General ideas make fairly deep im- pressions only on a cultivated few and have next to no influence upon the less-educated members of an audi- ence. Thus, if you wished to make the generalization that a college education tends tc improve the manners and appearance of young men, you would not rest after making the bare statement itself c The general notion 8 wrapped up in "manners'' and ''appearance" might not be very clear to some of the hearers. You might more profitably make a picture of young John Williams as he appeared before the college board of entrance ex- amination. Picture his clothing, his awkwardness, his shyness, and his confusion; make the audience see a whole-hearted but rough, country youth. Then draw an- other picture of the calm, polished, self-possessed, and correct John Williams on the commencement platform delivering the valedictory address. These images will not only give very definite meaning to the two words mentioned but will give life to what might be a color- less and but faintly apprehended, general truth. The advertisers of patent medicines take advantage of the force of images to represent a general argument. They print a picture of James Smith before taking the treatment and James Smith after taking the treatment. The eye takes in at a glance more than a long, abstract argument could ever supply. Obviously, if the speaker intends, not only to elucidate a general thought which is abstract and difficult until a 'specific instance is found to make it clear, but also to clothe it with feeling, the image representation is most desirable. In the following passage by the greatest word-painter and prose poet who ever lived, Ingersoll is 162 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING trying to bear home the idea that the pomp and power of the conqueror do not compensate for tlie loss of peace and affection which the humblest peasant can have. But notice how the concrete treatment enhances, not only the thought, but also the feeling. I thought of the orphans and widows he had made, of the tears that had been shed for his glory, and of the only woman who ever loved him, pushed from his heart by the cold hand of ambition. And I said, "I would rather have been a French peasant and worn wooden shoes. I would rather have lived in a hut with a vine growing over the door, and the grapes growing purple in the amorous kisses of the autumn sun. I would rather have been that poor peasant, Avith my loving wife by my side, knitting as the day died out of the sky, with my children upon my knees and their arms about me. I would rather have been that man, and gone down to the tongueless silence of the dreamless dust, than to have been that imperial impersonation of force and murder, known as Napoleon the Great.2 But a word of caution must here be offered. If a spe- cific instance is to be selected to make a general state- ment more forceful and clear in thought and more pro- vocative of emotion, it must be a fair example. During the first two weeks of the great European War of 1914, the papers in America got most of their news from anti- German sources. One day there was a description of the brutal treatment of some French civilians who were caught in Germany before they could return to their own country. The article was most graphic and had for its climax the shooting of one young student who, after many knocks and insults, cried, "Vive la France." Tt is probable that no such scene took place. Furthermore, if it did, it is hardly probable that it was at all typical of what Germany as a whole was doing. We hold no brief for Germany nor the German kaiser; we merely point out that where a specific instance is supposed to ^Ingersoll, Robert G., Napoleon. IMAGES 163 represent a number of cases or a general principle, the speaker should exercise the greatest care to b i sure that his example is truly representative. The very fact that the particular case makes such a powerful impression creates a strong responsibility to have that case a just and typical one. If ever you are opposing another who selects preju- dicial instances, the revelation of his unfair bias is sure to have an effect upon the audience. 3. The Senses and Image-Making It will be noticed that a complete picture or image is made up from the detailed report of the various senses. Thus, Webster's picture of the British charge up Bunker Hill gives the report of the eyes when it refers to the sky above and the ocean rolling below, the men standing shoulder to shoulder, and the ground strewn with the dead and dying. The ear contribution is evident in the '^roar of hostile cannon"; the senses of touch and mus- cular effort are also there, certainly for the veterans to whom Webster is speaking — men who had taken part in the hand-to-hand struggle. We may, therefore, say that knowledge of the world comes through the senses and a remembered picture or image is the recollected reports of the senses in certain combinations. Now it has been discovered that some people — in fact, most people — ^have one sense developed above the others and possibly another one hardly devel- oped at all. They, after an experience, such as the wit- nessing of a boat race, might get clear eye impressions while they respond but poorly to auditory impressions and therefore have but hazy recollections of sounds. An eye-minded person trying to describe the boat race would report the impressions of the color of the river, the green 164 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING banks, the shining racing shells, the eight oars resting on the out-riggers, the sun striking the bare shoulders of the muscular rowers, the blue shirts of one crew and the red of the other, and all along the course, he would see again the hundreds of small boats and the many peo- ple with their riot of vari-colored flags. But an ear- minded person would recall the roar of the crowd, the short, barking yells of small groups of students, the crack of the starting gun, and the swish of the oars as they feathered over the little waves. It is highly desirable that a speaker should develop all his senses to an excellent state of keenness. He should see well and retain in his mind all his visual impressions ; he should hear distinctly and have clear auditory images or remembrances; he should distinguish smells, tastes, and degrees of temperature as well as retain impressions of motion and muscular effort. Only by developing all the senses so as to get good, clear, and deep impressions from them can the speaker hope to stock his mind wdth complete and trustworthy pictures. One who has such a stock to draw upon is said to possess a good imagination. It is from such a stock that the poets, dramatists, and novelists draw. The speaker or orator must also have such a source of material. Such a perfection of imagination is necessary to the speaker, not only that the pictures for his own mental use may be complete, but also that he may reach all his hearers when he wishes to treat a concrete situation. If his images were one-sided, all addressed to the ear, the eye-minded auditors would get little from them. Lan- guage expressing most perfect images of sight and smell has no meaning or but a very hazy, general meaning to an auditor who is almost entirely ear-minded. There- fore, since people are strong in one sense and weak in another, the orator must assail them through the chan- IMAGES 165 nels of all the senses. The greatest orators have the rounded development which makes their messages have meaning and force to all classes of people. Naturally, some pictures are distinctly for the eye while others are essentially symphonies of sound. The most skilled speaker brings out all that can be brought out in each situation. Where it suits his purpose to emphasize one or another aspect, he is equipped to do so. Carefully read the illustrations of this lesson and note, in a table such as the following, the nature and number of sense impressions in each passage quoted. Everett Hugo Webster Clay Ingersoll ~ Sight Images - Sound " - Taste " Motion " ' Temperature *-Smell. . . . y ^^ \~ '^^' 'Touch Effort The test is to read carefully and try to see which of your own senses is stimulated to reaction. Do you see with your '' mind's eye," do you seem to hear a roar, do you feel the effort or strain of conflict, etc. % Now examine yourself and see if you are weak in re- membering some of the sense aspects of some of your own, original experiences. Go to your business some morning a half hour earlier than the opening time. As soon as you arrive at the office, sit down and write as full a report as you can of the impressions of your car ride during the last five blocks of travel. Eead your re- port and see if it overemphasizes the eye element or the ear element. Notice, during the actual writing, if certain things which your reason tells you must have been experi- enced have grown hazy in detail or been forgotten. Have 166 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING you failed to retain a picture of the woman opposite you in the car — the color of her hat, dress, and shoes? On the other hand, have you a clear realization of the sensa- tion of motion or movement ? There is no doubt that you will discover that you are weak in some respects and strong in others. Then again you may have very clear recollections of things but be unable to express them in words. That is a language difficulty which we shall con- sider in the next lesson. Just now we want to find out which of your sense reports are weakest and least trust- worthy, whether you can tell others about it or not. From now on, make many observations of the kind jast described and attend especially to the things which should appeal to your weakest sense. That weak spot nmst be built up by careful use. Just as one who begins to play billiards is at first awkward and unskillful and later acquires skill through use, so a sense may be brought to a high point of discernment through constant practice. After making your observations, try to repro- duce them in words both orally and in writing. Eeading books Avill do but little to develop your image- making capacity in the places where it is weak. It may add some individual pictures to your stock where the' sense that appreciates them is strong. But literature does not build up the weak sense, for the words of an author who is creating an eye impression have no mean- ing to one who is ear-minded and whose visual sense is poor. The direct study of nature and man with your own senses is the only foundation for image-making. Go out into the fields and woods and observe with all the senses, especially exercising those which self-examina- tion has shown you are weak. In the city also, observe streets and buildings, machines and men. Do not over- look any detail. Crowd your mind with sense impres- IMAGES 167 sions. You will find the game of observation a fascinat- ing one and new delights will be opened to you as your weaker organs of perception are gradually strengthened and bring new treasures to the mind. In the next lesson Ave shall speak of the way in which one maj" best express his images for the benefit of others, but first the speaker must have images in his own mind. That means accurate and deep sense impressions through careful observation and the faithful retention of the combined impressions as a whole picture or image. There is no other way to develop the imagination. Assignment of Work Tlie wiittcii cxiToises in this t-ntire lesson slioiil- lo carefully \\ orked out. Keep copies of the written exer- cises in vour notebook. First Day. — You have read through the lesson. Study it care- fully and try to answer the test questions which follow. During another painstaking reading, try to bring to mind clearly all the images, or pictures, which are in the illus- trating passages. Notice that the best results are attained when your ivliole attention is upon the picture and your reading is slow enough to allow each part to form itself fully. Rapid and careless delivery interferes with clear imagination. Second Day. — Write out the three concrete pictures, with all details of sense appeal, in one of the following groups : (a) " The setting of the sun fills one with a sense of quiet majesty." "Niagara plunges on, a never-dying source of power." "The capitol at Washington is like a white coronet upon the brow of the nation." (b) Describe the gathering of a crowd. Describe a fire. Picture some thrilling exploit in a very concrete way. 168 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING Third Day. — Outline a speech on one of the following subjects, making a picture the means of appeal : (a) Better factory conditions for unskilled labor. Pic- ture an individual worker in wretched surroundings. (b) Floating hospitals for sick babies. Picture a suffer- ing infant in a hot, crowded, squalid tenement. (c) Railroad reform to benefit the farmer. Picture an orchard with fruit rotting on the ground because high rates and poor railroad service make it impos- sible to market it. (d) Any other subject which can be represented in ap- peal by a vivid picture. Fourth Dai/.— Develop orally one of the outlines of the third day. Notice whether or not the image revives fully in your mind. If it does not, your imagination needs further train- ing through observation. Do you find the image clear but experience difficulty in finding words to express it ade- quately? In that case, either you are weak in vocabulary or you have not planned the matter well. Fifth Day. — During the first four days, be on the "look-out" for a scene or event which is especially impressive and worthy of expression to others. For this day 's work, care- fully note down all the elements of sense impression it liad — color, movement, sound, etc. Tabulate them all and then write a r-omplete word-picture. (Append tlie tal)uhition to the word-picture in your notebook.) An expert speaker does not, as a rule, go through such a laborious and painstaking preparation for his pictures, but it is an exercise which will rapidly make its further use un- necessary. Additional Reminders 1. How is your breathing?" 2. Are you carrying yourself well? 3. Do you control your breath well during speaking? 4. Do you criticise and observe other speakers? 5. Are you keeping up the reflection hour? 6. Do you criticise your own speaking and keep notes about it? 7. Are you observing irifh all your senses so to to fill your mind with a wealth of images? TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for the student to use in testing liis knowknlge of tlie ])rinoiph^s in this lesson. Tliey are sufif/rstirr merely, dealinii' lar student of liiman nature. Do the Gospels ascribe any or all of these attributes to Jesus? So precocious was He that at the age of twelve He astonished the dootoru ' of the temple. His uttei-ances at thirty, when He met in t IMAGES AND VOCABULARY-BUILDING 189 keen nrgumont - priest, scribe, pharisee and lawyer, show Him to have been master of the law. Can there be any doubt of Ilis knowledge of and lovo for nature ? "I am the vine ; ye are the branches." **A soAver went forth to sow." ''Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs or thistles?" "Behold the fowlci of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into bapno ; yet your heavenly f::tihoi' feedeth them." ' ' Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, w^hich today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, ye of little faith ? ' ' Of course, you must obliterate the deleted expressions completely. Set aside a number of such prepared pas- sages until you have forgotten the words you crossed out. Then take the sheet and read it through smoothly, sup- plying at each gap, without hesitancy, an expression which will be appropriate. You have tlie general pur- pose and aim of the passage to guide you, but you must supply, on the spur of the moment, a word which will continue the sense. This is an exercise in adaptation and application but not one in acquisition. It is very valuable, for it dupli- cates almost exactly the situation in which a speaker finds himself when he tries to express, in an extempora- neous manner, a thought which he understands and has fully in mind. He must find adequate words promptly. (b) Next make a list of words on which you wish to practice. Then, in a rapid and extemporaneous manner supply a number of s\Tionyms and antonyms ; draw dis- tinctions. It is the rapid and oral carrying-out of what was suggested on page 187 as a written means of acquisi- 190 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING tion. The following is a typical list with the first word treated in the desired manner. 1. Relation, Relation is similar to con- nection, the opposite of dissociation or differ- ence; we may say that relation exists without implying that there is harmony, for harmony is only one kind of relation possible between two or more things. 2. Symmetry 3. Domain 4. Regularity 5. Individuality 6. Eternity 7. Intelligence 8. Safety 9. Defiance 10. Amusement. Take such a list and go through it rapidly. If you have to pause and cannot promptly add the required amplifica- tion, check the word and move immediately to the next one. There must be no stop. After you are through go back and make a careful study of the words you had to check. Then add them to a new list to be used for exer- cise at some other time. After a while, you will have compiled a great many lists and have a considerable ad- dition to your readily accessible vocabulary. Thus, we have outlined the manner in which to make all words with which you come in contact as living parts of expression, a part of your own vocabulary. We have outlined the way to check up their meaning, to study them, and to exercise with them in actual application. In the next lesson, we shall consider word-building so as to indicate how the mastery of a comparatively small number of root words and parts of words will give you command over a much vaster vocabularv. IMAGES AND VOCABITLARY-BUTLDTNG 191 Assignment of Work The written exorcises in tliis entire lesson shonld bo carefully worked out. Keep copies of the written exer- cises in your notebook. First Day. — Copy from some oration or writing a description which you consider very good. Then make an analysis of it, covering the following points : 1. Topic 2. Point of view 3. Comprehensive outline 4. Plan or basis of ordering details 5. Use of words Second Day. — Make a similar study of a good piece of narra- tive work. Third Day. — Write out an original piece of description or nar- ration, following an outline covering these points, and at- taching the outline to your work. Fourth Day. — Make an outline of this character for five or six images and develop them extemporaneously. This is a most important exercise. Fifth Day. — Prepare a list of fifty short expressions which are good and expressive by suggestion. Add twenty-five of your own. Additional Reminders 1. Is your posture good? Are you improving in breath capacity and control? 3. Are you carefully criticizing your own organization of thought in your conversations and public addresses? 4. Are you systematically criticizing others? 5. Have you found any one-sided development in your perception and memory, that is, are you distinctly eye-minded or ear-minded or motor-minded? What are you doing about it? 6. Be sure to work steadily to increase your vocabulary. hi TEST QUESTIONS These questions are for tlie stiulont tn ust" in testing iiis knowledge of the principles in tliis lesson. They are sugfiestiue merely, dealing largely witli the practical application of the principles, and are to he placed in the notebook for futnie reference. 1. Does your own life show that there is a close relation be- tween actual experience and imagination; Along what lii;,^ does your imagination work? 2. Why are self-made men very often successful business executives, promoters, and advertisers? 3. What man of your acquaintance has the best reproduc- ing imagination? Who the best creative imagination? Who the best fancy? Has the mental characteristic of each any connection with the work in which he is engaged? 4. What is meant by adaptation to the audience? Did you ever see a speaker fail because of weakness in this respect? 5. Have you ever heard a man spoil a description oi" nar- rative because of unorganized or poorly ordered details? G. What is the effect upon an audience of over-refinement and too much detail? 7. Will you not add to the list of subjects for word-paint- ing on page 181 to be expressed by a few suggestive words? What kind of images comes most readily to your mind? 8. What are the natural principles governing the enlarge- ment of a vocabulary? 9. What do we mean by "increasing the stock of live words ' ' ? 10. Why is context of great importance? 11. Which of your favorite authors has the largest vocabii- lary? Which one uses his words most accurately? 12. Could you improve upon our plan of vocabuhrry-build- ing? How? Can you suggest other interesting and effective devices to fix the words and to give rapid command in speech ? 192 LESSON 11 vocabulary-building 1. Word Analysis In the last lesson, we gave exercises designed to culti- vate in the student exactness in the use of each word added to his vocabulary. Exercises to insure facility or prompt selection of the proper word at a given place were also outlined. Finally, both precision and prompt- ness were re-enforced by practice on synonyms and an- ton^ans. If a student were to read a great deal, note each new expression, find all its synon3ans and antonjans, and then practice with his enlarged vocabulary after the man- ner suggested in Lesson 10, he would soon have easy command of wide language resources. But there is an- other way to supplement the process as described so that still greater returns may be reaped from a given amount of effort. Such a further study — Avord analysis, as we shall call it — we shall take up in this lesson. If one can analyze properly a given number of words over which he has complete command, he will thereby be given in- sight into the meaning of two or three times as many more. Furthermore, word analysis will make the con- sultation of the dictionary a real pleasure and that dry book will become attractive. No doubt every student has noticed that certain of our words are similar in some of their parts; for instance, toiQgrapli, ])h.oj\o graph, hiography, umltigrapli, litho- graph, grapliiiQ, and others have the common part, -graph. This common element, of course, has a meaning 193 194 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING which helps to make up the total meaning of each word in which it occurs. It is from the Greek word grapho (I write). It is used w^ith other significant parts to make up the meaning of the words mentioned above. 1. Telegraph (to write from a distance), from two Greek words, tele (far or distant) and grapJio (I write). When a tele- graph was first invented, it actually did write on a travel- ing strip of paper and the operator did not have to de- pend on sound as now. 2. PlionograpJi (a recorder or writer of sounds), from pJione (sound) and grapJio (I write). 3. Biography (a record or history of someone's life), from bios (life) and grapho (I write). 4. Multigraph (a machine to write many copies), from the Latin word multi (many) and grapho (I write). 5. Lithograph (a print from a stone plate), from lithos (stone) and grapho (I write). Many of our color pictures are lithographs. 6. Graphite (a material with which we may record or write), from grapho (I write) and -ite (of the nature of). By studying the first and second words above (tele- graph and phonograph), we see why a far-speaking or far-sounding apparatus came to be called a "telephone." This and many similar words bear evidence that the thor- ough analysis of a comparatively small vocabulary leads the way to the grasp of a far larger stock of words. Just as we have made use of the graph-gvoui), so also we might take the ^e/e-group and study the structure of ^e/ephone, ^e^egraph, ^e^epathy (mental influence from a distance), ^eZegraphone, ^e^epost, and many others which the stu- dent, from this hint, may be able to look up in the dic- tionary for himself. In this lesson we shall list the most serviceable of the word parts which occur often in the building-up of larger words. Words like tele and grapho are called "root words." In word-building, we use not only certain fundamental roots, but also prefixes and suffixes. A prefix is a part VOCABULARY-BUILDING 195 of a word which is put in front of a root word to make up a larger, new word. A suffix is added after the root word for a similar reason. Thus, to the root change we prefix inter- and get interchange. Inter- means * 'between" or "among." When I say, "I can change this article, " I mean that for the article I may get another — no matter what; hut if I say, "I can interchange these things," I mean that the change must be within a definite group and the substitution of one for the other must be among the members of the group. The suffix -able has an obvious meaning. Therefore, interchangeable means ''able to be changed within a given set or number. ' ' Here we have a root, a prefix, and a suffix. In analyzing words we look for (1) roots, (2) prefixes, and (3) suffixes. A mastery of a relatively small number of these parts will give command over a large vocabulary. 2. Sources of English Words Before listing certain serviceable roots, prefixes, and suffixes, it may be well to mention briefly the way in which the present English vocabulary was built up. It is generally known that modern English is a composite of many languages. Some of our words are of Greek origin, some come from the Latin, some are of Germanic origin, and others are from still other sources or are directly borrowed from modern foreign languages. An example of this last group is chic (pronounced " sheek"), a French word used to mean "stylish," "pert," or "attractively lively." Understanding that there are many sources of vocabulary, we must nevertheless recognize three great well-springs of modern English: Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon. In very ancient times, a barbaric people lived in Eng- land. They spoke a Celtic language. But these people 196 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING were conquered and pushed back into AVales, Scotland, aiid Ireland by invaders from Scandinavia and Germany. The conquerors may be considered the founders of our language as we now have it. Though the old Celtic sur- vives to a certain extent in parts of Scotland, Wales, Ire- land, and Brittany, modern English has only a few of its words. They are mostly the names of persons and places, such as Cohb, Jones, Thames, and Kent. Of the common names, the most important are darn, flannel, tartan, plaid, gruel, and brand. The incoming Anglo-Saxon language became the back- bone of Old English and later modern English. We need not go into the grannnatical form of this language and its various changes. AVe are concerned mostly with its words and their structure. They are simple, direct, and forceful, usually representing concrete images and strong emotions rather than generalizations and intel- lectual refinements. Thus we find most of the natural phe- nomena and objects in this tongue: hill, dale; sea, land; ivood, ivater, stream; heat, cold; rain, hail, sleet, thunder; sun, moon, stars; earth, fire; spring, winter, summer; morning ^ noon, and night. Family life is also cared for: father, mother, husband, tvife, ividow, son, daughter, child, brother, sister, home, roof, fireside, hearth, etc. The following are typical words expressing strong emo- tions: love with its smile, anger and frown, shame and blush, guilt and gloom, sorroiv and tears. This strong, concrete language, drawing something from the Celtic, became the language of England until the Norman inva- sion in 1066. It was through the Norman French tliat classical (Latin and Greek) words were introduced. The Nor- mans, under William the Conqueror, set about to replace the English tongue witli their own language. But they were by no means successful. The two peoples mingled VOCABULARY-BUILDING 197 and the language which emerged in Shakespeare's time and continues to the present was more Saxon in gram- matical structure than Norman. But the Norman words, of Latin and Greek origin, were added to the vocabulary. As a result, we now look for Saxon, Latin, and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes when we analyze most of the words now in use. (a) Latin Prefixes For convenience, we shall begin with Latin prefixes and treat some of them in pairs. A-, ah-, or abs-, and ad-. — The prefix a-, ah-, or ahs- means ''away" or "from." Thus abjure comes from ah- (away) and jiiro (I swear) and means ''to swear away" or "to forswear something previously acknowledged." Abject comes from ah- and jectus (thrown) and therefore means "throwm away" or "worthless" — carrying with it the notion of "abased," "cast off," or "hopelessly low." Look up the following words: avert, abhor, abduct, abnormal, aboriginal, abrupt, abstain, abscond, abrogate. To these add others which may occur to you or which you may look up in the dictionary. Ad- means just the opposite, that is, "to," "at," "toward," or "for." Admire comes from ad- (at) and miror (I wonder). Adore is from ad- and oro (I pray or speak) and therefore means "to pray to" or "to wor- ship." An advocate is one who calls out for {voco, I call) or speaks for a cause. Look up the following words: advent, admission, address, adept, adhere, adjourn, adjust, administer, admit, adopt. Sometimes the d in ad- is left out or assimilated to the following letter, and we find aspire, ascribe, avow, accept, affi of the rain inference just given, an error might exist, for i lie ground could be wet be- cause someone sprinkled it, just as well as it could be wet from rain. The suicide inference would have been M wrong one if tlu'