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ESSENTIALS OF 
 PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 BY 
 
 Warren C. DuBois, A.M., LL.B. 
 
 Author oj ''Hints for the Political Speaker"; 
 
 Contributing Editor United Y. M. C. A. 
 
 Schools' Course in Public Speaking; 
 
 Instructor of Public Speaking in 
 
 Neiv York University and 
 
 the Y. M. C. A. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHRIS. F. MEYER 
 
 945 East Third Street 
 borough of brooklyn 
 
Copyright, 1921 
 
 by 
 
 Warren C. DijBois 
 
D. :^ 
 
 ESSENTIALS OF 
 PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
595" 
 
 'J)&l(o 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Pace 
 
 I. A Talk with Beginning Speakers 9 
 
 II. Consider the Audience ... 17 
 
 III. The Purposes of Speaking . . 34 
 
 IV.^'^Scope of the Speech .... 58 
 
 V. Preparing the Speech — Part I . 62 
 Material 
 
 VI. Preparing the Speech — Part II . 69 
 Arrangement 
 
 VII. Lines of Development ... 8L 
 
 VIII. Questionnaire 97 
 
 IX. Delivery in General .... 103 
 
 X.n"^ Enunciation 108 
 
 XL 4 Emphasis 112 
 
 XII.-^ Pitch . 118 
 
 XIIL-Rate 123 
 
 XIV. The Eye of the Audience . . 127 
 Posture — Carriage — Gesture 
 Facial Expression 
 
 XV. Memory 146 
 
 XVL J Health and Voice 156 
 
 \, O v> Ki i I 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Short evening courses in public speaking 
 have become so popular that the problem of 
 supplementing the work in the class room with 
 helpful text material has given instructors 
 great difficulty. The average text book is too 
 large and night students have not the time to 
 carry out programs of selective reading. 
 
 The author has attempted to fill this need 
 by setting forth in a brief, concise form only 
 the essentials of the subject. He does not 
 claim for the work any originality of analysis; 
 his sole aim has been to include in one small 
 volume a brief but comprehensive outline of 
 the fundamentals of effective speaking in as 
 logical an order as the subject permits. 
 
 Warren C. DuBois. 
 
 165 Broadway, New York City, 
 September 1st, 1921. 
 
To HAMILTON COLLEGE 
 The ''Home of Oratory" 
 
ESSENTIALS OF 
 PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS 
 
 Until recently the ability to speak in public 
 was regarded as an asset required only by 
 lawyers, clergymen, politicians and profes- 
 sional speakers. And even among these it 
 was often considered an inherited gift rather 
 than something that could be acquired or 
 developed. But recent years have shown that 
 speaking ability is just as useful an art to 
 business men generally, not only for itself 
 but for the self-confidence, poise and other 
 by-products that result from its study and 
 practice. The results obtained by students 
 of short courses have proved the theory of 
 the old Roman, "Poets are born, but orators 
 are made." Lord Chesterfield wrote to his 
 son that every man of fair abilities might be 
 an orator. The vulgar, he said, look upon a 
 fine speaker as a supernatural being, endowed 
 [9] 
 
10 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 with some peculiar gift of heaven. He him- 
 self maintained that a good speaker is as much 
 a mechanic as a good shoemaker, and that 
 the two trades were equally to be learned by 
 the same amount of application. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance that the be- 
 ginning speaker should approach his task with 
 the proper viewpoint. Speaking is an activity. 
 Your success is to be measured by your ability 
 to do the very thing and not by your knowledge 
 of the principles that underlie it. You may 
 master all the theories of swimming and still 
 be unable to take a single stroke. You might 
 spend years on the study of rhythm, grace 
 and expression, and still be unable to dance 
 an old-fashioned waltz. The study of speak- 
 ing must be approached in the same way in 
 which we begin to learn to swim or dance. 
 
 Recall, if you can, the days when you were 
 learning to swim. You had a host of friends 
 ready and willing to enlighten you on the 
 mysteries of the art. Each had a pet theory 
 which, put into operation, would enable you to 
 learn in a few minutes. But you found that 
 the novel sensations which accompanied your 
 
A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS 11 
 
 first dips expelled all the instructions and 
 theories given you, and that if you had tried 
 to keep in mind all that was told you, you 
 would probably get a mental cramp and 
 drown. Later, however, when the strangeness 
 of being in water began to wear off, your 
 mental calm returned and you were able to 
 try out some of the theories which had been 
 advanced. Step by step, you acquired a form 
 until you suddenly awoke to the realization 
 that you could swim. With that realization 
 came a feeling that swimming was a natural 
 activity and that if you had only had the self- 
 confidence in yourself, you could have learned 
 in a few minutes. You forgot, however, that 
 the viewpoint which made you laugh at your 
 slowness in learning was a gradual growth 
 and not a sudden acquisition. 
 
 So with speaking. The first thing to be 
 acquired is the self-confidence that comes from 
 wearing away those novel sensations that ac- 
 company your first attempts on the platform. 
 Practice alone will do it. No amount of 
 reading or study of principles will obviate the 
 necessity of passing through all the strange 
 
12 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 feelings and emotions that attend first efforts. 
 In the words of Calvin Leslie Lewis, who, as 
 head of the department of oratory at Hamilton 
 College, has probably trained more successful 
 speakers than any other living instructor of 
 the subject, "The only way to learn to speak 
 is by speaking." 
 
 The first efforts are usually discouraging. 
 The novelty of being on a platform, facing 
 a large number of silent mouths and eyes, 
 awakens all sorts of fears and new sensations. 
 Each speaker is inclined to believe that his 
 problem is different and insurmountable. 
 Whatever the form your sensations assume, 
 they are all traceable to one thing — lack of 
 experience. And with each additional effort, 
 they will decrease and gradually disappear. 
 
 Self -consciousness and nervousness are the 
 most common. Self-consciousness is that state 
 of mental confusion resulting from the inabil- 
 ity to focus all of one's mentality on the task 
 at hand. Instead of concentrating on the sub- 
 ject matter of the speech, the novice divides 
 his thinking between the subject and himself. 
 Once get accustomed to the platform and this 
 
A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS 13 
 
 mental state will soon give place to confidence 
 and concentration. 
 
 Nervousness is somewhat different. Antici- 
 pation of a difficult task excites the nerves, and 
 the nerves in turn generate more energy than 
 can be consumed. If you think nervousness 
 is a handicap, you are mistaken; it is your 
 greatest blessing. Dr. Russell H. Conwell, 
 author of "Acres of Diamonds," and one of 
 the most experienced lecturers in the world, 
 never speaks without a preliminary attack of 
 nervousness that makes his friends wonder 
 why he enjoys the art. An interesting com- 
 ment on nervousness was made to the author, 
 and for the benefit of men who think it is a 
 handicap it is repeated here. An American 
 general who saw service at the front in France 
 made a particular study of various types of 
 men as they conducted themselves under fire. 
 One of his conclusions was that the nervous 
 men are the steadiest in a crisis and that the 
 so-called "stolid" men, who show no uneasiness 
 before going over the top, frequently "blow 
 up" in man-to-man fighting. He explained 
 the difference by a theory which may not be 
 
14 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 sound psychologically but which has a meas- 
 ure of truth which warrants its repetition. 
 
 "The nervous boy discovers early in his 
 youth that he suffers from a handicap which 
 must be considered in everything he under- 
 takes. Whenever he acts he must not only 
 expend the ordinary amount of energy but he 
 must also whip his will to stick to the line of 
 action in spite of his nervousness. The result 
 of this constant effort is the development of a 
 certain force of control which enables him to 
 carry out his purpose in spite of his nerves. 
 A battle is something which no man can com- 
 prehend until he is in it. The stolid man is 
 apt to find himself in a situation which shakes 
 his composure for the first time. And never 
 having built up a force which enables him to 
 control his nerves, he is likely to 'go to pieces.' 
 But to the nervous man, it is merely another 
 test of his strength and courage, and with the 
 aid of the 'antitoxin' which he has been un- 
 consciously building up for many years, he 
 comes through." 
 
 You may not agree with this theory, but it 
 serves a purpose. If you are nervous, the 
 
A TALK WITH BEGINNING SPEAKERS 15 
 
 greater is your need of speaking. And the 
 more you build up this "antitoxin," the better 
 fortified you will be not only in speaking but 
 in every other activity that requires concentra- 
 tion in a trying situation. 
 
 A word about the proper use of this or any 
 text book. Speaking, like every other activity, 
 has many phases. If you allow yourself to 
 think of the many things you must learn you 
 will probably become as confused and as dis- 
 couraged as a weaponless man in the middle 
 of a den of wild animals. If you try to carry 
 to the platform all the ideas and instructions 
 in this book, you will get mental indigestion 
 and fail. 
 
 The aim of all education is to enable the 
 student to master correct principles to the 
 point where they can be applied by sub- 
 conscious habit. Your first speech will carry 
 out many of the rules herein set forth. Study 
 your weaknesses and seek to overcome them 
 one by one. To undertake too much at a time 
 is far worse than to attempt too little. After 
 considerable experience you will find yourself 
 applying all the principles with little or no 
 
16 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 thought of them, just as you are able to read 
 your morning paper at breakfast without 
 thinking of how to handle your knife and fork. 
 
 The arrangement of this book does not give 
 the elements of speaking in the order in which 
 they should be acquired. It simply sets forth 
 in as logical a scheme as the subject permits 
 the essential points to be learned and applied. 
 Read it with that in mind. 
 
 The manifestations of progress come in fits 
 and starts. The curve of achievement re- 
 sembles the sky line of a range of mountains 
 beginning at the sea and ending at the highest 
 peak. Between crests there are valleys of 
 depression. After the beginner enjoys the 
 first realization of progress, a period of slump 
 and discouragement is likely to follow. But 
 if he keeps on he will get out of the valley 
 and reach another crest from which he can 
 see not only the goal of his struggle but the 
 height he has already attained. The secret of 
 success is to keep faith and courage when in 
 the valley. The slump is only imaginary. 
 Every effort is carrying you a step nearer 
 your goal. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 
 
 The farmer is judged by the satisfaction 
 which his produce gives the consumer. The 
 successful artist is the one whose paintings 
 give pleasure to those who observe them. The 
 speech that wins is the one that produces in 
 the audience the thoughts, ideas, feelings or 
 emotions which the speaker experiences. That 
 is his goal and unless his efforts meet that 
 test, he has failed. 
 
 A great many speakers fail because they 
 have neglected to take into consideration the 
 viewpoint of the hearer. Audiences differ. 
 But they are all composed of human beings, 
 and all human beings are alike in many ways. 
 Let us consider some of the laws which con- 
 trol all minds. 
 
 Mental Energy 
 
 Every man possesses a certain degree of 
 mental alertness. When he is asleep, it is at 
 [17] 
 
18 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 zero; if he were on a desert plain, standing 
 alone, defending himself from wild animals 
 surrounding him, it would be at its highest. 
 It fluctuates between these extremes, accord- 
 ing to the time of day, the state of his mental 
 and physical condition, and the task on which 
 he is engaged. A lawyer defending a man 
 accused of murder is on his mental toes, ready 
 to spring in any direction. The next hour 
 that same lawyer, relieved of the strain of the 
 trial, sinks back into composure and his 
 mental motor slows down to the point neces- 
 sary to meet the less important problems 
 which confront him. 
 
 Prehistoric man was ever on the alert when 
 alone — wild animals and hostile tribes com- 
 pelled it. But when he joined his tribe, he 
 could aff'ord to operate on fewer mental cyl- 
 inders — he was safer. Life has changed. 
 But we still show characteristics of the pre- 
 historic man when collected in groups. And 
 if that group is engaged in a common pursuit, 
 the individual consciousness blends with those 
 of the group and gradually each member 
 comes to regard himself as a part of the whole. 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 19 
 
 This group consciousness decreases the mental 
 alertness of the individual and this decrease 
 of mental energy of the individual member of 
 a crowd explains many characteristics of an 
 audience. It has a great lesson for the speaker. 
 An audience will not keep on the firing line 
 the same amount of mental energy that it 
 would if separated into individuals. There- 
 fore, if you would succeed in getting your 
 listeners to think or act, you must not impose 
 any more of a burden on their mental energies 
 than is necessary. 
 
 Herbert Spencer in his masterful essay on 
 "The Philosophy of Style" reduces all suc- 
 cessful writing to its observance of the law 
 of the economy of the reader's attention. 
 Whatever may be the value of that theory in 
 writing, there can be no doubt but that it is 
 the first law in a speaker's success in so far 
 as his speech, apart from its delivery, is con- 
 cerned. The speaker translates his thoughts 
 and feelings into language; the audience 
 translates that language back into thoughts 
 and feelings. The latter process must be 
 accomplished as the speech flows; there is no 
 
20 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 opportunity to go over and over the words 
 as is possible in reading. Unless the audience, 
 with its decreased mental energy, can perform 
 this act as the speech proceeds, the speaker 
 has failed to accomplish his purpose. The 
 task, then, is so to frame the expression as to 
 gain the desired result with the least effort on 
 the part of those who hear. 
 
 Mental Imagery and Imagination 
 
 Hold out your right hand and look at it 
 carefully for a few seconds. Close your eyes 
 and try to recall its general appearance. With 
 little eif ort, you can see that hand with many 
 of the details. That picture which appeared 
 before you when your eyes were closed was a 
 visual image, a photograph which the mind 
 took, developed and printed while you per- 
 ceived the object with your eyes. 
 
 Whistle a few notes of some popular song. 
 Then let your mind run over the same notes. 
 What you hear is an auditory image. You 
 recalled the sounds of your own voice by 
 means of auditory imagery. 
 
 Recall, if you can, the taste of your favorite 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 21 
 
 fruit. If you succeed, it is because of the 
 power of your gustatory imagery. Run your 
 finger over the cover of this book, and the 
 sensation may be renewed a few seconds later 
 by the aid of your tactual imagery. If you 
 can enjoy the fragrance of your favorite 
 flower after the scent has passed, it is because 
 you possess olfactory imagery. 
 
 We have completed the imagery of the five 
 senses. There are others — the imagery of 
 motion or motor imagery, thermal imagery or 
 the imagery of temperature — but they are 
 really parts of the original five. 
 
 All our knowledge of the past, all our 
 power of recollection, rests upon our ability 
 to bring up mental images of what we saw, 
 heard, felt, tasted or smelled. Every impres- 
 sion made upon our minds from the outside 
 world must travel by way of one or more of 
 the five senses. It is the work of the imagina- 
 tion to supply these mental images, which are 
 present recollections of past realities. 
 
 There are two kinds of imagination — pro- 
 ductive and reproductive. To hold a mental 
 image of this morning's breakfast table is 
 
22 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 merely the work of reproductive imagination. 
 But to combine mental images of some friend, 
 a desert and a camel, so that you can see that 
 friend riding on a camel across a desert 
 necessitates productive imagination. Eli 
 Whitney saw a cat clawing at a chicken 
 through the openings of the crate. The space 
 between the slats was too small, so all the cat 
 could extract was feathers. Later, Whitney 
 recalled the scene with these modifications — 
 instead of a chicken he saw raw cotton with 
 seeds too large to pass through the openings. 
 This mental image gave us the cotton gin — 
 one of the many creations of the power of 
 productive imagination. 
 
 We vary in our powers of imagination; 
 some can recall in all its details the first 
 circus; some can return from a musical com- 
 edy and hear again every lyric in the score; 
 there are men and women who can recall the 
 taste of five or six varieties of apples. With 
 the average individual, the visual imagery is 
 the strongest; then come the auditory and 
 tactual imagery. That is why a delineation 
 of a scene is more easily appreciated than 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 23 
 
 a description of what the speaker heard or 
 felt. 
 
 Needless to say, our imagination approaches 
 but cannot be greater than our experiences. 
 To tell a native of Guam that the Eiffel Tower 
 is higher than the Woolworth Building would 
 be as futile as explaining a passage in Greek 
 to an African by translating it into Chinese. 
 The mental images follow the experiences. 
 The speaker must employ only those which 
 the audience can appreciate by reason of its 
 experience. 
 
 Concrete Language 
 
 We have seen that in order to attain his 
 goal, the speaker must express his thoughts 
 and feelings in such a way that the audience 
 will translate his language back into the 
 thoughts and feelings which the speaker ex- 
 periences. This requires not only accuracy 
 but also proper selection, so that the mental 
 processes of the audiences may be attended 
 with the least expenditure of energy. Without 
 attempting to trace the course of a sentence 
 from its hearing to its understanding and 
 
24 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 assimilation, it should be stated that before 
 any given language can register clear thought 
 in the mind of the recipient, it must pass 
 through the stage of mental imagery. To 
 illustrate: a speaker states, "Some animals are 
 faithful companions." In order to get a clear 
 understanding of the speaker's meaning, the 
 audience starts to turn the word "animals" 
 into some definite mental image. Some may 
 think of dogs, others think of horses; some 
 may think of cats. Those who think of dogs 
 will probably attempt to picture a particular 
 breed of dogs, such as an Irish setter or a 
 Newfoundland. But this mental process re- 
 quires a certain expenditure of mental energy 
 which could be avoided. Had the speaker 
 said "Newfoundland dogs are faithful com- 
 panions," he would not only save this mental 
 energy, but he would be certain that all got 
 his meaning. This illustrates the force of 
 calling up a distinct visual image. The same 
 is true of other imagery; "sour as vinegar" 
 means more than "bitter"; "smooth as a 
 billiard ball" has more of an appeal than the 
 mere word "smooth"; "fragrant as a rose" 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 25 
 
 requires no additional thoughts as does the 
 expression "sweet smelling." 
 
 So much for words. The idea which is set 
 forth in concrete rather than general language, 
 language which calls forth a distinct mental 
 image, requires a less amount of energy to 
 understand and appreciate, and is therefore 
 the more effective. Now let us regard this 
 principle from a larger viewpoint — one which 
 is concerned with comprehensive ideas rather 
 than with single tangible objects. 
 
 Inductive and Deductive Thinking 
 
 A student reads the lives of Washington, 
 Lincoln and Roosevelt. He is impressed by 
 the numerous incidents in the life of each, 
 which indicated great human sympathy. He 
 comes to the conclusion that our three greatest 
 presidents were men of extraordinary human 
 sympathy. This process of reasoning, from 
 particular incidents to a general conclusion, 
 is known as induction, or inductive reasoning. 
 This form of reasoning is very simple; in fact, 
 it comes so easily and naturally that the draw- 
 ing of hasty conclusions causes more pain and 
 
26 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 sorrow than evil motives. Had the student 
 made such a general statement to one who 
 had recently read the lives of these three men, 
 the statement would immediately call up the 
 same anecdotes that both had read, and would 
 be easily understood and appreciated. But 
 suppose the hearer had not read biographies 
 of the presidents, what would be the train of 
 thought following such a statement? 
 
 In order better to illustrate the principle, 
 we will take different facts. A speaker states, 
 "The desire to be president has caused more 
 than one man to die of a broken heart." 
 Assume for the purpose of the illustration that 
 a brief recess enables the audience to carry 
 through the thought. Some member might 
 reason thus, "Oh, yes, Daniel Webster aimed 
 for the presidency and failure killed him." 
 This process of reasoning, from a general 
 statement to a specific instance, is known as 
 deduction, or deductive reasoning. It is the 
 reverse of induction, is more indefinite in its 
 progress, and requires considerable concentra- 
 tion and mental energy to perform. 
 
 We have assumed in the foregoing illustra- 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 27 
 
 tion that the audience had the time and the 
 necessary knowledge with which to carry the 
 general assertion over to a concrete instance. 
 The average instance does not afford this 
 opportunity. And if the speaker passes on 
 I without the audience's having translated the 
 I general statement into a general illustration 
 ' or a specific instance, the statement remains 
 indefinite and is cast aside by the audience 
 to make room for the ideas which follow. 
 j The speaker should never indulge in ab- 
 I stract statements without supporting them with 
 general illustrations or specific instances. And 
 a better rule is to state your concrete facts 
 , first and then, if necessary, confirm the con- 
 clusion or induction by a general statement. 
 
 Causes of Belief 
 
 So much speaking has for its aim the ac- 
 ceptance of some belief, that much can be 
 learned by a brief investigation of the causes 
 j of believing. 
 
 What does the average man believe, and 
 believe so strongly that if you differ with him 
 he is likely to become angry? The tenets of 
 
28 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 his religion. How did he come to believe in 
 them; by reasoning? No, the average indi- 
 vidual who holds to a faith, acquired it when 
 a child. At that early age, when the mind 
 was incapable of reasoning, the parents and 
 the Sunday Schools taught the child that there 
 was a Supreme Being and that the conduct of 
 the world was regulated by laws laid down 
 by that Supreme Being. The child believed 
 because neither its own mind nor that of others 
 questioned or contradicted these statements. 
 Years later, when the reasoning powers of the 
 child are developed, he may question some of 
 the tenets of the faith in which he was reared. 
 But in a crisis which brushes away light and 
 frivolous thinking and compels him to act on 
 what he really believes, he will probably 
 be found clinging to the faith of his child- 
 hood. 
 
 What does this prove? Simply that every- 
 thing we hear becomes a truth with us unless 
 our own brain or that of another questions 
 it and thereby raises an issue. In the case of 
 a speaker addressing an audience, the prob- 
 lem is to combat the questioning of the audi- 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 29 
 
 ence. If the speaker can win out, he has 
 secured acceptance of the belief. 
 
 With the decreased mental energy of the 
 audience and the power of the speaker's per- 
 sonality, the audience is at a disadvantage. 
 It requires mental energy to question a state- 
 ment, and if the force of the speaker's pres- 
 ence is sufficient, the doubts are resolved in his 
 favor. But if doubts arise they c^n be over- 
 come not only by reasoning but also by repeti- 
 tion. The effect of repeating a statement is 
 far greater than that of argument. The prob- 
 lem, therefore, of getting others to accept a 
 belief is not so much a question of fashioning 
 keen arguments, as it is a task of filling the 
 mind with that thought to the exclusion of 
 contradictory ideas. No two objects can oc- 
 cupy the same space at the same time; no 
 two ideas can occupy the brain at the same 
 moment. Each time you repeat a statement, 
 you focus the attention of the audience upon 
 it. Gradually, whatever contradictory ideas 
 may have suggested themselves lose ground, 
 and the speaker's statement occupies the entire 
 thought of the brain. Have you ever stopped 
 
30 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 to think of how our best advertised products 
 are sold? "Eventually, why not now?" is the 
 sole argument of a flour manufacturer. "The 
 Prudential has the strength of Gibraltar" is 
 repeated so often that no one has any doubts 
 left — they have been crowded out of the brain. 
 
 American history teems with instances of 
 public men attaining their goals merely by 
 asserting a conclusion so frequently and so 
 vigorously that it drove all opposition from 
 the public mind and became accepted as gos- 
 pel truth. Andrew Jackson sought to destroy 
 the United States Bank. He said it was un- 
 sound. The figures compiled by his oppon- 
 ents proved otherwise. But Jackson went on 
 repeating "The bank is broke and Biddle 
 knows it" until he won the public over to his 
 side. Hiram W. Johnson, standing alone, 
 elected himself Governor of California by 
 embracing one issue and hammering away at 
 it every night of the campaign. Touring the 
 state in his own motor car, he addressed little 
 groups in every hamlet and village, ending 
 every speech with these words: 
 
 "And remember this, my friends, I am go- 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 31 
 
 ing to be the next Governor of California, and 
 when I am, I am going to kick out of this 
 government William F. Herrin and the South- 
 ern Pacific Railroad. Good night!" 
 
 Each time Johnson repeated this statement 
 he brought the minds of the electorate back to 
 the idea. Gradually it crowded out all doubts 
 and was accepted as true. He was elected. 
 The effect of repetition has never been better 
 expressed than by our old friend, Mr. Dooley: 
 "I belave annything at all, if ye only tell it 
 to me often enough." 
 
 Experience teaches us to question every- 
 thing or nearly everything that we hear. 
 Otherwise, our safe-deposit boxes would be 
 filled with worthless oil and mining stocks. 
 Self-protection has trained us to question 
 nearly every matter before taking action. 
 But before our minds begin to question any- 
 thing, the idea must reach that degree of 
 definiteness which makes questioning possible. 
 When the insurance agent says, "I want you 
 to take a policy for $10,000," the goal is per- 
 fectly definite. Then the mind turns to ques- 
 tioning: "Can I afford it"; "Couldn't I use 
 
32 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 the premiums to better advantage?" But if 
 he merely presents the benefits of such a pol- 
 icy, the mind of the prospect is focused on 
 the arguments in its favor, and whatever 
 thinking he does is more likely to be in the 
 nature of the conclusion that he should invest. 
 For that reason, the skilful salesman never 
 puts the blunt question until he has caused 
 you to come to that conclusion by your own 
 thinking. 
 
 We have seen that the mental energy of an 
 audience is limited. If the speaker stops short 
 of the goal, the energy of the audience is 
 spent in carrying the thought to its conclusion. 
 There is little or none left for questioning. 
 This method of convincing an audience by 
 directing its thoughts toward the goal, but by 
 refraining from stating the goal until its own 
 thought has reached the point, is called sug- 
 gestion. The audience believes that it is mak- 
 ing its own decision and its mind is so com- 1 
 pletely engaged in carrying the thought to 
 that conclusion, that there is no room or time 
 for opposing or deterring ideas. , 
 
 Perhaps the greatest modem master of sug- | 
 
CONSIDER THE AUDIENCE 33 
 
 gestion is William Jennings Bryan. In the 
 campaign of 1896, he aimed to focus the 
 attention of the American people on the cer- 
 tainty of McKinley's defeat. Had he said, 
 "McKinley will be defeated," the audience 
 would have undoubtedly carried the thought 
 over to the reasons why he would not be 
 beaten. True, had he repeated the statement 
 often enough, he would have gained some 
 effect. But instead of repetition, he employed 
 suggestion. Notice how he refrains from a 
 blunt statement: 
 
 "McKinley was the most popular man 
 among the Republicans, and three months ago 
 everybody in the Republican Party prophe- 
 sied his election. How is it today? Why, the 
 man who was once pleased to think that he 
 looked like Napoleon — that man shudders to- 
 day when he remembers that he was nomi- 
 nated on the anniversary of the Battle of 
 Waterloo. Not only that, but as he listens 
 he can hear with ever-increasing distinctness 
 the sound of the waves as they beat upon the 
 lonely shore of St. Helena." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 
 
 No architect would think of beginning work 
 on the plans for a building until he was told 
 the purpose for which the structure was to be 
 used. Unless the speaker builds his speech 
 to meet the need of the occasion or the goal he 
 has in mind, he cannot hope to achieve success. 
 
 Viewed from the standpoint of the occa- 
 sion, there is the after-dinner speech, the 
 political speech, the lecture, the board-of- 
 directors speech, the sermon, the talk to the 
 jury, the argument before the bench of judges, 
 the Fourth of July oration, and a host of 
 others. Many of these have much in common ; 
 they overlap in so far as purpose is concerned. 
 The only really scientific classification, there- 
 fore, is one based not on the occasion, but on 
 the ultimate aim or end of the speech. 
 
 Students of oratory, from Quintilian down, 
 have endeavored to classify speeches accord- 
 ing to the aim of the speaker. It is not the 
 [341 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 35 
 
 author's intention to invent any new analysis, 
 but merely to present a division that will be 
 of most usefulness to the beginning speaker. 
 Roughly speaking, there are two main divi- 
 sions: first, the purely entertaining speech, 
 and, second, the speech which seeks to accom- 
 plish something more serious than merely to 
 please the listener during its delivery. In the 
 first class fall the after-dinner speech, the 
 speech of welcome to returning friends, the 
 monologue of vaudeville, and all those which 
 merely aim to please the listeners for the time 
 being. Such speeches may or may not be 
 humorous, but they should be felicitous. Hap- 
 piness is the key-note of their purpose. If the 
 speaker holds the attention and amuses, he 
 has achieved his end. 
 
 Most theatre-goers look upon tragedy as 
 calling forth the highest art and skill of the 
 actors. But our greatest stage celebrities are 
 almost unanimous in the assertion that comedy 
 is the most difficult and trying of all. If this 
 sounds discouraging, there is hope in the tes- 
 timony of our greatest popular humorist, 
 Irvin S. Cobb. Mr. Cobb always keeps his 
 
36 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 feet on the ground; he never indulges in flat- 
 tery or blatant optimism. But he states that 
 everyone has the ability to develop into a 
 humorous writer or speaker. The idea that 
 it is a gift of birth he calls "bushwah." 
 
 The ability to make others laugh requires 
 two assets — first, the cultivation of the eye for 
 the humorous side of every situation; second, 
 the knack of presenting what strikes our funny 
 bone in a manner that will make others experi- 
 ence the same sensation. There is really noth- 
 ing new in humor. All our brand-new jokes 
 are, as Mark Twain points out, old ones in 
 new garments. If you question his- statement, 
 note the next fifty funny stories or sayings 
 you hear and you will find that they fall into 
 one of a few classes. 
 
 Every man has a sense of humor and every- 
 one possesses in some degree the ability to 
 make others enjoy what is to him the funny 
 side of life. It takes time and eff'ort and 
 much experimentation to find yourself in this 
 art, but practice will, as in every other field of 
 endeavor, bear fruit. 
 
 Humor, of course, is only one of the factors 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 37 
 
 of entertainment. Some of the others are: 
 (1) the vital; (2) the unusual; (3) the uncer- 
 tain; (4) the antagonistic; (5) the animate, 
 and (6) the concrete. 
 
 By vital we mean those things which touch 
 our most intimate interests in existence. Pro- 
 fessor William James wrote that the average 
 man developed but ten per cent of his ability; 
 recent statistics show that one out of every 
 ten marriages ends in the divorce court. These 
 are vital facts. 
 
 The Chinese pay the doctor while they are 
 well. As soon as they fall ill, his income 
 from the sick stops. That is unusual and 
 therefore entertaining. 
 
 The uncertain is another name for the sus- 
 pended, or the surprise. The secret of writing 
 a good detective story lies in the art of with- 
 holding from the reader the solution of the 
 mystery until the very end. 
 
 Have you ever noticed how many books 
 and plays consist merely of a hero trying to 
 get something with a villain obstructing his 
 efforts? Combat of some sort is the key of 
 the antagonistic. Tell an audience of some 
 
38 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 Struggle — football game, battle, fight for 
 recognition — and they respond like children 
 hearing a fairy tale. 
 
 "Life-like" describes the animate. The 
 properties of radium may not entertain all 
 listeners, but few will fail to enjoy an account 
 of how Madame Currie chanced upon that 
 marvelous element. 
 
 The concrete is the tangible, the actual. 
 An explanation of why the human body will 
 sink in fresh water might not be interesting 
 to the average man on the street. But let the 
 speaker discourse on how the body will float 
 in the Great Salt Lake and everyone "pricks 
 up his ears." 
 
 Perhaps the greatest virtue of an entertain- 
 ing speech is the continuity of its interest. 
 Never allow the speech to "sag"; keep the 
 minds of the listeners off the ground. 
 
 The second division — the speech which aims 
 to do something more than entertain — com- 
 prises every other conceivable form of ad- 
 dress. This class may be subdivided into four 
 groups, or into two groups of two subdivisions 
 each: 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 39 
 
 I. — Speeches without emotional appeal. 
 
 (a) Instructive. 
 
 (b) Argumentative. 
 
 II. — Speeches with emotional appeal. 
 
 (a) Impressive. 
 
 (b) Appealing. 
 
 The Instructive Speech 
 
 ■' The instructive speech aims to clarify. 
 
 ' Nearly every speech at some point confines 
 
 itself to clearness. But for the purpose of 
 
 this classification, we are only concerned with 
 
 clearness as an end and not as a means. 
 
 I Recently Elihu Root appeared before the 
 
 ' members of the Bar Association of New York 
 
 ' City with an address on "The League of 
 
 j Nations." He told them of the machinery 
 
 1 created by the League and how the draftsmen 
 
 ! intended it should function. He did not at- 
 
 I tempt to impress them with the magnitude of 
 
 ' the undertaking, nor did he aim to gain their 
 
 i acceptance of his belief in the efficacy of the 
 
 j League or in the wisdom of its rejection by 
 
 the United States Senate. He made no appeal 
 
40 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 for action on the part of his listeners. His 
 purpose was merely to make clear to the 
 members of the bar the organization and 
 operation of this new super-state which the 
 Peace Commissioners had set up. 
 
 Here was an excellent example of the in- 
 structive speech. Lectures and most addresses 
 before business and professional meetings 
 come within this class. The virtue sought in 
 such speeches may be boiled down to this, — 
 to make the audience understand the subject 
 as clearly as the speaker. And in striving for 
 this virtue, there is a cardinal rule which is 
 nearly always applicable — explain the un- 
 known in terms of the known, Victor Hugo 
 began his masterful description of the Battle 
 of Waterloo by asking the reader to imagine 
 a capital A. Each point of the field was 
 assigned to some part of the letter, thereby 
 assisting the reader to build up a clear visual 
 image of the struggle. 
 
 Never use technical terms unless (1) you 
 are sure they are known to the audience, or 
 (2) you have preceded the use of the term 
 with a clear explanation of its meaning. 
 
 I 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 41 
 
 Nothing will kill the attention and interest 
 of an audience so quickly as the use of some 
 word or phrase which is unintelligible to them. 
 They immediately conclude that you are 
 "speaking over their heads" and become rest- 
 less. Many speakers use technical terms with 
 the parenthesis, "I'll explain that later." This 
 is also dangerous. It is like trying to hang 
 a coat upon the wall before driving the nail. 
 If you must use technical terms, explain them 
 immediately or, better, precede the use with 
 a brief definition. 
 
 Be sure that your illustrations or specific 
 instances . are known to your hearers. A 
 speaker, addressing a New York audience, 
 likened the heat of the boiler room on a battle- 
 ship to the temperature of noonday in Rome. 
 The illustration meant nothing. Had he men- 
 tioned the heat of a subway train in August 
 with the fans out of order, the simile would 
 have explained. 
 
 The best mental images to call forth are 
 those easily seen, heard or felt by the audi- 
 ence. This usually means images which are 
 most frequently called to mind. Beware, how- 
 
42 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 ever, of such hackneyed expressions as "white 
 as snow," "cold as ice," "sharp as a razor." 
 They are so common that they merely mean 
 words to the listener. Repeated use has 
 robbed them of force and freshness. 
 
 Remember that the average individual de- 
 velops his visual imagery more than he does 
 any of the others. The use of mental pictures, 
 therefore, is the most effective means of ob- 
 taining clearness. 
 
 The Impressive Speech 
 
 When we couple with clearness the emo- 
 tional association, our aim is impressiveness. 
 Here the appeal is to the heart rather than to 
 the head. Not only must the idea be seen, it 
 must also be felt. None of us — no matter how 
 highly developed intellectually — can with- 
 stand the effect of emotion. Thoughts may 
 stir, but feelings move. 
 
 A newspaper correspondent witnesses the 
 Battle of the Marne. He sees the Germans 
 attempt to cross the river, hears the roar of 
 the French "seventy-fives," smells the light 
 brown smoke from the guns, feels the ground 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 43 
 
 beneath him shudder as the shells explode. 
 Every emotion is aroused. Returning to his 
 home in Switzerland, he appears before an 
 audience of his countrymen with an account 
 of his experiences. He doesn't argue the cause 
 of the Allies, he makes no appeal for a declar- 
 ation of war — he simply desires to make them 
 run the gamut of feelings which he experi- 
 enced as an eye witness. 
 
 His aim is to be impressive. Eulogies of 
 dead heroes, patriotic addresses on national 
 holidays, invectives — all fall within this class. 
 Impressiveness can be gained by any one or 
 more of a variety of means. Let us consider 
 some of them. 
 
 Quoting a well known man not only gains 
 acceptance of an idea, it stirs the feelings 
 with which the memory of that man is linked. 
 A speaker addressing an audience on the value 
 of utilizing all the faculties of the mind, inter- 
 polated this paragraph: 
 
 "Perhaps the secret of Roosevelt's greatness 
 will never be revealed by any biographer in a 
 more terse manner than by the man's own 
 words in the last week of his life. Writing to 
 
44 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 his sister, Mrs. Robinson, he defended his 
 strenuous life in these words: 'When I was 
 twenty-one, I promised myself that I would 
 live my life to the hilt until I was sixty. And 
 I can now say that I have kept that promise.' " 
 
 Generalities may impress those who are 
 constantly endeavoring to frame their concepts 
 of the general laws of life and science, but 
 they mean little to the average member of an 
 audience. To say that Washington was tender- 
 hearted, kind and affectionate is not nearly so 
 impressive as the following lines from one 
 of his biographies: 
 
 "The General had finished his farewell 
 address. A death-like silence gripped all 
 around him. Standing near was General 
 Greene — in tears. Without a word spoken, 
 Washington advanced toward him and kissed 
 him." 
 
 Specific instances which arouse sentiment 
 are the most impressive. The following was 
 told by a student of the emotions as evidence 
 of the close alliance between humor and 
 pathos: 
 
 "The drunkard sat on the curb with his 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 45 
 
 shaggy head resting on his chest. Around 
 him danced the village urchins, spearing him 
 with sticks and jests. Suddenly the sot raised 
 his head — the crowd scattered — one of the boys 
 recognized the drunkard as his own father." 
 
 Unusual stories and anecdotes tend to shock. 
 The following quotation from Dr. W. Hanna 
 Thompson is an excellent instance of the 
 power of the unusual. Speaking of the Roman 
 Seneca and his base nature, Dr. Thompson 
 writes : 
 
 ". . . he (Seneca) was the man who scan- 
 dalized even the hardened cynics of Nero's 
 Rome by rising in the Senate to eulogize Nero 
 for ripping open the body of his mother to 
 see the womb that bore him." 
 
 If you would make an idea impressive, you 
 must make the audience give more thought to 
 it than it ordinarily would in a short, cursory 
 exposition. By dwelling on it, by repeating 
 it, by using impressive words, you enlarge the 
 attention given the idea. 
 
 The short Anglo-Saxon words are usually 
 preferable to the Latinized ones. The Bible 
 and Lincoln's speeches owe part of their liter- 
 
46 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 ary immortality to the superiority of the short, 
 terse quality of simple words. But for pur- 
 poses of impressiveness it is sometimes advan- 
 tageous to use the longer word. To say that 
 cigarette smoking by little girls is nasty ex- 
 presses the idea very well, but to say that it is 
 disgusting adds an impressiveness. Like- 
 wise, to call a spectacle stupendous gives an 
 emphasis which the word grand lacks. The 
 reason for this superiority is the greater num- 
 ber of syllables and therefore the greater 
 space of time in which the adjective occupies 
 the attention of the hearers. 
 
 Repetition of an idea gains impressiveness 
 for the same reason. Notice how the cumula- 
 tion of evidence in the following paragraph 
 hammers the thought home: 
 
 "The Germans had no scruples of conscience 
 in waging war. When the invasion of peace- 
 ful Belgium was protested in the name of 
 neutrality, the answer was, 'A mere scrap of 
 paper!' When Woodrow Wilson penned his 
 protest against the use of the submarine, the 
 answer was, 'Stay off the seas!' When aged 
 fathers tried to shelter their daughters from 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 47 
 
 the invading hordes, the penalty consisted of 
 forcing them to witness the violation of their 
 offspring on the open street." 
 
 Repetition may take the form of continuous 
 reassertion as in the last instance or it may 
 be a recurrence at stated intervals throughout 
 the speech. In either case, effectiveness is 
 best gained by a climactic sequence in which 
 each succeeding repetition is more striking 
 than the last. 
 
 The Argumentative Speech 
 
 The argumentative speech aims to persuade 
 an audience to accept the speaker's belief. 
 Where speakers representing different sides of 
 a question present their arguments to the same 
 audience, the contest is called a debate. Such 
 contests require a strict adherence to formal 
 rules, and the speaking takes the form of a 
 cold, mathematical appeal to reason. But the 
 object of a speaker in a debate is to adduce 
 a greater amount of evidence in support of 
 his contention than his opponent does. And 
 his efforts are judged by men who are sworn 
 to weigh his arguments from an unprejudiced 
 
48 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 viewpoint. But the average argumentative 
 speech must do more. It must not only pre- 
 sent reasons, it must secure belief. 
 
 The cardinal rule for gaining acceptance of 
 any belief is to liken that belief with one or 
 more already accepted by the audience. The 
 following paragraph from a speech by an 
 advocate of the League of Nations illustrates 
 the application of this rule: 
 
 "The opponents of the League have spent 
 many words on the argument that whatever 
 benefits may be derived from its adoption will 
 be purchased at the cost of our American lib- 
 erties. All government means the loss of cer- 
 tain rights. Flourish a revolver on Broadway, 
 New York City, and, unless you have a permit, 
 you will soon find yourself accompanying a 
 gentleman in blue to the nearest police station. 
 Where is your liberty? But the next day, if 
 you are fortunate enough to secure bail, that 
 same policeman may save your life from the 
 assaults of a thug. Would you give up that 
 protection to regain the liberty of carrying 
 arms? The next time you pay taxes on your 
 real estate, you will find on examining the bill 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 49 
 
 that some of the money collected goes to the 
 State of New York. You cannot deduct that 
 amount from the bill. Where is your liberty? 
 But the money which goes outside your county 
 helps to keep the state roads in repair. You 
 may go anywhere in the State without paying 
 tolls to cross bridges and without being held 
 up as a possible alien. Would you relinquish 
 these enjoyments to regain the right to refuse 
 to pay taxes? Recently, the United States 
 Supreme Court told New York that it could 
 not tax residents of other states at a greater 
 rate than it taxed us. Where is our liberty of 
 taxing non-residents? But that same Federal 
 Government stations representatives all over 
 the world to protect us when we travel on 
 business or pleasure. At the cost of millions 
 of dollars and men, it prevented an ambitious 
 conqueror from implanting the German lan- 
 guage on our land. Are the benefits worth 
 the cost? 
 
 "The advocates of the League would go a 
 step farther. They would protect us from the 
 ravages of war, they would save us billions of 
 dollars that now go into engines of destruction, 
 
50 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 they would insure freedom to business all over 
 the world. What is the cost! Simply the loss of 
 those rights which we have long ago contrib- 
 uted to the cause of law and order in order to 
 secure the blessings of peace and happiness." 
 The value of repetition and suggestion has 
 been discussed in a previous chapter. There 
 remains one other important means of secur- 
 ing acceptance. The citing of testimony from 
 some well known man is a very effective aid. 
 Nearly every great political leader has relied 
 upon the opinions of deceased statesmen as 
 arguments in favor of his stand on important 
 measures. In defending his formation of the 
 Progressive Party, Roosevelt continually 
 quoted Lincoln's views on party loyalty and 
 likened his leaving of the Republican Party to 
 Lincoln's entrance into the same party. Nearly 
 every Senator who opposed our entrance into 
 the League of Nations quoted Washington's 
 warning against entangling alliances. 
 
 The Appealing Speech 
 
 The purpose of the appealing speech is to 
 secure action — the highest and most difficult 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 51 
 
 goal of all. The man who can get an audience 
 to do his will is not only an orator, he is a 
 leader. This power is a function of many 
 things, — personality, reputation, and all the 
 virtues of speaking that are part of the orator's 
 equipment. But much may be gained by 
 learning how to direct the appeal. 
 
 Why do men toil, why do they perform any 
 act requiring the expenditure of effort? Such 
 a question propounded to six men on the street 
 would probably produce six answers, each 
 fitting what that man wanted most at that 
 particular time. But if those six were to come 
 together and compare their answers, they 
 would probably agree on one common aim in 
 life — to live happily. But happiness is the 
 result of satisfying wants and desires. In 
 order, then, to secure action through appeal, 
 we must show the audience that the line of 
 conduct we would have them pursue will sat- 
 isfy one or more of their desires. 
 
 Man's wants are many. Primitive man 
 wanted only food, clothing, shelter and a help- 
 mate. But, as students of advertising point 
 out, the advancement of civilization increases 
 
52 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 the complexity of life and the resulting wants 
 and needs of mankind. To name specifically 
 all these wants and needs would require the 
 space of a small dictionary. But for the pur- 
 pose of the speaker, it will suffice to name the 
 seven classes in which these wants may be 
 grouped. The order in which they are named 
 is an arbitrary one and does not signify their 
 relative importance. 
 
 I. — ''Self-preservation is the first law of 
 nature," is a much quoted maxim, often used 
 to explain the selfishness of human beings. 
 But it is instinctive, and if we are to judge 
 man by the animal kingdom in general, it is 
 the first law of conduct. But whether it is first 
 or last, it is an important factor in the life of 
 all. The erection of houses, the care of the 
 body, the caution in times and places of 
 danger, the appropriations for military de- 
 fenses — all are testimonials of the desire for 
 self-preservation. Appeal, therefore, to any 
 one of the countless desires flowing from this 
 instinct, and you are sure to set in motion 
 some human act. 
 
 11. — ''Love rules the world." The psycho- 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 53 
 
 analyst Freud attributes all human thinking 
 and action to the attraction of the opposite sex. 
 But love in the sense in which we use it em- 
 braces all the affection which we hold for 
 persons and institutions outside of self — rela- 
 tives, friends, and country. The love for each 
 varies according to the degree of relationship 
 and the number of interests in common. For 
 the love of kin, men toil from morning to night 
 and sometimes sacrifice all personal ambi- 
 tions; for the love of friends men risk their 
 worldly possessions; for the love of country, 
 men brave death on the battlefield. 
 
 III. — Property. The desire to accumulate 
 money or its equivalent is to be found in every 
 race and climate. The very possession of it, 
 apart from the things it can buy, is an aim 
 common to nearly all of us. Show any man 
 how he can increase his income, save money 
 and become financially independent, and he 
 will "prick up his ears." The accumulation 
 of property may be frowned upon as a vain 
 purpose, but cannot be ignored as a main- 
 spring of human endeavor. 
 
 IV.^ — Knowledge and Power. The desire 
 
54 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 for light and the desire for power are so 
 closely interwoven that we put them in one 
 heading. A man's knowledge is so small that 
 the need of it is eternal. "Knowledge is 
 power," links the two in a manner which indi- 
 cates that the latter is the stronger of the two. 
 Power is that desire that prompts men to labor 
 incessantly in order to develop superior skill 
 in their business or profession, thus giving 
 them mastery over others. It is this motive 
 that leads kings to wage war, statesmen to toil 
 night after night while their health suffers, 
 orators to study the psychology of crowds, 
 scientists to risk their lives in the laboratory 
 to wrest the secrets from nature, and capitalists 
 to die in the saddle long after they have pro- 
 vided for themselves and their heirs unto 
 the third and fourth generation. Call it the 
 lust of power if you will, but few men who 
 once taste it are able to lay it down. 
 
 V. — Good Name. "I care not what others 
 may think of me; I shall follow my con- 
 science." How often have we heard that re- 
 mark? It is a noble thought — one which 
 admits of little argument. And yet, the very 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 55 
 
 mentioning of "what others think of me" is 
 evidence of this ever-present consideration. 
 Even those who risk their good names to fol- 
 low certain ideas usually attempt at some 
 later date to win back that good name by ex- 
 plaining why they acted as they did. Which 
 proves that the desire for a good reputation 
 is rarely extinguished. 
 
 "Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, 
 Is the immediate jewel of their souls: 
 Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis some- 
 thing, nothing; 
 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to 
 
 thousands; 
 But he that filches from me my good name 
 Robs me of that which not enriches him 
 And makes me poor indeed." 
 
 — Iago to Othello. 
 
 VI. — Emotions. There are certain strong 
 emotions which once aroused, impel action. 
 The love of justice, kindness, generosity and 
 self-respect, and the hatred of despotism, dis- 
 honesty, cowardice and kindred vices are some 
 
56 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 of the feelings so strong that all of us find 
 ourselves at times slaves to their influence. 
 
 VII. — Beliefs. We all know that religion 
 and politics are tabooed as subjects for dis- 
 cussion at dinners and other social gatherings. 
 And the reason is that the average individual 
 holds his ideas on each so closely to his heart 
 that if you hit either, you wound the whole 
 man. Men will die for their religious faith; 
 they will part company with their best friends 
 because of political diff"erences. It is a factor 
 which must never be used by the speaker 
 unless he is sure to off^end no one; for it is a 
 double-edged sword. 
 
 If it were possible to determine in some 
 psychological laboratory the proportionate 
 strength of each of the seven groups in every 
 man, we would find an amazing variety of 
 results. But the speaker's task is to appeal 
 to the collective and not the individual man. 
 The best plan is to send your appeal through 
 all seven channels — then you are sure to reach 
 all on some one appeal. If that plan is not 
 feasible you must select your channels with 
 three considerations in mind: (1) the charac- 
 
THE PURPOSES OF SPEAKING 57 
 
 ter of the audience; (2) the subject, and (3) 
 the appeal which you are best fitted to make. 
 The latter consideration will depend largely 
 on your individual philosophy of life and 
 human conduct. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SCOPE OF THE SPEECH 
 
 To the speaker making his first address, 
 seconds pass like hours, and minutes crawl 
 like months. But close on the heels of that 
 first realization of confidence comes the com- 
 plaint, "I can't cover my subject in the allotted 
 time." It's a healthy complaint — a growing 
 pain — notwithstanding the faults which it con- 
 fesses. 
 
 The trouble, of course, lies with the speaker's 
 preparation. The man who does not plan his 
 speech with careful consideration of the time 
 allotted is little better than the railroad official 
 who publishes a time table without taking into 
 consideration the speed of the trains. Anyone 
 who attends dinners knows that not all such 
 men are in public speaking classes, but they 
 ought to be. Nothing is more boring than a 
 speaker who lacks "terminal facilities." On 
 the other hand, a speaker who covers his point 
 in the given time is always in demand. One 
 [58] 
 
SCOPE OF THE SPEECH 59 
 
 of the most pleasant features of the fall open- 
 ing at Hamilton College is the talk given by 
 Elihu Root — one point, briefly but comprehen- 
 sively expressed, in about three minutes. 
 
 What are the causes of failure in this re- 
 gard? Lack of experience? Yes, but even 
 the most inexperienced speaker can succeed 
 in avoiding this transgression by observing 
 two laws: first, make your introduction as 
 short as possible; second, don't try to cover 
 too much ground. The first will be treated 
 I at length in a subsequent chapter; the second 
 i will suffice for this. 
 
 I A student reads of the immense cost of 
 j maintaining our army and navy, and that dis- 
 , armament would save every man, woman and 
 . child in the United States many dollars each 
 year. He decides to use that subject for his 
 I next three-minute talk before the class. Very 
 ' good! But in turning the subject over in his 
 mind, he thinks of many other arguments for 
 ': disarmament — prevention of wars, saving of 
 life, business stability. The subject is con- 
 tinually enlarging, like a snow-ball rolling 
 down a mountain side. The probable result 
 
60 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 is that he attempts to present the whole cause 
 of disarmament in three minutes. Can it be 
 done? Yes, if he is content to make his speech 
 a mere table of contents. Had he confined 
 himself to the one phase of the subject, he 
 could have made an incisive, comprehensive 
 appeal. 
 
 A former Supreme Court Judge of New 
 York expressed the opinion that the successful 
 la^vyers in our appellate courts confine their 
 oral arguments to the strongest point in their 
 briefs, and are content to hammer home that 
 one point. The same practice is followed by 
 successful campaigners, salesmen and clergy- 
 men. Instead of spreading yourself over an 
 acre, pick out the high spot and confine your- 
 self to that area. 
 
 An excellent method of limiting the scope 
 of your talk is to speak or write to a friend 
 something like the following: 
 
 "I am going to give a three-minute talk to- 
 morrow evening on the battleship of the future. 
 My purpose is to convince the audience that 
 our new dreadnaughts must be protected above 
 as well as below the water-line. I shall sup- 
 
SCOPE OF THE SPEECH 61 
 
 port the assertion by explaining the recent air- 
 bombing tests held off the Atlantic Coast." 
 
 Such a condensed statement, spoken or writ- 
 ten, has the added advantage of revealing to 
 the writer or speaker the clarity of his thoughts. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 PREPARING THE SPEECH PART ONE 
 
 Importance of Preparation 
 
 There is so much misunderstanding about 
 "extemporaneous" speaking that it is unfortu- 
 nate that the word ever became associated 
 with the art. The dictionary defines the adjec- 
 tive as "done or made with little or no prep- 
 aration; offhand." Strictly speaking, there is 
 no such thing. Of course, there are men and 
 women who have a certain gift for concealing 
 theij: ignorance by glibly discussing a subject 
 in lofty, voluble language that fills the ear and 
 decoys the mind from thought, as the Lorelei 
 lured the German boatmen from the stream.^ 
 The unthinking listener becomes a victim of 
 that pernicious philosophy that teaches you 
 can get something for nothing. He sometimes 
 joins a public speaking class with the hope 
 that some secret short-cut will teach him to 
 stand on a platform, open his mouth and en- 
 thrall any audience on any subject. Such 
 [62] 
 
 I 
 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 63 
 
 men could employ their time and money to 
 better advantage by inventing a perpetual 
 motion machine. 
 
 Great speeches have been delivered without 
 the speaker's preparing for the particular oc- 
 casion. But in every such case, the effort 
 coupled a previous mastery of the thought 
 with a well-developed ability in self-expres- 
 sion. Daniel Webster's greatest speech was 
 his Reply to Hayne. The mellow orator of 
 the Union had just completed the argument 
 of a case in the Supreme Court and walked 
 into the Senate Chamber to find the spokesman 
 of the South making an impassionate plea for 
 State sovereignty. Webster took up the chal- 
 lenge and met the issue with that masterful 
 argument which ended with, "Liberty and 
 union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
 A friend later remarked, "I didn't think that 
 even you could make such an extemporaneous 
 speech!" and Webster replied with a smile, 
 "I have been preparing that speech all my 
 life!" 
 
 A great speech requires great thoughts and 
 great expression. The latter is skill, but the 
 
64 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 former is a possession which means study and 
 work. A speech can be no better than the 
 thinking it expresses. Be sure, therefore, that 
 you have something to give before you attempt 
 to exhibit the generosity of your eloquence. 
 
 Collecting Material 
 
 The selection of a subject indicates, or 
 should indicate, that the speaker has given 
 sufficient thought to the subject to warrant the 
 choice. He should have, therefore, enough 
 material to guide him in collecting more. The 
 man who wants to do his best, however, will 
 never go on the platform with a mere handful 
 of facts and thoughts. He will read and read, 
 and think and think. The more material col- 
 lected the greater is the field from which to 
 select, and the greater the reserve the greater 
 the confidence. The man who goes into a 
 business venture with a comfortable bank bal- 
 ance has many reasons for success. 
 
 It is surprising how much material may be 
 gained from the day's experience by keeping 
 the subject somewhere in the mind. The good 
 fisherman focuses his attention on the task, 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 65 
 
 but it does no harm to tow the line while mov- 
 ing from place to place. 
 
 Douglas Mathewson, former Borough Pres- 
 ident of the Bronx, New York City, once told 
 a class in public speaking that his ability to 
 fill so many speaking engagements was due to 
 a plan he had followed from youth. He kept 
 a notebook of speaking material. It con- 
 tained jokes, anecdotes, extracts from books, 
 magazines and newspaper articles, and all 
 sorts of general information which might be 
 used in a public address. By looking over 
 this book a few minutes before leaving home 
 to speak, he would get enough suggestions to 
 frame a speech to suit the occasion. 
 
 This is not given as a model, but it contains 
 a suggestion that the ambitious speaker will 
 follow. One of the greatest evils in public 
 speaking classes is the lack of preparation on 
 the part of many men. How a man can expect 
 to get the most out of a course without expend- 
 ing a reasonable amount of effort in prepara- 
 tion is difficult to understand. If you are 
 given to procrastination, here is a bit of ad- 
 vice: pick your subject for next week's talk 
 
66 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 before you retire on the evening of your last. 
 While undressing, decide on what you are 
 going to say. Force yourself to give a few 
 minutes of each day to it. You will find that 
 your ideas, like snow-balls rolling down a 
 hill, gain size and form each day. 
 
 But the best plan is to keep as far ahead of 
 your appearances as you can. Professional 
 writers and speakers often keep a cabinet of 
 manila envelopes in which they place all sorts 
 of clippings and notes on which they intend to 
 write or speak. Once the habit of collecting 
 data in this fashion is formed, the envelopes 
 are soon bulging with material. Ida N. Tar- 
 bell once told a class in short story writing 
 that this plan worked so well, that she could 
 write an article from her collections in a very 
 short time. You should adopt right now some 
 modification of this plan. Here is a begin- 
 ning: 
 
 "I never let an idea escape me, but 
 write it on a piece of paper and put it 
 in a drawer. In that way I sometimes 
 save my best thoughts on a subject." 
 — Abraham Lincoln. 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 67 
 
 Selecting Material 
 
 Experience in speaking gives a man a sixth 
 sense for appraising the value of any given 
 material. The beginner must learn the art 
 of keeping and discarding. He can be helped, 
 however, by following two rules: first, use 
 only such material as is strictly relevant to 
 the subject; second, never employ material 
 which awakens the interest of the audience in 
 another subject. In applying these rules, an 
 excellent practice is to focus the attention on 
 the particular material, apart from the sub- 
 ject. If the main idea leads you into a chan- 
 nel of thought other than the theme of your 
 speech, discard it. The second rule may well 
 be illustrated by the following example: 
 
 A speaker preparing a talk on grit came 
 across the following: 
 
 "De man dat succeeds," said Uncle Eben, 
 "is de one dat has de grit to git up every 
 mornin' and put ditto marks under his New 
 Year's resolutions." 
 
 The quotation certainly suggests grit, but 
 it also leads the mind of the reader to the 
 
68 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 subject of good resolutions. With the interest 
 in the latter awakened, it is likely that the 
 audience will be led into that channel of 
 thought and carry its subconscious ideas of 
 resolutions throughout the remainder of the 
 speech. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PREPARING THE SPEECH PART TWO 
 
 Arranging the Material 
 
 A speech may be divided into three parts — 
 introduction, body and conclusion. In short 
 speeches, this division is sometimes hard to 
 make, but the three parts are there, neverthe- 
 less. The importance of the first and third 
 was very forcefully stated in the humorous 
 advice of Victor Murdock: "Get a good begin- 
 ning and a good ending ; stuff it with whatever 
 you please." Opening and closing a speech 
 present peculiar problems and for that reason 
 we will consider them later. 
 
 Body. Having selected the material, the 
 'next step is to arrange it in the most effective 
 order. This brings up a question of delivery 
 which might well be mentioned now. The 
 beginning speaker, fearful of his memory, is 
 tempted to write out the address and memorize 
 it — a dangerous practice. There are so many 
 reasons against such a procedure that a de- 
 [69] 
 
70 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 tailed presentation of the arguments would 
 fill a volume of this size. But at this point 
 it is only necessary to state that the practice 
 quickly ripens into a habit which makes the 
 speaker a slave to it. The better practice is 
 to write out an outline and memorize it. In 
 arranging that outline we are guided by rules 
 which are readily deducted from the study 
 of plays, novels, essays or short stories. 
 
 The first rule is that of order. No audience 
 wants to work out a picture puzzle; it has 
 little patience with the speaker who jumbles 
 his thoughts and shuffles his facts. All the 
 material should be arranged in groups, just as 
 the automobile manufacturer assembles nuts, 
 bolts and plates into parts before putting to- 
 gether the whole machine. The order of the 
 groups should, in turn, show method. It is 
 impossible to lay down any precise rules which 
 will enable the speaker to determine the order. 
 Each speaker must follow his own good sense 
 in this phase of the construction. But he 
 should keep in mind the viewpoint of the 
 audience. It is always a good plan to state 
 facts before theories, arguments before ap- 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 71 
 
 peal, evidence before conclusion. A speech 
 wEicIi is essentially narrative need not pro- 
 ceed in strictly chronological sequence. Have 
 you ever noticed that most stories begin in the 
 middle of the action, then jump to the begin- 
 ning and carry the tale to the end? The same 
 is permissible and advantageous in the spoken 
 story. 
 
 — The second rule is to arrange the material 
 in the most effective order. That means that 
 the climax should come near the end. Many 
 speakers summarize all they have to say in 
 two or three sentences, and then fill out the 
 time by repeating the same ideas with no 
 additions or illuminating illustrations. This 
 method (or lack of method) of discharging all 
 your real ammunition on the first salvo results 
 lin a weak finish, which offsets much of what- 
 ever strength lay in the beginning. The 
 iheatre-goer who knows how the play will end 
 will never follow the action with the same 
 interest that is borne of the curiosity to know 
 the solution of the problem. Read the last 
 chapter of a book and you will not have the 
 patience to read the middle. The well-arranged 
 
72 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 speech leaves the best thrills for the end, and 
 thus intensifies the attention and interest of the 
 audience as the time passes. 
 
 The third rule is to relieve the tension of 
 the audience by following each striking point 
 with lighter and less serious material. The 
 dramatist plans his action so that humor or 
 light dialogue rests the audience after each 
 thrill. Shakespeare brought on the drunken 
 porter immediately after Macbeth had killed 
 Duncan; Juliet's nurse prevented the fires of 
 tension from burning themselves out. Like 
 the progress of the incoming tide, each big 
 wave is followed by a recession that makes 
 the next greater than the preceding. Psychol- 
 ogy shows that the attention is not a continu- 
 ous flow of heightened tension; it comes in 
 waves. If the demand on the focus of the 
 audience's attention is greater than the supplyj 
 the point snaps off and leaves a dull surface. 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The relation of the introduction to the body 
 of the speech is such an important considera- 
 tion that the opening remarks can be best 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 73 
 
 framed after the body has been well prepared 
 and arranged. The function of an introduc- 
 tion is to introduce. That is its main purpose. 
 But there are two other virtues. 
 
 Firstj_.an introduction should be brief. 
 Second, it should secure attention. Some men 
 are so constituted that they cannot begin any 
 speech without tracing the world's history 
 from the Garden of Eden, and long after their 
 time is up they reach the creation of Eve. 
 We live in such a rapid age, quick action is so 
 imperative, that no speaker should try the 
 patience of an audience by too long an over- 
 ture. Select^ yojiir key before you approach 
 the door and unlock it with speed if not haste. 
 
 Notice how advertisements are worded so 
 as to attract attention at the very beginning. 
 How often do you pass by a short story because 
 the title or the opening paragraph fails to 
 arouse your interest? If the writer is a suc- 
 cessful one, he has probably spent more time 
 in writing the beginning than he has on any 
 other part of equal length in the entire story. 
 
 There are countless ways of making the 
 opening remarks interesting. The following 
 
74 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 are merely a few of the methods commonly 
 used by average speakers. 
 
 Story. You have probably heard that it is 
 not good form to begin a speech with a story. 
 The reason back of this rule, if it may be con- 
 sidered a rule, is the abuse of this means of 
 securing attention. Many men go out of their 
 way to begin with a story, regardless of 
 whether the story has or has not a good con- 
 nection with the speech as a whole. Such a 
 practice is just as cheap as the vaudeville stunt 
 of saving a poor act by dragging out the 
 American flag at the close. Telling a story is 
 not the most dignified method of beginning an 
 address, but if it is in point and its spirit is in 
 keeping with the speech, there is no substantial 
 objection to it. By story, of course, we mean 
 some piece of fiction. 
 \ Quotation. A quotation — prose or poetry 
 — from the writings of some great man or 
 woman is an excellent opener. We are always 
 interested in successful people and cannot get 
 enough of their opinions. When we hear well- 
 known people quoted, we unconsciously pay 
 the person quoting some of the respect and 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 75 
 
 admiration we hold for the person quoted. 
 Sometimes in quoting poetry it is better to 
 omit the name of the poet, particularly when 
 the lines are well known. Here, again, the 
 quotation should have a real connection with 
 what follows. If the audience gets the im- 
 pression that you are dragging in a story or 
 quotation by the ears simply for its effect on 
 them, you will soon feel its resentment. 
 1^ Startling Statements. We have all heard 
 such opening remarks as, "The majority is 
 always wrong"; "Every man is a potential 
 murderer"; "Might makes right." Such state- 
 ments never fail to arouse an audience to at- 
 tention. Whether because of the sweeping 
 character of the remark or because of the 
 paradox, we sit up and listen to what follows. 
 But when you use this method, be sure that 
 you satisfy the curiosity it arouses. Unless 
 your succeeding statements explain its mean- 
 ing to the satisfaction of the audience, your 
 startling statement will prove a boomerang. 
 Uistgi^. Some interesting fact or anecdote 
 from history, particularly when it centers 
 around a well-known personality, is probably 
 
76 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 the best method of opening an address. There 
 is something about the past which holds a 
 charm for all. And when we hear a man go 
 back into history we instinctively increase our 
 respect for his knowledge and ability. 
 A ^J^I^^^^ Experiences are always welcome. 
 j An audience is always eager to pry into the 
 life and habits of the man addressing it. By 
 taking them into your confidence, you increase 
 their interest in you. The average speaker is 
 far too modest in his aversion to the use of the 
 first person. 
 l^ Outline. Sometimes, when the subject mat- 
 ^ ter or the lack of time makes the ordinary 
 introduction inadvisable, it is proper to open 
 by setting forth in brief, crisp fashion the pur- 
 pose of your speech, the main headings and 
 your method of presentation. This is the 
 method of the debater and the lawyer in his 
 opening remarks to the jury. The plain, frank 
 character of this method holds a certain appeal 
 to the average man in the audience. It should 
 commend itself to the speaker when it is desir- 
 able above all to win the confidence of the 
 hearers in his simple, above-board attitude. 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 77 
 
 I 
 
 In using any of the foregoing methods, be 
 careful of two things. First, do not select an 
 introduction which is so much more interesting 
 or so much more important in subject matter 
 I than the remainder of your speech, that it will 
 put you at a disadvantage in holding the atten- 
 tion. In other words, the tail should not wag 
 
 I the dog. Second, an introduction should never 
 
 antagonize any part of the audience. This is 
 particularly important when your speech is 
 , argumentative. Frequently a political talker 
 I will open with a partisan remark which closes 
 the ears of every neutral in the audience. In 
 every argument there is common ground. Be- 
 gin there and gradually turn the attention to 
 your side of the issue. There is, however, one 
 exception to this rule. Where your audience 
 i is openly hostile, an initial "blow between the 
 I eyes" will sometimes secure more attention 
 1 and respect than honeyed phrases. A classic 
 I example of this happened in the national cam- 
 I paign of 1900. As the Republican candidate 
 for vice-president, Roosevelt was sent into 
 I Nebraska, the home of Bryan and Free Silver. 
 The audience at one meeting was as hostile 
 
78 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING _ 
 
 as a group of Bolshevists would be at a 
 directors' meeting. A death-like silence, like 
 the calm before a storm, greeted the speaker's 
 arrival. He broke the tension with these 
 words, biting off each syllable with character- 
 istic precision: 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Republican 
 Party stands for the Gold Standard; and it 
 stands for the Gold Standard in the State of 
 Nebraska just as it stands for the Gold Stand- 
 ard in the State of New York." 
 
 The audience burst into tears. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 Orators of the old school made a great deal 
 of the peroration. They always worked out a 
 closing appeal with a view to stirring the 
 emotions of the audience to the highest pitch. 
 Time has changed the popularity of this prac- 
 tice, but the need of a strong ending is still 
 present and always will be. The last para- 
 graph of a speech is like the last course of a 
 dinner. If it is bad, it destroys much of the 
 joy that went before; if it is good, we leave 
 the table with that contented feeling which 
 
PREPARING THE SPEECH 79 
 
 tends to wipe out the memory of everything 
 unpleasant that preceded it. 
 
 It is difficult to give concrete directions for 
 closing a speech. But a few rules will help. 
 Above all, the ending should be strong with 
 ring and sting. Where it is possible, the last 
 paragraph should summarize and tie together 
 all that has been said in the body of the speech, 
 so as to make the unity of the whole stand out. 
 Where the purpose of the speech is to secure 
 action, the closing remarks should take the 
 form of an appeal. 
 
 Here is one instance where an exception to 
 the rule against memorizing your speech might 
 be pleaded. Webster's command of oratorical 
 language was so masterful, that he rarely paid 
 any attention to the exact words he would 
 use until he got on his feet. But he always 
 worked out and memorized a strong closing 
 paragraph. 
 
 Another suggestion might be made here. 
 It is always profitable to leave an audience in 
 a happy frame of mind. A happy closing 
 sentence might win applause for an otherwise 
 mediocre address. In talking to an entering 
 
80 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 class at Hamilton College, Elihu Root selected 
 as his subject the effect of education on the 
 physical beauty of the face. He told them 
 how knowledge and wisdom threw a certain 
 charm over the features of the ugly, and how 
 mental stagnation and ignorance clouded the 
 attractiveness of the face of perfect propor- 
 tions. The speech was a bit abstract, but the 
 closing sentence left a feeling which is still 
 remembered by those who heard it: 
 
 "I hope you will all grow in wisdom and 
 truth until your beauty will surpass that of the 
 president and faculty of Hamilton College." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 
 
 The preceding chapters have dealt only with 
 those principles of speech construction which 
 the beginner can appreciate and apply. This 
 chapter aims to open the door to new fields of 
 improvement and development. 
 
 Importance of Clear Thinking 
 
 Language is but a means to an end; it is 
 only a vehicle for thought. Unless the speaker 
 has something worth while to say, the highly 
 developed transportation system is of little 
 use. Is the product of your thinking worth 
 the freight? Yes, provided it is the product 
 of your best thinking. Nature never repeats. 
 The Creator has given every being a certain 
 individuality which makes his thinking differ- 
 ent from that of every other being. But few 
 have the faith, the courage and the industry to 
 dig deep enough into the mine of their own 
 brains to find the precious metal. 
 [81] 
 
82 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 Two of the greatest thinkers in American 
 history have bequeathed to us the secret of 
 their power: 
 
 "When I got on such a hunt for an idea, and 
 until I got it, or I thought I had got it, I was 
 not satisfied until I had repeated it over and 
 over, until I had put it in language plain 
 enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew to 
 comprehend. This was a kind of passion with 
 me. It has stuck by me, for I am never easy 
 now when I am handling a case until I have 
 bounded it north, and bounded it south, and 
 bounded it east, and bounded it west." 
 
 — Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 "Men give me some credit for genius. All 
 the genius I have lies in this: When I have a 
 subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day 
 and night it is before me. I explore it in all 
 its bearings. My mind becomes pervaded 
 with it. Then the effort which I make is what 
 the people are pleased to call the fruits of 
 genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought." 
 
 — Alexander Hamilton. 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 83 
 
 The speaker must see the idea clearly with 
 his own mind's eye before he can hope to 
 make it apparent to the mental vision of 
 others. He must examine the subject from 
 every angle — above, below and around — 
 probing every inch of the ground by self- 
 questioning. Discussion of a subject with a 
 friend enables the speaker to detach himself 
 from the ideas and to see them from a new 
 viewpoint. He sometimes finds that his own 
 ears are good critics in detecting the shallow- 
 ness of his thinking or the flaws of his reason- 
 ing. Above all, the practice will reveal the 
 degree of clearness which the ideas have 
 assumed. 
 
 In order to get the benefit of many view- 
 points, some speakers and writers make it a 
 practice never to part with a subject until they 
 have considered it for a certain length of time 
 and during every part of the day. Experience 
 teaches all that the problem which seems 
 fraught with obstacles at night takes on a 
 hopeful appearance when viewed in the morn- 
 ing, and many a morning's worry fades to a 
 shadow when considered by lamplight. Each 
 
84 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 speaker must study his own nature and make 
 the most of his knowledge of self. 
 
 Rhetoric 
 
 Rhetoric has been defined as the art of 
 writing or speaking effectively. It embraces 
 all phases of discourse — vocabulary, gram- 
 mar, style, figures of speech, etc. Inasmuch 
 as we are considering oral discourse alone, we 
 can eliminate such elements as punctuation 
 and spelling. We are training the ear and not 
 the eye. 
 
 Reading Aloud 
 
 Modern methods of teaching languages in 
 our schools would seem to indicate that the 
 Creator gave each race a set of rules of gram- 
 mar with instructions to build up a language 
 in accordance therewith. Students labor for 
 hours over the study of syntax, write pages 
 and pages of composition, and then proceed 
 to butcher their mother tongue in conversation 
 outside the class-room. The fault lies in 
 the failure to follow in teaching the great 
 truth that language is a science of the ear and 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 85 
 
 not of the eye. A child who hears good Eng- 
 lish in the home will speak good English even 
 though he never learns a single rule of gram- 
 mar. His ear has been trained to the music 
 of the language and does not need to apply 
 rules in order to detect a discord. 
 
 The shortest cut to the mastery of good 
 English is the cultivation of the habit of read- 
 ing aloud passages from standard authors. 
 Make that the basis of your study of the lan- 
 guage. The style of oral discourse differs 
 from that of written discourse. It is prefer- 
 able, therefore, to read the works of great 
 speakers — Burke, Hamilton, Webster or Lin- 
 coln. 
 
 Vocabulary 
 
 A good vocabulary means something more 
 than the ability to define a large number of 
 words; it means the ability and practice of 
 using those words in writing or speaking. 
 Increasing one's vocabulary necessitates syste- 
 matic labor. Most masters of English employ 
 some scheme of daily effort in adding new 
 words to their list. There is a simple method 
 
86 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 which everyone can follow to advantage. 
 When you chance upon a word which is new 
 or which you are not accustomed to use, look 
 up its meaning in a dictionary. When you 
 are satisfied that its meaning is clear to you, 
 use it in four or fiYe sentences. By uttering 
 the word aloud, you make it your own, and 
 you will be surprised to find that you will 
 probably have use for it before the day is over. 
 A refined use of the mother tongue demands 
 not only a large stock of words but discrimina- 
 tion in their selection. Every word has cer- 
 tain shades of meaning which no other single 
 word possesses. If you would acquire this 
 refined choice of words, consult a book of 
 synonyms and antonyms. Take, for instance, 
 the word emissary. The ordinary dictionary 
 defines it as a spy or scout. Fernald's "Eng- 
 lish Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions" 
 groups spy, detective, emissary and scout 
 under one heading, with this explanation: 
 
 "The scout and the spy are both employed 
 to obtain information of the numbers, move- 
 ments, etc., of an enemy. The scout lurks on 
 the outskirts of the hostile army with such 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 87 
 
 concealment as the case admits of, but without 
 disguise; a spy enters in disguise within tlie 
 enemy's lines. A scout, if captured, has the 
 rights of a prisoner of war; a spy is held to 
 have forfeited all rights, and is liable, in case 
 of capture, to capital punishment. An emis- 
 sary is rather political than military; sent 
 rather to secretly influence opponents than to 
 bring information concerning them; so far as 
 he does the latter, he is not only an emissary, 
 but a 5/)j." 
 
 There is no study more fascinating than the 
 study of words. Once begun, the habit of in- 
 quiring into the precise meaning of the units 
 of language becomes irresistible. 
 
 Grammar 
 
 The rules of grammar are so numerous that 
 unless the student has had a good grounding 
 in the science the better method of learning 
 good usage is to train the ear to the sounds of 
 correct English. Silent reading is of some 
 help, but the number of students who pass 
 written examinations in English with flying 
 colors and then proceed to violate every rule 
 
88 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 in conversation indicates the necessity of 
 teaching grammar as an oral rather than as a 
 visual science. Some of the more common 
 errors have been illustrated in the following 
 sentences. In each case, the second is the 
 correct one. Read it aloud at least six times 
 in order to accustom the ear and the lips to 
 the correct usage. 
 
 I don't know, he dont know, you don't know. 
 I don't know, he doesn't know, you don't know. 
 
 Between you and /, the company is bankrupt. 
 Between you and me, the company is bankrupt. 
 
 When I hear of you going, I shall follow. 
 When I hear of your going, I shall follow. 
 
 It is me. 
 It is /. 
 
 He runs too slow for the team. 
 He runs too slowly for the team. 
 
 He is not near so tall as I am. 
 He is not nearly so tall is I am. 
 
 Such a course is no use. 
 Such a course is of no use. 
 
 You better prepare before speaking. 
 You had better prepare before speaking. 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 89 
 
 1. Last night we come home in the rain. 
 
 2. Last night we came home in the xain. 
 
 1. Those kind always fail. 
 
 2. That kind always fails, or 
 Those kinds always fail. 
 
 1. I don't know as I would say that. 
 
 2. I don't know that I would say that. 
 
 1. The size of audiences vary. 
 
 2. The size of audiences varies. 
 
 1. Betiveen the three of them there was but five 
 
 dollars. 
 
 2. Among the three of them there was but five 
 
 dollars. 
 
 1. He is up to the theatre. 
 
 2. He is at the theatre. 
 
 1. He has been thrown in the pit. 
 
 2. He has been thrown into the pit. 
 
 1. Can I have permission to inspect it? 
 
 2. May I have permission to inspect it? 
 
 1. I don't care what you think of me, I shall speak 
 
 and you will listen. 
 
 2. I don't care what you think of me, I will speak 
 
 and you shall listen. 
 
 1. He went like he came. 
 
 2. He went as he came. 
 
90 
 
 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 He hadn't ought to swim in such places. 
 He ought not to swim in such places. 
 
 To safely cross the river in such weather 
 
 quires good seamanship. 
 To cross the river safely in such weather 
 
 quires good seamanship. 
 
 I will either hire you on commission or 
 
 straight salary. 
 I will hire you either on commission or 
 
 straight salary. 
 
 I think I shall lay down for an hour. 
 I think I shall lie down for an hour. 
 
 re- 
 
 re- 
 
 on 
 
 on 
 
 1. He would of done it, had I permitted it. 
 
 2. He would have done it, had I permitted it. 
 
 1. Stand in back of him. 
 
 2. Stand behind him. 
 
 1. I saw them girls yesterday. 
 
 2. I saw those girls yesterday. 
 
 1. He who I trusted has deceived me. 
 
 2. He whom I trusted has deceived me. 
 
 Style 
 
 Style is the manner of expressing thoughts 
 in language. It has little to do with think- 
 ing; it is only concerned with the means ol 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 91 
 
 putting the product of the brain into tangible 
 form. The artist has a vision; the manner in 
 which he uses his brushes, his colors and his 
 canvas to portray that vision in concrete form 
 is his style of painting. The speaker has 
 thoughts and feelings and the tools of lan- 
 guage; the manner in which he uses the tools 
 to interpret the creation of his mind and soul 
 is his style. 
 
 There is no standard style; as each man's 
 thinking is different from that of every other 
 man, so must his manner of using what tools 
 of language he possesses be distinctive. The 
 problem of perfecting one's style is a prob- 
 lem of acquainting one's self with the various 
 implements of language and of attaining skill 
 in the use of these implements. The latter is 
 largely a question of practice and experience, 
 but the former can be acquired by the study of 
 language in general. 
 
 The best style to cultivate is your own. In 
 fact, you cannot cultivate any other. "Use 
 what language you will," says Emerson, "you 
 can never say anything but what you are." 
 But that does not mean that you can perfect 
 
92 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 your style by confining your study to yourself. 
 Greece, Rome, Spain and England reached 
 the height of their civilization by profiting 
 from the successes and failures of other civili- 
 zations. Burke, Webster and Lincoln studied 
 and analyzed the best works of the best minds, 
 and used the materials thus gained in the 
 construction of their own works. No man has 
 ever attained perfection in any art without 
 making use of the experiences of others. This 
 is not imitation. The difference between the 
 imitator and the creator is that the imitator is 
 content to put a thin coat of paint over the 
 house of another and call it his own, while] 
 the creator goes over the house, makes a note 
 of all the desirable features and ideas, and 
 makes use of these best ideas in improvingj 
 the plans of his own. 
 
 In acquiring and perfecting the use of tht 
 tools of language, the speaker should keep in| 
 mind the two cardinal virtues of good style- 
 instant intelligibility and effectiveness. Un-j 
 less the audience can instantly perceive and] 
 appreciate the expression, the speaker's wordsj 
 are like so much indigestible food in the] 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 93 
 
 Stomach. And unless that food possesses 
 nourishment, it has no stimulating effect upon 
 the mind and body. 
 
 How can a speaker acquire the tools of 
 effective style? Simply by studying and 
 analyzing the work of other speakers. Let us 
 take a paragraph from an address on Roose- 
 velt and investigate some of the means by 
 which a speaker secures effect: 
 
 "The secret of Roosevelt's greatness was his 
 boundless courage. Boldness stamped itself 
 on every deed in the Rough Rider's career. 
 The marvelous physique which enabled the 
 ex-President to push into the darkest regions 
 of Africa and Brazil was not a gift of birth, 
 but the trophy of a youth's battle with asthma 
 and a sickly constitution. His second election 
 to the New York Assembly — his first political 
 victory — was the answer to a challenge of the 
 organization that would have shattered the 
 spirit of an ordinary warrior. As Police 
 Commissioner, when his program of reform 
 evoked dire threats from the underworld, he 
 carried out his orders by personal visits to 
 the caves of lawlessness — at night. When the 
 
94 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 arrogant Kaiser, like the bully of the street, 
 gathered around him the nations of Europe 
 in an attempt to frighten little Venezuela into 
 submission, he encountered not the gloved 
 hand of a diplomat sparring for time while 
 the typewriters clicked out feeble protests, but 
 the clenched fist of Theodore Roosevelt, ready 
 to strike. Well chosen were the words of his 
 son Archie when Death had stabbed him in the 
 dark: "The old lion is dead." 
 
 I. — Unity. The entire paragraph deals with 
 but one idea — the courage of Roosevelt as the 
 main cause of his greatness. Nothing leads 
 the mind into any other channel of thought. 
 
 II. — Repetition. The first sentence expresses 
 the key-note of the paragraph. The thought, 
 however, is strengthened by repetition in the 
 second. The remaining sentences develop the 
 idea by citing specific instances in his career 
 in support of the general statement in the first 
 and second. Notice how each succeeding in- 
 stance is more striking than the last, thus 
 strengthening the assertion by climactic ar- 
 rangement. 
 
 III. — Sentences. No sentence ends weakly. 
 
 i 
 
LINES OF DEVELOPMENT 95 
 
 The gist of the thought comes at the end, 
 thereby keeping up the interest of the reader 
 until the last word is spoken. 
 
 IV. — Concreteness. Every sentence is ex- 
 pressed in words which call up distinct mental 
 images. The reader need not expend more 
 than a minimum amount of mental energy to 
 grasp the thought. 
 
 V. — Figures of Speech, "Death had stabbed 
 him in the dark" is a figure of speech known 
 as personification because it attributes to 
 inanimate things the characteristics of living 
 beings. "Like the bully of the street" is a 
 simile. A simile is a figure of speech which 
 compares one thing with another. A better 
 illustration of this figure can be found in the 
 sentence, "A man without ambition is like a 
 bird without wings." When the comparison 
 is implied, the figure is known as a metaphor; 
 "he can never soar in the heights above, but 
 must walk like a weakling, unnoticed, with 
 the crowd below." 
 
 The figure "The old lion is dead" is called 
 an epithet, a very effective means of compari- 
 son. A recent writer referred to Joffre as 
 
96 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 "The Gibraltar of the Marne," another excel- 
 lent illustration of epithet. 
 
 The purpose of figures of speech is to secure 
 clearness or emphasis and to stir the imagina- 
 tion. The speaker who uses his imagination 
 to bring forth fresh comparisons has a very 
 effective weapon in speaking. To quote Oliver 
 Wendell Holmes: 
 
 "There is no power I envy so much — as 
 that of seeing analogues and making compar- 
 isons. I don't understand how it is that some 
 minds are continually coupling thoughts or 
 objects that seem not in the least related to 
 each other, until all at once they are put in a 
 certain light and you wonder that you did not 
 always see that they were as like as a pair of 
 twins. It appears to me a sort of miraculous 
 gift." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 QUESTIONNAIRE 
 
 The value of self -questioning as a means 
 of putting forth your best effort cannot be 
 overestimated. It is a necessary habit for all 
 whose goal is perfection. The following 
 questionnaire is not designed as a guide in 
 preparing the speech, although it may be used 
 as such. But it does give the student a series 
 of checks that will enable him to criticize and 
 improve his preparation before delivery. It 
 is purposely brief. The ambitious student 
 will make the most of his experience and that 
 of others by constructing a questionnaire that 
 will remind him of his shortcomings and 
 weaknesses. 
 
 Subject 
 
 A. Scope 
 
 1. What is the subject of your speech? 
 Can you summarize it in one compact sentence? 
 
 [97] 
 
98 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 2. Are you trying to cover too much ground? 
 Can you not strengthen the effect by confining 
 yourself to a smaller division of the sub- 
 ject? 
 
 3. Can you cover your point in the allotted 
 time? Have you actually timed its delivery 
 to make sure? 
 
 B. Purpose 
 
 1. Which of the ^we purposes of speaking 
 is yours — entertainment, instruction, impres- 
 siveness, persuasion or appeal? 
 
 2. State your purpose in one compact sen- 
 tence. Are you endeavoring to accomplish 
 more than your material and time warrant? 
 
 3. Have you given adequate consideration 
 to the character of the audience, the occasion, 
 and the time? Can you visualize all the con- 
 ditions under which you will speak? 
 
 Material 
 
 1. Have you gathered real material for 
 your talk? Or are you relying merely on 
 your feelings to carry you through? 
 
 2. Is all your material in keeping with your 
 
QUESTIONNAIRE 99 
 
 subject? Does any of it tend to lead the mind 
 of the audience into other channels? 
 
 3. // your aim is entertainment^ have you 
 selected your material with a view to holding 
 the attention every second of the time? Is 
 your humor fresh? Have you made use of 
 such factors as the vital, the uncertain, the 
 unusual, the concrete, the animate, the antag- 
 onistic? Will you leave the audience in a 
 happy frame of mind? 
 
 4. // your purpose is instruction, have you 
 made every point clear? Have you likened 
 the unknown to the known? If you are using 
 technical terms, are they known to your audi- 
 ence? If not, will you make them perfectly 
 clear before using them? 
 
 5. // your purpose is impressiveness, have 
 you selected material that will "get under the 
 skin"? Will it stir the emotions and feelings 
 of the audience? Have you made full use of 
 repetition? Can you quote a well known man 
 or woman to advantage? Are your illustra- 
 tions and specific instances striking? 
 
 6. // your purpose is persuasion, do your 
 arguments prove your point? Considering 
 
100 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 each argument separately, does it lead to the 
 conclusion asserted? Have you made use of 
 repetition and suggestion? Can you strengthen 
 your case by citing testimony? Have you 
 reduced your arguments to the simplest terms? 
 
 7. // your purpose is appeal, have you con- 
 sidered the motives which lead men to act- 
 self-preservation, love, property, knowledge 
 and power, good name, emotions and beliefs? 
 If you cannot use all, have you chosen those 
 you are best fitted to employ? Will they move 
 the particular audience you are to address? 
 
 8. Is your material concrete? Does it deal 
 in mental images? Have you considered the 
 mental energy of the audience? Do your 
 illustrations and specific instances come within 
 the knowledge and experience of your hearers? 
 
 9. Are your figures of speech fresh? Do 
 they add clearness or emphasis? Do they stir 
 the imagination? 
 
 Construction 
 
 A. Introduction 
 
 1. Will your opening paragraph secure 
 attention? 
 
QUESTIONNAIRE ;\- ii'i'lOJ'tV 
 
 2. Is it brief? Can you not shorten it? 
 
 3. Does it contain the key-note of your 
 whole talk? 
 
 4. Will it antagonize any portion of the 
 audience? Will it secure good-will toward 
 yourself and your subject? 
 
 5. If you open with an anecdote, quotation 
 or striking statement, are you sure it is in 
 keeping with the entire speech? Will it arouse 
 an interest or a curiosity which the remainder 
 of your speech will meet? 
 
 B. Body 
 
 1. Outline your speech in the form of head- 
 ings and sub-headings. Is the arrangement 
 logical? Will the audience follow your 
 sequence with a minimum of effort? Is your 
 material classified so as to avoid confusion 
 of ideas? 
 
 2. Is the speech so arranged as to heighten 
 the interest as it goes along? Does the climax 
 come at the end? 
 
 3. Have you rested the mind of the audi- 
 ence by following the high spots with lighter 
 material? 
 
][<)2*;*iiSfSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 4. Experiment with your arrangement. Put 
 your headings in different order. Can you 
 gain greater clearness and effect by changing 
 the sequence of your paragraphs? 
 
 C. Conclusion 
 
 1. Does your closing leave a strong impres- 
 sion? Does it drive the point home? 
 
 2. Does it summarize all that has gone be- 
 fore? 
 
 3. Is it not desirable to write out your end- 
 ing and memorize it? 
 
 4. Does the conclusion leave the audience 
 in the proper frame of mind? 
 
 5. Does it tie up with your introduction? 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 1. Have you tested the effectiveness of your 
 speech in conversation? 
 
 2. Have you reviewed your speech at vari- 
 ous times of the day? Have you tested it] 
 from every viewpoint and in every mood? 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DELIVERY IN GENERAL 
 
 Lord Erskine, England's eloquent barrister, 
 once confessed that when he addressed the 
 court for the first time he was so overcome 
 with confusion that he wanted to sit down. 
 "At that time," he added, "I fancied I could 
 feel my little children tugging at my gown, so 
 I made an effort — went on — and succeeded." 
 
 It is doubtful whether Lord Erskine could 
 have bequeathed to posterity a more valuable 
 legacy than that confession. It should fill 
 every beginning speaker with hope. Facing 
 an audience for the first time takes courage; 
 and if a man of Lord Erskine's parts was 
 confused, it is no disgrace for lesser mortals 
 to hesitate. "I made an effort — went on — 
 and succeeded." Those words contain the 
 secret of success in overcoming the hobgoblin 
 of the platform. If the student will make an 
 effort — go on — he is bound to succeed. 
 
 In considering the second division of the 
 [103] 
 
104 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 subject of speaking — delivery — we are not 
 going to enter any chambers of mystery. 
 Every phase of this branch of the subject has 
 been considered consciously or subconsciously 
 by every normal man. Everyone has applied 
 at some time or other each of the virtues in 
 ordinary conversation. But good speaking 
 requires that we employ them all. 
 
 It is a cardinal rule of nature that we lose 
 those faculties which we do not use. The 
 bedridden patient finds on recovering health 
 that his legs will not support his body. The 
 shipwrecked sailor, living alone on an island 
 for a protracted period, must learn again how 
 to talk. Few of us keep alive by daily prac- 
 tice all the virtues of speech and gesticula- 
 tion. It is necessary, therefore, to call atten- 
 tion to them and to awaken their proper func- 
 tioning. 
 
 Both delivery and composition must act in 
 harmony to perform the one purpose of speak- 
 ing — to convey to the mind of the listener the 
 thoughts and feelings precisely as they are 
 perceived and felt by the speaker. This neces- 
 sity for harmony leads us to the first rule for 
 
DELIVERY IN GENERAL 105 
 
 good delivery — earnestness. Many have pro- 
 pounded the question, "What is the chief asset 
 in good delivery?" And the answer is — 
 earnestness — enthusiasm. 
 
 What is earnestness and enthusiasm? Is it 
 not a result rather than a means? Yes and No. 
 When you tell a man to put enthusiasm into 
 his speaking, he is inclined to regard the 
 direction in the same way in which he would 
 receive the advice, "Be rich." Real enthusi- 
 asm in speaking is the result of a gripping of 
 the heart as well as the head. Until the 
 speaker has lived with his subject a sufficient 
 length of time to realize its importance, he 
 cannot exhibit sincere enthusiasm. Much, 
 therefore, depends upon turning the subject 
 over and over in your mind until you appreci- 
 ate all the points of contact between it and 
 the occasion. Unless the salesman believes 
 in his article, he cannot hope to attain much 
 success in selling it. But many who believe 
 fail to sell. Here steps in the old adage which 
 bids us to acquire a virtue by assuming it. 
 On first consideration, this sounds like coun- 
 seling a man to build a roof before digging 
 
106 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 the cellar. But experience has proven that 
 when a speaker assumes the virtue of enthusi- 
 asm, his real enthusiasm, dormant but never 
 dead, rises to meet, support and join it. Try 
 it. Go on the platform with the attitude that 
 your message is the most important in world's 
 history, and you will soon find that your whole 
 soul is engaged in the task. 
 
 When a speaker is enthusiastic, he is neces- 
 sarily concentrated on his subject. And con- 
 centration of the mind gives free play to all 
 the natural movements of the voice and body 
 which we shall discuss. 
 
 We have seen that the listener has neither 
 the energy nor the time to go over and over 
 your language, as he can in reading, to grasp 
 your meaning. A speech must make an im- 
 mediate impression or fail of its object. The 
 elements of delivery which we are about to 
 consider are the means of aiding the audience 
 to grasp the meaning of your words as they 
 are uttered. 
 
 Every impression which the outside world 
 makes upon the mind must travel by one of 
 the five senses. Only two of these are avail- 
 
DELIVERY IN GENERAL 107 
 
 able to the speaker — hearing and seeing. We 
 therefore divide the subject of delivery into 
 two parts — that which affects the ear, and 
 that which affects the eye. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 ENUNCIATION 
 
 Without discussing Roosevelt's place in 
 history as an orator, there is no doubt but that 
 the Colonel was a very effective speaker. 
 Critics mentioned his strong presence, virile 
 gestures and earnestness, but few spoke of the 
 most effective element of his delivery — his 
 precise enunciation. He always spoke in a 
 slow, measured manner that seemed to glory 
 in the beauty of every syllable. The most 
 commonplace words and phrases came from 
 his lips with a force and dignity of meaning 
 that made the idea behind them bristle with 
 life and color. 
 
 Our language, the most beautiful in the 
 world, receives cruel treatment from the lips 
 of the average American. Whether because 
 of our disregard for the fine arts or because 
 of tlie influence of so many foreign-bom resi- 
 dents, we are careless and slovenly in our 
 every-day utterance. What is the remedy? 
 [108] 
 
ENUNCIATION 109 
 
 Roosevelt's biographer, William Roscoe 
 Thayer, states that when in college the future 
 President found it very difficult to speak be- 
 cause of asthma. His enunciation was indis- 
 tinct and his syllables frequently telescoped. 
 But the will to win that transformed a weak 
 body into a powerful machine of muscle and 
 sinew, would not rest until it had turned a 
 defective speech into an exceptionally accu- 
 i rate one. If your enunciation is careless, 
 improve it by concentrating on the task of 
 perfecting it to the highest degree. 
 
 Slovenly enunciation is due to the laziness 
 of the muscles of the mouth, tongue and lips, 
 and to improper co-ordination between the 
 positions of the tongue and teeth. Gradually 
 these little muscles of the mouth become soft 
 and weak from lack of exercise. Put them to 
 work, and work them so hard that they will 
 j develop a strength that will crave for exercise 
 I in every-day utterance. Read aloud the f ollow- 
 ! ing passage from one of Roosevelt's speeches. 
 i Read it in syllables, opening the mouth verti- 
 cally as well as laterally, and exaggerate the 
 enunciation of every sound: 
 
110 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 "It must be un-der-stood, as a mat-ter of 
 course, that if this pow-er is grant-ed it is to 
 be ex-er-cised with wis-dom and cau-tion and 
 self -re-stra int. The In-ter- state Com-merce 
 Com-mis-sion or oth-er Gov-ern-ment of-ficial 
 who failed to pro-tect a rail-road that was 
 in the right a-gainst an-y clam-or, no mat- 
 ter how vi-o-lent, on the part of the pub-lie, 
 would be guilt-y of as gross a wrong as if 
 he cor-rupt-ly ren-dered an im-prop-er ser-vice 
 to the rail-road at the ex-pense of the pub-lie. 
 When I say a square deal I mean a square 
 deal; ex-actly as much a square deal for the 
 rich man as for the poor man; but no more. 
 Let each stand on his mer-its, re-ceive what is 
 due him, and be judged ac-cord-ing to his de- 
 serts. To more he is not en-ti-tled, and less 
 he shall not have." 
 
 "I could hear every word he said." How 
 often have we heard that comment from a 
 member of an audience? Nothing in a 
 speaker's delivery is more desirable than a 
 clean-cut enunciation that gives full expres- 
 sion to every syllable. But platform speaking 
 demands more careful enunciation than ordi- 
 
ENUNCIATION 111 
 
 nary conversation, so that if you want to ac- 
 quire this asset in your speaking, you must 
 cultivate greater care in conversation. The 
 habit of reading aloud very slowly enables 
 your ear to detect all the little slurs and flaws 
 of your speech, just as the athlete sees the 
 imperfections in his form when his high jump 
 is reproduced on the screen with the action 
 slowed eight times by means of the ultra-rapid 
 camera. Let a man give three minutes a day 
 to this practice and he will soon notice the 
 improvement in his speech both off" and on the 
 platform. 
 
 A great deal of indistinct enunciation on a 
 platform is due to the fact that the speaker 
 does not open his mouth vertically. The lower 
 jaw should be dropped so that the complete 
 formation of the vowels should not be handi- 
 capped. In order to learn the correct position 
 of the mouth in speaking, read aloud the 
 following, prolonging all the italicized vowels: 
 
 Rolling rocks resoz^nded. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 EMPHASIS 
 
 A clock's tick, a cow bell's tinkle, and the 
 singing of a lullaby are excellent remedies for 
 insomnia. In the first, we have regularity of 
 rate; in the second, sameness of pitch; and 
 in the third, evenness of force or stress. The 
 reason back of the effect of each is the fact 
 that the ear, like the receiving instrument of 
 a radio set, adjusts itself to one rate, one pitch 
 and one degree of force. The stability of any 
 one of these keeps the mechanism of the facul- 
 ties of hearing in a state of inaction, and 
 inaction produces sleep. Tire any single 
 faculty by repetition of the same movement 
 and you put the entire body to sleep. In 
 speaking we call this sameness monotony. 
 Here the old saying, "Variety is the spice of 
 life," understates the fact — "Variety is life." 
 The speaker must, therefore, cultivate all the 
 virtues of delivery that militate against monot- 
 ony. And one of the most important of these 
 [112] 
 
EMPHASIS 113 
 
 virtues, the one we are about to consider, is 
 emphasis. 
 
 Emphasis is often considered as synony- 
 mous with force or stress. But it is a much 
 broader term. It may be defined as any 
 means whereby the speaker focuses the atten- 
 tion of the audience on the important words of 
 a sentence in order to aid the listeners in 
 understanding his thought. 
 
 Every sentence has but a few really import- 
 ant words — the rest are merely connectives 
 and modifiers. The speaker's thought centers 
 around these important words. If he utters 
 his sentences in the same manner that the 
 station agent chants his announcement of 
 trains, he throws upon the audience the entire 
 burden of selecting the centers of his thought. 
 To increase the eff'ect of his words and to 
 remove the burden from the audience, the 
 speaker must employ some means of making 
 these big words strike home. 
 
 If you have ever read an editorial in a 
 Hearst newspaper, you will find the important 
 words underlined, capitalized or italicized. 
 That is the writer's only method of emphasiz- 
 
114 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 ing the centers of thought as the reader's eye 
 runs over the printed page. But the speaker 
 must use other means, and he is fortunate in 
 having a great variety, both visual and audi- 
 tory. Leaving aside for the present the visual 
 means (gesticulation), let us consider the 
 methods which appeal to the ear. 
 
 I. — The common method of emphasis is the 
 use of force or stress, a method, however, 
 which many speakers ignore completely. An 
 excellent example of the use of stress as a 
 means of emphasis is the following: 
 
 Sir James: Now, pray, sir, don't beat about 
 the bush, but explain to his lordship and the 
 jury, who are expected to know nothing about 
 music, the meaning of what you call accent. 
 
 Witness Cooke: Accent in music is a cer- 
 tain stress laid upon a particular note in the 
 same manner that you would lay stress upon 
 a given word for the purpose of being better 
 understood. Thus, if I were to say, "You are 
 an ass J' the accent rests on ass; but if I were 
 to say, ''You are an ass," it rests on you. Sir 
 James. 
 
EMPHASIS 115 
 
 If you have difficulty in stressing important 
 words, you can acquire the art by keeping the 
 hands raised before you, one palm over the 
 other, bringing them together with a clap every 
 time you utter a word which you think should 
 be emphasized. The necessity of making 
 yourself heard above the clap forces you un- 
 consciously to give the words greater force. 
 
 This method of emphasis includes the de- 
 crease as well as the increase of stress. Some- 
 times the lowering of the voice to a whisper 
 is the most effective means of making the word 
 or words stand out. This is particularly true 
 when we wish to emphasize contrast, as in the 
 following: 
 
 "If this is peace, give us war!" 
 
 II. — We have seen in a previous chapter 
 that while the short Anglo-Saxon words are 
 preferable to the Latinized ones, the longer 
 ones are sometimes more effective. And the 
 same reason that makes them more effective — 
 the greater space of time in which they hold 
 the attention of the audience — furnishes an- 
 other means of emphasizing them. Note the 
 
116 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 effect of prolonging the enunciation of the 
 italicized word in the following sentence: 
 
 "The Germans wrote home that the fire of the 
 Blue Devils was not deadly, but murderous." 
 
 III. — Raising or lowering the pitch of the 
 voice on certain words is a desirable means of 
 emphasis when the thought repels the idea of 
 emphasis through force. This is particularly 
 true when the speaker wishes to preserve a 
 mild, subdued tone of voice. Note the effect 
 of raising the voice slightly on the word less 
 and lowering it on the word more: 
 
 "If, then, that friend demand why Brutus 
 rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not 
 that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome 
 more." 
 
 IV. — Nothing is more effective in focusing 
 the attention of the listener on an important 
 word than a pause immediately before it. The 
 void arouses the attention and curiosity, so 
 that the mind of the listener is poised on toes 
 to meet it. Nearly every writer on the subject 
 of speaking has lamented the fact that the 
 pause, the most effective means of emphasis, 
 is so rarely employed by public speakers. If 
 
EMPHASIS 117 
 
 the student will but learn its power by forced 
 use, when it is applicable, he will never fail to 
 make use of it when the opportunity presents 
 itself. The dash in the following represents 
 the place of the pause: 
 
 "I was creeping on my stomach, trying to 
 locate the position of the Germans by the light 
 of occasional flashes. The number of dead 
 bodies forced me to make repeated detours. 
 I passed them by as I would so much wreck- 
 age. But one of them arrested my attention. 
 For some reason it aroused my curiosity. So 
 I lay beside it until a bursting star shell en- 
 abled me to recognize the features. It was — 
 my brother." 
 
 It is sometimes advantageous to combine 
 two or more of the foregoing methods in order 
 to gain the proper emphasis. The speaker 
 should develop by practice his use of all. 
 Then, if his mind is concentrated on the 
 thought and feeling of his speech, his sub- 
 consciousness will select the proper channel 
 or channels of emphasis. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PITCH 
 
 Every voice has its own natural pitch. 
 Some are high, some are low, and the rest 
 range between the two extremes. But we are 
 concerned not so much with the pitch of the 
 individual voice as with the necessity of using 
 all the variety that its range affords. 
 
 Variety of pitch in speaking is important 
 for two reasons: first, a proper expression of 
 varying thoughts and feelings requires a 
 sympathetic tone; second, change of pitch 
 militates against the monotony which is so 
 fatal to the life and interest of the audience, 
 not to speak of its reaction on the speaker 
 himself. 
 
 Many instructors and writers on the subject 
 of elocution have attempted to work out a 
 chart which will guide the student in selecting 
 the proper pitch of the voice. The following 
 will illustrate the classification: 
 [118] 
 
PITCH 119 
 
 Excitement — Very High Pitch 
 
 "Oh, John, the house is on fire and the 
 baby's lost! Hurry up!" 
 
 Enthusiasm — High Pitch 
 
 "I have learned the secret of effective 
 speaking, and now watch me! Watch me, 
 I said!" 
 
 Pleasure and Calm Statement — Medium Pitch 
 
 "That's a beautiful little boy you have. Let 
 me play horse with him." 
 
 "Just follow the road and you'll cross the 
 track in about twenty minutes." 
 
 Seriousness — Low Pitch 
 
 "You don't look well. Don't you think you 
 should take a vacation?" 
 
 Solemnity — Very Low Pitch 
 
 "The pardon reached the prison too late. 
 Phelps had already been executed." 
 
 Your common sense tells you that you 
 would have used the prescribed pitch instinc- 
 tively in conversation. And platform speak- 
 
120 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 ing is nothing more than conversation enlarged j 
 to meet the demands of the situation. But 
 until the speaker has acquired ease on a plat- 
 form, his variety of pitch is likely to be lim- 
 ited by reason of his inexperience. The 
 nervous strain which public speaking pro- 
 duces in the beginner tends to stiffen the voice, 
 heighten the pitch, and narrow the range. 
 But until the student has overcome the handi- 
 cap of inexperience he can be aided by a few 
 concrete directions. 
 
 What is your medium pitch? What is the 
 range of your speaking voice? Find out for 
 yourself by delivering the following interro- 
 gation, first, with a rising and second, with a 
 falling voice. 
 
 "Do we want to see the fruits of victory 
 destroyed in a flood of anarchy?" 
 
 Deliver the sentence several times until the 
 first and last words strike the highest and the 
 lowest notes of your register. If you have 
 taken both comfortably, the middle is your 
 pitch. That is the pitch you use in ordinary 
 conversation, because it comes with the least 
 effort. 
 
PITCH 121 
 
 The necessity of being heard and the greater 
 force required in platform speaking demand 
 that we use a pitch a trifle higher than the one 
 used in conversation. But the beginning 
 speaker opens on a pitch altogether too high. 
 And the audience detects it and becomes un- 
 easy. 
 
 Go on the platform with a firm resolve to 
 begin on a medium pitch. Whatever the 
 thought of your opening remarks, you will 
 find that they can best be expressed in a medi- 
 um tone. As an aid in carrying out the reso- 
 lution, look squarely into the eyes of some 
 member of the audience seated near you. 
 Such a practice brings you nearer the conver- 
 sational style and pitch, and is an effective 
 means of increasing naturalness and self- 
 confidence. 
 
 As the speech proceeds, you will find that 
 the increasing interest, both of yourself and 
 of the audience, tends to raise the pitch. Un- 
 less this tendency is checked, your voice will 
 soar until it reaches the highest point. For 
 that reason, it is well to mark some point in 
 your speech, before its delivery, where you 
 
\ 
 
 122 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 may lower the voice to a conversational tone. 
 Many speakers handicapped by a highly 
 strung nervous system and a consequent high 
 pitch have employed this means with remark- 
 able results. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RATE 
 
 Rate, the speed of speaking, has a close 
 affinity with pitch, both in degree and variety. 
 Usually thoughts or feelings calling for a 
 high pitch should be delivered at a high rate, 
 while those fitting a low pitch demand a slow 
 rate. 
 
 Variety of rate is important not only as a 
 means of contrasting thoughts or emphasizing 
 the relative importance of ideas, but also as 
 an antidote of monotonous delivery. As with 
 pitch, the beginning speaker must overcome 
 the tendency toward sameness. 
 
 The value of change of rate as a means of 
 focusing the attention of the audience on cer- 
 tain words has been mentioned under empha- 
 sis. As the sight-seeing motor car, speeding 
 past commonplace dwellings, slows up while 
 passing points of interest, so must the speaker 
 decrease his rate not only to call attention to 
 the centers of thought but to enable the audi- 
 ence to appreciate them. 
 [123] 
 
124 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 Whether because of nervousness or a fear 
 that unless the audience is engaged by a rapid- 
 fire of language, it will lose interest, the in- 
 experienced speaker often enters into a race 
 with time. Such a practice exhibits a lack of 
 self-confidence and the audience takes you at 
 your own valuation. On the other hand, a 
 slow, measured delivery is evidence of a poise 
 and a dignity that always attract attention 
 and respect. 
 
 The thought and feeling should, of course, 
 determine the rate. Most speakers, excepting 
 those handicapped by a limited vocabulary, 
 find it easy to talk quickly. But few have 
 learned the art of using a slow rate. When 
 experience has developed confidence and con- 
 centration on the platform, the speaker's 
 instincts will vary his rate according to the 
 thought. The beginner can, however, gain 
 some of the benefits of appropriate rate by 
 holding himself down at the beginning of his 
 speech. With some this is almost as difficult 
 as holding in check a restless horse. So we 
 must devise aids. 
 
 First, begin with a clean-cut enunciation, 
 
RATE ' 125 
 
 prolonging the vowels as you did in reading 
 the passage from Roosevelt's speech in the 
 chapter on enunciation. You cannot make an 
 effort in this direction without bringing your 
 rate near the noraial. Don't try to gain this 
 end merely by pausing between words — a 
 common habit with some — for that merely 
 makes the delivery jerky. Lengthen the itali- 
 cized vowels in the following sentence and 
 note the effect on the rate; 
 
 "Over the hill arose the tall, gaunt form of 
 Joseph." 
 
 Second, focus your attention on the eyes of 
 someone seated near the platform. As in 
 pitch, the effect of this is to bring the rate 
 down to that used in ordinary conversation. 
 
 Pause has been mentioned in a previous 
 chapter as a means of emphasizing certain 
 words or phrases. Every expressed thought 
 sets in motion a chain of thought in the minds 
 of the hearers. If you want a sentence to 
 "sink in," pause after it. The silence is 
 golden because it permits the thought to run 
 its course unchecked by the necessity of aban- 
 doning it for succeeding ideas. Note the 
 
126 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 effect gained by pausing after the italicized 
 words in the following passage from Emerson: 
 "Our strength grows out of our weaknesses. 
 Not until we are pricked and stung and sorely- 
 shot at, awakens the indignation which arms 
 itself with secret force. A great man is always 
 willing to be little. Whilst he sits on the 
 cushion of advantages, he goes to sleep. When 
 he is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a 
 chance to learn something; he has been put on 
 his wits, on his manhood; he has gained facts; 
 learns his ignorance; is cured of the insanity 
 of conceit; has got moderation and real skill." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE 
 
 Modern writers on salesmanship make 
 much of the value of engaging all the senses 
 of the prospective buyer. The shoe salesman, 
 for instance, is taught to put his sample into 
 the customer's hands in order that the senses 
 of sight, touch and perhaps smell may be 
 utilized as well as the hearing. The reasoning 
 back of this practice is very simple. The five 
 senses are the only channels from the outside 
 world to the brain. They vary, of course, in 
 their powers of engaging the attention. But 
 if they are all focused on one object, the 
 chances of distraction are reduced to a mini- 
 mum. Each additional sense that is called 
 into action increases the strength of the im- 
 pression made upon the brain of the customer. 
 
 Applying this theory to speaking, we find 
 
 that there are but two senses through which 
 
 the speaker can send him a message — hearing 
 
 and sight. The preceding chapters on delivery 
 
 [127] 
 
128 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 have dealt with those phases of speaking that 
 concern the ear. We now come to the eye. 
 
 Imagine, if you can, "The Merchant of 
 Venice" presented on a darkened stage. How 
 long could Sir Henry Irving or Ellen Terry 
 have held your interest and attention under 
 such circumstances? Then think of the num- 
 ber of hours you have enjoyed the silent art 
 of Mary Pickford or Douglas Fairbanks. The 
 eye has a much stronger hold on the attention 
 than the ear. "If the eye do not admire, the 
 heart will not desire." 
 
 Long before primitive man developed an 
 auditory language he communicated with 
 others by means of signs. Relying almost 
 wholly on visual language, he developed it to 
 a high degree. And in spite of the cultivation 
 of speech, the visual appeal is still the more 
 potent of the two. A frown is much more 
 eloquent in meaning than any words into which 
 it might be translated; a finger pointed toward 
 a door is more expressive than "Go"; a smile 
 produces more results than any equivalent in 
 speech. 
 
 Modern life tends to develop to the highest 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE * 129 
 
 degree this vehicle of thought. The nerves 
 from the eye to the brain are shorter than 
 those from the ear. The message sent over 
 the visual wire is delivered and understood 
 long before the auditory telegram is recorded. 
 Entertainment through the cinema, propa- 
 ganda through the printed circular, advertis- 
 ing by electric signs — all bear testimony to 
 the strength of the visual. Its constant use 
 has developed the sense of sight to enormous 
 proportions. The eye is a hungry animal, 
 ever seeking f ood . The speaker must satisfy it. 
 Let us consider all speaking from the stand- 
 point of the eye. Let us analyze the situation 
 for the purpose of making the visual appeal 
 as strong as possible. 
 
 Distractions 
 
 Many an unattractive waiter clearing away 
 the debris of a dinner has captured the atten- 
 tion of an audience; many a conscientious jan- 
 itor moving noiselessly around an auditorium 
 to open the windows has drawn the focus from 
 the speaker to himself. There is something 
 pitiful about the way in which an audience 
 
 I 
 
130 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 will turn its eyes from a distinguished orator 
 to watch the motions of an usher, a latecomer 
 or a stray dog. No speaker can compete suc- 
 cessfully with counter attractions; no speaker 
 of experience wants to try. When such a dis- 
 traction enters the field, the skilful speaker 
 attempts to join forces with it. While Bourke 
 Cockran was addressing an audience on "The 
 World War" in 1916, a man in the gallery 
 interrupted with "What about the United 
 States?" The speaker ignored the question 
 until he saw that the heckler had become a 
 center of visual interest. Then he interpolated, 
 "The United States is only part of the world, 
 New York is only a part of the United States, 
 and that man is only a very small part of 
 New York." 
 
 The first problem, then, is to eliminate as 
 far as possible all competing attractions. The 
 platform should be free from all objects that 
 have any visual appeal. Many a prominent 
 speaker has been handicapped by a group of 
 individuals seated on the stage. The slightest 
 movement of the hands, the shifting of knees, 
 the occasional nod of approval — all tend to 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 131 
 
 draw the eyes of the audience from the 
 speaker. If you are able to stipulate the 
 conditions under which you will make your 
 address, be sure to name a setting in which 
 you will be the only attracting object. 
 
 The next consideration is the appearance of 
 the speaker. In order to focus the eyes on 
 the face — the only proper place — no other 
 part of the body should attract attention. It 
 has often been said that the best dressed man 
 is the one whose clothes are never noticed. 
 But the proper appearance of a speaker means 
 more than putting aside the checkerboard vest 
 and the bright green socks, or keeping a crease 
 in the trousers and out of the sleeves. A news- 
 paper or note-book protruding from a pocket 
 or a visible pen or pencil is almost as danger- 
 ous as a noisy necktie. 
 
 The First Impression 
 
 Nearly every living man who heard Lincoln 
 testifies to the great handicap under which 
 the Emancipator spoke. Tall and awkward, 
 his clothes misfitted and baggy, the author of 
 the greatest short speech in American history 
 
132 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 made a poor first impression, which was never 
 completely removed until some time after he 
 had begun speaking. Daniel Webster, on the 
 other hand, with his huge frame, large head 
 and coal black eyes, gripped his audience the 
 moment he appeared. His contemporaries 
 often remarked that no man could be so wise 
 as Webster looked. Few of us are blessed 
 with that physical attractiveness that reaches 
 out and arrests the attention of those who be- 
 hold us; fewer still are those who have the 
 resources of a Lincoln with which to efface a 
 bad first impression. But every man can 
 make a favorable impression at the start if he 
 will but give the matter the required consid- 
 eration and effort. 
 
 Long before a speaker utters a word, the 
 audience has appraised him and formed an 
 opinion. What are the bases of that appraisal? 
 The attire has already been referred to as a 
 potential distraction. As an element entering 
 into the making of a good impression, clothes 
 serve a double purpose. If a speaker is well 
 groomed — clean linen, creased trousers and 
 shined shoes — not only does the audience ap- 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 133 
 
 prove of his appearance, but it also gets the 
 benefit of the increased self-respect and dig- 
 nity which consciousness of a neat appearance 
 produces in the speaker. 
 
 If you are on the platform before you are 
 introduced, maintain an easy but dignified 
 position. Every little movement is being 
 watched by the audience. If you must walk 
 to the platform, do so in an alert but measured 
 manner, with no unnecessary movements of 
 the arms, head or body. Two or three deep 
 breaths will do much to quiet the nerves and 
 overcome the tendency toward haste. 
 
 Self-consciousness in a beginning speaker 
 often manifests itself in the all-hands-and-feet 
 sensation. This usually results in the speaker's 
 throwing all his weight on one foot, spreading 
 his legs, folding his hands in front or behind 
 or putting them in his pockets. All these man- 
 nerisms can be avoided if you but focus your 
 attention on two things — first, keep the chest 
 high; second, let the arms hang loosely at the 
 sides as though they were paralyzed. 
 
 Have you ever noticed how actors and 
 actresses open the first scene in a quiet, sub- 
 
134 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 dued voice? No, it isn't imagination. That 
 is their method of quieting the conversational- 
 ists and forcing the audience to sharpen its 
 attention. Whether or not your audience is 
 noisy, you can focus the attention by delaying 
 your speech until you have surveyed every 
 portion of the room in that "when I have your 
 attention" manner. That little pause is the 
 most effective preface. 
 
 Posture and Carriage 
 
 The next time you walk along a crowded 
 thoroughfare, notice the difference between 
 the movements of individuals. The man of 
 ability usually reveals his power by the man- 
 ner in which he carries himself — head erect, 
 with the back of his neck pressed against his 
 collar, chin in, no swinging arms or swaying 
 body, each step measured and firm. When 
 he stops to speak with another, he maintains 
 an erect, dignified posture instead of settling 
 in a heap or leaning against a mail box. These 
 characteristics impress you. You would like 
 to do business with that man — he has your 
 confidence and respect. 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 135 
 
 The correct posture on the platform is 
 neither a slouch nor a West Point "attention." 
 But the latter is far more preferable than the 
 former. If you would know the best position 
 of the body in speaking, go through the fol- 
 lowing exercise: 
 
 "Bend forward until the fingers touch the toes 
 (if they can). Raise and stretch the arms and 
 trunk slowly, taking a deep breath at the same time, 
 imtil your arms, head, trunk and legs form one 
 straight line. Do not raise the heels from the 
 ground. Keep the chest high while you stretch 
 the arms backward and downward, exhaling slowly. 
 When the little finger touches your trousers, relax 
 the entire arm and let it hang lifeless from the 
 shoulder." 
 
 Such a posture gives an impressive bearing, 
 facilitates proper breathing and gives the 
 greatest freedom of movement. 
 
 Every student has seen some prominent 
 speaker put his hands in his pockets, fold his 
 arms in front or behind, lean on a table or 
 spread his legs. In addition to the fact that 
 such practices detract from the visual attrac- 
 tiveness of the speaker, there is this consider- 
 
136 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 ation — when the body is in this unnatural 
 position, the speaker must go through the 
 motions of untangling himself before he can 
 gesture or change his position. When an 
 orator like Chauncey M. Depew speaks with 
 his hands in his coat pockets, it may seem 
 hypercritical to condemn the practice. Many 
 an instructor has been told so. The best 
 answer is this — "Mr. Student, when you ac- 
 quire the ability and reputation of a Depew, 
 you are privileged to fold your arms, play 
 with your watch chain or perform any other 
 stunt that the audience will stand for. But 
 until you reach that eminence, you had better 
 watch every little detail of propriety — you 
 can't afford to do otherwise." 
 
 A speaker's change of position on the plat- 
 form must be guided by good judgment and 
 moderation. He should not stand glued in 
 one spot, nor should he walk from side to side 
 like a caged tiger seeking an exit. A slight 
 change of position at the beginning of a new 
 turn in the speech breaks the monotony, re- 
 freshes the audience and aids the speaker in 
 varying his pitch, rate and force. Rarely is it 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 137 
 
 desirable to walk while delivering an import- 
 ant sentence. The action at this time merely 
 detracts and makes the audience restless. 
 
 Gestures 
 
 Gesticulation, properly speaking, includes 
 every physical movement of the speaker on 
 the platform. But we are using it here in its 
 restricted sense — movements of the arms, 
 head and body, but not including a change 
 of position or facial expression. Everyone 
 gestures in conversation; the toss of the head 
 and the outstretched hand are as natural as 
 the dropping of the voice at the end of the 
 sentence. But the self-consciousness that 
 accompanies speaking in public tends to break 
 the connection between thought and physical 
 expression. The first task, then, is to re-estab- 
 lish that connection. Force the blood of ex- 
 pression into the arms. Put them in motion. 
 At first it might seem as though something 
 inside you broke loose. Very well, that only 
 shows that you need more of it. The strange- 
 ness will soon wear off. Don't carry it to the 
 point where it becomes a "babbling of the 
 
138 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 hands," but if your trouble is an entire lack 
 of movement, it is better to overdo it at the 
 start; practice will teach you moderation and 
 good taste. 
 
 The prime purpose of gesticulation is to aid 
 the audience in understanding the thought and 
 feeling of the speaker. It follows, therefore, 
 that if the gesture is to serve its real purpose, 
 it must be appropriate and fitting. The be- 
 ginning speaker frequently develops a pet 
 gesture which he uses for everything — to 
 denounce the Bolsheviks and to praise the 
 virtues of women. How is he to overcome 
 the habit? By eliminating that gesture? No, 
 the only solution for this monotony lies in 
 cultivating others. There are hundreds and 
 hundreds of gestures, and many new ones are 
 in process of invention while this is being 
 written. But as all musical compositions em- 
 ploy the same scales and notes, all gestures 
 may be classified as modifications of a few 
 standard ones. Some of these are given 
 below. Read aloud the following sentences 
 and then deliver them with the appropriate 
 gestures. Practice each until it is yours: 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE 139 
 
 A. — ''Wait a minute, I haven t finished my 
 sentence/' 
 
 (Arm raised in front, hand open, with palm facing the 
 audience.) 
 
 B. — "If you sell this house, where shall 
 I go?" 
 
 (Arms stretched out, with hands open and at the level 
 of the thigh, palms facing the audience.) 
 
 C. — "Balboa went alone to the summit and 
 out before him, stretched the vast horizon of 
 the Pacific J' 
 
 (Right arm stretched straight from the shoulder, palm 
 down, sweeping from left to right.) 
 
 D. — "I carry no 'big stick,' but I have a 
 big fist and I intend to use it.'' 
 
 (Clenched fist agitated on level with shoulder, back of 
 hand facing the audience.) 
 
 E. — If you re-elect him Mayor, you and you 
 and you will suffer." ^• 
 
 (Arm stretched out, index finger pointing toward a 
 member of the audience. Change its direction on each you. 
 This is the so-called schoolmaster gesture.) 
 
 F. — "At first he merely became indifferent, 
 but with the loss of his position and his fam- 
 ily, he sank — down, down, down, until he 
 reached the gutter of despair." 
 
 (Arm stretched midway between the front and the side, 
 hand with palm up on a level with the thigh. Lower the 
 arm and hand on each succeeding doivn so that it is at the 
 side on the word despair.) 
 
140 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 G. — "Here is my proposition.'' 
 
 (Arm bent, hand in front on level with the waist, palm 
 and thumb up.) 
 
 H. — "That sophistry may appeal to some, 
 but when I hear a man use that argument, I 
 say, ''Away with it!" 
 
 (Right arm bent, hand on level with chest, with palm 
 facing the audience. Thrust it to the right.) 
 
 I. — "Shall we light for ourselves or throw 
 up our hands and cry 'Help!' " 
 
 (Arms bent, with hands raised at the side and above 
 the head, fingers apart and relaxed.) 
 
 It is not to be expected that you will execute 
 these gestures with Bryanesque grace or Web- 
 sterian force. But practice will limber up 
 the speaking muscles, tune them with the 
 voice, and soon you will feel at home with 
 them all, flavoring each with that little dash 
 of individuality that proclaims you a creature 
 of God and not an adding machine. 
 
 In executing a gesture, keep a firm control 
 over every muscle. A sloppy, careless move- 
 ment is never an ornament. Many inexperi- 
 enced speakers deliver a gesture too soon, 
 dropping the hand before completing the 
 words it is intended to accompany. Hold it 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 141 
 
 right through and, if appropriate, a few sec- 
 onds after the sound has died from your lips. 
 Movements of the head and body should 
 be used sparingly. A toss of the head may 
 be very eloquent, but if used frequently it 
 destroys the reputation for dignity and self- 
 control. The same is true of the trunk. The 
 speaker should never permit a movement of 
 the arm to sway the body; the tail should not 
 wag the dog. 
 
 Facial Expression 
 
 "As the language of the face is universal, so 'tis 
 very comprehensive; 'tis the shorthand of the mind 
 and crowds a great deal in a little room." 
 
 — Jeremy Collier. 
 
 Some of our greatest living actors are 
 failures in the movies. Why? Principally 
 because the speaking body has not been devel- 
 oped to the point where it can express all the 
 fine shades of thought and feeling without the 
 aid of the voice. Perhaps the greatest asset 
 in the cinema is facial expression. But its 
 appeal is just as strong on the platform as it 
 is on the screen. 
 
142 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 Little movements of the eyes and mouth 
 are constantly employed in conversation, both 
 to color our words or to take the place of them. 
 But the nerves which connect them with the 
 centers of thought and feeling seem to suffer a 
 complete paralysis on the platform. The re- 
 sult, in the beginning speaker, is sometimes a 
 "poker face." 
 
 You know how unsatisfactory it is to hold 
 a conversation in the dark. The reason is that 
 you have been accustomed to use your eyes 
 as well as your ears in interpreting remarks. 
 The audience looks for the same little facial 
 movements in a speaker, and if you can meet 
 the demand, you have another weapon with 
 which to enchain the attention and to strengthen 
 the impressiveness of your delivery. 
 
 What is the remedy? It lies in strengthen- 
 ing the nerves controlling facial movements 
 to the point where they cannot be paralyzed 
 by platform sensations. The actor exagger- 
 ates his smile and sneer; the speaker must do 
 likewise. Limber up the muscles of the face. 
 The next time you attend the movies, follow 
 in mimicry every little movement of the eye 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE 143 
 
 and mouth. It will soon become a habit. Then 
 when you go upon the platform, you can forget 
 all about it — it will have become as natural 
 as breathing in sleep. 
 
 The Speaking Body 
 
 As previously stated, a physical movement 
 is much more eloquent than language. A 
 shrug of the shoulders, a raising of the eye- 
 brows, a snapping of the fingers, may express 
 an idea more accurately and forcefully than 
 the finest figure of speech. Bryan is never 
 more eloquent than when he ends a sentence 
 with a pause followed by some graceful move- 
 ment of the hand. 
 
 A class in public speaking was once sent to 
 hear Wendell Phillips. The next day the in- 
 structor asked each man to write a criticism 
 of Phillips's gestures. The results might have 
 indicated that they didn't attend. But the truth 
 was they couldn't remember anything about 
 his gestures. Why? Because the speaker's 
 art was so highly perfected that each physical 
 movement lost its identity in the unity of his 
 delivery and the resulting singleness of im- 
 
144 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 pression. Any gesture or bodily movement 
 which calls attention to itself is a distraction 
 rather than an aid. 
 
 We know when our voices crack; our ears 
 tell us. We cannot see ourselves as we appear 
 before an audience. But we can get a fair 
 idea of our visual appeal by using a contriv- 
 ance quite common among finished orators. 
 Wendell Phillips, Edward Everett and Lord 
 Mansfield used to rehearse for hours before 
 a silent critic — the mirror. That may strike 
 you as carrying the matter too far. But every- 
 thing has its price and the man who would 
 carry his art to the goal of perfection must 
 pay the freight. 
 
 Not many years ago students of psychology 
 were stirred by a new theory of the emotions 
 enunciated simultaneously by Professors Will- 
 iam James, of Harvard, and Carl Lange, of 
 Copenhagen. In brief, the theory holds that 
 the bodily changes that accompany certain 
 emotions are not in reality the resulting ex- 
 pressions of the emotions, but the causes of 
 them. The theory has gained almost universal 
 acceptance, although some psychologists still 
 
THE EYE OF THE AUDIENCE ' 145 
 
 refuse it. But whether the hen or the egg 
 came first, each owes its existence to the other 
 and the specie cannot perpetuate itself without 
 both. When the speaker expresses his anger 
 by shaking his clenched fist, the physical ex- 
 pression, in turn, increases the anger. And 
 the stronger the emotion in the speaker the 
 easier it will be for him to interpret it in 
 delivery. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MEMORY 
 
 So many men complain of bad memory as an 
 obstacle to their development as speakers, that 
 a brief analysis of the subject and its applica- 
 tion to oral discourse ought to be profitable. 
 
 There are many courses on memory train-' 
 ing. They all accomplish results, they all vary 
 in methods, but they all rest on three basic 
 laws - — attention, association and repetition. 
 The mere understanding of these laws will 
 not cure a diseased memory but it will give 
 each man sufficient knowledge to diagnose his 
 particular case with a view to finding and 
 strengthening the weak link in the chain. 
 
 Attention 
 
 Lord Chesterfield once said, "The power of 
 applying attention, steady and undissipated, 
 to a single object, is the sure mark of a supe- 
 rior genius." Whether or not you possess this 
 powder to a superior degree, it requires no 
 
 [146]. 
 
MEMORY ' 147 
 
 argument to support the proposition that if 
 you would remember any particular fact or 
 idea, you must make sure that your original 
 grasp of the fact or idea is as clear as the 
 impression that you would later recall. This 
 means that you must focus your attention 
 sufficiently to get a clean-cut conception of 
 what you would remember; the photographic 
 print does not grow brighter with age, neither 
 does the picture that you store away in the 
 recesses of memory. 
 
 Association 
 
 Assuming that you have a clear understand- 
 ing of what you would remember, where in 
 your mental storehouse are you going to place 
 this information or idea? Next to what other 
 facts or opinions will it lie? If you placed 
 a new set of cooking utensils in the bedroom, 
 it is not unlikely that you would have great 
 difficulty in placing your hands on them in a 
 hurry. That may sound ridiculous, and yet 
 many of us do not even take time to place 
 newly acquired information in any room of 
 the mind. 
 
148 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 Napoleon once explained his marvelous 
 memory by likening his mind to a chest of 
 drawers, with everything put in the proper 
 drawer and in the proper place in that drawer. 
 Nothing was dismissed from his consciousness 
 until it had been assigned to its proper place. 
 
 This methodical disposition of new ideas 
 and knowledge is not so difficult as it might 
 seem. The main thing is to keep the matter 
 in the foreground of your mind until you have 
 assigned it a place. Dates are the stumbling 
 blocks in the study of all history. But see what 
 can be done by association. Everyone can 
 remember such years as 1492, 1776, 1861, 
 and 1898. Now suppose you were told that 
 the Protestant Reformation began with Martin 
 Luther's revolt in 1513. A few seconds' re- 
 flection will suggest the fact that the latter 
 event took place exactly twenty-one years after 
 Columbus landed at San Domingo; a man 
 born in the year of Columbus's discovery 
 would have reached his majority when Luther 
 defied Pope Leo X. You will probably never 
 forget the latter date. That is the value of 
 association. 
 
MEMORY ' 149 
 
 So-called memory experts have devised 
 many schemes for tying together various facts 
 so that by getting hold of one the others follow 
 like the links of a chain. There is no doubt 
 that these methods produce great results. But 
 when we consider how artificial they are, the 
 time it takes to master the scheme, and the 
 mental energy consumed in applying the 
 scheme, it does seem that there ought to be 
 some method more natural and more condu- 
 cive to general development of mind. Most 
 men of ability and wisdom have satisfactory 
 memories. Some might argue that the secret 
 of their success was memory. But it is more 
 likely that their good memories were the by- 
 products of their ability to analyze situations 
 and to associate the various component parts 
 with other facts and ideas they already knew. 
 Every idea has attached to it a hundred or 
 more strings, if we will only turn it over in 
 our minds long enough to see it from every 
 angle. By following every string and tying 
 it to some other subject to which it naturally 
 leads, we turn this floating fact or idea into an 
 immovable buoy in our memory. 
 
150 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 The common saying so often heard, "I can 
 remember faces but not names," is simply a 
 testimonial to the greater force of the visual 
 as compared with the auditory. Make use of 
 this greater force by employing pictures as a 
 means of remembering. Had you never seen 
 a print of Abraham Lincoln, you might find 
 it difficult to recall that he was described as 
 tall and thin, slightly stooped, and with thick, 
 black hair. But having seen his picture, you 
 can easily remember a dozen or more details 
 of his appearance. 
 
 Repetition 
 
 The eminent authority on memory. Dr. 
 Buckley, once remarked that it is incorrect to 
 say that we cannot remember, because in fact 
 we remember nearly everything. If you doubt 
 this statement, think of the number of times 
 that a friend has recalled some event in the 
 distant past which, until he recalled it, you 
 thought had faded completely from your 
 memory. Unless he recalled it, you never 
 would have been able to bring it to the fore- 
 ground of your mind. This proves that the 
 
MEMORY , 151 
 
 weakness lies not with your memory but with 
 your power of recollection. And this weak- 
 ness is the fatal spot in the so-called bad 
 memory. 
 
 You have no difficulty in recalling your 
 house or telephone number. Why? Because 
 you have occasion to recall it so frequently 
 that it becomes engraved on your mind. Prac- 
 tice, then, or repetition of the act of recollec- 
 ting is the secret of overcoming this weakness. 
 
 Dr. Buckley prescribes an exercise which, 
 in his opinion, should develop the weakest 
 memory. Here it is: after getting into bed, 
 trace all the events of the day in the order in 
 which they occurred, from the moment of aris- 
 ing until the minute of retiring. Half a dozen 
 high spots will stand out, the rest of the day 
 will be screened in a fog. But persistent 
 effort will bring forth one or more events in 
 each blank period and then the fog will lift 
 and you will recall many others. This exer- 
 cise will consume about five minutes the first 
 night, but within two weeks you will be able 
 to cover the day in one or two minutes. 
 
 The poor memory of which the speaker 
 
152 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 complains is usually due to one or more of 
 three things : ( 1 ) memorizing the speech word 
 for word; (2) failure to assemble the material 
 in an orderly fashion and with a proper 
 sequence, and (3) insufficient practice in go- 
 ing over orally or mentally the main points of 
 the speech. 
 
 One of the greatest dangers in the path of 
 the beginning speaker is the tempting practice 
 of writing out a speech and committing it to 
 memory, word for word. It is like the drug 
 habit — once formed, it is almost impossible 
 to work without it. So many arguments can 
 be cited against it, that it seems like a waste 
 of time to dwell on the evil. But men will 
 persist in using this apparent harbor of refuge, 
 and for that reason, some of the disadvantages 
 should be stated. 
 
 First, memorizing a speech robs you of one 
 of the greatest benefits of speaking — develop- 
 ment of the ability to think on your feet. A 
 child can memorize an oration, but it takes a 
 man to turn ideas and thoughts into effective 
 language. Frequently a man will say to him- 
 self, "I will memorize just this one so as to 
 
MEMORY ' 153 
 
 be sure it will go all right, but I won't do it 
 after this." Well, if you do it this time, the 
 next time it will be harder to speak without it. 
 And after a while you will need it as badly 
 as a one-legged man needs a crutch. 
 
 Second, unless you are a skilled actor, you 
 cannot speak from a memorized version and 
 keep the fact from the audience. What do 
 you think of a speaker when you learn that he 
 has committed his talk to memory? 
 
 Third, talking from memory transfers the 
 mental focus from the life and spirit of your 
 subject to the cold word. The result is a life- 
 less delivery. 
 
 Fourth, you run the danger of forgetting the 
 exact language you had decided upon, and 
 that may be fatal. 
 
 If the speaker has assembled his material in 
 some orderly fashion and has run over in his 
 mind the outline a half dozen times, there is 
 little danger of his forgetting it. Sometimes, 
 however, a long speech which necessarily cov- 
 ers a variety of ideas is difficult to hold in 
 mind without some scheme. What is the solu- 
 tion? We eliminate the practice of carrying 
 
154 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 notes in the hand — no experienced speaker 
 does it. The best method is to summarize 
 each heading or paragraph into a word and 
 then construct a sentence embodying all the 
 descriptive words. Suppose you outline a 
 speech on prohibition in this fashion: 
 
 PROHIBITION IS A SUCCESS 
 
 1. Average workingman's family is better pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 2. Jails harbor fewer persons. 
 
 3. Alcoholic Diseases are decreasing. 
 
 4. Enforcement is improving every day. 
 
 5. Rising generation is not beset by dangers of 
 intemperance. 
 
 Each of the five headings might be summar- 
 ized in one word which will suggest the whole 
 idea: 
 
 1. Workingman. 
 
 2. Jails. 
 
 3. Diseases. 
 
 4. Enforcement. 
 
 5. Youth. 
 
 Putting these into a sentence we get "Work- 
 ingman jails diseases enforcing youth." True, 
 it doesn't make any sense, but it is easily 
 
MEMORY ' 155 
 
 remembered, and remembered, it gives the 
 key to each part of the speech. 
 
 Another method is the visual one — a favo- 
 rite with Mark Twain. Construct a picture of 
 each heading in which some part will suggest 
 the succeeding picture. Or imagine a series 
 of actions in which the chronology will give 
 you the order of ideas, for instance: "a brick- 
 layer (workingman) walks into a jail, and 
 finds a diseased man forcing a youth to drink." 
 Ridiculous? Of course, but try it and see 
 how well it works. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HEALTH AND VOICE 
 
 Health and Speaking 
 
 "I don't know why I couldn't put that speech 
 across tonight; it went fine in practice." Many- 
 times has that complaint been made to an 
 instructor. How often does he inquire about 
 the speaker's health? 
 
 The activity of speaking is a strenuous one. 
 It requires accurate co-ordination of nearly 
 every part of the body and brain. If poor 
 health in any way affects the delicate mech- 
 anism of either, the speaking will suffer. 
 
 Nearly all our great orators have been men 
 of strong physique — Webster was a lion in 
 strength; Lincoln was a champion wrestler in 
 his teens; Bryan and Roosevelt amazed the 
 country by their strenuous campaigns for 
 office. Unless you are preparing to wage a 
 political battle from the stump, it is not neces- 
 sary that you possess a bull-dog constitution. 
 But to do your best on any given occasion, it is 
 [156] 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE 157 
 
 imperative that your condition be good, with 
 every organ functioning properly. 
 
 Care of the Body 
 
 Every man who has given the slightest atten- 
 tion to his health has learned long before 
 maturity the peculiarities of his own body. 
 He knows all his strength and weakness, and 
 if he follows the advice which his own experi- 
 ence has formulated, he will probably keep 
 himself fit. Nevertheless, it is well to call 
 attention to a few points concerning health. 
 
 Most of our ills arise from alimentary 
 causes. When a man takes good care of his 
 stomach, his doctor's bills are usually small. 
 Eat only such foods as are easily digested; 
 cultivate the habit of chewing it thoroughly. 
 The less liquid drunk with meals the better. 
 Keep the bowels open. 
 
 A strong nervous system — very desirable to 
 every speaker — feeds on muscular exercise. 
 You may pride yourself on your health in 
 spite of soft muscles, but when you take the 
 platform you will find that the art is not a 
 part of sedentary life. Get up five minutes 
 
158 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 earlier tomorrow morning and go through two 
 or three sets of exercises before dressing. 
 Keep this up for a week and note the effect 
 on your thinking and contentment. 
 
 How much do you smoke? Do you crave 
 for tobacco at certain intervals? If you do, it 
 is a sure sign that you are indulging to excess. 
 Aside from the fact that it injures the throat 
 and other parts of the vocal mechanism, ex- 
 cessive smoking decreases appetite, impairs 
 digestion and destroys that fine nervous con- 
 trol which is so essential to effective speaking. 
 
 Colds, heavy or slight, have a pernicious 
 effect on the proper functioning of the various 
 parts of the body. Nearly all colds begin in 
 the throat. A simple prevention has enabled 
 many men to overcome chronic colds. When 
 you rise in the morning, exercise the muscles 
 of your neck for one or two minutes. Roll it 
 around, bend it in every direction — it won't 
 break. After your bath, dash cold water on 
 your neck and chest. This daily practice will 
 increase the resisting power of your throat to 
 the point where it will stand the most inclement 
 weather. 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE ^ 159 
 
 Breathing 
 
 Have you ever noticed that opera singers 
 are usually well developed, radiate health and 
 have a superabundance of energy? And what 
 is more, they live to a ripe old age. What is 
 the reason? 
 
 In ordinary breathing we use about ten per 
 cent of the capacity of the lungs. In singing 
 and in deep breathing all the little cells are 
 filled, each extracts the oxygen from the air 
 and gives it to the blood. The blood carries 
 the nourishment to every part of the body. 
 You know the result. "A hundred deep 
 breaths a day keeps the germs of TB away," 
 is one physician's favorite prescription. But 
 before discussing further the subject of breath- 
 ing, let us consider the organs used in breath- 
 ing and speaking. 
 
 The trunk is divided into two large cavities, 
 the abdomen and the chest. In the abdominal 
 cavity are the stomach, liver, intestines, and 
 other organs ; the heart and lungs fill the chest 
 cavity. The two cavities are separated by a 
 sheet of strong muscle called the diaphragm. 
 
160 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 This partition, the seat of breath control, is 
 shaped like a saucer turned upside down. 
 When the lungs are filled, this muscular tissue 
 flattens and presses out the ribs in all direc- 
 tions, and massages the liver and stomach. 
 On the roof of the diaphragm rests the base of 
 the lungs. The lungs, larger at the bottom 
 than at the top, where their expansion is lim- 
 ited, are composed of innumerable cells con- 
 nected with the windpipe by bronchial tubes. 
 What we call the "Adam's apple" is the 
 larynx, or "voice box," which tops the wind- 
 pipe. Across the opening (glottis) at the top 
 of the "voice box" are stretched membranes. 
 The air from the lungs passing over these 
 membranes causes them to vibrate and pro- 
 duce sound, just as the violinist's bow brings 
 fordi music by oscillating the strings. These 
 membranes may be tightened or slackened, 
 the first to produce a high and the second a 
 low pitch. The proper functioning of these 
 membranes is impeded by any tension of the 
 muscles of the throat. The sound produced 
 by the vibration of these vocal cords flows 
 upward until it reaches the base of the mouth. 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE 161 
 
 There some of it passes into the mouth and 
 some of it into the nasal cavity. Both cavities 
 act as sounding boards or amplifiers. The 
 soft palate, the tongue working with the teeth, 
 and the lips transform the sound into speech, 
 while the nasal cavity gives it volume and ring. 
 
 In order to produce the best quality of tone, 
 it is necessary that the air be plentiful. Deep 
 or diaphragmatic breathing fills the lungs 
 from the bottom up, gives an adequate support 
 to the voice and relieves the muscles of the 
 throat of the necessity of straining to produce 
 sufficient vocal volume. It physics the lungs, 
 tones the nervous system and increases the 
 physical and mental energy. 
 
 Once formed, the habit of deep breathing 
 becomes stronger than any desire for artificial 
 stimulant. Open your window, then go through 
 the following exercise: 
 
 "Stand erect with head and chest high, 
 abdomen in, balancing the weight on the balls 
 (not the heels) of the feet. Drive all the air 
 out of the lungs, keeping the chest as high as 
 possible. Inhale slowly through the nose 
 (keep the mouth closed), sending the air to 
 
162 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 the bottom of the lungs. Do not raise the 
 shoulders. When you have filled the lungs to 
 the fullest capacity, do not hold the air, but 
 exhale slowly through the nose and mouth, the 
 jaw relaxed." 
 
 Breath control is just as essential to the 
 speaker as to the singer. In order to develop 
 that control, repeat the above exercise, with 
 this modification — while exhaling, hold a 
 lighted candle before the mouth; practice ex- 
 haling so steadily that the flame of the candle 
 will assume a fixed angle. Then go through 
 the same exercise, exhaling so slowly that the 
 flame will not flicker at all. A substitute for 
 these exercises is the practice of slow breath- 
 ing while walking. When you leave your 
 home in the morning, time your inhaling and 
 exhaling so that each will be measured by six 
 steps. The next morning increase it to eight. 
 On the third, try ten. 
 
 Voice 
 
 Mend your speech a little 
 
 Lest you may mar your fortune. 
 
 John T. Morse, Jr., in his life of Jeff'erson, 
 writes that the weakness of Jeff'erson's voice, 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE 163 
 
 more than any other thing, prevented him 
 from becoming successful in trial work. 
 Henry Clay, on the other hand, was a great 
 advocate, one of the chief reasons being that 
 he had a voice that was marvelously musical 
 and of rare power. 
 
 If you think that your voice is as unchange- 
 able as the color of your eyes, you are wrong. 
 The greatest orator of all ages — Demosthenes 
 — had, in his youth, a weak, raspy voice. And, 
 what was worse, he had an impediment in his 
 speech. But by systematic training, which 
 included declaiming by the seashore with 
 pebbles in his mouth and talking while run- 
 ning uphill, he developed the greatest speak- 
 ing voice of his generation. 
 
 In approaching the subject of improving the 
 voice, we are reminded of that saying so com- 
 mon among the Micawbers of this day, "Don't 
 interfere with Nature." Well, we are not 
 interfering with nature ; we are merely remov- 
 ing the obstructions which you have placed 
 in her way. Let us consider a few phases of 
 vocalization. 
 
 Faulty enunciation is usually the result of 
 
164 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 a clumsy tongue. Nature intended that this 
 organ should perform the major portion of the 
 task. But man spares the tongue and divides 
 its labor among the muscles of the throat, the 
 jaw and the lips. Distinct enunciation de- 
 mands a strong, flexible tongue capable of 
 rapid and accurate adjustment. Strengthen it 
 by rapid exercises. Pressing the tip against 
 the top of the lower teeth, roll the body of it 
 out between the lips. Open the mouth and 
 wag the tongue upward and downward. Make 
 it curl like a snail's body. Accurate enuncia- 
 tion is often a function of the proper co-ordi- 
 nation of the tongue and teeth. The Teuton 
 thinks he cannot pronounce th — he says dis 
 for this. If he would but watch an American 
 place his tongue against the upper teeth, he 
 could by imitation learn to enunciate the word 
 in less than five minutes. 
 
 The success of Joseph H. Choate as a trial 
 lawyer has been attributed to the resonance 
 of his voice. No juryman could go to sleep 
 while his organ-like voice was working. You 
 can acquire some of that resonance if you will 
 but make use of the human sounding board — 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE 165 
 
 the nasal cavity. That undesirable "twang" 
 which is sometimes called "speaking through 
 the nose" is the result of preventing the pas- 
 sage of sound through the nose. When we 
 make use of this sounding board, the result is 
 similar to that of talking in a rain barrel. A 
 great deal can be accomplished in this direc- 
 tion by keeping the air passages connecting 
 the mouth, nose and ears free from obstruc- 
 tions. Wax in the ears and dust in the nose 
 and nasal cavity rob the voice of the bell-like 
 ring just as rags in a cornet muffle its tones. 
 A little salt and water gently snuffed up in the 
 morning and a weekly application of warm 
 water and soap to the ears will be of great 
 help to the quality of resonance. 
 
 You have seen many advertisements setting 
 forth the wonderful powers of certain lozenges 
 and throat sprays. If half of the testimonials 
 written by opera singers are true, it is a 
 wonder how many of them find time to do 
 anything but try cures and write recommenda- 
 tions. The late Dr. H. Holbrook Curtis, throat 
 specialist, was consulted by nearly all the 
 concert singers in New York as well as by 
 
166 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 
 
 prominent speakers including Roosevelt. He 
 usually prescribed voice exercises, the most 
 common of which was humming the scale up 
 and down. 
 
 Humming is an excellent practice for devel- 
 oping resonance, because it forces the air 
 through the nasal cavity. Robert J. Hughes, 
 the voice specialist, prescribes a very simple 
 exercise in this direction. Take a deep breath 
 and hum "minim" continuously, prolonging 
 the m's and the n's. 
 
 That harsh, raspy tone of voice, which 
 limits the success of so many business as well 
 as professional men, is partially due to forc- 
 ing the voice from the throat instead of relax- 
 ing the throat and supplying the energy from 
 the lungs. Never speak, on or off the plat- 
 form, without breath support. Think of this 
 while dictating to your stenographer or tele- 
 phoning, and your work on the platform will 
 take care of itself. 
 
 Flexibility of voice — the foundation of 
 modulation and inflection — can be acquired 
 by reading aloud poetry and verse. Recite 
 the following lines on Opportunity by Senator 
 
HEALTH AND VOICE 167 
 
 Ingalls, putting into its delivery all the sym- 
 pathy you possess: 
 
 "Master of human destinies am II Fame, 
 love and fortune on my footsteps wait. Cities 
 and fields I walk: I penetrate deserts and 
 fields remote, and passing by hovel and mart 
 and palace, soon or late I knock unbidden at 
 every gate! If sleeping, wake; if feasting, 
 rise before I turn away. It is the hour of 
 fate, and they who follow me reach every state 
 mortals desire, and conquer every foe save 
 death; but those who doubt or hesitate, con- 
 demned to failure, penury and woe, seek me 
 in vain and uselessly implore. I answer not 
 and return no more!" 
 
 FINIS 
 
By the Same Author 
 
 "Hints for the 
 Political Speaker" 
 
 112 pages — Cloth — $1.00 postpaid 
 
 It is invaluable to the ambitious 
 public speaker who is desirous 
 of entering the realm of politics. 
 
 C It gives him plainly and concisely the funda- 
 mentals by which the quality — the correctness or 
 incorrectness of a political speech — is construct- 
 ively determined. It gives him "reasons." He 
 can know "why" his speech is good, and explain 
 it; or "why" it is bad, and improve it. Entire 
 courses of instruction in public speaking, costing 
 many times the price of this work, are based on 
 the same principles which are so fully explained 
 in this $1.00 book. Why should you pay more? 
 
 CHRIS. F. MEYER, Publisher 
 
 945 East Third Street Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 BERKELEY 
 
 Return to desk from which borrowed. 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
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