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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17476-8.txt b/17476-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c0f28be --- /dev/null +++ b/17476-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3658 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Talks on Talking, by Grenville Kleiser + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Talks on Talking + + +Author: Grenville Kleiser + + + +Release Date: January 7, 2006 [eBook #17476] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALKS ON TALKING*** + + +E-text prepared by Kevin Handy, Suzanne Lybarger, Martin Pettit, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(http://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +TALKS ON TALKING + +by + +GRENVILLE KLEISER + +Formerly Instructor in Public Speaking at Yale Divinity School, +Yale University; author of "How to Speak in Public," "How to +Develop Power and Personality in Speaking," "How to Develop +Self-Confidence in Speech and Manner," "How to Argue and Win," +"How to Read and Declaim," "Complete Guide to Public Speaking,"; +etc. + + + + + + + +Copyright, 1916, by +Funk. & Wagnalls Company +(Printed in the United States of America) +Published, September, 1916 +Copyright under the articles of the Copyright Convention of the +Pan-American Republics and the United States, August 11, 1910 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +THE ART OF TALKING 1 + +TYPES OF TALKERS 11 + +TALKERS AND TALKING 18 + +PHRASES FOR TALKERS 25 + +THE SPEAKING VOICE 34 + +HOW TO TELL A STORY 44 + +TALKING IN SALESMANSHIP 56 + +MEN AND MANNERISMS 63 + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC 70 + +PRACTICAL HINTS FOR SPEAKERS 84 + +THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SPEAKING 87 + +CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING 94 + +A TALK TO PREACHERS 100 + +CARE OF THE SPEAKER'S THROAT 108 + +DON'TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS 116 + +DO'S FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS 118 + +POINTS FOR SPEAKERS 120 + +THE BIBLE ON SPEECH 122 + +THOUGHTS ON TALKING 123 + + + + +PREFACE + + +Good conversation implies naturalness, spontaneity, and sincerity of +utterance. It is not advisable, therefore, to lay down arbitrary rules +to govern talking, but it is believed that the suggestions offered here +will contribute to the general elevation and improvement of daily +speech. + +Considering the large number of persons who are obliged to talk in +social, business, and public life, the subject of correct speech should +receive more serious consideration than is usually given to it. It is +earnestly hoped that this volume will be of practical value to those who +are desirous of developing and improving their conversational powers. + +Appreciative thanks are expressed to the Editors of the _Homiletic +Review_ for permission to reprint some of the extracts. + + GRENVILLE KLEISER. + +NEW YORK CITY, +MAY, 1916. + + + Boys flying kites haul in their white-wing'd birds: + You can't do that way when you're flying words. + "Careful with fire," is good advice we know; + "Careful with words," is ten times doubly so. + Thoughts unexpress'd may sometimes fall back dead, + But God Himself can't kill them once they're said! + + --_Will Carleton._ + + + The first duty of a man is to speak; that is his chief business in + this world; and talk, which is the harmonious speech of two or + more, is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing; + it is all profit; it completes our education; it founds and fosters + our friendships; and it is by talk alone that we learn our period + and ourselves. + + --_Robert Louis Stevenson._ + + + Vociferated logic kills me quite; + A noisy man is always in the right-- + I twirl my thumbs, fall back into my chair, + Fix on the wainscot a distressful stare; + And when I hope his blunders all are out, + Reply discreetly, "To be sure--no doubt!" + + --_Anon._ + + + + +TALKS ON TALKING + + + + +THE ART OF TALKING + + +The charm of conversation chiefly depends upon the adaptability of the +participants. It is a great accomplishment to be able to enter gently +and agreeably into the moods of others, and to give way to them with +grace and readiness. + +The spirit of conversation is oftentimes more important than the ideas +expressed. What we are rather than what we say has the most permanent +influence upon those around us. Hence it is that where a group of +persons are met together in conversation, it is the inner life of each +which silently though none the less surely imparts tone and character to +the occasion. + +It requires vigorous self-discipline so to cultivate the feelings of +kindness and sympathy that they are always in readiness for use. These +qualities are essential to agreeable and profitable intercourse, though +comparatively few people possess them. + +Burke considered manners of more importance than laws. Sidney Smith +described manners as the shadows of virtues. Dean Swift defined manners +as the art of putting at ease the people with whom we converse. +Chesterfield said manners should adorn knowledge in order to smooth its +way through the world. Emerson spoke of manners as composed of petty +sacrifices. + +We all recognize that a winning manner is made up of seemingly +insignificant courtesies, and of constant little attentions. A person of +charming manner is usually free from resentments, inquisitiveness, and +moods. + +Personality plays a large part in interesting conversation. Precisely +the same phraseology expressed by two different persons may make two +wholly different impressions, and all because of the difference in the +personalities of the speakers. + +The daily mental life of a man indelibly impresses itself upon his face, +where it can be unmistakably read by others. What a person is, innately +and habitually, unconsciously discloses itself in voice, manner, and +bearing. The world ultimately appraises a man at his true value. + +The best type of talker is slow to express positive opinions, is sparing +in criticism, and studiously avoids a tone or word of finality. It has +been well said that "A talker who monopolizes the conversation is by +common consent insufferable, and a man who regulates his choice of +topics by reference to what interests not his hearers but himself has +yet to learn the alphabet of the art. Conversation is like lawn-tennis, +and requires alacrity in return at least as much as vigor in service. A +happy phrase, an unexpected collocation of words, a habitual precision +in the choice of terms, are rare and shining ornaments of conversation, +but they do not for an instant supply the place of lively and +interesting matter, and an excessive care for them is apt to tell +unfavorably on the substance of discourse." + +When Lord Beaconsfield was talking his way into social fame, someone +said of him, "I might as well attempt to gather up the foam of the sea +as to convey an idea of the extraordinary language in which he clothed +his description. There were at least five words in every sentence that +must have been very much astonished at the use they were put to, and yet +no others apparently could so well have expressed his idea. He talked +like a racehorse approaching the winning-post--every muscle in action, +and the utmost energy of expression flung out into every burst." + +We are told that Matthew Arnold combined all the characteristics of good +conversation--politeness, vivacity, sympathy, interestedness, geniality, +a happy choice of words, and a never-failing humor. When he was once +asked what was his favorite topic for conversation, he instantly +answered, "That in which my companion is most interested." + +Courtesy, it will be noted, is the fundamental basis of good +conversation. We must show habitual consideration and kindliness towards +others if we would attract them to us. Bluntness of manner is no longer +excused on the ground that the speaker is sincere and outspoken. We +expect and demand that our companion in conversation should observe the +recognized courtesies of speech. + +There was a time when men and women indulged freely in satire, irony, +and repartee. They spoke their thoughts plainly and unequivocally. There +were no restraints imposed upon them by society, hence it now appears to +us that many things were said which might better have been left unsaid. +Self-restraint is nowadays one of the cardinal virtues of good +conversation. + +The spirit of conversation is greatly changed. We are enjoined to keep +the voice low, think before we speak, repress unseasonable allusions, +shun whatever may cause a jar or jolt in the minds of others, be seldom +prominent in conversation, and avoid all clashing of opinion and +collision of feeling. + +Macaulay was fond of talking, but made the mistake of always choosing a +subject to suit himself and monopolizing the conversation. He lectured +rather than talked. His marvelous memory was perhaps his greatest enemy, +for though it enabled him to pour forth great masses of facts, people +listened to him helplessly rather than admiringly. + +Carlyle was a great talker, and talked much in protest of talking. No +man broke silence oftener than he to tell the world how great a curse is +talking. But he told it eloquently and therein was he justified. There +was in him too much vehement sternness, of hard Scotch granite, to make +him a pleasant talker in the popular sense. He was the evangelist of +golden silence, and though he did not apparently practice it himself, +his genius will never diminish. + +Gladstone was unable to indulge in small talk. His mind was so +constantly occupied with great subjects that he spoke even to one person +as if addressing a meeting. It is said that in conversation with Queen +Victoria he would invariably choose weighty subjects, and though she +tried to make a digression, he would seize the first opportunity to +resume his original theme, always reinforced in volume and onrush by the +delay. + +Lord Morley is attractive though austere in conversation. He never +dogmatizes nor obtrudes his own opinions. He is a master of +phrase-making. But although he talks well he never talks much. + +The story is told that at a recent dinner in London ten leading public +men were met together, when one suggested that each gentleman present +should write down on paper the name of the man he would specially choose +to be his companion on a walking tour. When the ten papers were +subsequently read aloud, each bore the name of Lord Morley. + +Lord Rosebery is considered one of the most accomplished talkers of the +day. Deferential, natural, sympathetic, observant, well-informed, he +easily and unconsciously commands the attention of any group of men. His +voice is said to recommend what he utters, and a singularly refined +accent gives distinction to anything he says. He is a supreme example of +two great qualifications for effective talking: having something worth +while to say, and knowing how to say it. + +Among distinguished Canadians, Sir Thomas White is one of the most +interesting speakers. His versatile mind, and broad and varied +experience, enable him to converse with almost equal facility upon +politics, medicine, finance, law, science, art, literature, or +business. Dates, details, facts, figures, and illustrations are at his +ready command. His manner is natural, courteous, and genial, but in +argumentation the whole man is so thoroughly aroused to earnestness and +intensity as almost to overwhelm an opponent. His greatest quality in +speaking is his manifest sincerity, and it is this particularly which +has ingratiated him in the hearts of his countrymen. + +The Honorable Joseph H. Choate must certainly be reckoned among the best +conversationalists of our time. His manner, both in conversation and in +public speaking, is singularly gracious and winning. He is unsurpassed +as a story-teller. His fine taste, combined with long experience as a +public man, makes him an ideal after-dinner speaker. + +Some eminent men try to mask their greatness when engaged in +conversation. They do not wear their feelings nor their greatness on +their sleeves. Some have an utter distaste for anything like personal +display. It is said of the late Henry James that a stranger might talk +to him for an entire evening without discovering his identity. + +There is an interesting account of an evening's conversation between +Emerson and Thoreau. When Thoreau returned home he wrote in his Journal: +"Talked, or tried to talk, with R.W.E. Lost my time, nay, almost my +identity. He, assuming a false opposition where there was no difference +of opinion, talked to the wind." Emerson's version of the conversation +was this: "It seemed as if Thoreau's first instinct on hearing a +proposition was to controvert it. That habit is chilling to the social +affections; it mars conversation." + +Conversation offers daily opportunity for intellectual exercise of high +order. The reading of great books is desirable and indispensable to +education, but real culture comes through the additional training one +receives in conversation. The contact of mind with mind tends to +stimulate and develop thoughts which otherwise would probably remain +dormant. + +The culture of conversation is to be recommended not only for its own +sake, but also as one of the best means of training in the art of public +speaking. Since the best form of platform address today is simply +conversation enlarged and elevated, it may almost be assumed that to +excel in one is to be proficient in the other. + +Good conversation requires, among other things, mental alertness, +accuracy of statement, adequate vocabulary, facility of expression, and +an agreeable voice, and these qualities are most essential for effective +public speaking. Everyone, therefore, who aspires to speaking before an +audience of hundreds or thousands, will find his best opportunity for +preliminary training in everyday speech. + + + + +TYPES OF TALKERS + + +There is no greater affliction in modern life than the tiresome talker. +He talks incessantly. Presumably he talks in his sleep. Talking is his +constant exercise and recreation. He thrives on it. He lives for +talking's sake. He would languish if he were deprived of it for a single +day. His continuous practice in talking enables him easily to +outdistance all ordinary competitors. There is nothing which so +completely unnerves him as long periods of silence. He has the talking +habit in its most virulent form. + +The trifling talker is equally objectionable. He talks much, but says +little. He skims over the surface of things, and is timid of anything +deep or philosophical. He does not tarry at one subject. He talks of the +weather, clothes, plays, and sports. He puts little meaning into what he +says, because there is little meaning in what he thinks. He cannot look +at anything seriously. Nothing is of great significance to him. He is +in the class of featherweights. + +The tedious talker is one without terminal facilities. He talks right on +with no idea of objective or destination. He rises to go, but he does +not go. He knows he ought to go, but he simply cannot. He has something +more to say. He keeps you standing half an hour. He talks a while +longer. He assures you he really must go. You tell him not to hurry. He +takes you at your word and sits down again. He talks some more. He rises +again. He does not know even now how to conclude. He has no mental +compass. He is a rudderless talker. + +Probably the most obnoxious type is the tattling talker. He always has +something startlingly personal to impart. It is a sacred secret for your +ear. He is a wholesale dealer in gossip. He fairly smacks his lips as he +relates the latest scandal. He is an expert embellisher. He adroitly +supplies missing details. He has nothing of interest in his own life, +since he lives wholly in the lives of others. He is a frightful bore, +but you cannot offend him. He is adamant. + +There is the tautological talker, or the human self-repeater. He goes +over the ground again and again lest you have missed something. He is +very fond of himself. He tells the same story not twice, but a dozen +times. "You may have heard this before," says he, "but it is so good +that it will bear repetition." He tries to disguise his poverty of +thought in a masquerade of ornate language. If he must repeat his words, +he adds a little emphasis, a flourishing gesture, or a spirit of +nonchalance. + +Again, there is the tenacious talker, who refuses to release you though +you concede his arguments. When all others tacitly drop a subject, he +eagerly picks it up. He is reluctant to leave it. He would put you in +possession of his special knowledge. You may successfully refute him, +but he holds firmly to his own ideas. He is positive he is right. He +will prove it, too, if you will only listen. He knows that he knows. You +cannot convince him to the contrary, no indeed. He will talk you so +blind that at last you are unable to see any viewpoint clearly. + +A recognized type is the tactless talker. He says the wrong thing in +the right way, and the right thing in the wrong way. He is impulsive and +unguarded. He reaches hasty conclusions. He confuses his tactlessness +with cleverness. He is awkward and blundering. His indifference to the +rights and feelings of others is his greatest enemy. He is a stranger to +discretion. He speaks first, and thinks afterwards. He may have regrets, +but not resolutions. He is often tolerated, but seldom esteemed. + +The temperamental talker is one of the greatest of nerve-destroyers. He +deals in superlatives. He views everything emotionally. He talks +feelingly of trifles, and ecstatically of friends. He gushes. He +flatters. To him everything is "wonderful," "prodigious," "superb," +"gorgeous," "heavenly," "amazing," "indescribable," "overwhelming." +Extravagance and exaggeration permeate his most commonplace +observations. He is an incurable enthusiast. + +The tantalizing talker is one who likes to contradict you. He divides +his attention between what you are saying and what he can summon to +oppose you. He dissents from your most ordinary observations. His +favorite phrases are, "I don't think so," "There is where you are +wrong," "I beg to differ," and "Not only that." Tell him it will be a +fine day, and he will declare that the signs indicate foul weather. Say +that the day is unpromising, and he will assure you it does not look +that way to him. He cavils at trifles. He disputes even when there is no +antagonist. + +To listen to the tortuous talker is a supreme test of patience. He +slowly winds his way in and out of a subject. He traverses by-paths, +allowing nothing to escape his unwearied eye. He goes a long way about, +but never tires of his circuitous journey. Ploddingly and perseveringly +he zigzags from one point to another. He alters his course as often as +the crooked way of his subject changes. He twists, turns, and diverges +without the slightest inconvenience to himself. He likes nothing better +than to trace out details. His talking disease is discursiveness. + +The tranquil talker never hurries. He has all the time there is. If you +are very busy he will wait. He is uniformly moderate and polite. He is +a rare combination of oil, milk, and rose-water. He would not harm a +syllable of the English language. His talking has a soporific effect. It +acts as a lullaby. His speech is low and gentle. He never speaks an +ill-considered word. He chooses his words with measured caution. He is +what is known as a smooth talker. + +The torpedo talker is of the rapid fire explosive variety. He bursts +into a conversation. He scatters labials, dentals, and gutturals in all +directions. He is a war-time talker,--boom, burst, bang, roar, crash, +thud! He fills the air with vocal bullets and syllabic shrapnel. He is +trumpet-tongued, ear-splitting, deafening. He fires promiscuously at all +his hearers. He rends the skies asunder. He is nothing if not +vociferous, stentorian, lusty. He demolishes every idea in his way. He +is a Napoleon of words. + +The tangled talker never gets anything quite straight. He inevitably +spoils the best story. He always begins at the wrong end. Despite your +protests of face and manner he talks on. He talks inopportunely. He +becomes inextricably confused. He is weak in statistics. He has no +memory for names or places. He lacks not fluency but accuracy. He is a +twisted talker. + +The triumphant talker lays claim to the star part in any conversation. +He likes nothing better than to drive home his point and then look about +exultingly. He says gleefully, "I told you so." That he can ever be +wrong is inconceivable to him. He knows the facts since he can readily +manufacture them himself. He is self-satisfied, for in his own opinion +he has never lost an argument. He is a brave and bold talker. + +These, then, are some types of talking which we should not emulate. +Study the list carefully--the tiresome talker, the trifling talker, the +tedious talker, the tattling talker, the tautological talker, the +tenacious talker, the tactless talker, the temperamental talker, the +tantalizing talker, the tangled talker, the triumphant talker--and guard +yourself diligently against the faults which they represent. Talking +should always be a pleasure to the speaker and listener, never a bore. + + + + +TALKERS AND TALKING + + +Conversation is not a verbal nor vocal contest, but a mutual meeting of +minds. It is not a monologue, but a reciprocal exchange of ideas. + +There are cardinal rules which everyone should observe in conversation. +The first of these is to be prepared always to give courteous and +considerate attention to the ideas of others. There is no better way to +cultivate your own conversational powers than to train yourself first to +be an interesting and sympathetic listener. + +It is in bad taste to interrupt a speaker. This is a common fault which +should be resolutely guarded against. Moreover, your own opportunity to +speak will shortly come if you have patience, when you may reasonably +expect to receive the same uninterrupted attention which you have given +to others. + +Never allow yourself to monopolize a conversation. This is a form of +selfishness practiced by many persons apparently unaware of being +ill-mannered. It is inexcusably bad taste to tell unduly long stories or +lengthy personal experiences. If you cannot abridge a story to +reasonable dimensions, it would be better to omit it entirely. The +habitual long-story teller may easily become a bore. + +Avoid the habit of eagerly matching the other person's story or +experience with one of your own. There is nothing more disconcerting to +a speaker than to observe the listener impatiently waiting to plunge +headlong into the conversation with some marvellous tale. Be +particularly careful not to outdo another speaker in relating your own +experiences. If, for instance, he has just told how he caught fifty fish +upon a recent trip, do not succumb to the temptation to tell of the time +you caught fifty-one. + +Be careful not to give unsolicited advice. It has been well said that +advice which costs nothing is worth what it costs. If people desire your +counsel they will probably ask for it, in which case they will be more +likely to appreciate what you have to tell them. + +Do not voluntarily recommend doctors, dentists, osteopaths, pills, +coffee substitutes, health foods, health resorts, or panaceas for the +ills of mankind. If you can be of service to others in these particular +respects, it will be when you are specifically asked for such +information. + +It is most imprudent to carry an argument to extremes. If you observe an +unwillingness in the other person to be convinced by what you say, you +had better turn to another subject. Conversation should never resolve +itself into controversial debate. + +It is well to avoid discursiveness, over-use of parentheses, and +positiveness of statement. Keep your desires and feelings from +over-coloring your views. A flexible attitude of mind is more likely to +win an opponent to your way of thinking. + +Take special pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others. Be +interested in what they want to talk about. Let your interest be deep +and sincere. Adopt the right tone, temper, and reticence in your +conversation. + +You should accustom yourself to look at things from the other person's +standpoint. It is surprising how this habit enlarges the vision and +gives a charitableness to speech which might otherwise be absent. It is +well to remember that no person can possibly have a monopoly of +knowledge upon any subject. + +Good conversation demands restraint, adaptability, and reasonable +brevity. There is an appalling waste of words on all sides, hence you +should constantly guard yourself against this fault. When there is +nothing worth-while to say, the best substitute is silence. + +Practice self-discipline in talking. Correct any fault in yourself the +instant you recognize it. If, for example, you realize that you are +talking at too great length, stop it at once. Should you feel that you +are not giving interested attention to the speaker, check your +mind-wandering immediately and concentrate upon what is being said. + +Do not be always setting other people right. This is a thankless as well +as useless task. They probably do not want your assistance, or they +would ask for it. Besides most people are sensitive about their +shortcomings, and prefer to get help and counsel in private. + +There is no more important suggestion than to rule your moods. Ofttimes +the feelings run away with the judgment. What you think and say today +may be due to your present mood, rather than to matured judgment. Let +your common sense predominate at all times. + +It is not well to give too strong expression to your likes and dislikes. +These, like all your feelings, should be governed with a firm hand. +Opinions advanced with too much emphasis may easily fail to impress +other minds. Remember always that your greatest ally is truth. Therefore +frankly and faithfully examine your important opinions before giving +them expression. + +Resist the desire to be prominent in conversation, or to say clever and +surprising things. This is sometimes difficult to do, but it is the only +safe course to follow. If you have something brilliant or worth-while to +say, it will be best said spontaneously and with due modesty. But if +there is no suitable opportunity to say it, put it back in your mind +where it may improve with age. Egotism is taboo in polite society. + +The suggestion that nothing should be allowed to pass the lips that +charity would check is invaluable advice. It is unfortunately all too +common to give hasty and harsh expression to personal opinions and +criticisms. Reticence is one of the most essential conditions of long +friendship. + +Judgment and tact are necessary to good conversation. It is not well to +ask many questions, and then only those of a general character. +Curiosity should be curbed. Quite properly people resent +inquisitiveness. The best way to cultivate the rare grace of judgment is +to be mindful of your own faults and to correct them with all speed and +thoroughness. + +The word "talk" is often used in a derogatory sense, and we hear such +expressions as "all talk," "empty talk," and "idle talk." But as +everyone talks, we should all do our utmost to set a high example to +others of the correct use of speech. + +It is always better to talk too little than too much. Never talk for +mere talking's sake. Avoid being artificial or pedantic. Don't +antagonize, dogmatize, moralize, attitudinize, nor criticise. Talk in +poise,--quietly, deliberately, sincerely, and you will never lack an +attentive audience. + + + + +PHRASES FOR TALKERS + + +It is said of Macaulay that he never allowed a sentence to pass muster +until it was as good as he could make it. He would write and rewrite, +and even construct a paragraph or a whole chapter, in order to secure a +more lucid and satisfactory arrangement. He wrote just so much each day, +usually an average of six pages, and this manuscript was so erased and +corrected that it was finally compressed into two pages of print. + +The masters of English prose have been great workers. Stevenson and +others like him gave hours and days to the study of words, phrases, and +sentences. Through unwearied application to the art of rhetorical +composition they ultimately won fame as writers. + +The ambitious student of speech culture, whether for use in conversation +or in public, will do well to emulate the example of such great +writers. One of the best ways to build a large vocabulary is to note +useful and striking phrases in one's general reading. It is advisable to +jot down such phrases in a note-book, and to read them aloud from time +to time. Such phrases may be classified according to their particular +application,--to business, politics, music, education, literature, or +the drama. + +It is not recommended that such phrases should be consciously dragged +into conversation, but the practice of carefully observing felicitous +phrases, and of noting them in writing, cultivates the taste for better +words and a sense of discrimination in their use. Many phrases noted and +studied in this way will unconsciously find their way into one's +expression. + +The list of phrases which follows is offered as merely suggestive. In +reading the phrases aloud it is well to think clearly what each one +means, and to fit it into a sentence of one's own making. This simple +exercise, practiced for a few weeks, will produce surprising results by +way of increased facility and flexibility of English style. + + + It is obviously desirable + I can well imagine + Broadly speaking + An admirable idea + In a literal sense + By sheer force of genius + You can imagine his chagrin + I hazard a guess + It challenges belief + He has an inscrutable face + Very fertile in resource + I am loath to believe + It is essentially undignified + Example is so contagious + I am not in her confidence + Taken in the aggregate + It is a reproof to shallowness + There is a misconception here + I strongly suspect it so + He was covered with confusion + It was a just rebuke + A pleasing instance of this + It lends dignity to life + She has a desultory liking for music + It seems incredible + A kind of detached ideal + It blunts the finer sensibilities + Beyond question or cavil + A well-founded suspicion + It has elicited great praise + They are landmarks in memory + Superhuman vigor and activity + A venerable and interesting figure + It is curious and interesting + Gives the impression of aloofness + Perfectly void of offence + Regard with misgiving + A stroke of professional luck + An unscrupulous adventurer + He spoke with extreme reticence + Robust common sense + Deficient in amiability + Done with characteristic thoroughness + A vein of philanthropic zeal + Definite, tangible, and practical + Too much effusive declamation + A man of keen ambition + It gives infinite zest + Singular qualifications for public life + They are bitterly hostile + The despair of the official wire-puller + Blind and unreasoning opponent + Ignoble strife for power + Surrounded by a cohort of admiring friends + In an imperative voice + Marked by copiousness and vivacity + Touched with sombre dignity + A ridiculous misconception + Habitual austerity of demeanor + Ostentation and lavish expenditure + A person of exquisite tact + Intolerant of bumptiousness + The obvious danger of dallying + This was grossly overstated + A mass of calumny and exaggeration + Inimical to religion + Fraught with peril + I venture to ask + Attributed to mental decrepitude + A strange phenomena + It argues a blind faith + Insatiable whirl of excitement + A substratum of truth + Under some conceivable circumstances + Bubbling over with infectious joy + Frigid dignity and arrogant reserve + A profound contempt + The fine art of hospitality + Grim morsels of philosophy + A tinge of sorrowness and jealousy + Due to ignorance and barbarism + Grave and monstrous scandal + A splendid instance of self-devotion + Amusingly exemplified in this case + Recognized and powerful element + A symbol of restraint + An utterly fallacious idea + In rapid and striking succession + We learn from stern experience + Pictures of an inspired imagination + An astonishing outbreak + Soothing words of sympathy + A rather bold assertion + The most enthusiastic adherents + Mere tepid conviction + Eminently qualified for the task + Almost supernatural charm + In glowing and exaggerated phrases + Somewhat rich and austere + An inexhaustible theme + Grave and undeniable faults + Perfectly chosen language + All the characteristics of a mob + Given to grandiloquent phrase + Peculiar vein of sarcasm + Froze like ice and cut like steel + A generous tribute to an eminent rival + Cold and stately composure + Fiery and passionate enthusiasm + Extraordinary violence of nature + A brilliant and delightful play + Rare and striking combination + Preeminently qualified for the part + Moderate and cautious conservatism + Daring perversions of justice + Devoid of rhetorical device + As a great thinker has observed + Almost morbid sensitiveness + Discreetly stifled yawn + He was dumb with wonder + Scarcely less familiar + Delightfully characteristic + It was a profound conviction + Greatly conceived and expressed + Blinded by its brightness + I have cudgelled my memory + Exposed to imminent peril + Screening a breach of etiquette + By a natural transition + Splendid anticipations of success + A very laudable attempt + Lapsed into complete oblivion + With most distinguished success + Like embarking on a shoreless sea + A really pretty imitation + Unless I greatly err + Undaunted by repeated failure + Became a term of reproach + An epoch-making achievement + In the guise of verbal nonsense + Received with cordial sympathy + With the most obvious sincerity + Held forth with fluency and zest + Gracious solicitude + Punctiliously civil and polite + An air of sphinx-like mystery + Consumed by zeal + Awaited with lively interest + Sledge-hammer blows against humbug + This recalls a happy retort + Preeminently a case in point + Exquisite precision and finish + Incomparably better informed + A keen eye for incongruities + Polite to the point of deference + To the last degree improbable + People with rampant prejudices + A model of chivalrous propriety + By way of digression + A splendid acquisition + Singularly attractive fashion + A kind of unconscious conspiracy + Amid engrossing demands + + + + +THE SPEAKING VOICE + + +There is a widespread need for a more thorough cultivation of the +speaking voice. It is astonishing how few persons give specific +attention to this important subject. On all sides we are subjected to +voices that are disagreeable and strident. It is the exception to hear a +voice that is musical and well-modulated. + +Most people make too much physical effort in speaking. They tighten the +muscles of the throat and mouth, instead of liberating these muscles and +allowing the voice to flow naturally and harmoniously. The remedy for +this common fault of vocal tension is to relax all the muscles used in +speech. This is easily accomplished by means of a little daily practice. + +The first thing to keep in mind is that we should speak through the +throat and not from it. A musical quality of voice depends chiefly upon +directing the tone towards the hard palate, or the bony arch above the +upper teeth. From this part of the mouth the voice acquires much of its +resonance. + +An excellent exercise for throat relaxation is yawning. It is not +necessary to wait until a real yawn presents itself, but frequent +practice in imitating a yawn may be indulged in with good results. +Immediately after practicing the yawn, it is advisable to test the +voice, either in speaking or in reading, to observe improvement in +freedom of tone. + +It is not desirable to use the voice where there is loud noise by way of +opposition. Many a good voice has been ruined due to the habit of +continuous talking on the street or elsewhere amid clatter and hubbub. +Under such circumstances it is better to rest the voice, since in any +contest of the kind the voice will almost surely be vanquished. + +What we need in our daily conversation is less emphasis, and more +quietness and non-resistance. We need less eagerness and more vivacity +and variety. We need a settled equanimity of mind that does not deprive +us of our animation, but saves us from the petty irritations of +everyday life. We need, in short, more poise and self-control in our way +of speaking. + +It is well to remember that few things we say are of such importance as +to require emphasis. The thought should be its own recommendation. But +if emphasis be necessary, let it be by the intellectual means of pausing +or inflection, rather than with the shoulders or the clenched fist. + +A very disagreeable and common fault is nasality, or "talking through +the nose." Many persons are guilty of this who least suspect it. This +habit is so easily and unconsciously acquired that everyone should be on +strict guard against it. Almost equally disagreeable is the fault of +throatiness, caused by holding the muscles of the throat instead of +relaxing them. + +The best tones of the speaking voice are the middle and low keys. These +should be used exclusively in daily conversation. The use of high pitch +is due to habit or temperament, but may be overcome through judicious +practice. The objection to a high-keyed voice is not only that it is +disagreeable to the listener, but puts the speaker "out of tune" with +his audience. + +A good speaking voice should possess the qualities of purity, resonance, +flexibility, roundness, brilliancy, and adequate power. These qualities +can be rapidly developed by daily reading aloud for ten minutes, giving +special attention to one quality at a time. A few weeks, assiduous +practice will produce most gratifying results. The voice grows through +use, and it grows precisely in the way it is habitually used. + +Distinct articulation and correct pronunciation are indications of +cultivated speech. Pedantry should be avoided, but every aspirant to +correct speech should be a student of the dictionary. A writer has given +this good counsel: + +"Resolve that you will never use an incorrect, an inelegant, or a vulgar +phrase or word, in any society whatever. If you are gifted with wit, you +will soon find that it is easy to give it far better point and force in +pure English than through any other medium, and that brilliant thoughts +make the deepest impressions when well worded. However great it may be, +the labor is never lost which earns for you the reputation of one who +habitually uses the language of a gentleman, or of a lady. It is +difficult for those who have not frequent opportunities for conversation +with well-educated people, to avoid using expressions which are not +current in society, although they may be of common occurrence in books. +As they are often learned from novels, it will be well for the reader to +remember that even in the best of such works dialogues are seldom +sustained in a tone which would not appear affected in ordinary life. +This fault in conversation is the most difficult of all to amend, and it +is unfortunately the one to which those who strive to express themselves +correctly are peculiarly liable. Its effect is bad, for though it is not +like slang, vulgar in itself, it betrays an effort to conceal vulgarity. +It may generally be remedied by avoiding any word or phrase which you +may suspect yourself of using for the purpose of creating an effect. +Whenever you imagine that the employment of any mere word or sentence +will convey the impression that you are well informed, substitute for +it some simple expression. If you are not positively certain as to the +pronunciation of a word, never use it. If the temptation be great, +resist it; for, rely upon it, if there be in your mind the slightest +doubt on the subject, you will certainly make a mistake. Never use a +foreign word when its meaning can be given in English, and remember that +it is both rude and silly to say anything to any person who possibly may +not understand it. But never attempt, under any circumstances whatever, +to utter a foreign word, unless you have learned to pronounce correctly +the language to which it belongs." + +There is need for the admonition to open the mouth well. Many people +speak with half-closed teeth, the result being that the quality of voice +and correctness of pronunciation are greatly impaired. Consonants and +vowels should be given proper significance. Muffled speech is almost as +objectionable as stammering. + +It enhances the pleasure and quality of conversation to speak in +deliberate style. Rapidity of utterance often leads a speaker into such +faults as indistinctness, monotony, and incorrect breathing. Deliberate +speaking confers many advantages, not the least of which is increased +pleasure to the listener. + +Many voices are too thin in quality. They fail to carry conviction even +when the thought is of superior character. The remedy here is to give +special attention to the development of deep tones. One of the best +exercises for this purpose is to practice for a few minutes daily upon +the vowel sound "O," endeavoring to make it full, deep, and melodious. +For all-round vocal development this practice should be done with varied +force and inflection, and on high as well as low keys of the voice. + +The best remedy for a weak voice is to practice daily upon explosives, +expelling the principal vowel sounds, on various keys, using the +abdominal muscles throughout. Another good exercise is to read aloud +while walking upstairs or uphill. As these exercises are somewhat +extreme, the student is recommended to practice them prudently. + +Correct breathing is fundamental to correct and agreeable speaking. The +breathing apparatus should be brought under control by daily practice +upon exercises prescribed in any standard book on elocution. Pure tone +of voice depends upon the ability to convert into tone every particle of +breath used. Aspirated voice, in which some of the breath is allowed to +escape unvocalized, is injurious to the throat, and unpleasant to the +listening ear. + +The speaker, whether in conversation or in public, should try always to +speak with an adequate supply of breath. Deliberate utterance will give +the necessary opportunity to replenish the lungs, so that the speaker +will not suffer from unnecessary fatigue. Needless to say, the habit +should be formed of breathing through the nose when in repose. + +There is a voice of unusual roundness and fulness known as the orotund, +which is indispensable to the public speaker. It is simple, pure tone, +rounded out into greater fulness. It is produced mainly by an increased +resonance of the chest and mouth cavities, and a more vigorous action of +the abdominal muscles. It has the character of fulness, but it is not +necessarily a loud tone. It is in no sense artificial, but simply an +enlargement of the natural conversational voice. + +The use of the orotund voice varies according to the intensity of the +thought and feeling being expressed. It is used in language of great +dignity, power, grandeur, and sublimity. It is appropriate in certain +forms of public prayer and Bible reading. It enables the public speaker +to vary from his conversational style. It gives vastly increased scope +and power, by enabling the speaker to bring into play all the resources +of vocal force and intensity. + +Where resonance of voice is lacking, it can be rapidly developed by +means of humming the letter _m_, with lips closed, and endeavoring to +make the face vibrate. The tone should be kept well forward throughout +the exercise, pressing firmly against the lips and hard palate. Later +the exercise may begin with the humming _m_, and be developed, while the +lips are opened gradually, into the tone of _ah_, still aiming to +maintain the original resonance. + +The speaking voice is capable of most wonderful development. There is a +duty devolving upon everyone to cultivate beauty of vocal utterance and +diction. Crudities of speech so commonly in evidence are mainly due to +carelessness and neglect. It is a hopeful sign, however, that greater +attention is now being given to this important subject than heretofore. +Surely there is nothing more important than the development of the +principal instrument by which men communicate with one another. As Story +says: + + "O, how our organ can speak with its many and wonderful voices!-- + Play on the soft lute of love, blow the loud trumpet of war, + Sing with the high sesquialter, or, drawing its full diapason, + Shake all the air with the grand storm of its pedals and stops." + + + + +HOW TO TELL A STORY + + +Someone has wittily said that only those in their anecdotage should tell +stories. De Quincey wanted all story-tellers to be submerged in a +horse-pond, or treated in the same manner as mad dogs. But story-telling +has its legitimate and appropriate use, and if certain rules are +observed may give added charm to conversation and public speaking. + +It requires a fine discrimination to know when to tell a story, and when +not to tell one though it is urging itself to be expressed. Few men have +the rare gift of choosing the right story for the particular occasion. +Many men have no difficulty in telling stories that are insufferably +long, pointless, and uninteresting. + +We have all been victims of a certain type of public speaker who begins +by saying, "Now I don't want to bore you with a long story, but this is +so good, etc.," or "An incident occurred at the American Consulate in +Shanghai, which reminds me of an awfully good story, etc." When a +speaker prefaces his remarks with some such sentences as these, we know +we are in for an uncomfortable time. + +As far as possible a story should be new, clever, short, simple, +inoffensive, and appropriate. As such stories are scarce, it is +advisable to set them down, when found, in a special note-book for +convenient reference. It is said that Chauncey M. Depew, one of the most +gifted of after-dinner speakers, was for many years in the habit of +keeping a set of scrap-books in which were preserved stories and other +interesting data clipped from newspapers and magazines. These were so +classified that he could on short notice refresh his mind with ample +material upon almost any general subject. + +Anyone who essays to tell a story should have it clearly in mind. It is +fatal for a speaker to hesitate midway in a story, apologize for not +knowing it better, avow that it was much more humorous when told to him, +and in other ways to announce his shortcomings. If he cannot tell a +story fluently and interestingly, he should first practice it on his own +family--provided they will tolerate it. + +Some stories should be committed to memory, especially where the point +of humor depends upon exact phraseology. In such case, it requires some +training and experience to disguise the memorized effort. A story like +the following, for obvious reasons, should be thoroughly memorized: + +The longest sermon on record occupied three hours and a half. But the +shortest sermon was that of a preacher who spoke for one minute on the +text: "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." He said: + +"I shall divide my discourse into three heads: (1) Man's ingress into +the world; (2) His progress through the world; (3) His egress out of the +world. + +"Firstly, His ingress into the world is naked and bare. + +"Secondly, His progress through the world is trouble and care. + +"Thirdly, His egress out of the world is nobody knows where. + +"To conclude: + +"If we live well here, we shall live well there. + +"I can tell you no more if I preach a whole year. + +"The collection will now be taken up." + +Dialect stories are usually rather difficult, and should not as a +general thing be attempted by beginners. As a matter of fact, few +persons know how to speak such dialects as Irish, Scotch, German, +Cockney, and negro without undue exaggeration. For most occasions it is +well to keep to simple stories couched in plain English. + +A story should be told in simple, conversational style. Concentration +upon the story, and a sincere desire to give pleasure to the hearers, +will keep the speaker free from self-consciousness. Needless to say he +should not be the first to laugh at his own story. Sometimes in telling +a humorous anecdote to an audience a speaker secures the greatest effect +by maintaining an expression of extreme gravity. + +No matter how successful one may be in telling stories, he should avoid +telling too many. A man who is accounted brilliant and entertaining may +become an insufferable bore by continuing to tell stories when the +hearers have become satiated. Of all speakers, the story-teller should +keep his eyes on his entire audience and be alert to detect the +slightest signs of weariness. + +It is superfluous to say that a story should never be told which in any +way might give offence. The speaker may raise a laugh, but lose a +friend. Hence it is that stories about stammerers, red-headed people, +mothers-in-law, and the like, should always be chosen with +discrimination. + +Generally the most effective story is one in which the point of humor is +not disclosed until the very last words, as in the following: + +An old colored man was brought up before a country judge. + +"Jethro," said the judge, "you are accused of stealing General Johnson's +chickens. Have you any witnesses?" + +"No, sah," old Jethro answered, haughtily; "I hab not, sah. I never +steal chickens befo' witnesses." + +This is a similar example, told by Prime Minister Asquith: + +An English professor wrote on the blackboard in his laboratory, +"Professor Blank informs his students that he has this day been +appointed honorary physician to his Majesty, King George." + +During the morning he had some occasion to leave the room, and found on +his return that some student wag had added the words, + +"God save the King!" + +Henry W. Grady was a facile story-teller. One of his best stories was as +follows: + +"There was an old preacher once who told some boys of the Bible lesson +he was going to read in the morning. The boys, finding the place, glued +together the connecting pages. The next morning he read on the bottom of +one page: 'When Noah was one hundred and twenty years old he took unto +himself a wife, who was'--then turning the page--'one hundred and forty +cubits long, forty cubits wide, built of gopherwood, and covered with +pitch inside and out.' He was naturally puzzled at this. He read it +again, verified it, and then said: 'My friends, this is the first time +I ever met this in the Bible, but I accept it as an evidence of the +assertion that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.'" + +Personalities based upon sarcasm or invective are always attended with +danger, but good-humored bantering may be used upon occasion with most +happy results. As an instance of this, there is a story of an annual +dinner at which Mr. Choate was set down for the toast, "The Navy," and +Mr. Depew was to respond to "The Army." Mr. Depew began by saying, "It's +well to have a specialist: that's why Choate is here to speak about the +Navy. We met at the wharf once and I did not see him again till we +reached Liverpool. When I asked how he felt he said he thought he would +have enjoyed the trip over if he had had any ocean air. Yes, you want to +hear Choate on the Navy." When it was Mr. Choate's turn to speak, he +said: "I've heard Depew hailed as the greatest after-dinner speaker. If +after-dinner speaking, as I have heard it described and as I believe it +to be, is the art of saying nothing at all, then Mr. Depew is the most +marvelous speaker in the universe." + +The medical profession can be assailed with impunity, since they have +long since grown accustomed to it. There is a story of a young laborer +who, on his way to his day's work, called at the registrar's office to +register his father's death. When the official asked the date of the +event, the son replied, "He ain't dead yet, but he'll be dead before +night, so I thought it would save me another journey if you would put it +down now." "Oh, that won't do at all," said the registrar; "perhaps your +father will live till tomorrow." "Well, I don't think so, sir; the +doctor says as he won't, and he knows what he has given him." + +While stories should be used sparingly, there is probably nothing more +effective before a popular audience than the telling of a story in which +the joke is on the speaker himself. Thus: + +The last time I made a speech, I went next day to the editor of our +local newspaper, and said, + +"I thought your paper was friendly to me?" + +The editor said, "So it is. What's the matter?" + +"Well," I said, "I made a speech last night, and you didn't print a +single line of it this morning." + +"Well," said the editor, "what further proof do you want?" + +Many of the best and most effective stories are serious in character. +One that has been used successfully is this: Some gentlemen from the +West were excited and troubled about the commissions or omissions of the +administration. President Lincoln heard them patiently, and then +replied: "Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was in +gold, and you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across the +Niagara River on a rope; would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out +to him--'Blondin, stand up a little straighter--Blondin, stoop a little +more--go a little faster--lean a little more to the north--lean a little +more to the south?' No, you would hold your breath as well as your +tongue, and keep your hands off until he was safe over. The Government +is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in our hands. We are +doing the very best we can. Don't badger us. Keep silence, and we'll get +you safe across." + +Punning is of course out of fashion. The best pun in the English +language is Tom Hood's: + + "He went and told the sexton, + And the sexton tolled the bell." + +Dr. Johnson said that the pun was the lowest order of wit. Newspapers +formerly indulged in it freely. One editor would say: "We don't care a +straw what Shakespeare said--a rose by any other name would not smell as +wheat." Then another paper would answer: "Such puns are barley +tolerable, they amaize us, they arouse our righteous corn, and they turn +the public taste a-rye." + +But punning, when it is unusually clever and spontaneous, may be +thoroughly enjoyable, as in the following: + +Chief Justice Story attended a public dinner in Boston at which Edward +Everett was present. Desiring to pay a delicate compliment to the +latter, the learned judge proposed as a volunteer toast: + +"Fame follows merit where Everett goes." + +The brilliant scholar arose and responded: + +"To whatever heights judicial learning may attain in this country, it +will never get above one Story." + +Story-telling may attain the character of a disease, in one who has a +retentive memory and a voluble vocabulary. The form of humor known as +repartee, however, is one that requires rare discrimination. It should +be used sparingly, and not at all if it is likely to give offence. + +Beau Brummell was guilty in this respect, when he was once asked by a +lady if he would "take a cup of tea." "Thank you," said he, "I never +_take_ anything but physic." "I beg your pardon," said the hostess, "you +also take liberties." + +There is a story that Henry Luttrell had sat long in the Irish +Parliament, but no one knew his precise age. Lady Holland, without +regard to considerations of courtesy, one day said to him point-blank, +"Now, we are all dying to know how old you are. Just tell me." Luttrell +answered very gravely, "It is an odd question, but as you, Lady Holland, +ask it, I don't mind telling you. If I live till next year, I shall +be--devilish old!" + +The art of story-telling is not taught specifically, hence there are +comparatively few people who can tell a story without violating some of +the rules which experience recommends. But the right use of +story-telling should be encouraged as an ornament of conversation, and a +valuable auxiliary to effective public address. Many people might excel +as story-tellers if they would devote a little time to suggestions such +as are offered here. It is not a difficult art, but like every other +subject requires study and application. + +The best counsel for public speakers in the matter of story-telling may +be summed up as follows: Know your story thoroughly; test your story by +telling it to some one in advance; adapt your story to the special +circumstances; be concise, omitting non-essentials; have ready more +stories than you intend to use, because if you should speak at the end +of the list you may find that your best story has been told by a +previous speaker; and, finally, always stop when you have made a hit. + + + + +TALKING IN SALESMANSHIP + + +The salesman depends for his success primarily upon his talking ability. +Obviously, what he offers for sale must have intrinsic merit, and he +should possess a thorough knowledge of his wares. But in order to secure +the best results from his efforts, he must know how to talk well. + +All the general requirements for good conversation apply equally to the +needs of the salesman. He should have a pleasant speaking voice and an +agreeable manner, a vocabulary of useful and appropriate words, and the +ability to put things clearly and convincingly. + +It should be a golden rule of the salesman never to argue with the +customer. He may explain and reason, and use all the persuasive +phraseology at his command, but he must not permit himself for a single +instant to engage in controversy. To argue is fatal to successful +salesmanship. + +There is nothing that can be substituted for a winning personality in +the salesman. What constitutes such a personality? Chiefly a good voice, +affability of manner, straightforward speech, manly bearing, the desire +to serve and please, proper attire, and cleanliness of person. These +qualifications come within the reach of anyone who aspires to success in +salesmanship. + +Every salesman has unexpected problems to solve. A sensitive or touchy +customer may become unreasonably angry or offended. What is the salesman +to do? He should here be particularly on his guard not to show the +slightest resentment. Though he may be wholly guiltless, he cannot +afford to contradict the customer, nor to challenge him to a vocal duel. +If he talks at all, he should talk quietly and reasonably, and always +with the object of bringing the customer around to a favorable point of +view. + +The successful salesman must have tact and discrimination. He must know +when and how to check in himself the word or phrase which is trying to +force its way out into expression, but which would in the end prove +inadvisable. He must train himself to choose quickly the right and best +course under difficult circumstances. + +The salesman should give his undivided attention to the customer. If the +salesman is speaking, he should speak clearly, directly, concisely, and +understandingly; if he is listening, he should listen interestedly and +thoroughly, with all his powers alive and receptive. + +The salesman should know when to speak and when to be silent. Some +customers wish to be told much, others prefer to think for themselves. +He is a wise salesman who knows when to be mute. Loquacity has often +killed what otherwise might have been a good sale. + +There is a certain tone of voice which the salesman should aim to +acquire. It is neither high nor low in pitch. It is agreeable to the +listening ear, and is almost sufficient in itself to win the favorable +attention of the prospective buyer. Every salesman should cultivate a +musical and well-modulated voice as one of the chief assets in +salesmanship. + +The salesman should cultivate dignity of speech and manner. People +generally dislike familiarity, joking, and horse-play. It is well to +assume that the customer is serious-minded, that he means business and +nothing else. Needless to say, the telling of long stories, or personal +experiences, has no legitimate place in the business of salesmanship. + +There is a proper time and place for short story-telling. Like +everything else it is all right in its appropriate setting. Lincoln used +it to advantage, but once said: "I believe I have the popular reputation +of being a story-teller, but I do not deserve the name in its general +sense; for it is not the story itself, but its purpose, or effect, that +interests me. I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others, or +a laborious explanation on my part, by a short story that illustrates my +point of view." + +The salesman should resolve not to lose his poise and agreeableness +under any circumstances. Irritability never attracts business. To say +the right thing in the right place is desirable, but it is quite as +important, though more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the +moment of temptation. + +It is not the legitimate business of the salesman to force upon a +customer what is really not wanted, but many times the customer does +not know what he wants nor what he might be able to use. Hence the +competent salesman should know how to influence the customer towards a +favorable decision, using all honorable and approved means to bring +about such a result. + +The customer's unfavorable answer is not to be accepted always as final. +He may not clearly understand the merits or uses of the article offered. +He may need the explanations and suggestions of the salesman in order to +reach a right conclusion. Here it is that the salesman may fulfill one +of his most important duties. + +There is a wide difference between self-reliance and obtrusiveness. +Every man should have a full degree of self-confidence. It is needed in +every walk in life. But the salesman, more than most men, must have an +exceptional degree of faith in himself and in what he has to sell. + +This self-confidence, however, is a very different thing from boldness +or obtrusiveness. Courtesy and considerateness are cardinal qualities of +the well-equipped salesman, but boastfulness, glibness, egotism, +loudness, and self-assertion, are as distasteful as they are +undesirable. + +The eloquence and persuasiveness of silence is nowhere better +exemplified than in the art of salesmanship. One man says much, and +sells little; another says little, and sells much. The reason for the +superior success of one over the other is mainly due to the fact that he +knows best how to present the merits of what he offers for sale, knows +how to say it concisely and effectively, knows how to ingratiate +himself, largely through his personality, into the good graces of the +prospective buyer, and knows when to stop talking. + +Modern salesmanship is based primarily upon common sense. A man with +brains, though possibly lacking in other desirable qualifications, may +easily outdistance the more experienced salesman. It is a valuable thing +in any man to be able to think accurately, reason deeply, and size up a +situation promptly. + +The salesman should at all times be on his best talking behavior. It is +not advisable for him to have two standards of speech, and to use an +inferior one excepting for special occasions. He should cultivate as a +regular daily habit discrimination in the use of voice, enunciation, +expression, and language. This should be the constant aim not only of +the salesman, but of every man ambitious to achieve success and +distinction in the world. + + + + +MEN AND MANNERISMS + + +There is a story of a politician who had acquired a mannerism of +fingering a button on his coat while talking to an audience. On one +occasion some friends surreptitiously cut the particular button off, and +the result was that the speaker when he stood up to address the audience +lost the thread of his discourse. + +Gladstone had a mannerism of striking the palm of his left hand with the +clenched fist of his other hand, so that often the emphatic word was +lost in the noise of percussion. A common habit of the distinguished +statesman was to reach out his right hand at full arm's length, and then +to bend it back at the elbow and lightly scratch the top of his head +with his thumb-nail. + +Balfour, while speaking, used to take hold of the lapels of his coat by +both hands as if he were in mortal fear of running away before he had +finished. + +Goshen, at the beginning of a speech, would sound his chest and sides +with his hands, and apparently finding that his ribs were in good order, +would proceed to wash his hands with invisible soap. + +The strange thing about mannerisms is that the speakers are usually +unconscious of them, and would be the first to condemn them in others. +The remedy for such defects lies in thorough and severe self-examination +and self-criticism. However eminent a speaker may be with objectionable +mannerisms, he would be still greater without them. + +Every public speaker has certain characteristics of voice and manner +that distinguish him from other men. In so far as this individuality +gives increased power and effectiveness to the speaking style, it is +desirable and should be encouraged. When, however, it is carried to +excess, or in any sense offends good taste, it is merely mannerism, and +should be discouraged. + +There is an objectionable mannerism of the voice, known as "pulpit +tone," that has come to be associated with some preachers. It takes +various forms, such as an unduly elevated key, a drawling monotone, a +sudden transition from one extreme of pitch to another, or a tone of +condescension. It is also heard in a plaintive minor inflection, +imparting a quality of extreme sadness to a speaker's style. These are +all departures from the natural, earnest, sincere, and direct delivery +that belongs to the high office of preaching. + +Still another undesirable mannerism of the voice is that of giving a +rising inflection at the close of successive sentences that are +obviously complete. Here the speaker's thought is left suspended in the +air, the hearer feels a sense of disappointment or doubt, and possibly +the entire meaning is perverted. Thoughts delivered in such a manner, +unless they distinctly require a rising inflection, lack the emphasis +and force of persuasive speaking. + +Artificiality, affectation, pomposity, mouthing, undue vehemence, +monotony, intoning, and everything that detracts from the simplicity and +genuine fervor of the speech should be avoided. Too much emphasis may +drive a thought beyond the mark, and a conscious determination to make a +"great speech" may keep the speaker in a state of anxiety throughout +its entire delivery. + +A clear and correct enunciation is essential, but it should not be +pedantic, nor should it attract attention to itself. "What you are +prevents me from hearing what you say," might also be applied to the +manner of the speaker. Exaggerated opening of the mouth, audible +smacking of the lips, holding tenaciously to final consonants, prolonged +hissing of sibilants, are all to be condemned. Hesitation, stumbling +over difficult combinations, obscuring final syllables, coalescing the +last sound of one word with the first sound of the following word, are +inexcusable in a trained speaker. + +When the same modulation of the voice is repeated too often, it becomes +a mannerism, a kind of monotony of variety. It reminds one of a +street-piano set to but one tune, and is quite as distressing to a +sensitive ear. This is not the style that is expected from a public man. + +What should the speaker do with his hands? Do nothing with them unless +they are specifically needed for the more complete expression of a +thought. Let them drop at the sides in their natural relaxed position, +ready for instant use. To press the fist in the hollow of the back in +order to "support" the speaker, to clutch the lapels of the coat, to +slap the hands audibly together, to place the hands on the hips in the +attitude of "vulgar ease," to put the hands into the pockets, to wring +the hands as if "washing them with invisible soap," or to violently +pound the pulpit--these belong to the list of undesirable mannerisms. + +At the beginning of a speech it may give the appearance of ease to place +the hands behind the back, but this position lacks force and action and +should not be long sustained. To cross the arms upon the desk is to put +them out of commission for the time being. Leaning or lounging of any +kind, bending at the knee, or other evidence of weakness or weariness, +may belong to the repose of the easy chair, but are hardly appropriate +in a wide-awake speaker seeking to convince men. + +Rocking the body to and fro, rising on the toes to emphasize, crouching, +stamping the foot, springing from side to side, over-acting and +impersonation, and violence and extravagance of every description may +well be omitted in public speaking. Beware of extremes. Avoid a +statue-like attitude on the one hand and a constant restlessness on the +other. Dignity is desirable, but one should not forget the words of the +Reverend Sam Jones, "There is nothing more dignified than a corpse!" + +Gestures that are too frequent and alike soon lose their significance. +If they are attempted at all they should be varied and complete, +suggesting freedom and spontaneity. When only half made they are likely +to call attention to the discrepancy, and to this extent will obscure +rather than help the thought. The continuous use of gesture is +displeasing to the eye, and gives the impression of lack of poise. + +The young speaker particularly should be warned not to imitate the +speaking style of others. What is perfectly natural to one may appear +ridiculous in another. Cardinal Newman spoke with extreme +deliberateness, enunciating every syllable with care and precision; +Phillips Brooks sent forth an avalanche of words at the rate of two +hundred a minute; but it would be dangerous for the average speaker to +emulate either of these examples. + +There is a peculiarity in a certain type of speaking, which, while not +strictly a mannerism, is detrimental to the highest effect. It manifests +itself in physical weakness. The speaker is uniformly tired, and his +speaking has a half-hearted tone. The lifelessness in voice and manner +communicates itself to the audience, and prevents all possibility of +deep and enduring impression. Joseph Parker said that when Sunday came +he felt like a racehorse, and could hardly wait for the time to come for +him to go into the pulpit. He longed to speak. + +The well-equipped speaker is one who has a superior culture of voice and +body. All the instruments of expression must be made his obedient +servants, but as master of them he should see to it that they perform +their work naturally and spontaneously. He should be able while speaking +to abandon himself wholly to his subject, confident that as a result of +conscientious training his delivery may be left largely to take care of +itself. + + + + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC + + +There are two essential qualifications for making an effective public +speech. + +First, having something worth-while to say. + +Second, knowing how to say it. + +The first qualification implies a judicious choice of subject and the +most thorough preparation. It means that the speaker has carefully +gathered together the best available material, and has so familiarized +himself with his subject that he knows more about it than anyone else in +his audience. + +It is in this requirement of thorough preparation that many public +speakers are deficient. They do not realize the need for this +painstaking preliminary work, and hence they frequently stand before an +audience with little information of value to impart to their hearers. +Their poverty of thought can not be long disguised in flamboyant +rhetoric and sesquipedalian words, and hence they fail to carry +conviction to serious-minded men. + +I would remind you that having something worth-while to say involves +more than thorough preparation of the particular subject which the +speaker is to present to an audience. The speaker should have a +well-furnished mind. You have had the experience of listening to a +public speaker who commanded your closest attention not only because of +what he said, but also because of what he was. He inspired confidence in +you because of his personality and reserve power. + +It is often what a man has within himself, rather than what he actually +expresses, that carries greatest conviction to your mind. As you listen +to such a man speak, you feel that he is worthy of your confidence +because he draws upon broad experience and knowledge. He speaks out of +the fulness of a well-furnished mind. + +It is important, therefore, that there should be mental culture in a +broad way,--sound judgment, a sense of proportion and perspective, a +fund of useful ideas, facts, arguments, and illustrations, and a large +stock of common sense. + +Every man who essays to speak in public should cultivate a judicial +mind, or the habit of weighing and estimating facts and arguments. Such +a mind is supposedly free from prejudice and seeks the truth at any +cost. Such a mind does not want this or that to be necessarily true, but +wants to recognize as true only that which is true. + +In these days of multiplied publications and books of all kinds, when +printed matter of every description is soliciting our time and +attention, it is particularly desirable that we should cultivate a +discriminating taste in our choice of books. The highest purpose of +reading is for the acquisition of useful knowledge and personal culture, +and we should keep these two aims constantly before us. It is noteworthy +that men who have achieved enduring greatness in the world have always +had a good book at their ready command. + +If you are ever in doubt about the choice of books, you would do well to +enlist the services of a literary friend, or ask the advice of a local +librarian. But in any case, be on your guard against books and other +publications of commonplace type, which can contribute nothing to the +enrichment of your mind and life. + +It is desirable that you should own the books you read. The sense of +personal possession will give an interest and pleasure to your reading +which it would not otherwise have, and moreover you can freely mark such +books with your pencil for subsequent reference. It is also well to have +a note-book conveniently ready in which to jot down useful ideas as they +occur to you. + +Here we come to the use of the pen. All the great orators of the world +have been prolific writers in the sense of writing out their thoughts. +It is the only certain way to clarify your thought, to test it in +advance of verbal expression and to examine it critically. The public +speaker should write much in order to form a clear and flowing English +style. It is surprising how many of our thoughts which appear to us +clear and satisfactory, assume a peculiar vagueness when we attempt to +set them down definitely in writing. + +The use of the pen tends to give clearness and conciseness to the +speaker's style. It makes him careful and accurate. It aids, too, in +fixing the ideas of his speech in his mind, so that at the moment of +addressing an audience they will respond most readily to his needs. + +A well-furnished mind is like a well-furnished house. In furnishing a +house we do not fill it up with miscellaneous furniture, bric-a-brac and +antiques, gathered promiscuously, but we plan everything with a view to +harmony, beauty, and utility. We furnish a particular room in a tone +that will be restful and pleasing to the occupant. We choose every piece +of furniture, rug, picture, and drapery with a distinct purpose in view +of what the total effect will be. + +So with a well-furnished mind. We must choose the kind of material we +intend to keep there. It should be chosen with a view to its beauty, +power, and usefulness. We want no rubbish there. We want the best +material available. Hence the vital importance of going to the right +sources for the furniture of our mind, to the great books of the world, +to living authorities, to nature, to music, to art, to the best wherever +it may be found. + +The second essential of an effective public speech is knowing how to say +it. This implies a thorough training in the technique of speech. There +should be a well-cultivated voice, of adequate volume, brilliancy, and +carrying quality. There should be ample training in articulation, +pronunciation, expression, and gesture. These so-called mechanics should +be developed until they become an unconscious part of the speaker's +style. + +Your best opportunity for practice is in your everyday conversation. +There you are constantly making speeches on a small scale. Public +speaking of the best modern type is simply elevated conversation. I do +not mean elevated in pitch, but in the sense of being launched upon a +higher level of thought and with greater intensity than is usually +called for by ordinary conversation. + +In conversation you have your best opportunity for developing your +public speaking style. Indeed, you are there, despite yourself, forming +habits which will disclose themselves in your public speaking. As you +speak in your daily conversation you will largely speak when you stand +before an audience. + +You will therefore see the importance of care in your daily speech. +There should be a fastidious choice of words, care in pronunciation and +articulation, and the mouth well opened so that the words may come out +wholly through the mouth and not partly through the nose. Culture of +conversation is to be recommended for its own sake, since everyone must +speak in private if not in public. + +One of the best plans for self-culture in speaking is to read aloud for +a few minutes every day from a book of well-selected speeches. There are +numerous compilations of the kind admirably suited to this purpose. The +important thing here is to read in speaking style, not in what is termed +reading style as usually taught in schools. When you practise in this +way it would be well to imagine an audience before you and to render the +speech as if emanating from your own mind. The student of public +speaking will wisely guard himself against acquiring an artificial style +or other mannerism. + +Another good plan is to make short mental speeches while walking. When +possible it is well to choose a country road for this purpose, or a +park, or some other place where one's mind is not likely to be often +diverted by passers-by. Lord Dufferin, the eminent British orator, was +accustomed to prepare most of his speeches while riding on horseback. +The habit of forming mental speeches is a great aid to actual +speech-making, as it tends to give the mind a power and an adaptability +which it would not otherwise have. + +The painter, the musician, the sculptor, the architect, and other +craftsmen search out models for study and inspiration. The public +speaker should do likewise, and history shows that the great orators of +the world have followed this practise. You can not do better than take +as your model the greatest short speech in all history, the Gettysburg +Address. + +An authority on English style has critically examined this speech and +acknowledges that he cannot suggest a single change in it which would +add to its power and perfection. + +You recall the circumstances under which it was written. On the morning +of November 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln was travelling from Washington to +take part next day in the consecration of the national cemetery at +Gettysburg. He wrote his speech on a scrap of wrapping-paper, carefully +fitting word to word, changing and correcting it in minutest detail as +best he could until it was finished. + +The next day after the speech had been delivered, Edward Everett, the +trained and polished orator, said that he would have been content to +have made in his oration of two hours the impression which Lincoln had +made in that many minutes. + +It will repay you to study this speech closely and to wrest from it its +innermost secrets of power and effectiveness. The greatest underlying +quality of this speech is its rare simplicity--simplicity of thought, +simplicity of language, simplicity of purpose, and shining through it +all, the simplicity of the great emancipator himself. + +This simplicity is one of the great distinguishing qualities of +effective public speaking. It is characteristic of all true art. It is +subtle and difficult to define, but Fénelon gives a definition that will +aid us when he says, "Simplicity is an uprightness of soul that has no +reference to self." It is another word for unselfishness. + +In these days of self-exploitation and self-aggrandizement, how +refreshing it is to meet a man of true simplicity. We are won by his +unaffected manner, his gentleness of argument, his ingratiating tones of +voice, his freedom from prejudice and passion. Such a man wins us almost +wholly by the power of his simplicity. + +This supreme quality is noticeable in men who are said to have come to +themselves. They have tasted and tested life, they have learned +proportion and perspective, they have appraised things at their real +value, and now they carry themselves in poise and power and confidence. +They have found themselves in a high and true sense, and they have come +to be known as men of simplicity. + +Simplicity is not to be confounded with weakness or ignorance. It comes +through long education. It does not mean the trite, or the commonplace, +or the obvious. It is a strong and sturdy quality, is this simplicity of +which I am speaking, and nothing else will atone for lack of it in the +public speaker. + +Longfellow calls it the supreme excellence, since it is the quality +which above all others brings serenity to the soul and makes life +really worth living. Every man should earnestly seek to cultivate this +great quality as essential to noble character. + +This speech is conspicuous for another indispensable quality for +effective public speaking,--the quality of sincerity. It grows largely +out of simplicity and is the product of integrity of mind and heart. Men +recognize it quickly, though they cannot easily tell whence it comes. We +find it highly developed in great leaders in business and professional +life. There has never been a really great public speaker who was not +preeminently a sincere man. + +Beecher said, "Let no man who is a sneak try to be an orator." Such a +man can not be. He will shortly be found out. The world's ultimate +estimate of a man is not far wrong. + +A politician of much promise was addressing a distinguished audience in +Washington. The Opera House was crowded to the doors to hear him and +apparently he was making a good impression upon all his hearers. But +suddenly, at the very climax of his speech, while upwards of two +thousand eyes were rivetted upon him, he was seen to wink at a personal +friend of his sitting in a nearby box, and at that instant his future +political prospects were shattered as a vase struck by lightning. In +that single instant of insincerity he was appraised by that +discriminating audience and his doom was sealed. + +Still another great quality in the Gettysburg speech is its directness. +The speaker had a clearly-defined purpose in view. He knew what he +wanted to say, and he proceeded to say it--no more, and no less. + +There was no straying away into by-paths, no padding of words to make up +for shortage of ideas, no superfluous and big-sounding phrases, no empty +rhetoric or glittering generalities. + +How many speakers there are who aim at nothing and hit it. How many +speakers there are who are on their way but do not know whither. + +If this directness of quality were applied to talking in business, in +committee meetings, in telephone conversations, in public speaking, it +would save annually in this country millions of words and incalculable +time and energy. + +You will note that this speech has the rare quality of conciseness. We +have an illustration here of how much a man can say in about 265 words +and in the short space of two minutes, if he knows precisely what he +wants to say. + +It is well to bear in mind that although this speech was scribbled off +with seeming ease, Lincoln owed his ability to do it to a long and +painstaking study of words and English style. + +He was a profound student of the dictionary. He steeped himself in +words. He scrutinized words, he studied words, he made himself a master +of words. + +This is a valuable habit for every man to form,--to study words +regularly and earnestly, and to add consciously to his working +vocabulary a few words daily--so in the course of a year such a man will +acquire a large and varied stock of words which will do his instant +bidding. + +The conclusion is a vital part of a speech. It is a place of peril to +many a public speaker. Countless speeches have been ruined by a bad +conclusion. + +The most important thing here is that having decided beforehand upon the +particular ideas or message with which you intend to conclude your +speech, not to let any influence lead you away from this preconceived +purpose. + +Some speakers are about to conclude effectively but are unwilling to +omit anything which they have planned to give in their speech, and so +continue in an endeavor to recall every item. At last such a speech has +a loose and straggling ending. + +The words of the conclusion need not be memorized, but the ideas should +be definitely outlined in the mind and fixed in the memory, not as +words, but as ideas. + +The knowledge that you can turn at will to these definite ideas, and so +bring your speech to a close, will confer upon you a degree of +self-confidence which will be of immense service to you. + +You should ever bear in mind this golden rule for the conclusion of your +speech: When you have finished what you have of importance to say, do +not be tempted to wander off into by-paths, or to tell an additional +story, or to say "and one word more," but having finished your speech, +stop on the instant and sit down. + + + + +PRACTICAL HINTS FOR SPEAKERS + + +Cultivate as the most desirable thoughts those which are definite, +clear, deep, logical, profound, strong, precise, impressive, original, +significant, explicit, luminous, positive, suggestive, comprehensive, +and practical. Resolutely avoid all thoughts which are uncertain, +recondite, obscure, immature, unimportant, shallow, weak, visionary, +absurd, vague, extravagant, indefinite, or impractical. + +In your choice and use of words give preference to those which are +definite, simple, real, significant, forcible, expressive, adequate, +musical, varied, and copious. Avoid those which are foreign, slangy, +obsolete, unusual, extravagant, technical, long, colloquial, or +commonplace. + +The most desirable qualities in the use of English are the simple, +plain, exact, lucid, concise, trenchant, vigorous, impressive, lively, +figurative, polished, graceful, fluent, rhythmical, copious, elevated, +flexible, smooth, dignified, terse, epigrammatic, felicitous, +euphonious, elegant, and lofty. Undesirable qualities are the diffuse, +verbose, redundant, inflated, prolix, ambiguous, feeble, monotonous, +loose, slip-shod, dry, flowery, pedantic, pompous, rhetorical, +grandiloquent, artificial, formal, ornate, halting, ponderous, +ungrammatical, vague, and obscure. + +The qualities you should develop in your speaking voice are the pure, +deep, round, flexible, resonant, musical, clear, sympathetic, smooth, +sonorous, powerful, silvery, melodious, full, strong, natural, mellow, +magnetic, expressive, carrying, and responsive. Endeavor to keep your +voice free from such undesirable qualities as the harsh, breathy, sharp, +rough, rigid, throaty, guttural, thin, shrill, nasal, unmusical, +discordant, muffled, explosive, strained, inaudible, hollow, strident, +sepulchral, and tremulous. + +Your articulation should be clear, distinct, and correct. Avoid +carelessness, lifelessness, mumbling, weakness, and exaggeration. + +Your pronunciation should be clear-cut and accurate. Avoid mouthing, +lisping, hesitation, stammering, pedantry, omission of syllables, and +suppression of final consonants. + +Your delivery in public speaking should be simple, sincere, natural, +varied, magnetic, earnest, forceful, attractive, energetic, animated, +sympathetic, authoritative, dignified, direct, impressive, vivid, +convincing, persuasive, zealous, enthusiastic, and inspiring. Avoid that +which is timid, familiar, violent, cold, indifferent, unreal, +artificial, dull, sing-song, hesitating, feeble, unconvincing, +apathetic, monotonous, pompous, formal, arbitrary, flippant, +ostentatious, drawling, or languid. + +Your gesture should be graceful, appropriate, free, forceful, and +natural. Avoid all gesture which is unmeaning, angular, abrupt, +constrained, stilted, or amateurish. + +Your facial expression should be varied, appropriate, pleasing, and +impassioned. Avoid the unpleasant, immobile, and unvaried. + +Let your standing position be manly, erect, easy, forceful, and +impressive. Avoid that which is weak, shifting, stiff, inactive, and +ungainly. + + + + +THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SPEAKING + + +There is a well-defined prejudice against the importation of anything +"theatrical" into the pulpit. The art of the actor is fundamentally +different from the work of the preacher. At best the actor but +represents, imitates, pretends, acts. The actor seems; the preacher is. + +It is to be feared, however, that this prejudice has narrowed many +preachers down to a pulpit style almost devoid of warmth and action. In +their endeavor to avoid the dramatic and sensational, they have refined +and subdued many of their most natural and effective means of +expression. The function of preaching is not only to impart, but to +persuade; and persuasion demands something more than an easy +conversational style, an intellectual statement of facts, or the reading +of a written message. The speaker must show in face, in eye, in arm, in +the whole animated man, that he, himself, is moved, before he can hope +successfully to persuade and inspire others. + +The modified movements of ordinary conversation do not fulfil all the +requirements of the preacher. These are necessary and adequate for the +groundwork of the sermon, but for the supreme heights of passionate +appeal, when the soul of the preacher would, as it were, leap from its +body in the endeavor to reach men, there must be intensified life and +action--dramatic action. + +It is difficult to conceive of a greater tribute to a public advocate +than that paid to Wendell Phillips by George William Curtis: + +"The divine energy of his conviction utterly possest him, and his + + 'Pure and eloquent blood + Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought, + That one might almost say his body thought.'" + +Poise is power, and reserve and repression are parts of the dignified +office of the preacher, but carried too far may degenerate into weak and +unproductive effort. Perfection of English style, rhetorical floridness, +and profundity of thought will never wholly make up for lack of +appropriate action in the work of persuading men. + +The power of action alone is vividly illustrated in the touch of the +finger to the lips to invoke silence, or the pointing to the door to +command one to leave the room. The preacher might often find it +profitable to stand before a mirror and deliver his sermon exclusively +in pantomime to test its power and efficacy. + +The body must be disciplined and cultivated as assiduously as the other +instruments of the speaker. There is eloquence of attitude and action no +less than eloquence of voice and feeling. A preacher drawing himself up +to his full height, with a significant gesture of the head, or with +flashing eye pointing the finger of warning at his hearers, may rouse +them from indifference when all other means fail. + +Sixty years ago the Reverend William Russell emphasized the importance +of visible expression. He said of the preacher: + +"His outward manner, in attitude and action, will be as various as his +voice: he will evince the inspiration of appropriate feeling in the +very posture of his frame; in uttering the language of adoration, the +slow-moving, uplifted hand will bespeak the awe and solemnity which +pervade his soul; in addressing his fellow men in the spirit of an +ambassador of Christ, the gentle yet earnest spirit of persuasive action +will be evinced in the pleading hand and aspect; he will know, also, how +to pass to the stern and authoritative mien of the reproved of sin; he +will, on due occasions, indicate, in his kindling look, the rousing +gesture, the mood of him who is empowered and commanded to summon forth +all the energies of the human soul; his subdued and chastened address +will carry the sympathy of his spirit into the bosom of the mourner; his +moistening eye and his gentle action will manifest his tenderness for +the suffering: his whole soul will, in a word, become legible in his +features, in his attitude, in the expressive eloquence of his hand; his +whole style will be felt to be that of heart communing with heart." + +Dramatic action gives picturesqueness to the spoken word. It makes +things vivid to slow imaginations, and by contrast invests the +speaker's message with new meaning and vitality. It discloses, too, the +speaker's sympathy and identification with his subject. His thought and +feeling, communicating themselves to voice and face, to hand and arm, to +posture and walk, satisfy and impress the hearer by a sense of adequacy +and completeness. + +Henry Ward Beecher, a conspicuous example of the dramatic style in +preaching, was drilled for three years, while at college, in +voice-culture, gesture, and action. His daily practise in the woods, +during which he exploded all the vowels from the bottom to the top of +his voice, gave him not only a wonderfully responsive and flexible +instrument, but a freedom of bodily movement that made him one of the +most vigorous and virile of American preachers. He was in the highest +sense a persuasive pulpit orator. + +A sensible preacher will avoid the grotesque and the extremes of mere +animal vivacity. Incessant gesture and action, undue emphasizing with +hand and head, and all suggestion of self-sufficiency in attitude or +manner should be guarded against. All the various instruments of +expression should be made ready and responsive for immediate use, but +are to be employed with that taste and tact that characterize the +well-balanced man. Too much action and long-continued emotional effort +lose force, and unless the law of action and reaction is applied to the +preaching of the sermon the attention of the congregation may snap and +the desired effect be utterly destroyed. + +The face as the mirror of the emotions is an important part of +expression. The lips will betray determination, grief, sympathy, +affection, or other feeling on the part of the speaker. The eyes, the +most direct medium of psychic power, will flash in indignation, glisten +in joy, or grow dim in sorrow. The brow will be elevated in surprise, or +lowered in determination and perplexity. + +The effectiveness of the whisper in preaching should not be overlooked. +If discreetly used it may serve to impress the hearer with the +profundity and seriousness of the preacher's message, or to arrest and +bring back to the point of contact the wandering minds of a +congregation. + +To acquire emotional power and dramatic action the preacher should +study the great dramatists. He should read them aloud with appropriate +voice and movement. He should study children, and men, and nature. He +should, perhaps, see the best actors, not to copy them, but in order +that they may stimulate his taste and imagination. + + + + +CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING + + +The ideal style of public speaking is, with very little modification, +the ideal of good conversation. The practical age in which we live +demands a colloquial rather than an oratorical style of public speaking. +A man who has something to say in conversation usually has little +difficulty in saying it. If he presents the facts he will speak +convincingly; if he is deeply in earnest he will speak persuasively; and +if he be an educated man his speech will have the unmistakable marks of +culture and refinement. + +In the conversation of well-bred children we find the most interesting +and helpful illustrations of unaffected speech. The exquisite modulation +of the voice, the unstudied correctness of emphasis, and the sincerity +and depth of feeling might well serve as a model for older speakers. + +This study of conversation, both our own and that of others, offers +daily opportunity for improvement in accuracy and fluency of speech, of +fitting words to the mouth as well as to the thought, and of forming +habits that will unconsciously disclose themselves in the larger work of +public speaking. Care in conversation will guard the public speaker from +inflated and unnatural tones, and restrain him from transgressing the +laws of nature even in those parts of his speech demanding lofty and +intensified treatment. + +Some easily remembered suggestions regarding conversation are these: + +1. Pronounce your words distinctly and accurately, like "newly made +coins" from the mint, but without pedantry. + +2. Upon no occasion allow yourself to indulge in careless or incorrect +speech. + +3. Open the mouth well in conversation. Much indistinct speech is due to +speaking through half-closed teeth. + +4. Closely observe your conversation and that of others, to detect +faults and to improve your speaking-style. + +5. Vary your voice to suit the variety of your thought. A well-modulated +voice demands appropriate changes of pitch, force, perspective, and +feeling. + +6. Avoid loud talking. + +7. Take care of the consonants and the vowels will take care of +themselves. + +8. Cultivate the music of the conversational tones. + +9. Favor the low pitches of your voice. + +10. Remember that the purpose of conscious practise and observation in +the matter of conversation is to lead ultimately to unconscious +performance. + + +The value of correct conversation as a means to effective public +speaking is realized by few men. Beecher said: "How much squandering +there is of the voice!" meaning that this golden opportunity for +improvement was generally disregarded. It is not too much to say, +however, that if the sweet and gentle expression of the mother, the +strong and affectionate tones of the father, and the spontaneous musical +notes of the children, as heard in daily conversation, could be united +in the voice of the minister and brought to the preaching of his sermon, +there would be little doubt of its magical and enduring effect upon the +hearts of men. The wooing tone of the lover is what the preacher needs +in his pulpit style rather than the voice of declamation and +denunciation. + +The study of conversation serves to guide the public speaker not only in +the free and natural use of his voice, enunciation, and expression, but +also in his use of language. He will here learn to choose the simple +word instead of the complex, the short sentence instead of the involved, +the concrete illustration instead of the abstract. He will acquire ease, +spontaneity, simplicity, and directness, and when he rises to speak to +men he will employ tones and words best known and understood by them. + +A preacher may spend too much time in study and solitude. If he does he +will soon realize a distinct loss through lack of social intercourse +with his fellow men. The faculties most needed in pulpit preaching are +those very powers that are so largely exercised in ordinary +conversation. The ability to think quickly, to marshal facts and +arguments, to introduce a vivid story or illustration, to parry and +thrust as is sometimes needed to hold one's own ground, and the general +mental activity aroused in conversation, all tend to produce an +interesting, vivacious, and forceful style in public speaking. + +We should not underestimate the value of meditation and silence to the +public speaker. These are necessary for original and profound thinking, +for the cultivation of the imagination, and for the accumulation of +thought. But conversation offers an immediate outlet for this stored-up +knowledge, testing it as a finished product in expression, and +projecting it into life and reality by all the resources of voice and +feeling. This exercise is as necessary to the mind as physical exercise +is to the body. Indeed, a full mind demands this relief in expression, +lest the strain become too great. + +The daily newspaper and the magazines should not be allowed to usurp the +place of conversation. If the art of talking is rapidly dying out, as +some assert, we should do our share to revive it. We may not again have +the wit and repartee, the brilliant intellectual combats of those other +days, but we can at least each have a cultivated speaking-voice, an +interesting manner of expressing our ideas in conversation, and a +refined pronunciation of our mother tongue. + + + + +A TALK TO PREACHERS + + +The aim of one who would interpret literature to others, by means of the +speaking voice, should be first to assimilate its spirit. There can be +no worthy or adequate rendering of a great poem or prose selection +without a keen appreciation of its inner meaning and content. This is +the principal safeguard against mechanical and meaningless declamation. +The extent of this appreciation and grasp of the inherent spirit of +thought will largely determine the degree of life, reality, and +impressiveness imparted to the spoken word. + +The intimate relationship between the voice and the spirit of the +speaker suggests that one is necessary to the fullest development of the +other. The voice can interpret only what has been awakened and realized +within, hence nothing discloses a speaker's grasp of a subject so +accurately and readily as his attempt to give it expression in his own +language. It is this spiritual power, developed principally through the +intuitions and emotions, that gives psychic force to speaking, and which +more than logic, rhetoric, or learning itself enables the speaker to +influence and persuade men. + +The minister as an interpreter of the highest spiritual truth should +bring to his work a thoroughly trained emotional nature and a cultivated +speaking voice. It is not sufficient that he state the truth with +clearness and force; he must proclaim it with such passionate enthusiasm +as powerfully to move his hearers. To express adequately the infinite +shades of spiritual truth, he must have the ability to play upon his +voice as upon a great cathedral organ, from "the soft lute of love" to +"the loud trumpet of war." + +To assume that the study of the art of speaking will necessarily produce +consciousness of its principles while in the act of speaking in public, +is as unwarranted as to say that a knowledge of the rules of grammar, +rhetoric, or logic lead to artificiality and self-consciousness in the +teacher, writer, and thinker. There is a "mechanical expertness +preceding all art," as Goethe says, and this applies to the orator no +less than to the musician, the artist, the actor, and the litterateur. + +Let the minister stand up for even five minutes each day, with chest and +abdomen well expanded, and pronounce aloud the long vowel sounds of the +English language, in various shades of force and feeling, and shortly he +will observe his voice developing in flexibility, resonance, and power. +For it should be remembered that the voice grows through use. Let the +minister cultivate, too, the habit of breathing exclusively through his +nose while in repose, fully and deeply from the abdomen, and he will +find himself gaining in health and mental resourcefulness. + +For the larger development of the spiritual and emotional powers of the +speaker, a wide and varied knowledge of men and life is necessary. The +feelings are trained through close contact with human suffering, and in +the work of solving vital social problems. The speaker will do well to +explore first his own heart and endeavor to read its secret meanings, +preliminary to interpreting the hearts of other men. Personal suffering +will do more to open the well-springs of the heart than the reading of +many books. + +Care must be had, however, that this cultivating of the feelings be +conducted along rational lines, lest it run not to faith but to +fanaticism. There is a wide difference between emotion designed for +display or for momentary effect, and that which arises from strong inner +conviction and sympathetic interest in others. Spurious, unnatural +feeling will invariably fail to convince serious-minded men. + +"Emotion wrought up with no ulterior object," says Dr. Kennard, "is both +an abuse and an injury to the moral nature. When the attention is +thoroughly awakened and steadily held, the hearer is like a well-tuned +harp, each cord a distinct emotion, and the skilful speaker may evoke a +response from one or more at his will. This lays him under a great and +serious responsibility. Let him keep steadily at such a time to his +divine purpose, to produce a healthful action, a life in harmony with +God and a symphony of service." + +The emotional and spiritual powers of the speaker will be developed by +reading aloud each day a vigorous and passionate extract from the +Bible, or Shakespeare, or from some great sermon by such men as +Bushnell, Newman, Beecher, Maclaren, Brooks, or Spurgeon. The entire +gamut of human feeling can be highly cultivated by thus reading aloud +from the great masterpieces of literature. The speaker will know that he +can make his own words glow and vibrate, after he has first tested and +trained himself in some such manner as this. Furthermore, by thus +fitting words to his mouth, and assimilating the feelings of others, he +will immeasurably gain in facility and vocal responsiveness when he +attempts to utter his own thoughts. + +Music is a powerful element in awakening emotion in the speaker and +bringing to consciousness the mysterious inner voices of the soul. The +minister should not only hear good music as often as possible, but he +should train his ear to recognize the rhythm and melody in speech. + +For the fullest development of this spiritual power in the public +speaker there should be frequent periods of stillness and silence. One +must listen much in order to accumulate much. Thought and feeling +require time in which to grow. In this way the myriad sounds that arise +from humanity and from nature can be caught up in the soul of the +speaker and subsequently voiced by him to others. + +The habit of meditating much, of brooding over thought, whether it be +our own or that of others, will tend to disclose new and deeper +meanings, and consequently deeper shades and depths of feeling. The +speaker will diligently search for unwritten meanings in words; he will +study, whenever possible, masterpieces of painting and sculpture; he +will closely observe the natural feeling of well-bred children, as shown +in their conversation; and in many other ways that will suggest +themselves, he will daily develop his emotional and spiritual powers of +expression. + +The science of preaching is important, but so, too, is the art of +preaching. A powerful pulpit is one of the needs of the times. A +congregation readily recognizes a preacher of strong convictions, broad +sympathies, and consecrated personality. An affectionate nature in a +minister, manifesting itself in voice, face, and manner, will attract +and influence men, while a harsh, rigid, vehement manner will as easily +repel them. + +It is to be feared that many sermons are written with too much regard +for "literary deportment on paper," and too little thought of their +value as pulsating messages to men. + +The preacher should train himself to take tight hold of his thought, to +grip it with mental firmness and fervor, that he may afterward convey it +to others with definiteness and vigor. Thoughts vaguely conceived and +held tremblingly in the mind will manifest a like character when +uttered. Into the writing of the sermon put vitality and intensity, and +these qualities will find their natural place in delivery. Thrill of the +pen should precede thrill of the voice. The habit of Dickens of acting +out the characters he was depicting on paper could be copied to +advantage by the preacher, and frequently during the writing of his +sermon he might stand and utter his thoughts aloud to test their power +and effectiveness upon an imaginary congregation. + +There should be the most thorough cultivation of the inner sources of +the preacher, whereby the spiritual and emotional forces are so aroused +and brought under control as to respond promptly and accurately to all +the speaker's requirements. There should be assiduous training of the +speaking voice as the instrument of expression and the natural outlet +for thought and feeling. In the combined cultivation of these two +essentials of expression--spirit and voice--the minister will find the +true secret of effective pulpit preaching. + + + + +CARE OF THE SPEAKER'S THROAT + + +The throat as a vital part of the public speaker's work in speaking is +worthy of the greatest care and consideration. It is surprising that so +little attention is given to vocal hygiene, when it is remembered that a +serious weakness or affection of the throat may disqualify a speaker for +important work. The delicate and intricate machinery of the vocal +apparatus renders it peculiarly susceptible to misuse or exposure. The +common defects of nasality, throatiness, and harshness, are due to wrong +and careless use of the speaking-instrument. + +In the training of the public speaker the first step is to bring the +breathing apparatus under proper control. That is to say, the speaker +must accustom himself, through careful practise, to use the abdominal +method of breathing, and to keep his throat free from the strain to +which it is commonly subjected. This form of breathing is not difficult +to acquire, since it simply means that during inhalation the abdomen is +expanded, and during exhalation it is contracted. It should be no longer +necessary to warn the speaker to breathe exclusively through the nose +when not actually using the voice. While speaking he must so completely +control the breath that not a particle of it can escape without giving +up its equivalent in sound. + +"Clergyman's sore throat" is the result of improper use or overstraining +of the voice. Sometimes the earnestness of the preacher causes him to +"clutch" each word with the vocal muscles, instead of using the throat +as an open channel through which the voice may flow with ease and +freedom. Many speakers, in an endeavor to be heard at a great distance, +employ too loud a tone, forgetting that the essential thing is a clear +and distinct articulation. To speak continuously in high pitch, or +through half-closed teeth, almost invariably causes distress of throat. +Most throat troubles may be set down to a lack of proper elocutionary +training. To keep the voice and throat in order there should be regular +daily practise, if only for ten minutes. The example might profitably +be followed of certain actors who make a practise of humming +occasionally during the day while engaged in other duties, as a means of +keeping the voice musical and resonant. + +When the throat becomes husky or weak it is a timely warning from nature +that it needs rest and relaxation. To continue to engage in public +speaking under these circumstances is often attended with great danger, +resulting sometimes in total loss of voice. It is economy in the end to +discontinue the use of the voice when there is a serious cold or the +throat is otherwise affected. Nervousness, anxiety, or unusual mental +exertion may cause a vocal breakdown. For this condition rest is +recommended, together with gentle massaging of the throat with cold +water mixed with a little vinegar or _eau de Cologne_. + +A public speaker should not engage in protracted conversation +immediately after a speech. The sudden transition from an auditorium to +the outer air should remind the speaker to keep his mouth securely +closed. The general physical condition of the speaker has much to do +with the vigor and clearness of his voice. A daily plunge into cold +water, or at least a sponging of the entire surface of the body, besides +being a tonic luxury, greatly invigorates the throat and abdominal +muscles. After the "tub" a vigorous rubbing with towel and hands should +produce a glow. + +To the frequent question whether smoking is injurious to the throat, it +is safe to say that the weight of authority and experience favors +abstinence. Any one who has spoken for half an hour or more in a +smoke-clouded room, knows the distressing effect it has had upon the +sensitive lining of the throat. It must be obvious, therefore, that the +constant inhaling of smoke must even more directly irritate the mucous +membrane. + +The diet of the public speaker should be reasonably moderate, and the +extremes of hot and cold avoided. The use of ice-water is to be +discouraged. Many drugs and lozenges are positively injurious to the +throat. For habitual dryness of throat a glycerine or honey tablet will +usually obviate the trouble. Dr. Morell Mackenzie, the eminent English +throat specialist, condemns the use of alcohol as pernicious, and +affirms that "even in a comparatively mild form it keeps the delicate +tissues in a state of congestion which makes them particularly liable to +inflammation from cold or other causes." + +It must not be assumed that the throat is to be pampered. A reasonable +amount of exposure will harden it and to this extent is desirable. To +muffle the throat with a scarf, unless demanded by special conditions, +may make it unduly sensitive and increase the danger of taking cold when +the head is turned from side to side. + +A leading physician confirms the opinion that the best gargle for daily +use is that of warm water and salt. This should be used every night and +morning to cleanse and invigorate the throat. Where there is a tendency +to catarrh a solution made of peroxide of hydrogen, witch-hazel, and +water, in equal parts, will prove efficacious. Nothing should be snuffed +up the nose except under the direction of a physician, lest it cause +deafness. + +Many speakers and singers have a favorite nostrum for improving the +voice. The long and amusing list includes hot milk, tea, coffee, +champagne, raw eggs, lemonade, apples, raisins,--and sardines! A good +rule is to eat sparingly if the meal is taken just before speaking. It +need hardly be said that serious vocal defects, such as enlarged +tonsils, elongated uvula, and abnormal growths in the throat and nose +are subjects for the specialist. + +Whenever possible a speaker should test beforehand the acoustic +properties of the auditorium in which he is to speak for the first time. +A helpful plan is to have a friend seat himself at the back of the hall +or church, and give his opinion of the quality and projecting power of +the speaker's voice. It is difficult to judge one's own voice because it +is conveyed to him not only from the outside but also through the +Eustachian tube and modified by the vibratory parts of the throat and +head. A speaker never hears his own voice as it is heard by another. + +Nothing, perhaps, is so taxing to the throat as long-continued speaking +in one quality of tone. There are two distinct registers which should be +judiciously alternated by the speaker. These are the "chest" register, +in which the vocal cords vibrate their whole length, and the quality of +tone derives most of its character from the chest cavity; and the "head" +register, in which the vocal cords vibrate only in part, and the quality +of tone is reenforced by the resonators of the face, mouth, and head. +The first of these registers is sometimes called the "orotund" voice +from its quality of roundness, and is employed principally in language +of reverence, sublimity, and grandeur. + +The head tone is the voice of ordinary conversation and should form the +basis of the public-speaking style. + +No one who has to speak in public should be discouraged because of +limited vocal resources. Many of the foremost orators began with marked +disadvantages in this respect, but made these shortcomings an incentive +to higher effort. One well-known speaker makes up for lack of vocal +power by extreme distinctness of enunciation, while another offsets an +unpleasantly heavy quality of voice by skilful modulation. + +A few easily remembered suggestions are: + +1. Rest the voice for an hour or two before speaking in public. + +2. Gargle the throat night and morning with salt and water. + +3. Never force the voice. + +4. Avoid all occasions that strain the voice, such as prolonged +conversation, speaking against noise, or in cold and damp air. + +5. Practise deep breathing until it becomes an unconscious habit. + +6. Favor an outdoor life. + +7. Hum or sing a little every day. + +8. Discontinue public speaking when there is a severe cold or other +affection of the throat. + +9. Rest the voice and body immediately after speaking in public. + + + + +DON'TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS + + + Don't rant. + Don't prate. + Don't fidget. + Don't flatter. + Don't declaim. + Don't be glib. + Don't hesitate. + Don't be nasal. + Don't apologize. + Don't dogmatize. + Don't be slangy. + Don't antagonize. + Don't be awkward. + Don't be violent. + Don't be personal. + Don't be "funny." + Don't attitudinize. + Don't be monotonous. + Don't speak rapidly. + Don't sway your body. + Don't be long-winded. + Don't "hem" and "haw." + Don't praise yourself. + Don't overgesticulate. + Don't pace the platform. + Don't clear your throat. + Don't "point with pride." + Don't tell a long story. + Don't rise on your toes. + Don't distort your words. + Don't stand like a statue. + Don't address the ceiling. + Don't speak in a high key. + Don't emphasize everything. + Don't drink while speaking. + Don't fatigue your audience. + Don't exceed your time limit. + Don't talk for talking's sake. + Don't wander from your subject. + Don't fumble with your clothes. + Don't speak through closed teeth. + Don't put your hands on your hips. + Don't fail to stop when you have ended. + + + + +DO'S FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS + + + Be prepared. + Begin slowly. + Be modest. + Speak distinctly. + Address all your hearers. + Be uniformly courteous. + Prune your sentences. + Cultivate mental alertness. + Conceal your method. + Be scrupulously clear. + Feel sure of yourself. + Look your audience in the eyes. + Be direct. + Favor your deep tones. + Speak deliberately. + Get to your facts. + Be earnest. + Observe your pauses. + Suit the action to the word. + Be yourself at your best. + Speak fluently. + Use your abdominal muscles. + Make yourself interesting. + Be conversational. + Conciliate your opponent. + Rouse yourself. + Be logical. + Have your wits about you. + Be considerate. + Open your mouth. + Speak authoritatively. + Cultivate sincerity. + Cultivate brevity. + Cultivate tact. + End swiftly. + + + + +POINTS FOR SPEAKERS + + +As far as possible avoid the following hackneyed phrases: + + I rise with diffidence + Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking + By a happy stroke of fate + It becomes my painful duty + In the last analysis + I am encouraged to go on + I point with pride + On the other hand (with gesture) + I hold + The vox populi + Be that as it may + I shall not detain you + As the hour is growing late + Believe me + We view with alarm + As I was about to tell you + The happiest day of my life + It falls to my lot + I can say no more + In the fluff and bloom + I can only hint + I can say nothing + I cannot find words + The fact is + To my mind + I cannot sufficiently do justice + I fear + All I can say is + I shall not inflict a speech on you + Far be it from me + Rise phoenix-like from his ashes + But alas! + What more can I say? + At this late period of the evening + It is hardly necessary to say + I cannot allow the opportunity to pass + For, mark you + I have already taken up too much time + I might talk to you for hours + Looking back upon my childhood + We can imagine the scene + I haven't the time nor ability + Ah, no, dear friends + One more word and I have done + I will now conclude + I really must stop + I have done. + + + + +THE BIBLE ON SPEECH + + +How forcible are right words! + +To every thing there is a season, a time to keep silence, and a time to +speak. + +Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. + +Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which +is good to the use of edifying. + +Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. + +Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may +know how ye ought to answer every man. + +Be ye holy in all manner of conversation. + +Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, +be put away from you. + +Know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. + +Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable +in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. + + + + +THOUGHTS ON TALKING + + +To make a good talker, genius and learning, even wit and eloquence, are +insufficient; to these, in all or in part, must be added in some degree +the talents of active life. The character has as much to do with +colloquial power as has the intellect; the temperament, feelings, and +animal spirits, even more, perhaps, than the mental gifts. "Napoleon +said things which tell in history like his battles. Luther's Table-Talk +glows with the fire that burnt the Pope's bull." Cæsar, Cicero, +Themistocles, Lord Bacon, Selden, Talleyrand, and, in our own country, +Aaron Burr, Jefferson, Webster, and Choate, were all, more or less, men +of action. Sir Walter Scott tells us that, at a great dinner party, he +thought the lawyers beat the Bishops as talkers, and the Bishops the +wits. Nearly all great orators have been fine talkers. Lord Chatham, who +could electrify the House of Lords by pronouncing the word "Sugar," but +who in private was but commonplace, was an exception; but the +conversation of Pitt and Fox was brilliant and fascinating,--that of +Burke, rambling, but splendid, rich and instructive, beyond description. +The latter was the only man in the famous "Literary Club" who could cope +with Johnson. The Doctor confessed that in Burke he had a foeman worthy +of his steel. On one occasion, when debilitated by sickness, he said: +"That fellow calls forth all my powers. Were I to see Burke now, it +would kill me." At another time he said: "Burke, sir, is such a man +that, if you met him for the first time in the street, where you were +stopped by a drove of oxen, and you and he stepped aside to take shelter +but for five minutes, he'd talk to you in such a manner, that when you +parted you'd say--'This is an extraordinary man.'" "Can he wind into a +subject like a serpent, as Burke does?" asked Goldsmith of a certain +talker. Fox said that he had derived more political information from +Burke's conversation alone than from books, science, and all his worldly +experience put together. Moore finely says of the same conversation, +that it must have been like the procession of a Roman triumph, +exhibiting power and riches at every step, occasionally mingling the low +Fescennine jest with the lofty music of the march, but glittering all +over with the spoils of a ransacked world. + +--_Mathews._ + + * * * * * + +The fault of literary conversation in general is its too great +tenaciousness. It fastens upon a subject, and will not let it go. It +resembles a battle rather than a skirmish, and makes a toil of a +pleasure. Perhaps it does this from necessity, from a consciousness of +wanting the more familiar graces, the power to sport and trifle, to +touch lightly and adorn agreeably, every view or turn of a question _en +passant_, as it arises. Those who have a reputation to lose are too +ambitious of shining, to please. "To excel in conversation," said an +ingenious man, "one must not be always striving to say good things: to +say one good thing, one must say many bad, and more indifferent ones." +This desire to shine without the means at hand, often makes men +silent:-- + + The fear of being silent strikes us dumb. + +A writer who has been accustomed to take a connected view of a +difficult question and to work it out gradually in all its bearings, may +be very deficient in that quickness and ease which men of the world, who +are in the habit of hearing a variety of opinions, who pick up an +observation on one subject, and another on another, and who care about +none any further than the passing away of an idle hour, usually acquire. +An author has studied a particular point--he has read, he has inquired, +he has thought a great deal upon it: he is not contented to take it up +casually in common with others, to throw out a hint, to propose an +objection: he will either remain silent, uneasy, and dissatisfied, or he +will begin at the beginning, and go through with it to the end. He is +for taking the whole responsibility upon himself. He would be thought to +understand the subject better than others, or indeed would show that +nobody else knows anything about it. There are always three or four +points on which the literary novice at his first outset in life fancies +he can enlighten every company, and bear down all opposition: but he is +cured of this quixotic and pugnacious spirit, as he goes more into the +world, where he finds that there are other opinions and other +pretensions to be adjusted besides his own. When this asperity wears +off, and a certain scholastic precocity is mellowed down, the +conversation of men of letters becomes both interesting and instructive. +Men of the world have no fixed principles, no groundwork of thought: +mere scholars have too much an object, a theory always in view, to which +they wrest everything, and not unfrequently, common sense itself. By +mixing with society, they rub off their hardness of manner, and +impracticable, offensive singularity, while they retain a greater depth +and coherence of understanding. There is more to be learnt from them +than from their books. + +--_Hazlitt._ + + * * * * * + +There are some people whose good manners will not suffer them to +interrupt you, but, what is almost as bad, will discover abundance of +impatience, and lie upon the watch until you have done, because they +have started something in their own thoughts, which they long to be +delivered of. Meantime, they are so far from regarding what passes, that +their imaginations are wholly turned upon what they have in reserve, for +fear it should slip out of their memory; and thus they confine their +invention, which might otherwise range over a hundred things full as +good, and that might be much more naturally introduced. + +There is a sort of rude familiarity, which some people, by practising +among their intimates, have introduced into their general conversation, +and would have it pass for innocent freedom or humor; which is a +dangerous experiment in our northern climate, where all the little +decorum and politeness we have are purely forced by art, and are so +ready to lapse into barbarity. This, among the Romans, was the raillery +of slaves, of which we have many instances in Plautus. It seems to have +been introduced among us by Cromwell, who, by preferring the scum of the +people, made it a court entertainment, of which I have heard many +particulars; and, considering all things were turned upside down, it was +reasonable and judicious; although it was a piece of policy found out +to ridicule a point of honor in the other extreme, when the smallest +word misplaced among gentlemen ended in a duel. + +There are some men excellent at telling a story, and provided with a +plentiful stock of them, which they can draw out upon occasion in all +companies, and, considering how low conversation runs now among us, it +is not altogether a contemptible talent; however, it is subject to two +unavoidable defects, frequent repetition, and being soon exhausted; so, +that, whoever values this gift in himself, has need of a good memory, +and ought frequently to shift his company, that he may not discover the +weakness of his fund; for those who are thus endued have seldom any +other revenue, but live upon the main stock. + +--_Swift._ + + * * * * * + +The highest and best of all the moral conditions for conversation is +what we call tact. I say a condition, for it is very doubtful whether it +can be called a single and separate quality; more probably it is a +combination of intellectual quickness with lively sympathy. But so +clearly is it an intellectual quality, that of all others it can be +greatly improved, if not actually acquired, by long experience in +society. Like all social excellences it is almost given as a present to +some people, while others with all possible labor never acquire it. As +in billiard-playing, shooting, cricket, and all these other facilities +which are partly mental and partly physical, many never can pass a +certain point of mediocrity; but still even those who have the talent +must practise it, and only become really distinguished after hard work. +So it is in art. Music and painting are not to be attained by the crowd. +Not even the just criticism of these arts is attainable without certain +natural gifts; but a great deal of practice in good galleries and at +good concerts, and years spent among artists, will do much to make even +moderately-endowed people sound judges of excellence. + +Tact, which is the sure and quick judgment of what is suitable and +agreeable in society, is likewise one of those delicate and subtle +qualities or a combination of qualities which is not very easily +defined, and therefore not teachable by fixed precepts. Some people +attain it through sympathy; others through natural intelligence; others +through a calm temper; others again by observing closely the mistakes of +their neighbors. As its name implies, it is a sensitive touch in social +matters, which feels small changes of temperature, and so guesses at +changes of temper; which sees the passing cloud on the expression of one +face, or the eagerness of another that desires to bring out something +personal for others to enjoy. This quality of tact is of course +applicable far beyond mere actual conversation. In nothing is it more +useful than in preparing the right conditions for a pleasant society, in +choosing the people who will be in mutual sympathy, in thinking over +pleasant subjects of talk and suggesting them, in seeing that all +disturbing conditions are kept out, and that the members who are to +converse should be all without those small inconveniences which damage +society so vastly out of proportion to their intrinsic importance. + +--_Mahaffy._ + + * * * * * + +In the course of our life we have heard much of what was reputed to be +the select conversation of the day, and we have heard many of those who +figured at the moment as effective talkers; yet, in mere sincerity, and +without a vestige of misanthropic retrospect, we must say that never +once has it happened to us to come away from any display of that nature +without intense disappointment; and it always appeared to us that this +failure (which soon ceased to be a disappointment) was inevitable by a +necessity of the case. For here lay the stress of the difficulty: almost +all depends in most trials of skill upon the parity of those who are +matched against each other. An ignorant person supposes that to an able +disputant it must be an advantage to have a feeble opponent; whereas, on +the contrary, it is ruin to him; for he can not display his own powers +but through something of a corresponding power in the resistance of his +antagonist. A brilliant fencer is lost and confounded in playing with a +novice; and the same thing takes place in playing at ball, or +battledore, or in dancing, where a powerless partner does not enable you +to shine the more, but reduces you to mere helplessness, and takes the +wind altogether out of your sails. Now, if by some rare good luck the +great talker, the protagonist, of the evening has been provided with a +commensurate second, it is just possible that something like a brilliant +"passage of arms" may be the result,--though much even in that case will +depend on the chances of the moment for furnishing a fortunate theme, +and even then, amongst the superior part of the company, a feeling of +deep vulgarity and of mountebank display is inseparable from such an +ostentatious duel of wit. On the other hand, supposing your great talker +to be received like any other visitor, and turned loose upon the +company, then he must do one of two things: either he will talk upon +_outré_ subjects specially tabooed to his own private use,--in which +case the great man has the air of a quack-doctor addressing a mob from a +street stage; or else he will talk like ordinary people upon popular +topics,--in which case the company, out of natural politeness, that they +may not seem to be staring at him as a lion, will hasten to meet him in +the same style, the conversation will become general, the great man +will seem reasonable and well-bred, but at the same time, we grieve to +say it, the great man will have been extinguished by being drawn off +from his exclusive ground. The dilemma, in short, is this:--If the great +talker attempts the plan of showing off by firing cannon-shot when +everybody else is content with musketry, then undoubtedly he produces an +impression, but at the expense of insulating himself from the sympathies +of the company, and standing aloof as a sort of monster hired to play +tricks of funambulism for the night. Yet, again, if he contents himself +with a musket like other people, then for us, from whom he modestly +hides his talents under a bushel, in what respect is he different from +the man who has no such talent? + +--_De Quincey._ + + * * * * * + +Some, in their discourse, desire rather commendation of wit, in being +able to hold all arguments, than of judgment, in discerning what is +true; as if it were a praise to know what might be said, and not what +should be thought. Some have certain commonplaces and themes wherein +they are good, and want variety; which kind of poverty is for the most +part tedious, and, when it is once perceived, ridiculous. The +honorablest part of talk is to give the occasion; and again to moderate +and pass to somewhat else; for then a man leads the dance. It is good in +discourse, and speech of conversation, to vary, and intermingle speech +of the present occasion with arguments, tales with reasons, asking of +questions with telling of opinions, and jest with earnest; for it is a +dull thing to tire, and, as we say now, to jade any thing too far. As +for jest, there be certain things which ought to be privileged from it, +namely, religion, matters of State, great persons, any man's present +business of importance, and any case that deserveth pity; yet there be +some that think their wits have been asleep, except they dart out +somewhat that is piquant, and to the quick. That is a vein which would +be bridled; _Parce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris._ And, +generally, men ought to find the difference between saltness and +bitterness. Certainly, he that hath a satirical vein, as he maketh +others afraid of his wit, so he had need be afraid of others' memory. He +that questioneth much shall learn much, and content much, but +especially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he +asketh; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in +speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge: but let his +questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser; and let him +be sure to leave other men their turns to speak: nay, if there be any +that would reign and take up all the time, let him find means to take +them off, and to bring others on, as musicians use to do with those that +dance too long galliards. If you dissemble sometimes your knowledge of +that you are thought to know, you shall be thought, another time, to +know that you know not. Speech of a man's self ought to be seldom, and +well chosen. I knew one was wont to say in scorn, "He must needs be a +wise man, he speaks so much of himself;" and there is but one case +wherein a man may commend himself with good grace, and that is in +commending virtue in another, especially if it be such a virtue +whereunto himself pretendeth. Speech of touch towards others should be +sparingly used; for discourse ought to be as a field, without coming +home to any man. I knew two noblemen, of the west part of England, +whereof the one was given to scoff, but kept ever royal cheer in his +house; the other would ask of those that had been at the other's table, +"Tell truly, was there never a flout or dry blow given?" To which the +guest would answer, "Such and such a thing passed." The lord would say, +"I thought he would mar a good dinner." Discretion of speech is more +than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal, is more +than to speak in good words, or in good order. A good continued speech, +without a good speech of interlocution, shows slowness; and a good +reply, or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth +shallowness and weakness. As we see in beasts, that those that are +weakest in the course, are yet nimblest in the turn; as it is betwixt +the greyhound and the hare. To use too many circumstances, ere one come +to the matter, is wearisome; to use none at all, is blunt. + +--_Bacon._ + + * * * * * + +Think as little as possible about any good in yourself; turn your eyes +resolutely from any view of your acquirement, your influence, your +plan, your success, your following: above all, speak as little as +possible about yourself. The inordinateness of our self-love makes +speech about ourselves like the putting of the lighted torch to the +dried wood which has been laid in order for the burning. Nothing but +duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme, except it be in +humble confession of our sinfulness before our God. Again, be specially +upon the watch against those little tricks by which the vain man seeks +to bring round the conversation to himself, and gain the praise or +notice which the thirsty ears drink in so greedily; and even if praise +comes unsought, it is well, whilst men are uttering it, to guard +yourself by thinking of some secret cause for humbling yourself inwardly +to God; thinking into what these pleasant accents would be changed if +all that is known to God, and even to yourself, stood suddenly revealed +to man. + +--_Bishop Wilberforce._ + + * * * * * + +In speaking of the duty of pleasing others, it will not be necessary to +dwell on the ordinary courtesies and lesser kindnesses of our daily +living, any further than to observe that none of these things, however +trifling, is beneath the notice of a good man, ... but I mention one +thing, because I think that we are most of us apt to be rather deficient +in it, and that is in the trying to suit ourselves to the tastes and +views of persons whose professions or inclinations, or situation in +life, differ widely from our own.... As a general rule, no man can fall +into conversation with another without being able to learn something +valuable from him. But in order to get at this benefit there must be +something of an accommodating spirit on both sides; each must be ready +to hear candidly and to answer fairly; each must try to please the +other. We all suffer from the want of acquaintance with the habits and +opinions and feelings of different classes of society. + +--_Dr. Arnold._ + + * * * * * + +If you would be loved as a companion, avoid unnecessary criticism upon +those with whom you live. The number of people who have taken out +judges' patents for themselves is very large in any society. Now it +would be hard for a man to live with another who was always criticising +his actions, even if it were kindly and just criticism. It would be like +living between the glasses of a microscope. But these self-elected +judges, like their prototypes, are very apt to have the persons they +judge brought before them in the guise of culprits. + +Let not familiarity swallow up old courtesy. Many of us have a habit of +saying to those with whom we live such things as we say about strangers +behind their backs. There is no place, however, where real politeness is +of more value than where we mostly think it would be superfluous. You +may say more truth, or rather speak out more plainly to your associates, +but not less courteously than to strangers. + +--_Helps._ + + * * * * * + +Much of the sorrow of life springs from the accumulation, day by day and +year by year, of little trials--a letter written in less than courteous +terms, a wrangle at the breakfast table over some arrangement of the +day, the rudeness of an acquaintance on the way to the city, an +unfriendly act on the part of another firm, a cruel criticism +needlessly reported by some meddler, a feline amenity at afternoon tea, +the disobedience of one of your children, a social slight by one of your +circle, a controversy too hotly conducted. The trials within this class +are innumerable, and consider, not one of them is inevitable, not one of +them but might have been spared if we or our brother man had had a grain +of kindliness. Our social insolences, our irritating manners, our +censorious judgment, our venomous letters, our pin pricks in +conversation, are all forms of deliberate unkindness, and are all +evidences of an ill-conditioned nature. + +--_John Watson._ + + * * * * * + +If this be one of our chief duties--promoting the happiness of our +neighbors--most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs +counter to it, and makes it impossible, as an undisciplined temper. For +of all the things that are to be met with here on earth, there is +nothing which can give such continual, such cutting, such useless pain. +The touchy and sensitive temper, which takes offence at a word; the +irritable temper, which finds offence in everything whether intended or +not; the violent temper, which breaks through all bounds of reason when +once roused; the jealous or sullen temper, which wears a cloud on the +face all day, and never utters a word of complaint; the discontented +temper, brooding over its own wrongs; the severe temper, which always +looks at the worst side of whatever is done; the wilful temper, which +overrides every scruple to gratify a whim,--what an amount of pain have +these caused in the hearts of men, if we could but sum up their results! +How many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses; how many a prayer +have they stifled; how many an emotion of true affection have they +turned to bitterness! How hard they sometimes make all duties! How +painful they make all daily life! How they kill the sweetest and warmest +of domestic charities! The misery caused by other sins is often much +deeper and much keener, more disastrous, more terrible to the sight; but +the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must, I verily believe, if +added together, outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one +another. + +--_Bishop Temple._ + + * * * * * + +Wicked is the slander which gossips away a character in an afternoon, +and runs lightly over a whole series of acquaintances, leaving a drop of +poison on them all, some suspicion, or some ominous silence--"Have you +not heard?"--"No one would believe it, but--!" and then silence; while +the shake of the head, or the shrug of the shoulders, finishes the +sentence with a mute meaning worse than words. Do you ever think of the +irrevocable nature of speech? The things you say are often said forever. +You may find, years after your light word was spoken, that it has made a +whole life unhappy, or ruined the peace of a household. It was well said +by St. James, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth +not his tongue, that man's religion is vain." + +--_Stopford Brooke._ + + * * * * * + +There are three kinds of silence. Silence from words is good, because +inordinate speaking tends to evil. Silence, or rest from desires and +passions, is still better, because it promotes quietness of spirit. But +the best of all is silence from unnecessary and wandering thoughts, +because that is essential to internal recollection, and because it lays +a foundation for a proper regulation and silence in other respects. + +--_Madame Guyon._ + + * * * * * + +The example of our Lord, as He humbly and calmly takes the rebuff, and +turns to go to another village, may help us in the ordinary ways of +ordinary daily life. The little things that vex us in the manner or the +words of those with whom we have to do; the things which seem to us so +inconsiderate, or wilful, or annoying, that we think it impossible to +get on with the people who are capable of them; the mistakes which no +one, we say, has any right to make; the shallowness, or conventionality, +or narrowness, or positiveness in talk which makes us wince and tempts +us towards the cruelty and wickedness of scorn;--surely in all these +things, and in many others like them, of which conscience may be ready +enough to speak to most of us, there are really opportunities for thus +following the example of our Saviour's great humility and patience. How +many friendships we might win or keep, how many chances of serving +others we might find, how many lessons we might learn, how much of +unsuspected moral beauty might be disclosed around us, if only we were +more careful to give people time, to stay judgment, to trust that they +will see things more justly, speak of them more wisely, after a while. +We are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy, and narrowing in the +interests and opportunities of work around us, if we let ourselves +imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the +characters of our fellow-men. + +--_Bishop Paget._ + + * * * * * + +How much squandering there is of the voice! How little is there of the +advantage that may come from conversational tones! How seldom does a man +dare to acquit himself with pathos and fervor! And the men are +themselves mechanical and methodical in the bad way, who are most afraid +of the artificial training that is given in the schools, and who so +often show by the fruit of their labor that the want of oratory is the +want of education. + +How remarkable is sweetness of voice in the mother, in the father, in +the household! The music of no chorded instruments brought together is, +for sweetness, like the music of familiar affection when spoken by +brother and sister, or by father and mother. + +Conversation itself belongs to oratory. How many men there are who are +weighty in argument, who have abundant resources, and who are almost +boundless in their power at other times and in other places, but who, +when in company among their kind, are exceedingly unapt in their +methods. Having none of the secret instruments by which the elements of +nature may be touched, having no skill and no power in this direction, +they stand as machines before living, sensitive men. A man may be as a +master before an instrument; only the instrument is dead; and he has the +living hand; and out of that dead instrument what wondrous harmony +springs forth at his touch! And if you can electrify an audience by the +power of a living man on dead things, how much more should that audience +be electrified when the chords are living and the man is alive, and he +knows how to touch them with divine inspiration! + +--_Beecher._ + + * * * * * + +Every one endeavors to make himself as agreeable to society as he can; +but it often happens that those who most aim at shining in conversation, +overshoot their mark. Tho a man succeeds, he should not (as is +frequently the case) engross the whole talk to himself; for that +destroys the very essence of conversation, which is talking together. We +should try to keep up conversation like a ball bandied to and fro from +one to the other, rather than seize it all to ourselves, and drive it +before us like a football. We should likewise be cautious to adapt the +matter of our discourse to our company, and not talk Greek before +ladies, or of the last new furbelow to a meeting of country justices. + +But nothing throws a more ridiculous air over our whole conversation +than certain peculiarities easily acquired, but very difficultly +conquered and discarded. In order to display these absurdities in a +truer light, it is my present purpose to enumerate such of them as are +most commonly to be met with; and first to take notice of those buffons +in society, the Attitudinarians and Face-makers. These accompany every +word with a peculiar grimace or gesture; they assent with a shrug, and +contradict with a twisting of the neck; are angry by a wry mouth, and +pleased in a caper or minuet step. They may be considered as speaking +harlequins; and their rules of eloquence are taken from the +posture-master. These should be condemned to converse only in dumb show +with their own persons in the looking-glass, as well as the Smirkers and +Smilers, who so prettily set off their faces, together with their words, +by a _je-ne-sais-quoi_ between a grin and a dimple. With these we may +likewise rank the affected tribe of mimics, who are constantly taking +off the peculiar tone of voice or gesture of their acquaintance, tho +they are such wretched imitators, that (like bad painters) they are +frequently forced to write the name under the picture before we can +discover any likeness. + +Next to these whose elocution is absorbed in action, and who converse +chiefly with their arms and legs, we may consider the Profest Speakers. +And first, the Emphatical, who squeeze, and press, and ram down every +syllable with excessive vehemence and energy. These orators are +remarkable for their distinct elocution and force of expression; they +dwell on the important particulars _of_ and _the_, and the significant +conjunction _and_, which they seem to hawk up, with much difficulty, out +of their own throats, and to cram them, with no less pain, into the ears +of their auditors. These should be suffered only to syringe (as it were) +the ears of a deaf man, through a hearing-trumpet; tho I must confess +that I am equally offended with the Whisperers or Low-speakers, who seem +to fancy all their acquaintance deaf, and come up so close to you that +they may be said to measure noses with you, and frequently overcome you +with the full exhalations of a foul breath. I would have these oracular +gentry obliged to speak at a distance through a speaking-trumpet, or +apply their lips to the walls of a whispering-gallery. The Wits who will +not condescend to utter anything but a _bon-mot_, and the Whistlers or +Tune-hummers, who never articulate at all, may be joined very agreeably +together in concert; and to these tinkling cymbals I would also add the +sounding brass, the Bawler, who inquires after your health with the +bellowing of a town-crier. + +The Tattlers, whose pliable pipes are admirably adapted to the "soft +parts of conversation," and sweetly "prattling out of fashion," make +very pretty music from a beautiful face and a female tongue; but from a +rough manly voice and coarse features mere nonsense is as harsh and +dissonant as a jig from a hurdy-gurdy. The Swearers I have spoken of in +a former paper; but the Half-Swearers, who split and mince, and fritter +their oaths into "gad's but," "ad's fish," and "demme," the Gothic +Humbuggers, and those who nickname God's creatures, and call a man a +cabbage, a crab, a queer cub, an odd fish, and an unaccountable skin, +should never come into company without an interpreter. But I will not +tire my reader's patience by pointing out all the pests of conversation, +nor dwell particularly on the Sensibles, who pronounce dogmatically on +the most trivial points, and speak in sentences; the Wonderers, who are +always wondering what o'clock it is, or wondering whether it will rain +or no, or wondering when the moon changes; the Phraseologists, who +explain a thing by all that, or enter into particulars, with this and +that and t'other; and lastly, the Silent Men, who seem afraid of +opening their mouths lest they should catch cold, and literally observe +the precept of the Gospel, by letting their conversation be only yea and +nay. + +The rational intercourse kept up by conversation is one of our principal +distinctions from brutes. We should, therefore, endeavor to turn this +peculiar talent to our advantage, and consider the organs of speech as +the instruments of understanding; we should be very careful not to use +them as the weapons of vice, or tools of folly, and do our utmost to +unlearn any trivial or ridiculous habits, which tend to lessen the value +of such an inestimable prerogative. It is, indeed, imagined by some +philosophers, that even birds and beasts (tho without the power of +articulation) perfectly understand one another by the sounds they utter; +and that dogs, cats, etc., have each a particular language to +themselves, like different nations. Thus it may be supposed that the +nightingales of Italy have as fine an ear for their own native woodnotes +as any signor or signora for an Italian air; that the boars of +Westphalia gruntle as expressively through the nose as the inhabitants +in High German; and that the frogs in the dykes of Holland croak as +intelligibly as the natives jabber their Low Dutch. However this may be, +we may consider those whose tongues hardly seem to be under the +influence of reason, and do not keep up the proper conversation of human +creatures, as imitating the language of different animals. Thus, for +instance, the affinity between Chatterers and Monkeys, and Praters and +Parrots, is too obvious not to occur at once; Grunters and Growlers may +be justly compared to Hogs; Snarlers are Curs that continually show +their teeth, but never bite; and the Spitfire passionate are a sort of +wild cats that will not bear stroking, but will purr when they are +pleased. Complainers are Screech-Owls; and Story-Tellers, always +repeating the same dull note, are Cuckoos. Poets that prick up their +ears at their own hideous braying are no better than Asses. Critics in +general are venomous Serpents that delight in hissing, and some of them +who have got by heart a few technical terms without knowing their +meaning are no other than Magpies. I, myself, who have crowed to the +whole town for near three years past may perhaps put my readers in mind +of a Barnyard Cock; but as I must acquaint them that they will hear the +last of me on this day fortnight, I hope that they will then consider me +as a Swan, who is supposed to sing sweetly at his dying moments. + +--_Cowper._ + + * * * * * + +It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never +inflicts pain. This description is both refined, and, so far as it goes, +accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which +hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him, and he +concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. +His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called the +comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature--like an +easy chair or a good fire, which do their best in dispelling cold and +fatigue, tho nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without +them. The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may +cause a jar or a jolt in the mind of those with whom he is cast--all +clashing of opinion or collision of feeling, all restraint or suspicion +or gloom or resentment, his great concern being to make every one at +ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company, he is tender +toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the +absurd. He can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against +unseasonable allusions or topics which may irritate; he is seldom +prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors +when he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He +never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by +a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in +imputing motive to those who interfere with him, and interprets +everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, +never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp +sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. +From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, +that we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as if he were +one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at +insults. He is too well employed to remember injuries and too indolent +to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned on philosophical +principle; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, to bereavement, +because it is irreparable, and to death because it is his destiny. If he +engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves +him from the blundering discourtesy of better, perhaps, but less +educated minds, who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of +cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength +on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more +involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but +he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, +and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater candor, +consideration, indulgence; he throws himself into the minds of his +opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of +human reason as well as its strength, its province, and its limits. If +he can be an unbeliever, he will be too profound and large-minded to +ridicule religion or to act against it; he is too wise to be a dogmatist +or fanatic in his infidelity. He respects piety and devotion; he even +supports institutions as venerable, beautiful or useful, to which he +does not assent; he honors the ministers of religion, and it contents +him to decline its mysteries without assailing or denouncing them. He is +a friend of religious toleration, and that not only because his +philosophy has taught him to look on all forms of faith with an +impartial eye, but also from the gentleness and effeminacy of feeling +which is attendant on civilization. + +--_Cardinal Newman._ + + + + * * * * * * + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS + +By GRENVILLE KLEISER + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC--A practical self-instructor for lawyers, +clergymen, teachers, business men, and others. Cloth, 543 pages. $1.25, +_net_; by mail, $1.40. + +HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE IN SPEECH AND MANNER--A book of practical +inspiration; trains men to rise above mediocrity and fearthought to +their great possibilities. Commended to ambitious men. Cloth, 320 pages. +$1.25, _net_; by mail, $1.35. + +COMPLETE GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING--The only extensive, comprehensive, +encyclopedic work of its kind ever issued, with its varied and inclusive +contents alphabetically arranged by topics, and made immediately +accessible by a Complete Index. The best advice by the world's great +authorities upon oratory, preaching, platform and pulpit delivery, voice +building and management, argumentation, debate, reading, rhetoric, +homiletics, eloquence, expression, persuasion, gesture, breathing, +composition, conversation, elocution, personal power, mental +development, etc. Royal 8vo, Cloth, over 700 pages. $5.00, _net_. + +HOW TO DEVELOP POWER AND PERSONALITY IN SPEAKING--Practical suggestions +in English, word-building, imagination, memory, conversation, and +extemporaneous speaking. Cloth, 422 pages. $1.25, _net_; by mail, $1.40. + +HOW TO ARGUE AND WIN--Ninety-nine men in a hundred know how to argue to +one who can argue and win. This book tells how to acquire such power. +Cloth, 320 pages. $1.25, _net_; by mail, $1.35. + +HOW TO READ AND DECLAIM--A course of instruction in reading and +declamation for developing graceful carriage, correct standing, accurate +enunciation, and effective expression. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Talks on Talking</p> +<p>Author: Grenville Kleiser</p> +<p>Release Date: January 7, 2006 [eBook #17476]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALKS ON TALKING***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by Kevin Handy, Suzanne Lybarger, Martin Pettit,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net/)</h4> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1>Talks on Talking</h1> + +<h3>By</h3> + +<h2>Grenville Kleiser</h2> + +<p class='center'>Formerly Instructor in Public Speaking at Yale Divinity School,<br /> +Yale University; author of "How to Speak in Public,"<br /> +"How to Develop Power and Personality in Speaking,"<br /> +"How to Develop Self-Confidence in<br /> +Speech and Manner," "How to Argue<br /> +and Win," "How to Read and<br /> +Declaim," "Complete<br /> +Guide to Public<br /> +Speaking,";<br /> +etc.</p> + +<p class="center"><a name="illust-001.png" id="illust-001.png" ></a><img src="images/illust-001.png" width='100' height='97' alt="Publisher's logo" /></p> + +<p class='center'><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1916, by</span></p> + +<p class='center'>FUNK. & WAGNALLS COMPANY</p> + +<p class='center'>(<span class="smcap">printed in the United States of America</span>)</p> + +<p class='center'>Published, September, 1916</p> + +<p class='center'>Copyright under the articles of the Copyright Convention of the +Pan-American Republics and the United States, August 11, 1910</p> + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="index"> +<ul> +<li><a href="#PREFACE"><span class="smcap">Preface</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_ART_OF_TALKING"><span class="smcap">The Art of Talking</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#TYPES_OF_TALKERS"><span class="smcap">Types of Talkers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#TALKERS_AND_TALKING"><span class="smcap">Talkers and Talking</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#PHRASES_FOR_TALKERS"><span class="smcap">Phrases for Talkers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_SPEAKING_VOICE"><span class="smcap">The Speaking Voice</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#HOW_TO_TELL_A_STORY"><span class="smcap">How to Tell a Story</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#TALKING_IN_SALESMANSHIP"><span class="smcap">Talking in Salesmanship</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#MEN_AND_MANNERISMS"><span class="smcap">Men and Mannerisms</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#HOW_TO_SPEAK_IN_PUBLIC"><span class="smcap">How to Speak in Public</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#PRACTICAL_HINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS"><span class="smcap">Practical Hints for Speakers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_DRAMATIC_ELEMENT_IN_SPEAKING"><span class="smcap">The Dramatic Element in Speaking</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#CONVERSATION_AND_PUBLIC_SPEAKING"><span class="smcap">Conversation and Public Speaking</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#A_TALK_TO_PREACHERS"><span class="smcap">A Talk to Preachers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#CARE_OF_THE_SPEAKERS_THROAT"><span class="smcap">Care of the Speaker's Throat</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#DONTS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS"><span class="smcap">Don'ts for Public Speakers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#DOS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS"><span class="smcap">Do's for Public Speakers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#POINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS"><span class="smcap">Points for Speakers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_BIBLE_ON_SPEECH"><span class="smcap">The Bible on Speech</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THOUGHTS_ON_TALKING"><span class="smcap">Thoughts on Talking</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#ADVERTISEMENTS"><span class="smcap">Advertisements</span></a></li> +</ul> +</div> + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<p>Good conversation implies naturalness, spontaneity, and sincerity of +utterance. It is not advisable, therefore, to lay down arbitrary rules +to govern talking, but it is believed that the suggestions offered here +will contribute to the general elevation and improvement of daily +speech.</p> + +<p>Considering the large number of persons who are obliged to talk in +social, business, and public life, the subject of correct speech should +receive more serious consideration than is usually given to it. It is +earnestly hoped that this volume will be of practical value to those who +are desirous of developing and improving their conversational powers.</p> + +<p>Appreciative thanks are expressed to the Editors of the <i>Homiletic +Review</i> for permission to reprint some of the extracts.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Grenville Kleiser.</span></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">New York City,</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">May, 1916.</span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div>Boys flying kites haul in their white-wing'd birds:</div> +<div>You can't do that way when you're flying words.</div> +<div>"Careful with fire," is good advice we know;</div> +<div>"Careful with words," is ten times doubly so.</div> +<div>Thoughts unexpress'd may sometimes fall back dead,</div> +<div>But God Himself can't kill them once they're said!</div> +<div class='right'>—<i>Will Carleton.</i></div></div> +</div> + +<blockquote><p>The first duty of a man is to speak; that is his chief business in +this world; and talk, which is the harmonious speech of two or +more, is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing; +it is all profit; it completes our education; it founds and fosters +our friendships; and it is by talk alone that we learn our period +and ourselves.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Robert Louis Stevenson.</i></p></blockquote> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div>Vociferated logic kills me quite;</div> +<div>A noisy man is always in the right—</div> +<div>I twirl my thumbs, fall back into my chair,</div> +<div>Fix on the wainscot a distressful stare;</div> +<div>And when I hope his blunders all are out,</div> +<div>Reply discreetly, "To be sure—no doubt!"</div> +<div class='right'>—<i>Anon.</i></div></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> +<h2>TALKS ON TALKING</h2> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="THE_ART_OF_TALKING" id="THE_ART_OF_TALKING"></a>THE ART OF TALKING</h2> + + +<p>The charm of conversation chiefly depends upon the adaptability of the +participants. It is a great accomplishment to be able to enter gently +and agreeably into the moods of others, and to give way to them with +grace and readiness.</p> + +<p>The spirit of conversation is oftentimes more important than the ideas +expressed. What we are rather than what we say has the most permanent +influence upon those around us. Hence it is that where a group of +persons are met together in conversation, it is the inner life of each +which silently though none the less surely imparts tone and character to +the occasion.</p> + +<p>It requires vigorous self-discipline so to cultivate the feelings of +kindness and sympathy that they are always in readiness for use. These +qualities are essential to agree<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>able and profitable intercourse, though +comparatively few people possess them.</p> + +<p>Burke considered manners of more importance than laws. Sidney Smith +described manners as the shadows of virtues. Dean Swift defined manners +as the art of putting at ease the people with whom we converse. +Chesterfield said manners should adorn knowledge in order to smooth its +way through the world. Emerson spoke of manners as composed of petty +sacrifices.</p> + +<p>We all recognize that a winning manner is made up of seemingly +insignificant courtesies, and of constant little attentions. A person of +charming manner is usually free from resentments, inquisitiveness, and +moods.</p> + +<p>Personality plays a large part in interesting conversation. Precisely +the same phraseology expressed by two different persons may make two +wholly different impressions, and all because of the difference in the +personalities of the speakers.</p> + +<p>The daily mental life of a man indelibly impresses itself upon his face, +where it can be unmistakably read by others. What a person is, innately +and habitually, unconsciously <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>discloses itself in voice, manner, and +bearing. The world ultimately appraises a man at his true value.</p> + +<p>The best type of talker is slow to express positive opinions, is sparing +in criticism, and studiously avoids a tone or word of finality. It has +been well said that "A talker who monopolizes the conversation is by +common consent insufferable, and a man who regulates his choice of +topics by reference to what interests not his hearers but himself has +yet to learn the alphabet of the art. Conversation is like lawn-tennis, +and requires alacrity in return at least as much as vigor in service. A +happy phrase, an unexpected collocation of words, a habitual precision +in the choice of terms, are rare and shining ornaments of conversation, +but they do not for an instant supply the place of lively and +interesting matter, and an excessive care for them is apt to tell +unfavorably on the substance of discourse."</p> + +<p>When Lord Beaconsfield was talking his way into social fame, someone +said of him, "I might as well attempt to gather up the foam of the sea +as to convey an idea of the extraor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>dinary language in which he clothed +his description. There were at least five words in every sentence that +must have been very much astonished at the use they were put to, and yet +no others apparently could so well have expressed his idea. He talked +like a racehorse approaching the winning-post—every muscle in action, +and the utmost energy of expression flung out into every burst."</p> + +<p>We are told that Matthew Arnold combined all the characteristics of good +conversation—politeness, vivacity, sympathy, interestedness, geniality, +a happy choice of words, and a never-failing humor. When he was once +asked what was his favorite topic for conversation, he instantly +answered, "That in which my companion is most interested."</p> + +<p>Courtesy, it will be noted, is the fundamental basis of good +conversation. We must show habitual consideration and kindliness towards +others if we would attract them to us. Bluntness of manner is no longer +excused on the ground that the speaker is sincere and outspoken. We +expect and demand that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>our companion in conversation should observe the +recognized courtesies of speech.</p> + +<p>There was a time when men and women indulged freely in satire, irony, +and repartee. They spoke their thoughts plainly and unequivocally. There +were no restraints imposed upon them by society, hence it now appears to +us that many things were said which might better have been left unsaid. +Self-restraint is nowadays one of the cardinal virtues of good +conversation.</p> + +<p>The spirit of conversation is greatly changed. We are enjoined to keep +the voice low, think before we speak, repress unseasonable allusions, +shun whatever may cause a jar or jolt in the minds of others, be seldom +prominent in conversation, and avoid all clashing of opinion and +collision of feeling.</p> + +<p>Macaulay was fond of talking, but made the mistake of always choosing a +subject to suit himself and monopolizing the conversation. He lectured +rather than talked. His marvelous memory was perhaps his greatest enemy, +for though it enabled him to pour forth great masses of facts, people +listened to him helplessly rather than admiringly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>Carlyle was a great talker, and talked much in protest of talking. No +man broke silence oftener than he to tell the world how great a curse is +talking. But he told it eloquently and therein was he justified. There +was in him too much vehement sternness, of hard Scotch granite, to make +him a pleasant talker in the popular sense. He was the evangelist of +golden silence, and though he did not apparently practice it himself, +his genius will never diminish.</p> + +<p>Gladstone was unable to indulge in small talk. His mind was so +constantly occupied with great subjects that he spoke even to one person +as if addressing a meeting. It is said that in conversation with Queen +Victoria he would invariably choose weighty subjects, and though she +tried to make a digression, he would seize the first opportunity to +resume his original theme, always reinforced in volume and onrush by the +delay.</p> + +<p>Lord Morley is attractive though austere in conversation. He never +dogmatizes nor obtrudes his own opinions. He is a master of +phrase-making. But although he talks well he never talks much.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>The story is told that at a recent dinner in London ten leading public +men were met together, when one suggested that each gentleman present +should write down on paper the name of the man he would specially choose +to be his companion on a walking tour. When the ten papers were +subsequently read aloud, each bore the name of Lord Morley.</p> + +<p>Lord Rosebery is considered one of the most accomplished talkers of the +day. Deferential, natural, sympathetic, observant, well-informed, he +easily and unconsciously commands the attention of any group of men. His +voice is said to recommend what he utters, and a singularly refined +accent gives distinction to anything he says. He is a supreme example of +two great qualifications for effective talking: having something worth +while to say, and knowing how to say it.</p> + +<p>Among distinguished Canadians, Sir Thomas White is one of the most +interesting speakers. His versatile mind, and broad and varied +experience, enable him to converse with almost equal facility upon +politics, medicine, finance, law, science, art, literature, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>or +business. Dates, details, facts, figures, and illustrations are at his +ready command. His manner is natural, courteous, and genial, but in +argumentation the whole man is so thoroughly aroused to earnestness and +intensity as almost to overwhelm an opponent. His greatest quality in +speaking is his manifest sincerity, and it is this particularly which +has ingratiated him in the hearts of his countrymen.</p> + +<p>The Honorable Joseph H. Choate must certainly be reckoned among the best +conversationalists of our time. His manner, both in conversation and in +public speaking, is singularly gracious and winning. He is unsurpassed +as a story-teller. His fine taste, combined with long experience as a +public man, makes him an ideal after-dinner speaker.</p> + +<p>Some eminent men try to mask their greatness when engaged in +conversation. They do not wear their feelings nor their greatness on +their sleeves. Some have an utter distaste for anything like personal +display. It is said of the late Henry James that a stranger might talk +to him for an entire evening without discovering his identity.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>There is an interesting account of an evening's conversation between +Emerson and Thoreau. When Thoreau returned home he wrote in his Journal: +"Talked, or tried to talk, with R.W.E. Lost my time, nay, almost my +identity. He, assuming a false opposition where there was no difference +of opinion, talked to the wind." Emerson's version of the conversation +was this: "It seemed as if Thoreau's first instinct on hearing a +proposition was to controvert it. That habit is chilling to the social +affections; it mars conversation."</p> + +<p>Conversation offers daily opportunity for intellectual exercise of high +order. The reading of great books is desirable and indispensable to +education, but real culture comes through the additional training one +receives in conversation. The contact of mind with mind tends to +stimulate and develop thoughts which otherwise would probably remain +dormant.</p> + +<p>The culture of conversation is to be recommended not only for its own +sake, but also as one of the best means of training in the art of public +speaking. Since the best form <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>of platform address today is simply +conversation enlarged and elevated, it may almost be assumed that to +excel in one is to be proficient in the other.</p> + +<p>Good conversation requires, among other things, mental alertness, +accuracy of statement, adequate vocabulary, facility of expression, and +an agreeable voice, and these qualities are most essential for effective +public speaking. Everyone, therefore, who aspires to speaking before an +audience of hundreds or thousands, will find his best opportunity for +preliminary training in everyday speech.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="TYPES_OF_TALKERS" id="TYPES_OF_TALKERS"></a>TYPES OF TALKERS</h2> + + +<p>There is no greater affliction in modern life than the tiresome talker. +He talks incessantly. Presumably he talks in his sleep. Talking is his +constant exercise and recreation. He thrives on it. He lives for +talking's sake. He would languish if he were deprived of it for a single +day. His continuous practice in talking enables him easily to +outdistance all ordinary competitors. There is nothing which so +completely unnerves him as long periods of silence. He has the talking +habit in its most virulent form.</p> + +<p>The trifling talker is equally objectionable. He talks much, but says +little. He skims over the surface of things, and is timid of anything +deep or philosophical. He does not tarry at one subject. He talks of the +weather, clothes, plays, and sports. He puts little meaning into what he +says, because there is little meaning in what he thinks. He cannot look +at anything seriously. Nothing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>is of great significance to him. He is +in the class of featherweights.</p> + +<p>The tedious talker is one without terminal facilities. He talks right on +with no idea of objective or destination. He rises to go, but he does +not go. He knows he ought to go, but he simply cannot. He has something +more to say. He keeps you standing half an hour. He talks a while +longer. He assures you he really must go. You tell him not to hurry. He +takes you at your word and sits down again. He talks some more. He rises +again. He does not know even now how to conclude. He has no mental +compass. He is a rudderless talker.</p> + +<p>Probably the most obnoxious type is the tattling talker. He always has +something startlingly personal to impart. It is a sacred secret for your +ear. He is a wholesale dealer in gossip. He fairly smacks his lips as he +relates the latest scandal. He is an expert embellisher. He adroitly +supplies missing details. He has nothing of interest in his own life, +since he lives wholly in the lives of others. He is a frightful bore, +but you cannot offend him. He is adamant.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>There is the tautological talker, or the human self-repeater. He goes +over the ground again and again lest you have missed something. He is +very fond of himself. He tells the same story not twice, but a dozen +times. "You may have heard this before," says he, "but it is so good +that it will bear repetition." He tries to disguise his poverty of +thought in a masquerade of ornate language. If he must repeat his words, +he adds a little emphasis, a flourishing gesture, or a spirit of +nonchalance.</p> + +<p>Again, there is the tenacious talker, who refuses to release you though +you concede his arguments. When all others tacitly drop a subject, he +eagerly picks it up. He is reluctant to leave it. He would put you in +possession of his special knowledge. You may successfully refute him, +but he holds firmly to his own ideas. He is positive he is right. He +will prove it, too, if you will only listen. He knows that he knows. You +cannot convince him to the contrary, no indeed. He will talk you so +blind that at last you are unable to see any viewpoint clearly.</p> + +<p>A recognized type is the tactless talker. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>He says the wrong thing in +the right way, and the right thing in the wrong way. He is impulsive and +unguarded. He reaches hasty conclusions. He confuses his tactlessness +with cleverness. He is awkward and blundering. His indifference to the +rights and feelings of others is his greatest enemy. He is a stranger to +discretion. He speaks first, and thinks afterwards. He may have regrets, +but not resolutions. He is often tolerated, but seldom esteemed.</p> + +<p>The temperamental talker is one of the greatest of nerve-destroyers. He +deals in superlatives. He views everything emotionally. He talks +feelingly of trifles, and ecstatically of friends. He gushes. He +flatters. To him everything is "wonderful," "prodigious," "superb," +"gorgeous," "heavenly," "amazing," "indescribable," "overwhelming." +Extravagance and exaggeration permeate his most commonplace +observations. He is an incurable enthusiast.</p> + +<p>The tantalizing talker is one who likes to contradict you. He divides +his attention between what you are saying and what he can summon to +oppose you. He dissents <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>from your most ordinary observations. His +favorite phrases are, "I don't think so," "There is where you are +wrong," "I beg to differ," and "Not only that." Tell him it will be a +fine day, and he will declare that the signs indicate foul weather. Say +that the day is unpromising, and he will assure you it does not look +that way to him. He cavils at trifles. He disputes even when there is no +antagonist.</p> + +<p>To listen to the tortuous talker is a supreme test of patience. He +slowly winds his way in and out of a subject. He traverses by-paths, +allowing nothing to escape his unwearied eye. He goes a long way about, +but never tires of his circuitous journey. Ploddingly and perseveringly +he zigzags from one point to another. He alters his course as often as +the crooked way of his subject changes. He twists, turns, and diverges +without the slightest inconvenience to himself. He likes nothing better +than to trace out details. His talking disease is discursiveness.</p> + +<p>The tranquil talker never hurries. He has all the time there is. If you +are very busy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>he will wait. He is uniformly moderate and polite. He is +a rare combination of oil, milk, and rose-water. He would not harm a +syllable of the English language. His talking has a soporific effect. It +acts as a lullaby. His speech is low and gentle. He never speaks an +ill-considered word. He chooses his words with measured caution. He is +what is known as a smooth talker.</p> + +<p>The torpedo talker is of the rapid fire explosive variety. He bursts +into a conversation. He scatters labials, dentals, and gutturals in all +directions. He is a war-time talker,—boom, burst, bang, roar, crash, +thud! He fills the air with vocal bullets and syllabic shrapnel. He is +trumpet-tongued, ear-splitting, deafening. He fires promiscuously at all +his hearers. He rends the skies asunder. He is nothing if not +vociferous, stentorian, lusty. He demolishes every idea in his way. He +is a Napoleon of words.</p> + +<p>The tangled talker never gets anything quite straight. He inevitably +spoils the best story. He always begins at the wrong end. Despite your +protests of face and manner he talks on. He talks inopportunely. He +be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>comes inextricably confused. He is weak in statistics. He has no +memory for names or places. He lacks not fluency but accuracy. He is a +twisted talker.</p> + +<p>The triumphant talker lays claim to the star part in any conversation. +He likes nothing better than to drive home his point and then look about +exultingly. He says gleefully, "I told you so." That he can ever be +wrong is inconceivable to him. He knows the facts since he can readily +manufacture them himself. He is self-satisfied, for in his own opinion +he has never lost an argument. He is a brave and bold talker.</p> + +<p>These, then, are some types of talking which we should not emulate. +Study the list carefully—the tiresome talker, the trifling talker, the +tedious talker, the tattling talker, the tautological talker, the +tenacious talker, the tactless talker, the temperamental talker, the +tantalizing talker, the tangled talker, the triumphant talker—and guard +yourself diligently against the faults which they represent. Talking +should always be a pleasure to the speaker and listener, never a bore.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="TALKERS_AND_TALKING" id="TALKERS_AND_TALKING"></a>TALKERS AND TALKING</h2> + +<p>Conversation is not a verbal nor vocal contest, but a mutual meeting of +minds. It is not a monologue, but a reciprocal exchange of ideas.</p> + +<p>There are cardinal rules which everyone should observe in conversation. +The first of these is to be prepared always to give courteous and +considerate attention to the ideas of others. There is no better way to +cultivate your own conversational powers than to train yourself first to +be an interesting and sympathetic listener.</p> + +<p>It is in bad taste to interrupt a speaker. This is a common fault which +should be resolutely guarded against. Moreover, your own opportunity to +speak will shortly come if you have patience, when you may reasonably +expect to receive the same uninterrupted attention which you have given +to others.</p> + +<p>Never allow yourself to monopolize a conversation. This is a form of +selfishness <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>practiced by many persons apparently unaware of being +ill-mannered. It is inexcusably bad taste to tell unduly long stories or +lengthy personal experiences. If you cannot abridge a story to +reasonable dimensions, it would be better to omit it entirely. The +habitual long-story teller may easily become a bore.</p> + +<p>Avoid the habit of eagerly matching the other person's story or +experience with one of your own. There is nothing more disconcerting to +a speaker than to observe the listener impatiently waiting to plunge +headlong into the conversation with some marvellous tale. Be +particularly careful not to outdo another speaker in relating your own +experiences. If, for instance, he has just told how he caught fifty fish +upon a recent trip, do not succumb to the temptation to tell of the time +you caught fifty-one.</p> + +<p>Be careful not to give unsolicited advice. It has been well said that +advice which costs nothing is worth what it costs. If people desire your +counsel they will probably ask for it, in which case they will be more +likely to appreciate what you have to tell them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>Do not voluntarily recommend doctors, dentists, osteopaths, pills, +coffee substitutes, health foods, health resorts, or panaceas for the +ills of mankind. If you can be of service to others in these particular +respects, it will be when you are specifically asked for such +information.</p> + +<p>It is most imprudent to carry an argument to extremes. If you observe an +unwillingness in the other person to be convinced by what you say, you +had better turn to another subject. Conversation should never resolve +itself into controversial debate.</p> + +<p>It is well to avoid discursiveness, over-use of parentheses, and +positiveness of statement. Keep your desires and feelings from +over-coloring your views. A flexible attitude of mind is more likely to +win an opponent to your way of thinking.</p> + +<p>Take special pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others. Be +interested in what they want to talk about. Let your interest be deep +and sincere. Adopt the right tone, temper, and reticence in your +conversation.</p> + +<p>You should accustom yourself to look at things from the other person's +standpoint. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>It is surprising how this habit enlarges the vision and +gives a charitableness to speech which might otherwise be absent. It is +well to remember that no person can possibly have a monopoly of +knowledge upon any subject.</p> + +<p>Good conversation demands restraint, adaptability, and reasonable +brevity. There is an appalling waste of words on all sides, hence you +should constantly guard yourself against this fault. When there is +nothing worth-while to say, the best substitute is silence.</p> + +<p>Practice self-discipline in talking. Correct any fault in yourself the +instant you recognize it. If, for example, you realize that you are +talking at too great length, stop it at once. Should you feel that you +are not giving interested attention to the speaker, check your +mind-wandering immediately and concentrate upon what is being said.</p> + +<p>Do not be always setting other people right. This is a thankless as well +as useless task. They probably do not want your assistance, or they +would ask for it. Besides <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>most people are sensitive about their +shortcomings, and prefer to get help and counsel in private.</p> + +<p>There is no more important suggestion than to rule your moods. Ofttimes +the feelings run away with the judgment. What you think and say today +may be due to your present mood, rather than to matured judgment. Let +your common sense predominate at all times.</p> + +<p>It is not well to give too strong expression to your likes and dislikes. +These, like all your feelings, should be governed with a firm hand. +Opinions advanced with too much emphasis may easily fail to impress +other minds. Remember always that your greatest ally is truth. Therefore +frankly and faithfully examine your important opinions before giving +them expression.</p> + +<p>Resist the desire to be prominent in conversation, or to say clever and +surprising things. This is sometimes difficult to do, but it is the only +safe course to follow. If you have something brilliant or worth-while to +say, it will be best said spontaneously and with due modesty. But if +there is no suit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>able opportunity to say it, put it back in your mind +where it may improve with age. Egotism is taboo in polite society.</p> + +<p>The suggestion that nothing should be allowed to pass the lips that +charity would check is invaluable advice. It is unfortunately all too +common to give hasty and harsh expression to personal opinions and +criticisms. Reticence is one of the most essential conditions of long +friendship.</p> + +<p>Judgment and tact are necessary to good conversation. It is not well to +ask many questions, and then only those of a general character. +Curiosity should be curbed. Quite properly people resent +inquisitiveness. The best way to cultivate the rare grace of judgment is +to be mindful of your own faults and to correct them with all speed and +thoroughness.</p> + +<p>The word "talk" is often used in a derogatory sense, and we hear such +expressions as "all talk," "empty talk," and "idle talk." But as +everyone talks, we should all do our utmost to set a high example to +others of the correct use of speech.</p> + +<p>It is always better to talk too little than <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>too much. Never talk for +mere talking's sake. Avoid being artificial or pedantic. Don't +antagonize, dogmatize, moralize, attitudinize, nor criticise. Talk in +poise,—quietly, deliberately, sincerely, and you will never lack an +attentive audience.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="PHRASES_FOR_TALKERS" id="PHRASES_FOR_TALKERS"></a>PHRASES FOR TALKERS</h2> + +<p>It is said of Macaulay that he never allowed a sentence to pass muster +until it was as good as he could make it. He would write and rewrite, +and even construct a paragraph or a whole chapter, in order to secure a +more lucid and satisfactory arrangement. He wrote just so much each day, +usually an average of six pages, and this manuscript was so erased and +corrected that it was finally compressed into two pages of print.</p> + +<p>The masters of English prose have been great workers. Stevenson and +others like him gave hours and days to the study of words, phrases, and +sentences. Through unwearied application to the art of rhetorical +composition they ultimately won fame as writers.</p> + +<p>The ambitious student of speech culture, whether for use in conversation +or in public, will do well to emulate the example of such <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>great +writers. One of the best ways to build a large vocabulary is to note +useful and striking phrases in one's general reading. It is advisable to +jot down such phrases in a note-book, and to read them aloud from time +to time. Such phrases may be classified according to their particular +application,—to business, politics, music, education, literature, or +the drama.</p> + +<p>It is not recommended that such phrases should be consciously dragged +into conversation, but the practice of carefully observing felicitous +phrases, and of noting them in writing, cultivates the taste for better +words and a sense of discrimination in their use. Many phrases noted and +studied in this way will unconsciously find their way into one's +expression.</p> + +<p>The list of phrases which follows is offered as merely suggestive. In +reading the phrases aloud it is well to think clearly what each one +means, and to fit it into a sentence of one's own making. This simple +exercise, practiced for a few weeks, will produce surprising results by +way of increased facility and flexibility of English style.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +I can well imagine<br /> +Broadly speaking<br /> +An admirable idea<br /> +In a literal sense<br /> +By sheer force of genius<br /> +You can imagine his chagrin<br /> +I hazard a guess<br /> +It challenges belief<br /> +He has an inscrutable face<br /> +Very fertile in resource<br /> +I am loath to believe<br /> +It is essentially undignified<br /> +Example is so contagious<br /> +I am not in her confidence<br /> +Taken in the aggregate<br /> +It is a reproof to shallowness<br /> +There is a misconception here<br /> +I strongly suspect it so<br /> +He was covered with confusion<br /> +It was a just rebuke<br /> +A pleasing instance of this<br /> +It lends dignity to life<br /> +She has a desultory liking for music<br /> +It seems incredible<br /> +A kind of detached ideal<br /> +It blunts the finer sensibilities<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +Beyond question or cavil<br /> +A well-founded suspicion<br /> +It has elicited great praise<br /> +They are landmarks in memory<br /> +Superhuman vigor and activity<br /> +A venerable and interesting figure<br /> +It is curious and interesting<br /> +Gives the impression of aloofness<br /> +Perfectly void of offence<br /> +Regard with misgiving<br /> +A stroke of professional luck<br /> +An unscrupulous adventurer<br /> +He spoke with extreme reticence<br /> +Robust common sense<br /> +Deficient in amiability<br /> +Done with characteristic thoroughness<br /> +A vein of philanthropic zeal<br /> +Definite, tangible, and practical<br /> +Too much effusive declamation<br /> +A man of keen ambition<br /> +It gives infinite zest<br /> +Singular qualifications for public life<br /> +They are bitterly hostile<br /> +The despair of the official wire-puller<br /> +Blind and unreasoning opponent<br /> +Ignoble strife for power<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +Surrounded by a cohort of admiring friends<br /> +In an imperative voice<br /> +Marked by copiousness and vivacity<br /> +Touched with sombre dignity<br /> +A ridiculous misconception<br /> +Habitual austerity of demeanor<br /> +Ostentation and lavish expenditure<br /> +A person of exquisite tact<br /> +Intolerant of bumptiousness<br /> +The obvious danger of dallying<br /> +This was grossly overstated<br /> +A mass of calumny and exaggeration<br /> +Inimical to religion<br /> +Fraught with peril<br /> +I venture to ask<br /> +Attributed to mental decrepitude<br /> +A strange phenomena<br /> +It argues a blind faith<br /> +Insatiable whirl of excitement<br /> +A substratum of truth<br /> +Under some conceivable circumstances<br /> +Bubbling over with infectious joy<br /> +Frigid dignity and arrogant reserve<br /> +A profound contempt<br /> +The fine art of hospitality<br /> +Grim morsels of philosophy<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +A tinge of sorrowness and jealousy<br /> +Due to ignorance and barbarism<br /> +Grave and monstrous scandal<br /> +A splendid instance of self-devotion<br /> +Amusingly exemplified in this case<br /> +Recognized and powerful element<br /> +A symbol of restraint<br /> +An utterly fallacious idea<br /> +In rapid and striking succession<br /> +We learn from stern experience<br /> +Pictures of an inspired imagination<br /> +An astonishing outbreak<br /> +Soothing words of sympathy<br /> +A rather bold assertion<br /> +The most enthusiastic adherents<br /> +Mere tepid conviction<br /> +Eminently qualified for the task<br /> +Almost supernatural charm<br /> +In glowing and exaggerated phrases<br /> +Somewhat rich and austere<br /> +An inexhaustible theme<br /> +Grave and undeniable faults<br /> +Perfectly chosen language<br /> +All the characteristics of a mob<br /> +Given to grandiloquent phrase<br /> +Peculiar vein of sarcasm<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +Froze like ice and cut like steel<br /> +A generous tribute to an eminent rival<br /> +Cold and stately composure<br /> +Fiery and passionate enthusiasm<br /> +Extraordinary violence of nature<br /> +A brilliant and delightful play<br /> +Rare and striking combination<br /> +Preeminently qualified for the part<br /> +Moderate and cautious conservatism<br /> +Daring perversions of justice<br /> +Devoid of rhetorical device<br /> +As a great thinker has observed<br /> +Almost morbid sensitiveness<br /> +Discreetly stifled yawn<br /> +He was dumb with wonder<br /> +Scarcely less familiar<br /> +Delightfully characteristic<br /> +It was a profound conviction<br /> +Greatly conceived and expressed<br /> +Blinded by its brightness<br /> +I have cudgelled my memory<br /> +Exposed to imminent peril<br /> +Screening a breach of etiquette<br /> +By a natural transition<br /> +Splendid anticipations of success<br /> +A very laudable attempt<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +Lapsed into complete oblivion<br /> +With most distinguished success<br /> +Like embarking on a shoreless sea<br /> +A really pretty imitation<br /> +Unless I greatly err<br /> +Undaunted by repeated failure<br /> +Became a term of reproach<br /> +An epoch-making achievement<br /> +In the guise of verbal nonsense<br /> +Received with cordial sympathy<br /> +With the most obvious sincerity<br /> +Held forth with fluency and zest<br /> +Gracious solicitude<br /> +Punctiliously civil and polite<br /> +An air of sphinx-like mystery<br /> +Consumed by zeal<br /> +Awaited with lively interest<br /> +Sledge-hammer blows against humbug<br /> +This recalls a happy retort<br /> +Preeminently a case in point<br /> +Exquisite precision and finish<br /> +Incomparably better informed<br /> +A keen eye for incongruities<br /> +Polite to the point of deference<br /> +To the last degree improbable<br /> +People with rampant prejudices<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +A model of chivalrous propriety<br /> +By way of digression<br /> +A splendid acquisition<br /> +Singularly attractive fashion<br /> +A kind of unconscious conspiracy<br /> +Amid engrossing demands</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_SPEAKING_VOICE" id="THE_SPEAKING_VOICE"></a>THE SPEAKING VOICE</h2> + +<p>There is a widespread need for a more thorough cultivation of the +speaking voice. It is astonishing how few persons give specific +attention to this important subject. On all sides we are subjected to +voices that are disagreeable and strident. It is the exception to hear a +voice that is musical and well-modulated.</p> + +<p>Most people make too much physical effort in speaking. They tighten the +muscles of the throat and mouth, instead of liberating these muscles and +allowing the voice to flow naturally and harmoniously. The remedy for +this common fault of vocal tension is to relax all the muscles used in +speech. This is easily accomplished by means of a little daily practice.</p> + +<p>The first thing to keep in mind is that we should speak through the +throat and not from it. A musical quality of voice depends chiefly upon +directing the tone towards the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>hard palate, or the bony arch above the +upper teeth. From this part of the mouth the voice acquires much of its +resonance.</p> + +<p>An excellent exercise for throat relaxation is yawning. It is not +necessary to wait until a real yawn presents itself, but frequent +practice in imitating a yawn may be indulged in with good results. +Immediately after practicing the yawn, it is advisable to test the +voice, either in speaking or in reading, to observe improvement in +freedom of tone.</p> + +<p>It is not desirable to use the voice where there is loud noise by way of +opposition. Many a good voice has been ruined due to the habit of +continuous talking on the street or elsewhere amid clatter and hubbub. +Under such circumstances it is better to rest the voice, since in any +contest of the kind the voice will almost surely be vanquished.</p> + +<p>What we need in our daily conversation is less emphasis, and more +quietness and non-resistance. We need less eagerness and more vivacity +and variety. We need a settled equanimity of mind that does not deprive +us of our animation, but saves us from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>petty irritations of +everyday life. We need, in short, more poise and self-control in our way +of speaking.</p> + +<p>It is well to remember that few things we say are of such importance as +to require emphasis. The thought should be its own recommendation. But +if emphasis be necessary, let it be by the intellectual means of pausing +or inflection, rather than with the shoulders or the clenched fist.</p> + +<p>A very disagreeable and common fault is nasality, or "talking through +the nose." Many persons are guilty of this who least suspect it. This +habit is so easily and unconsciously acquired that everyone should be on +strict guard against it. Almost equally disagreeable is the fault of +throatiness, caused by holding the muscles of the throat instead of +relaxing them.</p> + +<p>The best tones of the speaking voice are the middle and low keys. These +should be used exclusively in daily conversation. The use of high pitch +is due to habit or temperament, but may be overcome through judicious +practice. The objection to a high-keyed voice is not only that it is +disagreeable to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>listener, but puts the speaker "out of tune" with +his audience.</p> + +<p>A good speaking voice should possess the qualities of purity, resonance, +flexibility, roundness, brilliancy, and adequate power. These qualities +can be rapidly developed by daily reading aloud for ten minutes, giving +special attention to one quality at a time. A few weeks, assiduous +practice will produce most gratifying results. The voice grows through +use, and it grows precisely in the way it is habitually used.</p> + +<p>Distinct articulation and correct pronunciation are indications of +cultivated speech. Pedantry should be avoided, but every aspirant to +correct speech should be a student of the dictionary. A writer has given +this good counsel:</p> + +<p>"Resolve that you will never use an incorrect, an inelegant, or a vulgar +phrase or word, in any society whatever. If you are gifted with wit, you +will soon find that it is easy to give it far better point and force in +pure English than through any other medium, and that brilliant thoughts +make the deepest impressions when well worded. However <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>great it may be, +the labor is never lost which earns for you the reputation of one who +habitually uses the language of a gentleman, or of a lady. It is +difficult for those who have not frequent opportunities for conversation +with well-educated people, to avoid using expressions which are not +current in society, although they may be of common occurrence in books. +As they are often learned from novels, it will be well for the reader to +remember that even in the best of such works dialogues are seldom +sustained in a tone which would not appear affected in ordinary life. +This fault in conversation is the most difficult of all to amend, and it +is unfortunately the one to which those who strive to express themselves +correctly are peculiarly liable. Its effect is bad, for though it is not +like slang, vulgar in itself, it betrays an effort to conceal vulgarity. +It may generally be remedied by avoiding any word or phrase which you +may suspect yourself of using for the purpose of creating an effect. +Whenever you imagine that the employment of any mere word or sentence +will convey the impression that you are well informed, sub<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>stitute for +it some simple expression. If you are not positively certain as to the +pronunciation of a word, never use it. If the temptation be great, +resist it; for, rely upon it, if there be in your mind the slightest +doubt on the subject, you will certainly make a mistake. Never use a +foreign word when its meaning can be given in English, and remember that +it is both rude and silly to say anything to any person who possibly may +not understand it. But never attempt, under any circumstances whatever, +to utter a foreign word, unless you have learned to pronounce correctly +the language to which it belongs."</p> + +<p>There is need for the admonition to open the mouth well. Many people +speak with half-closed teeth, the result being that the quality of voice +and correctness of pronunciation are greatly impaired. Consonants and +vowels should be given proper significance. Muffled speech is almost as +objectionable as stammering.</p> + +<p>It enhances the pleasure and quality of conversation to speak in +deliberate style. Rapidity of utterance often leads a speaker <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>into such +faults as indistinctness, monotony, and incorrect breathing. Deliberate +speaking confers many advantages, not the least of which is increased +pleasure to the listener.</p> + +<p>Many voices are too thin in quality. They fail to carry conviction even +when the thought is of superior character. The remedy here is to give +special attention to the development of deep tones. One of the best +exercises for this purpose is to practice for a few minutes daily upon +the vowel sound "O," endeavoring to make it full, deep, and melodious. +For all-round vocal development this practice should be done with varied +force and inflection, and on high as well as low keys of the voice.</p> + +<p>The best remedy for a weak voice is to practice daily upon explosives, +expelling the principal vowel sounds, on various keys, using the +abdominal muscles throughout. Another good exercise is to read aloud +while walking upstairs or uphill. As these exercises are somewhat +extreme, the student is recommended to practice them prudently.</p> + +<p>Correct breathing is fundamental to correct and agreeable speaking. The +breathing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>apparatus should be brought under control by daily practice +upon exercises prescribed in any standard book on elocution. Pure tone +of voice depends upon the ability to convert into tone every particle of +breath used. Aspirated voice, in which some of the breath is allowed to +escape unvocalized, is injurious to the throat, and unpleasant to the +listening ear.</p> + +<p>The speaker, whether in conversation or in public, should try always to +speak with an adequate supply of breath. Deliberate utterance will give +the necessary opportunity to replenish the lungs, so that the speaker +will not suffer from unnecessary fatigue. Needless to say, the habit +should be formed of breathing through the nose when in repose.</p> + +<p>There is a voice of unusual roundness and fulness known as the orotund, +which is indispensable to the public speaker. It is simple, pure tone, +rounded out into greater fulness. It is produced mainly by an increased +resonance of the chest and mouth cavities, and a more vigorous action of +the abdominal muscles. It has the character of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>fulness, but it is not +necessarily a loud tone. It is in no sense artificial, but simply an +enlargement of the natural conversational voice.</p> + +<p>The use of the orotund voice varies according to the intensity of the +thought and feeling being expressed. It is used in language of great +dignity, power, grandeur, and sublimity. It is appropriate in certain +forms of public prayer and Bible reading. It enables the public speaker +to vary from his conversational style. It gives vastly increased scope +and power, by enabling the speaker to bring into play all the resources +of vocal force and intensity.</p> + +<p>Where resonance of voice is lacking, it can be rapidly developed by +means of humming the letter <i>m</i>, with lips closed, and endeavoring to +make the face vibrate. The tone should be kept well forward throughout +the exercise, pressing firmly against the lips and hard palate. Later +the exercise may begin with the humming <i>m</i>, and be developed, while the +lips are opened gradually, into the tone of <i>ah</i>, still aiming to +maintain the original resonance.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>The speaking voice is capable of most wonderful development. There is a +duty devolving upon everyone to cultivate beauty of vocal utterance and +diction. Crudities of speech so commonly in evidence are mainly due to +carelessness and neglect. It is a hopeful sign, however, that greater +attention is now being given to this important subject than heretofore. +Surely there is nothing more important than the development of the +principal instrument by which men communicate with one another. As Story +says:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div>"O, how our organ can speak with its many and wonderful voices!—</div> +<div>Play on the soft lute of love, blow the loud trumpet of war,</div> +<div>Sing with the high sesquialter, or, drawing its full diapason,</div> +<div>Shake all the air with the grand storm of its pedals and stops."</div></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="HOW_TO_TELL_A_STORY" id="HOW_TO_TELL_A_STORY"></a>HOW TO TELL A STORY</h2> + +<p>Someone has wittily said that only those in their anecdotage should tell +stories. De Quincey wanted all story-tellers to be submerged in a +horse-pond, or treated in the same manner as mad dogs. But story-telling +has its legitimate and appropriate use, and if certain rules are +observed may give added charm to conversation and public speaking.</p> + +<p>It requires a fine discrimination to know when to tell a story, and when +not to tell one though it is urging itself to be expressed. Few men have +the rare gift of choosing the right story for the particular occasion. +Many men have no difficulty in telling stories that are insufferably +long, pointless, and uninteresting.</p> + +<p>We have all been victims of a certain type of public speaker who begins +by saying, "Now I don't want to bore you with a long story, but this is +so good, etc.," or "An inci<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>dent occurred at the American Consulate in +Shanghai, which reminds me of an awfully good story, etc." When a +speaker prefaces his remarks with some such sentences as these, we know +we are in for an uncomfortable time.</p> + +<p>As far as possible a story should be new, clever, short, simple, +inoffensive, and appropriate. As such stories are scarce, it is +advisable to set them down, when found, in a special note-book for +convenient reference. It is said that Chauncey M. Depew, one of the most +gifted of after-dinner speakers, was for many years in the habit of +keeping a set of scrap-books in which were preserved stories and other +interesting data clipped from newspapers and magazines. These were so +classified that he could on short notice refresh his mind with ample +material upon almost any general subject.</p> + +<p>Anyone who essays to tell a story should have it clearly in mind. It is +fatal for a speaker to hesitate midway in a story, apologize for not +knowing it better, avow that it was much more humorous when told to him, +and in other ways to announce his shortcom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>ings. If he cannot tell a +story fluently and interestingly, he should first practice it on his own +family—provided they will tolerate it.</p> + +<p>Some stories should be committed to memory, especially where the point +of humor depends upon exact phraseology. In such case, it requires some +training and experience to disguise the memorized effort. A story like +the following, for obvious reasons, should be thoroughly memorized:</p> + +<p>The longest sermon on record occupied three hours and a half. But the +shortest sermon was that of a preacher who spoke for one minute on the +text: "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." He said:</p> + +<p>"I shall divide my discourse into three heads: (1) Man's ingress into +the world; (2) His progress through the world; (3) His egress out of the +world.</p> + +<p>"Firstly, His ingress into the world is naked and bare.</p> + +<p>"Secondly, His progress through the world is trouble and care.</p> + +<p>"Thirdly, His egress out of the world is nobody knows where.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>"To conclude:</p> + +<p>"If we live well here, we shall live well there.</p> + +<p>"I can tell you no more if I preach a whole year.</p> + +<p>"The collection will now be taken up."</p> + +<p>Dialect stories are usually rather difficult, and should not as a +general thing be attempted by beginners. As a matter of fact, few +persons know how to speak such dialects as Irish, Scotch, German, +Cockney, and negro without undue exaggeration. For most occasions it is +well to keep to simple stories couched in plain English.</p> + +<p>A story should be told in simple, conversational style. Concentration +upon the story, and a sincere desire to give pleasure to the hearers, +will keep the speaker free from self-consciousness. Needless to say he +should not be the first to laugh at his own story. Sometimes in telling +a humorous anecdote to an audience a speaker secures the greatest effect +by maintaining an expression of extreme gravity.</p> + +<p>No matter how successful one may be in telling stories, he should avoid +telling too <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>many. A man who is accounted brilliant and entertaining may +become an insufferable bore by continuing to tell stories when the +hearers have become satiated. Of all speakers, the story-teller should +keep his eyes on his entire audience and be alert to detect the +slightest signs of weariness.</p> + +<p>It is superfluous to say that a story should never be told which in any +way might give offence. The speaker may raise a laugh, but lose a +friend. Hence it is that stories about stammerers, red-headed people, +mothers-in-law, and the like, should always be chosen with +discrimination.</p> + +<p>Generally the most effective story is one in which the point of humor is +not disclosed until the very last words, as in the following:</p> + +<p>An old colored man was brought up before a country judge.</p> + +<p>"Jethro," said the judge, "you are accused of stealing General Johnson's +chickens. Have you any witnesses?"</p> + +<p>"No, sah," old Jethro answered, haughtily; "I hab not, sah. I never +steal chickens befo' witnesses."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>This is a similar example, told by Prime Minister Asquith:</p> + +<p>An English professor wrote on the blackboard in his laboratory, +"Professor Blank informs his students that he has this day been +appointed honorary physician to his Majesty, King George."</p> + +<p>During the morning he had some occasion to leave the room, and found on +his return that some student wag had added the words,</p> + +<p>"God save the King!"</p> + +<p>Henry W. Grady was a facile story-teller. One of his best stories was as +follows:</p> + +<p>"There was an old preacher once who told some boys of the Bible lesson +he was going to read in the morning. The boys, finding the place, glued +together the connecting pages. The next morning he read on the bottom of +one page: 'When Noah was one hundred and twenty years old he took unto +himself a wife, who was'—then turning the page—'one hundred and forty +cubits long, forty cubits wide, built of gopherwood, and covered with +pitch inside and out.' He was naturally puzzled at this. He read it +again, verified it, and then said: 'My friends, this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>is the first time +I ever met this in the Bible, but I accept it as an evidence of the +assertion that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.'"</p> + +<p>Personalities based upon sarcasm or invective are always attended with +danger, but good-humored bantering may be used upon occasion with most +happy results. As an instance of this, there is a story of an annual +dinner at which Mr. Choate was set down for the toast, "The Navy," and +Mr. Depew was to respond to "The Army." Mr. Depew began by saying, "It's +well to have a specialist: that's why Choate is here to speak about the +Navy. We met at the wharf once and I did not see him again till we +reached Liverpool. When I asked how he felt he said he thought he would +have enjoyed the trip over if he had had any ocean air. Yes, you want to +hear Choate on the Navy." When it was Mr. Choate's turn to speak, he +said: "I've heard Depew hailed as the greatest after-dinner speaker. If +after-dinner speaking, as I have heard it described and as I believe it +to be, is the art of saying nothing at all, then Mr. Depew is the most +marvelous speaker in the universe."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>The medical profession can be assailed with impunity, since they have +long since grown accustomed to it. There is a story of a young laborer +who, on his way to his day's work, called at the registrar's office to +register his father's death. When the official asked the date of the +event, the son replied, "He ain't dead yet, but he'll be dead before +night, so I thought it would save me another journey if you would put it +down now." "Oh, that won't do at all," said the registrar; "perhaps your +father will live till tomorrow." "Well, I don't think so, sir; the +doctor says as he won't, and he knows what he has given him."</p> + +<p>While stories should be used sparingly, there is probably nothing more +effective before a popular audience than the telling of a story in which +the joke is on the speaker himself. Thus:</p> + +<p>The last time I made a speech, I went next day to the editor of our +local newspaper, and said,</p> + +<p>"I thought your paper was friendly to me?"</p> + +<p>The editor said, "So it is. What's the matter?"</p> + +<p>"Well," I said, "I made a speech last night, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>and you didn't print a +single line of it this morning."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the editor, "what further proof do you want?"</p> + +<p>Many of the best and most effective stories are serious in character. +One that has been used successfully is this: Some gentlemen from the +West were excited and troubled about the commissions or omissions of the +administration. President Lincoln heard them patiently, and then +replied: "Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was in +gold, and you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across the +Niagara River on a rope; would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out +to him—'Blondin, stand up a little straighter—Blondin, stoop a little +more—go a little faster—lean a little more to the north—lean a little +more to the south?' No, you would hold your breath as well as your +tongue, and keep your hands off until he was safe over. The Government +is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in our hands. We are +doing the very best we can. Don't badger us. Keep silence, and we'll get +you safe across."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>Punning is of course out of fashion. The best pun in the English +language is Tom Hood's:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div>"He went and told the sexton,</div> +<div>And the sexton tolled the bell."</div></div> +</div> + +<p>Dr. Johnson said that the pun was the lowest order of wit. Newspapers +formerly indulged in it freely. One editor would say: "We don't care a +straw what Shakespeare said—a rose by any other name would not smell as +wheat." Then another paper would answer: "Such puns are barley +tolerable, they amaize us, they arouse our righteous corn, and they turn +the public taste a-rye."</p> + +<p>But punning, when it is unusually clever and spontaneous, may be +thoroughly enjoyable, as in the following:</p> + +<p>Chief Justice Story attended a public dinner in Boston at which Edward +Everett was present. Desiring to pay a delicate compliment to the +latter, the learned judge proposed as a volunteer toast:</p> + +<p>"Fame follows merit where Everett goes."</p> + +<p>The brilliant scholar arose and responded:</p> + +<p>"To whatever heights judicial learning may <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>attain in this country, it +will never get above one Story."</p> + +<p>Story-telling may attain the character of a disease, in one who has a +retentive memory and a voluble vocabulary. The form of humor known as +repartee, however, is one that requires rare discrimination. It should +be used sparingly, and not at all if it is likely to give offence.</p> + +<p>Beau Brummell was guilty in this respect, when he was once asked by a +lady if he would "take a cup of tea." "Thank you," said he, "I never +<i>take</i> anything but physic." "I beg your pardon," said the hostess, "you +also take liberties."</p> + +<p>There is a story that Henry Luttrell had sat long in the Irish +Parliament, but no one knew his precise age. Lady Holland, without +regard to considerations of courtesy, one day said to him point-blank, +"Now, we are all dying to know how old you are. Just tell me." Luttrell +answered very gravely, "It is an odd question, but as you, Lady Holland, +ask it, I don't mind telling you. If I live till next year, I shall +be—devilish old!"</p> + +<p>The art of story-telling is not taught spe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>cifically, hence there are +comparatively few people who can tell a story without violating some of +the rules which experience recommends. But the right use of +story-telling should be encouraged as an ornament of conversation, and a +valuable auxiliary to effective public address. Many people might excel +as story-tellers if they would devote a little time to suggestions such +as are offered here. It is not a difficult art, but like every other +subject requires study and application.</p> + +<p>The best counsel for public speakers in the matter of story-telling may +be summed up as follows: Know your story thoroughly; test your story by +telling it to some one in advance; adapt your story to the special +circumstances; be concise, omitting non-essentials; have ready more +stories than you intend to use, because if you should speak at the end +of the list you may find that your best story has been told by a +previous speaker; and, finally, always stop when you have made a hit.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="TALKING_IN_SALESMANSHIP" id="TALKING_IN_SALESMANSHIP"></a>TALKING IN SALESMANSHIP</h2> + + +<p>The salesman depends for his success primarily upon his talking ability. +Obviously, what he offers for sale must have intrinsic merit, and he +should possess a thorough knowledge of his wares. But in order to secure +the best results from his efforts, he must know how to talk well.</p> + +<p>All the general requirements for good conversation apply equally to the +needs of the salesman. He should have a pleasant speaking voice and an +agreeable manner, a vocabulary of useful and appropriate words, and the +ability to put things clearly and convincingly.</p> + +<p>It should be a golden rule of the salesman never to argue with the +customer. He may explain and reason, and use all the persuasive +phraseology at his command, but he must not permit himself for a single +instant to engage in controversy. To argue is fatal to successful +salesmanship.</p> + +<p>There is nothing that can be substituted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>for a winning personality in +the salesman. What constitutes such a personality? Chiefly a good voice, +affability of manner, straightforward speech, manly bearing, the desire +to serve and please, proper attire, and cleanliness of person. These +qualifications come within the reach of anyone who aspires to success in +salesmanship.</p> + +<p>Every salesman has unexpected problems to solve. A sensitive or touchy +customer may become unreasonably angry or offended. What is the salesman +to do? He should here be particularly on his guard not to show the +slightest resentment. Though he may be wholly guiltless, he cannot +afford to contradict the customer, nor to challenge him to a vocal duel. +If he talks at all, he should talk quietly and reasonably, and always +with the object of bringing the customer around to a favorable point of +view.</p> + +<p>The successful salesman must have tact and discrimination. He must know +when and how to check in himself the word or phrase which is trying to +force its way out into expression, but which would in the end prove +inadvisable. He must train himself to choose <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>quickly the right and best +course under difficult circumstances.</p> + +<p>The salesman should give his undivided attention to the customer. If the +salesman is speaking, he should speak clearly, directly, concisely, and +understandingly; if he is listening, he should listen interestedly and +thoroughly, with all his powers alive and receptive.</p> + +<p>The salesman should know when to speak and when to be silent. Some +customers wish to be told much, others prefer to think for themselves. +He is a wise salesman who knows when to be mute. Loquacity has often +killed what otherwise might have been a good sale.</p> + +<p>There is a certain tone of voice which the salesman should aim to +acquire. It is neither high nor low in pitch. It is agreeable to the +listening ear, and is almost sufficient in itself to win the favorable +attention of the prospective buyer. Every salesman should cultivate a +musical and well-modulated voice as one of the chief assets in +salesmanship.</p> + +<p>The salesman should cultivate dignity of speech and manner. People +generally dislike familiarity, joking, and horse-play. It is well to +assume that the customer is serious-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>minded, that he means business and +nothing else. Needless to say, the telling of long stories, or personal +experiences, has no legitimate place in the business of salesmanship.</p> + +<p>There is a proper time and place for short story-telling. Like +everything else it is all right in its appropriate setting. Lincoln used +it to advantage, but once said: "I believe I have the popular reputation +of being a story-teller, but I do not deserve the name in its general +sense; for it is not the story itself, but its purpose, or effect, that +interests me. I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others, or +a laborious explanation on my part, by a short story that illustrates my +point of view."</p> + +<p>The salesman should resolve not to lose his poise and agreeableness +under any circumstances. Irritability never attracts business. To say +the right thing in the right place is desirable, but it is quite as +important, though more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the +moment of temptation.</p> + +<p>It is not the legitimate business of the salesman to force upon a +customer what is really not wanted, but many times the customer <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>does +not know what he wants nor what he might be able to use. Hence the +competent salesman should know how to influence the customer towards a +favorable decision, using all honorable and approved means to bring +about such a result.</p> + +<p>The customer's unfavorable answer is not to be accepted always as final. +He may not clearly understand the merits or uses of the article offered. +He may need the explanations and suggestions of the salesman in order to +reach a right conclusion. Here it is that the salesman may fulfill one +of his most important duties.</p> + +<p>There is a wide difference between self-reliance and obtrusiveness. +Every man should have a full degree of self-confidence. It is needed in +every walk in life. But the salesman, more than most men, must have an +exceptional degree of faith in himself and in what he has to sell.</p> + +<p>This self-confidence, however, is a very different thing from boldness +or obtrusiveness. Courtesy and considerateness are cardinal qualities of +the well-equipped salesman, but boastfulness, glibness, egotism, +loudness, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>self-assertion, are as distasteful as they are +undesirable.</p> + +<p>The eloquence and persuasiveness of silence is nowhere better +exemplified than in the art of salesmanship. One man says much, and +sells little; another says little, and sells much. The reason for the +superior success of one over the other is mainly due to the fact that he +knows best how to present the merits of what he offers for sale, knows +how to say it concisely and effectively, knows how to ingratiate +himself, largely through his personality, into the good graces of the +prospective buyer, and knows when to stop talking.</p> + +<p>Modern salesmanship is based primarily upon common sense. A man with +brains, though possibly lacking in other desirable qualifications, may +easily outdistance the more experienced salesman. It is a valuable thing +in any man to be able to think accurately, reason deeply, and size up a +situation promptly.</p> + +<p>The salesman should at all times be on his best talking behavior. It is +not advisable for him to have two standards of speech, and to use an +inferior one excepting for special occasions. He should cultivate as a +regular daily <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>habit discrimination in the use of voice, enunciation, +expression, and language. This should be the constant aim not only of +the salesman, but of every man ambitious to achieve success and +distinction in the world.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="MEN_AND_MANNERISMS" id="MEN_AND_MANNERISMS"></a>MEN AND MANNERISMS</h2> + + +<p>There is a story of a politician who had acquired a mannerism of +fingering a button on his coat while talking to an audience. On one +occasion some friends surreptitiously cut the particular button off, and +the result was that the speaker when he stood up to address the audience +lost the thread of his discourse.</p> + +<p>Gladstone had a mannerism of striking the palm of his left hand with the +clenched fist of his other hand, so that often the emphatic word was +lost in the noise of percussion. A common habit of the distinguished +statesman was to reach out his right hand at full arm's length, and then +to bend it back at the elbow and lightly scratch the top of his head +with his thumb-nail.</p> + +<p>Balfour, while speaking, used to take hold of the lapels of his coat by +both hands as if he were in mortal fear of running away before he had +finished.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>Goshen, at the beginning of a speech, would sound his chest and sides +with his hands, and apparently finding that his ribs were in good order, +would proceed to wash his hands with invisible soap.</p> + +<p>The strange thing about mannerisms is that the speakers are usually +unconscious of them, and would be the first to condemn them in others. +The remedy for such defects lies in thorough and severe self-examination +and self-criticism. However eminent a speaker may be with objectionable +mannerisms, he would be still greater without them.</p> + +<p>Every public speaker has certain characteristics of voice and manner +that distinguish him from other men. In so far as this individuality +gives increased power and effectiveness to the speaking style, it is +desirable and should be encouraged. When, however, it is carried to +excess, or in any sense offends good taste, it is merely mannerism, and +should be discouraged.</p> + +<p>There is an objectionable mannerism of the voice, known as "pulpit +tone," that has come to be associated with some preachers. It takes +various forms, such as an unduly ele<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>vated key, a drawling monotone, a +sudden transition from one extreme of pitch to another, or a tone of +condescension. It is also heard in a plaintive minor inflection, +imparting a quality of extreme sadness to a speaker's style. These are +all departures from the natural, earnest, sincere, and direct delivery +that belongs to the high office of preaching.</p> + +<p>Still another undesirable mannerism of the voice is that of giving a +rising inflection at the close of successive sentences that are +obviously complete. Here the speaker's thought is left suspended in the +air, the hearer feels a sense of disappointment or doubt, and possibly +the entire meaning is perverted. Thoughts delivered in such a manner, +unless they distinctly require a rising inflection, lack the emphasis +and force of persuasive speaking.</p> + +<p>Artificiality, affectation, pomposity, mouthing, undue vehemence, +monotony, intoning, and everything that detracts from the simplicity and +genuine fervor of the speech should be avoided. Too much emphasis may +drive a thought beyond the mark, and a conscious determination to make a +"great speech" <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>may keep the speaker in a state of anxiety throughout +its entire delivery.</p> + +<p>A clear and correct enunciation is essential, but it should not be +pedantic, nor should it attract attention to itself. "What you are +prevents me from hearing what you say," might also be applied to the +manner of the speaker. Exaggerated opening of the mouth, audible +smacking of the lips, holding tenaciously to final consonants, prolonged +hissing of sibilants, are all to be condemned. Hesitation, stumbling +over difficult combinations, obscuring final syllables, coalescing the +last sound of one word with the first sound of the following word, are +inexcusable in a trained speaker.</p> + +<p>When the same modulation of the voice is repeated too often, it becomes +a mannerism, a kind of monotony of variety. It reminds one of a +street-piano set to but one tune, and is quite as distressing to a +sensitive ear. This is not the style that is expected from a public man.</p> + +<p>What should the speaker do with his hands? Do nothing with them unless +they are specifically needed for the more complete expression <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>of a +thought. Let them drop at the sides in their natural relaxed position, +ready for instant use. To press the fist in the hollow of the back in +order to "support" the speaker, to clutch the lapels of the coat, to +slap the hands audibly together, to place the hands on the hips in the +attitude of "vulgar ease," to put the hands into the pockets, to wring +the hands as if "washing them with invisible soap," or to violently +pound the pulpit—these belong to the list of undesirable mannerisms.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of a speech it may give the appearance of ease to place +the hands behind the back, but this position lacks force and action and +should not be long sustained. To cross the arms upon the desk is to put +them out of commission for the time being. Leaning or lounging of any +kind, bending at the knee, or other evidence of weakness or weariness, +may belong to the repose of the easy chair, but are hardly appropriate +in a wide-awake speaker seeking to convince men.</p> + +<p>Rocking the body to and fro, rising on the toes to emphasize, crouching, +stamping the foot, springing from side to side, over-acting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>and +impersonation, and violence and extravagance of every description may +well be omitted in public speaking. Beware of extremes. Avoid a +statue-like attitude on the one hand and a constant restlessness on the +other. Dignity is desirable, but one should not forget the words of the +Reverend Sam Jones, "There is nothing more dignified than a corpse!"</p> + +<p>Gestures that are too frequent and alike soon lose their significance. +If they are attempted at all they should be varied and complete, +suggesting freedom and spontaneity. When only half made they are likely +to call attention to the discrepancy, and to this extent will obscure +rather than help the thought. The continuous use of gesture is +displeasing to the eye, and gives the impression of lack of poise.</p> + +<p>The young speaker particularly should be warned not to imitate the +speaking style of others. What is perfectly natural to one may appear +ridiculous in another. Cardinal Newman spoke with extreme +deliberateness, enunciating every syllable with care and precision; +Phillips Brooks sent forth an avalanche of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>words at the rate of two +hundred a minute; but it would be dangerous for the average speaker to +emulate either of these examples.</p> + +<p>There is a peculiarity in a certain type of speaking, which, while not +strictly a mannerism, is detrimental to the highest effect. It manifests +itself in physical weakness. The speaker is uniformly tired, and his +speaking has a half-hearted tone. The lifelessness in voice and manner +communicates itself to the audience, and prevents all possibility of +deep and enduring impression. Joseph Parker said that when Sunday came +he felt like a racehorse, and could hardly wait for the time to come for +him to go into the pulpit. He longed to speak.</p> + +<p>The well-equipped speaker is one who has a superior culture of voice and +body. All the instruments of expression must be made his obedient +servants, but as master of them he should see to it that they perform +their work naturally and spontaneously. He should be able while speaking +to abandon himself wholly to his subject, confident that as a result of +conscientious training his delivery may be left largely to take care of +itself.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="HOW_TO_SPEAK_IN_PUBLIC" id="HOW_TO_SPEAK_IN_PUBLIC"></a>HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC</h2> + + +<p>There are two essential qualifications for making an effective public +speech.</p> + +<p>First, having something worth-while to say.</p> + +<p>Second, knowing how to say it.</p> + +<p>The first qualification implies a judicious choice of subject and the +most thorough preparation. It means that the speaker has carefully +gathered together the best available material, and has so familiarized +himself with his subject that he knows more about it than anyone else in +his audience.</p> + +<p>It is in this requirement of thorough preparation that many public +speakers are deficient. They do not realize the need for this +painstaking preliminary work, and hence they frequently stand before an +audience with little information of value to impart to their hearers. +Their poverty of thought can not be long disguised in flamboyant +rhetoric and sesquipedalian words, and hence they fail to carry +conviction to serious-minded men.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>I would remind you that having something worth-while to say involves +more than thorough preparation of the particular subject which the +speaker is to present to an audience. The speaker should have a +well-furnished mind. You have had the experience of listening to a +public speaker who commanded your closest attention not only because of +what he said, but also because of what he was. He inspired confidence in +you because of his personality and reserve power.</p> + +<p>It is often what a man has within himself, rather than what he actually +expresses, that carries greatest conviction to your mind. As you listen +to such a man speak, you feel that he is worthy of your confidence +because he draws upon broad experience and knowledge. He speaks out of +the fulness of a well-furnished mind.</p> + +<p>It is important, therefore, that there should be mental culture in a +broad way,—sound judgment, a sense of proportion and perspective, a +fund of useful ideas, facts, arguments, and illustrations, and a large +stock of common sense.</p> + +<p>Every man who essays to speak in public <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>should cultivate a judicial +mind, or the habit of weighing and estimating facts and arguments. Such +a mind is supposedly free from prejudice and seeks the truth at any +cost. Such a mind does not want this or that to be necessarily true, but +wants to recognize as true only that which is true.</p> + +<p>In these days of multiplied publications and books of all kinds, when +printed matter of every description is soliciting our time and +attention, it is particularly desirable that we should cultivate a +discriminating taste in our choice of books. The highest purpose of +reading is for the acquisition of useful knowledge and personal culture, +and we should keep these two aims constantly before us. It is noteworthy +that men who have achieved enduring greatness in the world have always +had a good book at their ready command.</p> + +<p>If you are ever in doubt about the choice of books, you would do well to +enlist the services of a literary friend, or ask the advice of a local +librarian. But in any case, be on your guard against books and other +publications of commonplace type, which can contribute nothing to the +enrichment of your mind and life.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>It is desirable that you should own the books you read. The sense of +personal possession will give an interest and pleasure to your reading +which it would not otherwise have, and moreover you can freely mark such +books with your pencil for subsequent reference. It is also well to have +a note-book conveniently ready in which to jot down useful ideas as they +occur to you.</p> + +<p>Here we come to the use of the pen. All the great orators of the world +have been prolific writers in the sense of writing out their thoughts. +It is the only certain way to clarify your thought, to test it in +advance of verbal expression and to examine it critically. The public +speaker should write much in order to form a clear and flowing English +style. It is surprising how many of our thoughts which appear to us +clear and satisfactory, assume a peculiar vagueness when we attempt to +set them down definitely in writing.</p> + +<p>The use of the pen tends to give clearness and conciseness to the +speaker's style. It makes him careful and accurate. It aids, too, in +fixing the ideas of his speech in his mind, so that at the moment of +addressing an audi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>ence they will respond most readily to his needs.</p> + +<p>A well-furnished mind is like a well-furnished house. In furnishing a +house we do not fill it up with miscellaneous furniture, bric-a-brac and +antiques, gathered promiscuously, but we plan everything with a view to +harmony, beauty, and utility. We furnish a particular room in a tone +that will be restful and pleasing to the occupant. We choose every piece +of furniture, rug, picture, and drapery with a distinct purpose in view +of what the total effect will be.</p> + +<p>So with a well-furnished mind. We must choose the kind of material we +intend to keep there. It should be chosen with a view to its beauty, +power, and usefulness. We want no rubbish there. We want the best +material available. Hence the vital importance of going to the right +sources for the furniture of our mind, to the great books of the world, +to living authorities, to nature, to music, to art, to the best wherever +it may be found.</p> + +<p>The second essential of an effective public speech is knowing how to say +it. This implies a thorough training in the technique of speech. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>There +should be a well-cultivated voice, of adequate volume, brilliancy, and +carrying quality. There should be ample training in articulation, +pronunciation, expression, and gesture. These so-called mechanics should +be developed until they become an unconscious part of the speaker's +style.</p> + +<p>Your best opportunity for practice is in your everyday conversation. +There you are constantly making speeches on a small scale. Public +speaking of the best modern type is simply elevated conversation. I do +not mean elevated in pitch, but in the sense of being launched upon a +higher level of thought and with greater intensity than is usually +called for by ordinary conversation.</p> + +<p>In conversation you have your best opportunity for developing your +public speaking style. Indeed, you are there, despite yourself, forming +habits which will disclose themselves in your public speaking. As you +speak in your daily conversation you will largely speak when you stand +before an audience.</p> + +<p>You will therefore see the importance of care in your daily speech. +There should be a fastidious choice of words, care in pronuncia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>tion and +articulation, and the mouth well opened so that the words may come out +wholly through the mouth and not partly through the nose. Culture of +conversation is to be recommended for its own sake, since everyone must +speak in private if not in public.</p> + +<p>One of the best plans for self-culture in speaking is to read aloud for +a few minutes every day from a book of well-selected speeches. There are +numerous compilations of the kind admirably suited to this purpose. The +important thing here is to read in speaking style, not in what is termed +reading style as usually taught in schools. When you practise in this +way it would be well to imagine an audience before you and to render the +speech as if emanating from your own mind. The student of public +speaking will wisely guard himself against acquiring an artificial style +or other mannerism.</p> + +<p>Another good plan is to make short mental speeches while walking. When +possible it is well to choose a country road for this purpose, or a +park, or some other place where one's mind is not likely to be often +diverted by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>passers-by. Lord Dufferin, the eminent British orator, was +accustomed to prepare most of his speeches while riding on horseback. +The habit of forming mental speeches is a great aid to actual +speech-making, as it tends to give the mind a power and an adaptability +which it would not otherwise have.</p> + +<p>The painter, the musician, the sculptor, the architect, and other +craftsmen search out models for study and inspiration. The public +speaker should do likewise, and history shows that the great orators of +the world have followed this practise. You can not do better than take +as your model the greatest short speech in all history, the Gettysburg +Address.</p> + +<p>An authority on English style has critically examined this speech and +acknowledges that he cannot suggest a single change in it which would +add to its power and perfection.</p> + +<p>You recall the circumstances under which it was written. On the morning +of November 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln was travelling from Washington to +take part next day in the consecration of the national cemetery at +Gettysburg. He wrote his speech on a scrap of wrapping-paper, carefully +fitting word to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>word, changing and correcting it in minutest detail as +best he could until it was finished.</p> + +<p>The next day after the speech had been delivered, Edward Everett, the +trained and polished orator, said that he would have been content to +have made in his oration of two hours the impression which Lincoln had +made in that many minutes.</p> + +<p>It will repay you to study this speech closely and to wrest from it its +innermost secrets of power and effectiveness. The greatest underlying +quality of this speech is its rare simplicity—simplicity of thought, +simplicity of language, simplicity of purpose, and shining through it +all, the simplicity of the great emancipator himself.</p> + +<p>This simplicity is one of the great distinguishing qualities of +effective public speaking. It is characteristic of all true art. It is +subtle and difficult to define, but Fénelon gives a definition that will +aid us when he says, "Simplicity is an uprightness of soul that has no +reference to self." It is another word for unselfishness.</p> + +<p>In these days of self-exploitation and self-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>aggrandizement, how +refreshing it is to meet a man of true simplicity. We are won by his +unaffected manner, his gentleness of argument, his ingratiating tones of +voice, his freedom from prejudice and passion. Such a man wins us almost +wholly by the power of his simplicity.</p> + +<p>This supreme quality is noticeable in men who are said to have come to +themselves. They have tasted and tested life, they have learned +proportion and perspective, they have appraised things at their real +value, and now they carry themselves in poise and power and confidence. +They have found themselves in a high and true sense, and they have come +to be known as men of simplicity.</p> + +<p>Simplicity is not to be confounded with weakness or ignorance. It comes +through long education. It does not mean the trite, or the commonplace, +or the obvious. It is a strong and sturdy quality, is this simplicity of +which I am speaking, and nothing else will atone for lack of it in the +public speaker.</p> + +<p>Longfellow calls it the supreme excellence, since it is the quality +which above all others brings serenity to the soul and makes life +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>really worth living. Every man should earnestly seek to cultivate this +great quality as essential to noble character.</p> + +<p>This speech is conspicuous for another indispensable quality for +effective public speaking,—the quality of sincerity. It grows largely +out of simplicity and is the product of integrity of mind and heart. Men +recognize it quickly, though they cannot easily tell whence it comes. We +find it highly developed in great leaders in business and professional +life. There has never been a really great public speaker who was not +preeminently a sincere man.</p> + +<p>Beecher said, "Let no man who is a sneak try to be an orator." Such a +man can not be. He will shortly be found out. The world's ultimate +estimate of a man is not far wrong.</p> + +<p>A politician of much promise was addressing a distinguished audience in +Washington. The Opera House was crowded to the doors to hear him and +apparently he was making a good impression upon all his hearers. But +suddenly, at the very climax of his speech, while upwards of two +thousand eyes were rivetted upon him, he was seen to wink at a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>personal +friend of his sitting in a nearby box, and at that instant his future +political prospects were shattered as a vase struck by lightning. In +that single instant of insincerity he was appraised by that +discriminating audience and his doom was sealed.</p> + +<p>Still another great quality in the Gettysburg speech is its directness. +The speaker had a clearly-defined purpose in view. He knew what he +wanted to say, and he proceeded to say it—no more, and no less.</p> + +<p>There was no straying away into by-paths, no padding of words to make up +for shortage of ideas, no superfluous and big-sounding phrases, no empty +rhetoric or glittering generalities.</p> + +<p>How many speakers there are who aim at nothing and hit it. How many +speakers there are who are on their way but do not know whither.</p> + +<p>If this directness of quality were applied to talking in business, in +committee meetings, in telephone conversations, in public speaking, it +would save annually in this country millions of words and incalculable +time and energy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>You will note that this speech has the rare quality of conciseness. We +have an illustration here of how much a man can say in about 265 words +and in the short space of two minutes, if he knows precisely what he +wants to say.</p> + +<p>It is well to bear in mind that although this speech was scribbled off +with seeming ease, Lincoln owed his ability to do it to a long and +painstaking study of words and English style.</p> + +<p>He was a profound student of the dictionary. He steeped himself in +words. He scrutinized words, he studied words, he made himself a master +of words.</p> + +<p>This is a valuable habit for every man to form,—to study words +regularly and earnestly, and to add consciously to his working +vocabulary a few words daily—so in the course of a year such a man will +acquire a large and varied stock of words which will do his instant +bidding.</p> + +<p>The conclusion is a vital part of a speech. It is a place of peril to +many a public speaker. Countless speeches have been ruined by a bad +conclusion.</p> + +<p>The most important thing here is that having decided beforehand upon the +particular <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>ideas or message with which you intend to conclude your +speech, not to let any influence lead you away from this preconceived +purpose.</p> + +<p>Some speakers are about to conclude effectively but are unwilling to +omit anything which they have planned to give in their speech, and so +continue in an endeavor to recall every item. At last such a speech has +a loose and straggling ending.</p> + +<p>The words of the conclusion need not be memorized, but the ideas should +be definitely outlined in the mind and fixed in the memory, not as +words, but as ideas.</p> + +<p>The knowledge that you can turn at will to these definite ideas, and so +bring your speech to a close, will confer upon you a degree of +self-confidence which will be of immense service to you.</p> + +<p>You should ever bear in mind this golden rule for the conclusion of your +speech: When you have finished what you have of importance to say, do +not be tempted to wander off into by-paths, or to tell an additional +story, or to say "and one word more," but having finished your speech, +stop on the instant and sit down.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="PRACTICAL_HINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS" id="PRACTICAL_HINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS"></a>PRACTICAL HINTS FOR SPEAKERS</h2> + + +<p>Cultivate as the most desirable thoughts those which are definite, +clear, deep, logical, profound, strong, precise, impressive, original, +significant, explicit, luminous, positive, suggestive, comprehensive, +and practical. Resolutely avoid all thoughts which are uncertain, +recondite, obscure, immature, unimportant, shallow, weak, visionary, +absurd, vague, extravagant, indefinite, or impractical.</p> + +<p>In your choice and use of words give preference to those which are +definite, simple, real, significant, forcible, expressive, adequate, +musical, varied, and copious. Avoid those which are foreign, slangy, +obsolete, unusual, extravagant, technical, long, colloquial, or +commonplace.</p> + +<p>The most desirable qualities in the use of English are the simple, +plain, exact, lucid, concise, trenchant, vigorous, impressive, lively, +figurative, polished, graceful, fluent, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>rhythmical, copious, elevated, +flexible, smooth, dignified, terse, epigrammatic, felicitous, +euphonious, elegant, and lofty. Undesirable qualities are the diffuse, +verbose, redundant, inflated, prolix, ambiguous, feeble, monotonous, +loose, slip-shod, dry, flowery, pedantic, pompous, rhetorical, +grandiloquent, artificial, formal, ornate, halting, ponderous, +ungrammatical, vague, and obscure.</p> + +<p>The qualities you should develop in your speaking voice are the pure, +deep, round, flexible, resonant, musical, clear, sympathetic, smooth, +sonorous, powerful, silvery, melodious, full, strong, natural, mellow, +magnetic, expressive, carrying, and responsive. Endeavor to keep your +voice free from such undesirable qualities as the harsh, breathy, sharp, +rough, rigid, throaty, guttural, thin, shrill, nasal, unmusical, +discordant, muffled, explosive, strained, inaudible, hollow, strident, +sepulchral, and tremulous.</p> + +<p>Your articulation should be clear, distinct, and correct. Avoid +carelessness, lifelessness, mumbling, weakness, and exaggeration.</p> + +<p>Your pronunciation should be clear-cut and accurate. Avoid mouthing, +lisping, hesita<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>tion, stammering, pedantry, omission of syllables, and +suppression of final consonants.</p> + +<p>Your delivery in public speaking should be simple, sincere, natural, +varied, magnetic, earnest, forceful, attractive, energetic, animated, +sympathetic, authoritative, dignified, direct, impressive, vivid, +convincing, persuasive, zealous, enthusiastic, and inspiring. Avoid that +which is timid, familiar, violent, cold, indifferent, unreal, +artificial, dull, sing-song, hesitating, feeble, unconvincing, +apathetic, monotonous, pompous, formal, arbitrary, flippant, +ostentatious, drawling, or languid.</p> + +<p>Your gesture should be graceful, appropriate, free, forceful, and +natural. Avoid all gesture which is unmeaning, angular, abrupt, +constrained, stilted, or amateurish.</p> + +<p>Your facial expression should be varied, appropriate, pleasing, and +impassioned. Avoid the unpleasant, immobile, and unvaried.</p> + +<p>Let your standing position be manly, erect, easy, forceful, and +impressive. Avoid that which is weak, shifting, stiff, inactive, and +ungainly.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_DRAMATIC_ELEMENT_IN_SPEAKING" id="THE_DRAMATIC_ELEMENT_IN_SPEAKING"></a>THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SPEAKING</h2> + + +<p>There is a well-defined prejudice against the importation of anything +"theatrical" into the pulpit. The art of the actor is fundamentally +different from the work of the preacher. At best the actor but +represents, imitates, pretends, acts. The actor seems; the preacher is.</p> + +<p>It is to be feared, however, that this prejudice has narrowed many +preachers down to a pulpit style almost devoid of warmth and action. In +their endeavor to avoid the dramatic and sensational, they have refined +and subdued many of their most natural and effective means of +expression. The function of preaching is not only to impart, but to +persuade; and persuasion demands something more than an easy +conversational style, an intellectual statement of facts, or the reading +of a written message. The speaker must show in face, in eye, in arm, in +the whole <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>animated man, that he, himself, is moved, before he can hope +successfully to persuade and inspire others.</p> + +<p>The modified movements of ordinary conversation do not fulfil all the +requirements of the preacher. These are necessary and adequate for the +groundwork of the sermon, but for the supreme heights of passionate +appeal, when the soul of the preacher would, as it were, leap from its +body in the endeavor to reach men, there must be intensified life and +action—dramatic action.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to conceive of a greater tribute to a public advocate +than that paid to Wendell Phillips by George William Curtis:</p> + +<p>"The divine energy of his conviction utterly possest him, and his</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div class='i2'>'Pure and eloquent blood</div> +<div>Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought,</div> +<div>That one might almost say his body thought.'"</div></div> +</div> + +<p>Poise is power, and reserve and repression are parts of the dignified +office of the preacher, but carried too far may degenerate into weak and +unproductive effort. Perfection of English style, rhetorical floridness, +and profundity of thought will never wholly make up for lack <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>of +appropriate action in the work of persuading men.</p> + +<p>The power of action alone is vividly illustrated in the touch of the +finger to the lips to invoke silence, or the pointing to the door to +command one to leave the room. The preacher might often find it +profitable to stand before a mirror and deliver his sermon exclusively +in pantomime to test its power and efficacy.</p> + +<p>The body must be disciplined and cultivated as assiduously as the other +instruments of the speaker. There is eloquence of attitude and action no +less than eloquence of voice and feeling. A preacher drawing himself up +to his full height, with a significant gesture of the head, or with +flashing eye pointing the finger of warning at his hearers, may rouse +them from indifference when all other means fail.</p> + +<p>Sixty years ago the Reverend William Russell emphasized the importance +of visible expression. He said of the preacher:</p> + +<p>"His outward manner, in attitude and action, will be as various as his +voice: he will evince the inspiration of appropriate feeling <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>in the +very posture of his frame; in uttering the language of adoration, the +slow-moving, uplifted hand will bespeak the awe and solemnity which +pervade his soul; in addressing his fellow men in the spirit of an +ambassador of Christ, the gentle yet earnest spirit of persuasive action +will be evinced in the pleading hand and aspect; he will know, also, how +to pass to the stern and authoritative mien of the reproved of sin; he +will, on due occasions, indicate, in his kindling look, the rousing +gesture, the mood of him who is empowered and commanded to summon forth +all the energies of the human soul; his subdued and chastened address +will carry the sympathy of his spirit into the bosom of the mourner; his +moistening eye and his gentle action will manifest his tenderness for +the suffering: his whole soul will, in a word, become legible in his +features, in his attitude, in the expressive eloquence of his hand; his +whole style will be felt to be that of heart communing with heart."</p> + +<p>Dramatic action gives picturesqueness to the spoken word. It makes +things vivid to slow imaginations, and by contrast invests <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>the +speaker's message with new meaning and vitality. It discloses, too, the +speaker's sympathy and identification with his subject. His thought and +feeling, communicating themselves to voice and face, to hand and arm, to +posture and walk, satisfy and impress the hearer by a sense of adequacy +and completeness.</p> + +<p>Henry Ward Beecher, a conspicuous example of the dramatic style in +preaching, was drilled for three years, while at college, in +voice-culture, gesture, and action. His daily practise in the woods, +during which he exploded all the vowels from the bottom to the top of +his voice, gave him not only a wonderfully responsive and flexible +instrument, but a freedom of bodily movement that made him one of the +most vigorous and virile of American preachers. He was in the highest +sense a persuasive pulpit orator.</p> + +<p>A sensible preacher will avoid the grotesque and the extremes of mere +animal vivacity. Incessant gesture and action, undue emphasizing with +hand and head, and all suggestion of self-sufficiency in attitude or +manner should be guarded against. All the various instru<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>ments of +expression should be made ready and responsive for immediate use, but +are to be employed with that taste and tact that characterize the +well-balanced man. Too much action and long-continued emotional effort +lose force, and unless the law of action and reaction is applied to the +preaching of the sermon the attention of the congregation may snap and +the desired effect be utterly destroyed.</p> + +<p>The face as the mirror of the emotions is an important part of +expression. The lips will betray determination, grief, sympathy, +affection, or other feeling on the part of the speaker. The eyes, the +most direct medium of psychic power, will flash in indignation, glisten +in joy, or grow dim in sorrow. The brow will be elevated in surprise, or +lowered in determination and perplexity.</p> + +<p>The effectiveness of the whisper in preaching should not be overlooked. +If discreetly used it may serve to impress the hearer with the +profundity and seriousness of the preacher's message, or to arrest and +bring back to the point of contact the wandering minds of a +congregation.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>To acquire emotional power and dramatic action the preacher should +study the great dramatists. He should read them aloud with appropriate +voice and movement. He should study children, and men, and nature. He +should, perhaps, see the best actors, not to copy them, but in order +that they may stimulate his taste and imagination.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CONVERSATION_AND_PUBLIC_SPEAKING" id="CONVERSATION_AND_PUBLIC_SPEAKING"></a>CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING</h2> + + +<p>The ideal style of public speaking is, with very little modification, +the ideal of good conversation. The practical age in which we live +demands a colloquial rather than an oratorical style of public speaking. +A man who has something to say in conversation usually has little +difficulty in saying it. If he presents the facts he will speak +convincingly; if he is deeply in earnest he will speak persuasively; and +if he be an educated man his speech will have the unmistakable marks of +culture and refinement.</p> + +<p>In the conversation of well-bred children we find the most interesting +and helpful illustrations of unaffected speech. The exquisite modulation +of the voice, the unstudied correctness of emphasis, and the sincerity +and depth of feeling might well serve as a model for older speakers.</p> + +<p>This study of conversation, both our own and that of others, offers +daily opportunity <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>for improvement in accuracy and fluency of speech, of +fitting words to the mouth as well as to the thought, and of forming +habits that will unconsciously disclose themselves in the larger work of +public speaking. Care in conversation will guard the public speaker from +inflated and unnatural tones, and restrain him from transgressing the +laws of nature even in those parts of his speech demanding lofty and +intensified treatment.</p> + +<p>Some easily remembered suggestions regarding conversation are these:</p> + +<p class='tbrk'>1. Pronounce your words distinctly and accurately, like "newly made +coins" from the mint, but without pedantry.</p> + +<p>2. Upon no occasion allow yourself to indulge in careless or incorrect +speech.</p> + +<p>3. Open the mouth well in conversation. Much indistinct speech is due to +speaking through half-closed teeth.</p> + +<p>4. Closely observe your conversation and that of others, to detect +faults and to improve your speaking-style.</p> + +<p>5. Vary your voice to suit the variety of your thought. A well-modulated +voice de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>mands appropriate changes of pitch, force, perspective, and +feeling.</p> + +<p>6. Avoid loud talking.</p> + +<p>7. Take care of the consonants and the vowels will take care of +themselves.</p> + +<p>8. Cultivate the music of the conversational tones.</p> + +<p>9. Favor the low pitches of your voice.</p> + +<p>10. Remember that the purpose of conscious practise and observation in +the matter of conversation is to lead ultimately to unconscious +performance.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'>The value of correct conversation as a means to effective public +speaking is realized by few men. Beecher said: "How much squandering +there is of the voice!" meaning that this golden opportunity for +improvement was generally disregarded. It is not too much to say, +however, that if the sweet and gentle expression of the mother, the +strong and affectionate tones of the father, and the spontaneous musical +notes of the children, as heard in daily conversation, could be united +in the voice of the minister and brought to the preaching of his sermon, +there would be little <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>doubt of its magical and enduring effect upon the +hearts of men. The wooing tone of the lover is what the preacher needs +in his pulpit style rather than the voice of declamation and +denunciation.</p> + +<p>The study of conversation serves to guide the public speaker not only in +the free and natural use of his voice, enunciation, and expression, but +also in his use of language. He will here learn to choose the simple +word instead of the complex, the short sentence instead of the involved, +the concrete illustration instead of the abstract. He will acquire ease, +spontaneity, simplicity, and directness, and when he rises to speak to +men he will employ tones and words best known and understood by them.</p> + +<p>A preacher may spend too much time in study and solitude. If he does he +will soon realize a distinct loss through lack of social intercourse +with his fellow men. The faculties most needed in pulpit preaching are +those very powers that are so largely exercised in ordinary +conversation. The ability to think quickly, to marshal facts and +arguments, to introduce a vivid story or illustration, to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>parry and +thrust as is sometimes needed to hold one's own ground, and the general +mental activity aroused in conversation, all tend to produce an +interesting, vivacious, and forceful style in public speaking.</p> + +<p>We should not underestimate the value of meditation and silence to the +public speaker. These are necessary for original and profound thinking, +for the cultivation of the imagination, and for the accumulation of +thought. But conversation offers an immediate outlet for this stored-up +knowledge, testing it as a finished product in expression, and +projecting it into life and reality by all the resources of voice and +feeling. This exercise is as necessary to the mind as physical exercise +is to the body. Indeed, a full mind demands this relief in expression, +lest the strain become too great.</p> + +<p>The daily newspaper and the magazines should not be allowed to usurp the +place of conversation. If the art of talking is rapidly dying out, as +some assert, we should do our share to revive it. We may not again have +the wit and repartee, the brilliant intellectual combats of those other +days, but we can at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>least each have a cultivated speaking-voice, an +interesting manner of expressing our ideas in conversation, and a +refined pronunciation of our mother tongue.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="A_TALK_TO_PREACHERS" id="A_TALK_TO_PREACHERS"></a>A TALK TO PREACHERS</h2> + +<p>The aim of one who would interpret literature to others, by means of the +speaking voice, should be first to assimilate its spirit. There can be +no worthy or adequate rendering of a great poem or prose selection +without a keen appreciation of its inner meaning and content. This is +the principal safeguard against mechanical and meaningless declamation. +The extent of this appreciation and grasp of the inherent spirit of +thought will largely determine the degree of life, reality, and +impressiveness imparted to the spoken word.</p> + +<p>The intimate relationship between the voice and the spirit of the +speaker suggests that one is necessary to the fullest development of the +other. The voice can interpret only what has been awakened and realized +within, hence nothing discloses a speaker's grasp of a subject so +accurately and readily as his attempt to give it expression in his own +language. It <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>is this spiritual power, developed principally through the +intuitions and emotions, that gives psychic force to speaking, and which +more than logic, rhetoric, or learning itself enables the speaker to +influence and persuade men.</p> + +<p>The minister as an interpreter of the highest spiritual truth should +bring to his work a thoroughly trained emotional nature and a cultivated +speaking voice. It is not sufficient that he state the truth with +clearness and force; he must proclaim it with such passionate enthusiasm +as powerfully to move his hearers. To express adequately the infinite +shades of spiritual truth, he must have the ability to play upon his +voice as upon a great cathedral organ, from "the soft lute of love" to +"the loud trumpet of war."</p> + +<p>To assume that the study of the art of speaking will necessarily produce +consciousness of its principles while in the act of speaking in public, +is as unwarranted as to say that a knowledge of the rules of grammar, +rhetoric, or logic lead to artificiality and self-consciousness in the +teacher, writer, and thinker. There is a "mechanical expertness +preceding all art," <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>as Goethe says, and this applies to the orator no +less than to the musician, the artist, the actor, and the litterateur.</p> + +<p>Let the minister stand up for even five minutes each day, with chest and +abdomen well expanded, and pronounce aloud the long vowel sounds of the +English language, in various shades of force and feeling, and shortly he +will observe his voice developing in flexibility, resonance, and power. +For it should be remembered that the voice grows through use. Let the +minister cultivate, too, the habit of breathing exclusively through his +nose while in repose, fully and deeply from the abdomen, and he will +find himself gaining in health and mental resourcefulness.</p> + +<p>For the larger development of the spiritual and emotional powers of the +speaker, a wide and varied knowledge of men and life is necessary. The +feelings are trained through close contact with human suffering, and in +the work of solving vital social problems. The speaker will do well to +explore first his own heart and endeavor to read its secret meanings, +preliminary to interpreting the hearts of other men. Personal suffering +will do more to open the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>well-springs of the heart than the reading of +many books.</p> + +<p>Care must be had, however, that this cultivating of the feelings be +conducted along rational lines, lest it run not to faith but to +fanaticism. There is a wide difference between emotion designed for +display or for momentary effect, and that which arises from strong inner +conviction and sympathetic interest in others. Spurious, unnatural +feeling will invariably fail to convince serious-minded men.</p> + +<p>"Emotion wrought up with no ulterior object," says Dr. Kennard, "is both +an abuse and an injury to the moral nature. When the attention is +thoroughly awakened and steadily held, the hearer is like a well-tuned +harp, each cord a distinct emotion, and the skilful speaker may evoke a +response from one or more at his will. This lays him under a great and +serious responsibility. Let him keep steadily at such a time to his +divine purpose, to produce a healthful action, a life in harmony with +God and a symphony of service."</p> + +<p>The emotional and spiritual powers of the speaker will be developed by +reading aloud <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>each day a vigorous and passionate extract from the +Bible, or Shakespeare, or from some great sermon by such men as +Bushnell, Newman, Beecher, Maclaren, Brooks, or Spurgeon. The entire +gamut of human feeling can be highly cultivated by thus reading aloud +from the great masterpieces of literature. The speaker will know that he +can make his own words glow and vibrate, after he has first tested and +trained himself in some such manner as this. Furthermore, by thus +fitting words to his mouth, and assimilating the feelings of others, he +will immeasurably gain in facility and vocal responsiveness when he +attempts to utter his own thoughts.</p> + +<p>Music is a powerful element in awakening emotion in the speaker and +bringing to consciousness the mysterious inner voices of the soul. The +minister should not only hear good music as often as possible, but he +should train his ear to recognize the rhythm and melody in speech.</p> + +<p>For the fullest development of this spiritual power in the public +speaker there should be frequent periods of stillness and silence. One +must listen much in order to accumulate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>much. Thought and feeling +require time in which to grow. In this way the myriad sounds that arise +from humanity and from nature can be caught up in the soul of the +speaker and subsequently voiced by him to others.</p> + +<p>The habit of meditating much, of brooding over thought, whether it be +our own or that of others, will tend to disclose new and deeper +meanings, and consequently deeper shades and depths of feeling. The +speaker will diligently search for unwritten meanings in words; he will +study, whenever possible, masterpieces of painting and sculpture; he +will closely observe the natural feeling of well-bred children, as shown +in their conversation; and in many other ways that will suggest +themselves, he will daily develop his emotional and spiritual powers of +expression.</p> + +<p>The science of preaching is important, but so, too, is the art of +preaching. A powerful pulpit is one of the needs of the times. A +congregation readily recognizes a preacher of strong convictions, broad +sympathies, and consecrated personality. An affectionate nature in a +minister, manifesting itself in voice, face, and manner, will attract +and influence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>men, while a harsh, rigid, vehement manner will as easily +repel them.</p> + +<p>It is to be feared that many sermons are written with too much regard +for "literary deportment on paper," and too little thought of their +value as pulsating messages to men.</p> + +<p>The preacher should train himself to take tight hold of his thought, to +grip it with mental firmness and fervor, that he may afterward convey it +to others with definiteness and vigor. Thoughts vaguely conceived and +held tremblingly in the mind will manifest a like character when +uttered. Into the writing of the sermon put vitality and intensity, and +these qualities will find their natural place in delivery. Thrill of the +pen should precede thrill of the voice. The habit of Dickens of acting +out the characters he was depicting on paper could be copied to +advantage by the preacher, and frequently during the writing of his +sermon he might stand and utter his thoughts aloud to test their power +and effectiveness upon an imaginary congregation.</p> + +<p>There should be the most thorough cultivation of the inner sources of +the preacher, whereby the spiritual and emotional forces are so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>aroused +and brought under control as to respond promptly and accurately to all +the speaker's requirements. There should be assiduous training of the +speaking voice as the instrument of expression and the natural outlet +for thought and feeling. In the combined cultivation of these two +essentials of expression—spirit and voice—the minister will find the +true secret of effective pulpit preaching.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CARE_OF_THE_SPEAKERS_THROAT" id="CARE_OF_THE_SPEAKERS_THROAT"></a>CARE OF THE SPEAKER'S THROAT</h2> + +<p>The throat as a vital part of the public speaker's work in speaking is +worthy of the greatest care and consideration. It is surprising that so +little attention is given to vocal hygiene, when it is remembered that a +serious weakness or affection of the throat may disqualify a speaker for +important work. The delicate and intricate machinery of the vocal +apparatus renders it peculiarly susceptible to misuse or exposure. The +common defects of nasality, throatiness, and harshness, are due to wrong +and careless use of the speaking-instrument.</p> + +<p>In the training of the public speaker the first step is to bring the +breathing apparatus under proper control. That is to say, the speaker +must accustom himself, through careful practise, to use the abdominal +method of breathing, and to keep his throat free from the strain to +which it is commonly subjected. This form of breathing is not difficult +to ac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>quire, since it simply means that during inhalation the abdomen is +expanded, and during exhalation it is contracted. It should be no longer +necessary to warn the speaker to breathe exclusively through the nose +when not actually using the voice. While speaking he must so completely +control the breath that not a particle of it can escape without giving +up its equivalent in sound.</p> + +<p>"Clergyman's sore throat" is the result of improper use or overstraining +of the voice. Sometimes the earnestness of the preacher causes him to +"clutch" each word with the vocal muscles, instead of using the throat +as an open channel through which the voice may flow with ease and +freedom. Many speakers, in an endeavor to be heard at a great distance, +employ too loud a tone, forgetting that the essential thing is a clear +and distinct articulation. To speak continuously in high pitch, or +through half-closed teeth, almost invariably causes distress of throat. +Most throat troubles may be set down to a lack of proper elocutionary +training. To keep the voice and throat in order there should be regular +daily practise, if only for ten minutes. The ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>ample might profitably +be followed of certain actors who make a practise of humming +occasionally during the day while engaged in other duties, as a means of +keeping the voice musical and resonant.</p> + +<p>When the throat becomes husky or weak it is a timely warning from nature +that it needs rest and relaxation. To continue to engage in public +speaking under these circumstances is often attended with great danger, +resulting sometimes in total loss of voice. It is economy in the end to +discontinue the use of the voice when there is a serious cold or the +throat is otherwise affected. Nervousness, anxiety, or unusual mental +exertion may cause a vocal breakdown. For this condition rest is +recommended, together with gentle massaging of the throat with cold +water mixed with a little vinegar or <i>eau de Cologne</i>.</p> + +<p>A public speaker should not engage in protracted conversation +immediately after a speech. The sudden transition from an auditorium to +the outer air should remind the speaker to keep his mouth securely +closed. The general physical condition of the speaker has much to do +with the vigor and clearness <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>of his voice. A daily plunge into cold +water, or at least a sponging of the entire surface of the body, besides +being a tonic luxury, greatly invigorates the throat and abdominal +muscles. After the "tub" a vigorous rubbing with towel and hands should +produce a glow.</p> + +<p>To the frequent question whether smoking is injurious to the throat, it +is safe to say that the weight of authority and experience favors +abstinence. Any one who has spoken for half an hour or more in a +smoke-clouded room, knows the distressing effect it has had upon the +sensitive lining of the throat. It must be obvious, therefore, that the +constant inhaling of smoke must even more directly irritate the mucous +membrane.</p> + +<p>The diet of the public speaker should be reasonably moderate, and the +extremes of hot and cold avoided. The use of ice-water is to be +discouraged. Many drugs and lozenges are positively injurious to the +throat. For habitual dryness of throat a glycerine or honey tablet will +usually obviate the trouble. Dr. Morell Mackenzie, the eminent English +throat specialist, condemns the use of alcohol as pernicious, and +affirms that "even in a compara<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>tively mild form it keeps the delicate +tissues in a state of congestion which makes them particularly liable to +inflammation from cold or other causes."</p> + +<p>It must not be assumed that the throat is to be pampered. A reasonable +amount of exposure will harden it and to this extent is desirable. To +muffle the throat with a scarf, unless demanded by special conditions, +may make it unduly sensitive and increase the danger of taking cold when +the head is turned from side to side.</p> + +<p>A leading physician confirms the opinion that the best gargle for daily +use is that of warm water and salt. This should be used every night and +morning to cleanse and invigorate the throat. Where there is a tendency +to catarrh a solution made of peroxide of hydrogen, witch-hazel, and +water, in equal parts, will prove efficacious. Nothing should be snuffed +up the nose except under the direction of a physician, lest it cause +deafness.</p> + +<p>Many speakers and singers have a favorite nostrum for improving the +voice. The long and amusing list includes hot milk, tea, coffee, +champagne, raw eggs, lemonade, apples, raisins,—and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>sardines! A good +rule is to eat sparingly if the meal is taken just before speaking. It +need hardly be said that serious vocal defects, such as enlarged +tonsils, elongated uvula, and abnormal growths in the throat and nose +are subjects for the specialist.</p> + +<p>Whenever possible a speaker should test beforehand the acoustic +properties of the auditorium in which he is to speak for the first time. +A helpful plan is to have a friend seat himself at the back of the hall +or church, and give his opinion of the quality and projecting power of +the speaker's voice. It is difficult to judge one's own voice because it +is conveyed to him not only from the outside but also through the +Eustachian tube and modified by the vibratory parts of the throat and +head. A speaker never hears his own voice as it is heard by another.</p> + +<p>Nothing, perhaps, is so taxing to the throat as long-continued speaking +in one quality of tone. There are two distinct registers which should be +judiciously alternated by the speaker. These are the "chest" register, +in which the vocal cords vibrate their whole length, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>the quality of +tone derives most of its character from the chest cavity; and the "head" +register, in which the vocal cords vibrate only in part, and the quality +of tone is reenforced by the resonators of the face, mouth, and head. +The first of these registers is sometimes called the "orotund" voice +from its quality of roundness, and is employed principally in language +of reverence, sublimity, and grandeur.</p> + +<p>The head tone is the voice of ordinary conversation and should form the +basis of the public-speaking style.</p> + +<p>No one who has to speak in public should be discouraged because of +limited vocal resources. Many of the foremost orators began with marked +disadvantages in this respect, but made these shortcomings an incentive +to higher effort. One well-known speaker makes up for lack of vocal +power by extreme distinctness of enunciation, while another offsets an +unpleasantly heavy quality of voice by skilful modulation.</p> + +<p>A few easily remembered suggestions are:</p> + +<p class='tbrk'>1. Rest the voice for an hour or two before speaking in public.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>2. Gargle the throat night and morning with salt and water.</p> + +<p>3. Never force the voice.</p> + +<p>4. Avoid all occasions that strain the voice, such as prolonged +conversation, speaking against noise, or in cold and damp air.</p> + +<p>5. Practise deep breathing until it becomes an unconscious habit.</p> + +<p>6. Favor an outdoor life.</p> + +<p>7. Hum or sing a little every day.</p> + +<p>8. Discontinue public speaking when there is a severe cold or other +affection of the throat.</p> + +<p>9. Rest the voice and body immediately after speaking in public.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="DONTS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS" id="DONTS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS"></a>DON'TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS</h2> + +<p>Don't rant.<br /> +Don't prate.<br /> +Don't fidget.<br /> +Don't flatter.<br /> +Don't declaim.<br /> +Don't be glib.<br /> +Don't hesitate.<br /> +Don't be nasal.<br /> +Don't apologize.<br /> +Don't dogmatize.<br /> +Don't be slangy.<br /> +Don't antagonize.<br /> +Don't be awkward.<br /> +Don't be violent.<br /> +Don't be personal.<br /> +Don't be "funny."<br /> +Don't attitudinize.<br /> +Don't be monotonous.<br /> +Don't speak rapidly.<br /> +Don't sway your body.<br /> +Don't be long-winded.<br /> +Don't "hem" and "haw."<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +Don't praise yourself.<br /> +Don't overgesticulate.<br /> +Don't pace the platform.<br /> +Don't clear your throat.<br /> +Don't "point with pride."<br /> +Don't tell a long story.<br /> +Don't rise on your toes.<br /> +Don't distort your words.<br /> +Don't stand like a statue.<br /> +Don't address the ceiling.<br /> +Don't speak in a high key.<br /> +Don't emphasize everything.<br /> +Don't drink while speaking.<br /> +Don't fatigue your audience.<br /> +Don't exceed your time limit.<br /> +Don't talk for talking's sake.<br /> +Don't wander from your subject.<br /> +Don't fumble with your clothes.<br /> +Don't speak through closed teeth.<br /> +Don't put your hands on your hips.<br /> +Don't fail to stop when you have ended.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="DOS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS" id="DOS_FOR_PUBLIC_SPEAKERS"></a>DO'S FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS</h2> + +<p>Be prepared.<br /> +Begin slowly.<br /> +Be modest.<br /> +Speak distinctly.<br /> +Address all your hearers.<br /> +Be uniformly courteous.<br /> +Prune your sentences.<br /> +Cultivate mental alertness.<br /> +Conceal your method.<br /> +Be scrupulously clear.<br /> +Feel sure of yourself.<br /> +Look your audience in the eyes.<br /> +Be direct.<br /> +Favor your deep tones.<br /> +Speak deliberately.<br /> +Get to your facts.<br /> +Be earnest.<br /> +Observe your pauses.<br /> +Suit the action to the word.<br /> +Be yourself at your best.<br /> +Speak fluently.<br /> +Use your abdominal muscles.<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +Make yourself interesting.<br /> +Be conversational.<br /> +Conciliate your opponent.<br /> +Rouse yourself.<br /> +Be logical.<br /> +Have your wits about you.<br /> +Be considerate.<br /> +Open your mouth.<br /> +Speak authoritatively.<br /> +Cultivate sincerity.<br /> +Cultivate brevity.<br /> +Cultivate tact.<br /> +End swiftly.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="POINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS" id="POINTS_FOR_SPEAKERS"></a>POINTS FOR SPEAKERS</h2> + +<p>As far as possible avoid the following hackneyed phrases:</p> + +<p>I rise with diffidence<br /> +Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking<br /> +By a happy stroke of fate<br /> +It becomes my painful duty<br /> +In the last analysis<br /> +I am encouraged to go on<br /> +I point with pride<br /> +On the other hand (with gesture)<br /> +I hold<br /> +The vox populi<br /> +Be that as it may<br /> +I shall not detain you<br /> +As the hour is growing late<br /> +Believe me<br /> +We view with alarm<br /> +As I was about to tell you<br /> +The happiest day of my life<br /> +It falls to my lot<br /> +I can say no more<br /> +In the fluff and bloom<br /> +I can only hint<br /> +I can say nothing<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +I cannot find words<br /> +The fact is<br /> +To my mind<br /> +I cannot sufficiently do justice<br /> +I fear<br /> +All I can say is<br /> +I shall not inflict a speech on you<br /> +Far be it from me<br /> +Rise phœnix-like from his ashes<br /> +But alas!<br /> +What more can I say?<br /> +At this late period of the evening<br /> +It is hardly necessary to say<br /> +I cannot allow the opportunity to pass<br /> +For, mark you<br /> +I have already taken up too much time<br /> +I might talk to you for hours<br /> +Looking back upon my childhood<br /> +We can imagine the scene<br /> +I haven't the time nor ability<br /> +Ah, no, dear friends<br /> +One more word and I have done<br /> +I will now conclude<br /> +I really must stop<br /> +I have done.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_BIBLE_ON_SPEECH" id="THE_BIBLE_ON_SPEECH"></a>THE BIBLE ON SPEECH</h2> + +<p>How forcible are right words!</p> + +<p>To every thing there is a season, a time to keep silence, and a time to +speak.</p> + +<p>Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.</p> + +<p>Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which +is good to the use of edifying.</p> + +<p>Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.</p> + +<p>Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may +know how ye ought to answer every man.</p> + +<p>Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.</p> + +<p>Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, +be put away from you.</p> + +<p>Know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.</p> + +<p>Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable +in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THOUGHTS_ON_TALKING" id="THOUGHTS_ON_TALKING"></a>THOUGHTS ON TALKING</h2> + +<p>To make a good talker, genius and learning, even wit and eloquence, are +insufficient; to these, in all or in part, must be added in some degree +the talents of active life. The character has as much to do with +colloquial power as has the intellect; the temperament, feelings, and +animal spirits, even more, perhaps, than the mental gifts. "Napoleon +said things which tell in history like his battles. Luther's Table-Talk +glows with the fire that burnt the Pope's bull." Cæsar, Cicero, +Themistocles, Lord Bacon, Selden, Talleyrand, and, in our own country, +Aaron Burr, Jefferson, Webster, and Choate, were all, more or less, men +of action. Sir Walter Scott tells us that, at a great dinner party, he +thought the lawyers beat the Bishops as talkers, and the Bishops the +wits. Nearly all great orators have been fine talkers. Lord Chatham, who +could electrify the House of Lords by pronouncing the word "Sugar," but +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>who in private was but commonplace, was an exception; but the +conversation of Pitt and Fox was brilliant and fascinating,—that of +Burke, rambling, but splendid, rich and instructive, beyond description. +The latter was the only man in the famous "Literary Club" who could cope +with Johnson. The Doctor confessed that in Burke he had a foeman worthy +of his steel. On one occasion, when debilitated by sickness, he said: +"That fellow calls forth all my powers. Were I to see Burke now, it +would kill me." At another time he said: "Burke, sir, is such a man +that, if you met him for the first time in the street, where you were +stopped by a drove of oxen, and you and he stepped aside to take shelter +but for five minutes, he'd talk to you in such a manner, that when you +parted you'd say—'This is an extraordinary man.'" "Can he wind into a +subject like a serpent, as Burke does?" asked Goldsmith of a certain +talker. Fox said that he had derived more political information from +Burke's conversation alone than from books, science, and all his worldly +experience put together. Moore finely says of the same conversation, +that it must have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>been like the procession of a Roman triumph, +exhibiting power and riches at every step, occasionally mingling the low +Fescennine jest with the lofty music of the march, but glittering all +over with the spoils of a ransacked world.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Mathews.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>The fault of literary conversation in general is its too great +tenaciousness. It fastens upon a subject, and will not let it go. It +resembles a battle rather than a skirmish, and makes a toil of a +pleasure. Perhaps it does this from necessity, from a consciousness of +wanting the more familiar graces, the power to sport and trifle, to +touch lightly and adorn agreeably, every view or turn of a question <i>en +passant</i>, as it arises. Those who have a reputation to lose are too +ambitious of shining, to please. "To excel in conversation," said an +ingenious man, "one must not be always striving to say good things: to +say one good thing, one must say many bad, and more indifferent ones." +This desire to shine without the means at hand, often makes men +silent:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class='stanza'><div>The fear of being silent strikes us dumb.</div></div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>A writer who has been accustomed to take a connected view of a +difficult question and to work it out gradually in all its bearings, may +be very deficient in that quickness and ease which men of the world, who +are in the habit of hearing a variety of opinions, who pick up an +observation on one subject, and another on another, and who care about +none any further than the passing away of an idle hour, usually acquire. +An author has studied a particular point—he has read, he has inquired, +he has thought a great deal upon it: he is not contented to take it up +casually in common with others, to throw out a hint, to propose an +objection: he will either remain silent, uneasy, and dissatisfied, or he +will begin at the beginning, and go through with it to the end. He is +for taking the whole responsibility upon himself. He would be thought to +understand the subject better than others, or indeed would show that +nobody else knows anything about it. There are always three or four +points on which the literary novice at his first outset in life fancies +he can enlighten every company, and bear down all opposition: but he is +cured of this quixotic <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>and pugnacious spirit, as he goes more into the +world, where he finds that there are other opinions and other +pretensions to be adjusted besides his own. When this asperity wears +off, and a certain scholastic precocity is mellowed down, the +conversation of men of letters becomes both interesting and instructive. +Men of the world have no fixed principles, no groundwork of thought: +mere scholars have too much an object, a theory always in view, to which +they wrest everything, and not unfrequently, common sense itself. By +mixing with society, they rub off their hardness of manner, and +impracticable, offensive singularity, while they retain a greater depth +and coherence of understanding. There is more to be learnt from them +than from their books.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Hazlitt.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>There are some people whose good manners will not suffer them to +interrupt you, but, what is almost as bad, will discover abundance of +impatience, and lie upon the watch until you have done, because they +have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>started something in their own thoughts, which they long to be +delivered of. Meantime, they are so far from regarding what passes, that +their imaginations are wholly turned upon what they have in reserve, for +fear it should slip out of their memory; and thus they confine their +invention, which might otherwise range over a hundred things full as +good, and that might be much more naturally introduced.</p> + +<p>There is a sort of rude familiarity, which some people, by practising +among their intimates, have introduced into their general conversation, +and would have it pass for innocent freedom or humor; which is a +dangerous experiment in our northern climate, where all the little +decorum and politeness we have are purely forced by art, and are so +ready to lapse into barbarity. This, among the Romans, was the raillery +of slaves, of which we have many instances in Plautus. It seems to have +been introduced among us by Cromwell, who, by preferring the scum of the +people, made it a court entertainment, of which I have heard many +particulars; and, considering all things were turned upside down, it was +rea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>sonable and judicious; although it was a piece of policy found out +to ridicule a point of honor in the other extreme, when the smallest +word misplaced among gentlemen ended in a duel.</p> + +<p>There are some men excellent at telling a story, and provided with a +plentiful stock of them, which they can draw out upon occasion in all +companies, and, considering how low conversation runs now among us, it +is not altogether a contemptible talent; however, it is subject to two +unavoidable defects, frequent repetition, and being soon exhausted; so, +that, whoever values this gift in himself, has need of a good memory, +and ought frequently to shift his company, that he may not discover the +weakness of his fund; for those who are thus endued have seldom any +other revenue, but live upon the main stock.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Swift.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>The highest and best of all the moral conditions for conversation is +what we call tact. I say a condition, for it is very doubtful whether it +can be called a single and separate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>quality; more probably it is a +combination of intellectual quickness with lively sympathy. But so +clearly is it an intellectual quality, that of all others it can be +greatly improved, if not actually acquired, by long experience in +society. Like all social excellences it is almost given as a present to +some people, while others with all possible labor never acquire it. As +in billiard-playing, shooting, cricket, and all these other facilities +which are partly mental and partly physical, many never can pass a +certain point of mediocrity; but still even those who have the talent +must practise it, and only become really distinguished after hard work. +So it is in art. Music and painting are not to be attained by the crowd. +Not even the just criticism of these arts is attainable without certain +natural gifts; but a great deal of practice in good galleries and at +good concerts, and years spent among artists, will do much to make even +moderately-endowed people sound judges of excellence.</p> + +<p>Tact, which is the sure and quick judgment of what is suitable and +agreeable in society, is likewise one of those delicate and subtle +qualities or a combination of qualities which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>is not very easily +defined, and therefore not teachable by fixed precepts. Some people +attain it through sympathy; others through natural intelligence; others +through a calm temper; others again by observing closely the mistakes of +their neighbors. As its name implies, it is a sensitive touch in social +matters, which feels small changes of temperature, and so guesses at +changes of temper; which sees the passing cloud on the expression of one +face, or the eagerness of another that desires to bring out something +personal for others to enjoy. This quality of tact is of course +applicable far beyond mere actual conversation. In nothing is it more +useful than in preparing the right conditions for a pleasant society, in +choosing the people who will be in mutual sympathy, in thinking over +pleasant subjects of talk and suggesting them, in seeing that all +disturbing conditions are kept out, and that the members who are to +converse should be all without those small inconveniences which damage +society so vastly out of proportion to their intrinsic importance.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Mahaffy.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the course of our life we have heard much of what was reputed to be +the select conversation of the day, and we have heard many of those who +figured at the moment as effective talkers; yet, in mere sincerity, and +without a vestige of misanthropic retrospect, we must say that never +once has it happened to us to come away from any display of that nature +without intense disappointment; and it always appeared to us that this +failure (which soon ceased to be a disappointment) was inevitable by a +necessity of the case. For here lay the stress of the difficulty: almost +all depends in most trials of skill upon the parity of those who are +matched against each other. An ignorant person supposes that to an able +disputant it must be an advantage to have a feeble opponent; whereas, on +the contrary, it is ruin to him; for he can not display his own powers +but through something of a corresponding power in the resistance of his +antagonist. A brilliant fencer is lost and confounded in playing with a +novice; and the same thing takes place in playing at ball, or +battledore, or in dancing, where a powerless partner does not enable you +to shine the more, but reduces <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>you to mere helplessness, and takes the +wind altogether out of your sails. Now, if by some rare good luck the +great talker, the protagonist, of the evening has been provided with a +commensurate second, it is just possible that something like a brilliant +"passage of arms" may be the result,—though much even in that case will +depend on the chances of the moment for furnishing a fortunate theme, +and even then, amongst the superior part of the company, a feeling of +deep vulgarity and of mountebank display is inseparable from such an +ostentatious duel of wit. On the other hand, supposing your great talker +to be received like any other visitor, and turned loose upon the +company, then he must do one of two things: either he will talk upon +<i>outré</i> subjects specially tabooed to his own private use,—in which +case the great man has the air of a quack-doctor addressing a mob from a +street stage; or else he will talk like ordinary people upon popular +topics,—in which case the company, out of natural politeness, that they +may not seem to be staring at him as a lion, will hasten to meet him in +the same style, the conversation will become general, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>great man +will seem reasonable and well-bred, but at the same time, we grieve to +say it, the great man will have been extinguished by being drawn off +from his exclusive ground. The dilemma, in short, is this:—If the great +talker attempts the plan of showing off by firing cannon-shot when +everybody else is content with musketry, then undoubtedly he produces an +impression, but at the expense of insulating himself from the sympathies +of the company, and standing aloof as a sort of monster hired to play +tricks of funambulism for the night. Yet, again, if he contents himself +with a musket like other people, then for us, from whom he modestly +hides his talents under a bushel, in what respect is he different from +the man who has no such talent?</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>De Quincey.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Some, in their discourse, desire rather commendation of wit, in being +able to hold all arguments, than of judgment, in discerning what is +true; as if it were a praise to know what might be said, and not what +should be thought. Some have certain commonplaces and themes wherein +they are good, and want <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>variety; which kind of poverty is for the most +part tedious, and, when it is once perceived, ridiculous. The +honorablest part of talk is to give the occasion; and again to moderate +and pass to somewhat else; for then a man leads the dance. It is good in +discourse, and speech of conversation, to vary, and intermingle speech +of the present occasion with arguments, tales with reasons, asking of +questions with telling of opinions, and jest with earnest; for it is a +dull thing to tire, and, as we say now, to jade any thing too far. As +for jest, there be certain things which ought to be privileged from it, +namely, religion, matters of State, great persons, any man's present +business of importance, and any case that deserveth pity; yet there be +some that think their wits have been asleep, except they dart out +somewhat that is piquant, and to the quick. That is a vein which would +be bridled; <i>Parce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris.</i> And, +generally, men ought to find the difference between saltness and +bitterness. Certainly, he that hath a satirical vein, as he maketh +others afraid of his wit, so he had need be afraid of others' memory. He +that question<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>eth much shall learn much, and content much, but +especially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he +asketh; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in +speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge: but let his +questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser; and let him +be sure to leave other men their turns to speak: nay, if there be any +that would reign and take up all the time, let him find means to take +them off, and to bring others on, as musicians use to do with those that +dance too long galliards. If you dissemble sometimes your knowledge of +that you are thought to know, you shall be thought, another time, to +know that you know not. Speech of a man's self ought to be seldom, and +well chosen. I knew one was wont to say in scorn, "He must needs be a +wise man, he speaks so much of himself;" and there is but one case +wherein a man may commend himself with good grace, and that is in +commending virtue in another, especially if it be such a virtue +whereunto himself pretendeth. Speech of touch towards others should be +sparingly used; for discourse ought to be as a field, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>without coming +home to any man. I knew two noblemen, of the west part of England, +whereof the one was given to scoff, but kept ever royal cheer in his +house; the other would ask of those that had been at the other's table, +"Tell truly, was there never a flout or dry blow given?" To which the +guest would answer, "Such and such a thing passed." The lord would say, +"I thought he would mar a good dinner." Discretion of speech is more +than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal, is more +than to speak in good words, or in good order. A good continued speech, +without a good speech of interlocution, shows slowness; and a good +reply, or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth +shallowness and weakness. As we see in beasts, that those that are +weakest in the course, are yet nimblest in the turn; as it is betwixt +the greyhound and the hare. To use too many circumstances, ere one come +to the matter, is wearisome; to use none at all, is blunt.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Bacon.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Think as little as possible about any good in yourself; turn your eyes +resolutely from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>any view of your acquirement, your influence, your +plan, your success, your following: above all, speak as little as +possible about yourself. The inordinateness of our self-love makes +speech about ourselves like the putting of the lighted torch to the +dried wood which has been laid in order for the burning. Nothing but +duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme, except it be in +humble confession of our sinfulness before our God. Again, be specially +upon the watch against those little tricks by which the vain man seeks +to bring round the conversation to himself, and gain the praise or +notice which the thirsty ears drink in so greedily; and even if praise +comes unsought, it is well, whilst men are uttering it, to guard +yourself by thinking of some secret cause for humbling yourself inwardly +to God; thinking into what these pleasant accents would be changed if +all that is known to God, and even to yourself, stood suddenly revealed +to man.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Bishop Wilberforce.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>In speaking of the duty of pleasing others, it will not be necessary to +dwell on the ordi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>nary courtesies and lesser kindnesses of our daily +living, any further than to observe that none of these things, however +trifling, is beneath the notice of a good man, ... but I mention one +thing, because I think that we are most of us apt to be rather deficient +in it, and that is in the trying to suit ourselves to the tastes and +views of persons whose professions or inclinations, or situation in +life, differ widely from our own.... As a general rule, no man can fall +into conversation with another without being able to learn something +valuable from him. But in order to get at this benefit there must be +something of an accommodating spirit on both sides; each must be ready +to hear candidly and to answer fairly; each must try to please the +other. We all suffer from the want of acquaintance with the habits and +opinions and feelings of different classes of society.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Dr. Arnold.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>If you would be loved as a companion, avoid unnecessary criticism upon +those with whom you live. The number of people who have taken out +judges' patents for themselves is very large in any society. Now it +would be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>hard for a man to live with another who was always criticising +his actions, even if it were kindly and just criticism. It would be like +living between the glasses of a microscope. But these self-elected +judges, like their prototypes, are very apt to have the persons they +judge brought before them in the guise of culprits.</p> + +<p>Let not familiarity swallow up old courtesy. Many of us have a habit of +saying to those with whom we live such things as we say about strangers +behind their backs. There is no place, however, where real politeness is +of more value than where we mostly think it would be superfluous. You +may say more truth, or rather speak out more plainly to your associates, +but not less courteously than to strangers.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Helps.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Much of the sorrow of life springs from the accumulation, day by day and +year by year, of little trials—a letter written in less than courteous +terms, a wrangle at the breakfast table over some arrangement of the +day, the rudeness of an acquaintance on the way to the city, an +unfriendly act on the part of an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>other firm, a cruel criticism +needlessly reported by some meddler, a feline amenity at afternoon tea, +the disobedience of one of your children, a social slight by one of your +circle, a controversy too hotly conducted. The trials within this class +are innumerable, and consider, not one of them is inevitable, not one of +them but might have been spared if we or our brother man had had a grain +of kindliness. Our social insolences, our irritating manners, our +censorious judgment, our venomous letters, our pin pricks in +conversation, are all forms of deliberate unkindness, and are all +evidences of an ill-conditioned nature.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>John Watson.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>If this be one of our chief duties—promoting the happiness of our +neighbors—most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs +counter to it, and makes it impossible, as an undisciplined temper. For +of all the things that are to be met with here on earth, there is +nothing which can give such continual, such cutting, such useless pain. +The touchy and sensitive temper, which takes offence at a word; the +irritable temper, which finds offence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>in everything whether intended or +not; the violent temper, which breaks through all bounds of reason when +once roused; the jealous or sullen temper, which wears a cloud on the +face all day, and never utters a word of complaint; the discontented +temper, brooding over its own wrongs; the severe temper, which always +looks at the worst side of whatever is done; the wilful temper, which +overrides every scruple to gratify a whim,—what an amount of pain have +these caused in the hearts of men, if we could but sum up their results! +How many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses; how many a prayer +have they stifled; how many an emotion of true affection have they +turned to bitterness! How hard they sometimes make all duties! How +painful they make all daily life! How they kill the sweetest and warmest +of domestic charities! The misery caused by other sins is often much +deeper and much keener, more disastrous, more terrible to the sight; but +the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must, I verily believe, if +added together, outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one +another.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Bishop Temple.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>Wicked is the slander which gossips away a character in an afternoon, +and runs lightly over a whole series of acquaintances, leaving a drop of +poison on them all, some suspicion, or some ominous silence—"Have you +not heard?"—"No one would believe it, but—!" and then silence; while +the shake of the head, or the shrug of the shoulders, finishes the +sentence with a mute meaning worse than words. Do you ever think of the +irrevocable nature of speech? The things you say are often said forever. +You may find, years after your light word was spoken, that it has made a +whole life unhappy, or ruined the peace of a household. It was well said +by St. James, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth +not his tongue, that man's religion is vain."</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Stopford Brooke.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>There are three kinds of silence. Silence from words is good, because +inordinate speaking tends to evil. Silence, or rest from desires and +passions, is still better, because it promotes quietness of spirit. But +the best of all is silence from unnecessary and wandering thoughts, +because that is essential to internal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>recollection, and because it lays +a foundation for a proper regulation and silence in other respects.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Madame Guyon.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>The example of our Lord, as He humbly and calmly takes the rebuff, and +turns to go to another village, may help us in the ordinary ways of +ordinary daily life. The little things that vex us in the manner or the +words of those with whom we have to do; the things which seem to us so +inconsiderate, or wilful, or annoying, that we think it impossible to +get on with the people who are capable of them; the mistakes which no +one, we say, has any right to make; the shallowness, or conventionality, +or narrowness, or positiveness in talk which makes us wince and tempts +us towards the cruelty and wickedness of scorn;—surely in all these +things, and in many others like them, of which conscience may be ready +enough to speak to most of us, there are really opportunities for thus +following the example of our Saviour's great humility and patience. How +many friendships we might win or keep, how many chances of serving +others we might find, how many lessons we <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>might learn, how much of +unsuspected moral beauty might be disclosed around us, if only we were +more careful to give people time, to stay judgment, to trust that they +will see things more justly, speak of them more wisely, after a while. +We are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy, and narrowing in the +interests and opportunities of work around us, if we let ourselves +imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the +characters of our fellow-men.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Bishop Paget.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>How much squandering there is of the voice! How little is there of the +advantage that may come from conversational tones! How seldom does a man +dare to acquit himself with pathos and fervor! And the men are +themselves mechanical and methodical in the bad way, who are most afraid +of the artificial training that is given in the schools, and who so +often show by the fruit of their labor that the want of oratory is the +want of education.</p> + +<p>How remarkable is sweetness of voice in the mother, in the father, in +the household! <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>The music of no chorded instruments brought together is, +for sweetness, like the music of familiar affection when spoken by +brother and sister, or by father and mother.</p> + +<p>Conversation itself belongs to oratory. How many men there are who are +weighty in argument, who have abundant resources, and who are almost +boundless in their power at other times and in other places, but who, +when in company among their kind, are exceedingly unapt in their +methods. Having none of the secret instruments by which the elements of +nature may be touched, having no skill and no power in this direction, +they stand as machines before living, sensitive men. A man may be as a +master before an instrument; only the instrument is dead; and he has the +living hand; and out of that dead instrument what wondrous harmony +springs forth at his touch! And if you can electrify an audience by the +power of a living man on dead things, how much more should that audience +be electrified when the chords are living and the man is alive, and he +knows how to touch them with divine inspiration!</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Beecher.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>Every one endeavors to make himself as agreeable to society as he can; +but it often happens that those who most aim at shining in conversation, +overshoot their mark. Tho a man succeeds, he should not (as is +frequently the case) engross the whole talk to himself; for that +destroys the very essence of conversation, which is talking together. We +should try to keep up conversation like a ball bandied to and fro from +one to the other, rather than seize it all to ourselves, and drive it +before us like a football. We should likewise be cautious to adapt the +matter of our discourse to our company, and not talk Greek before +ladies, or of the last new furbelow to a meeting of country justices.</p> + +<p>But nothing throws a more ridiculous air over our whole conversation +than certain peculiarities easily acquired, but very difficultly +conquered and discarded. In order to display these absurdities in a +truer light, it is my present purpose to enumerate such of them as are +most commonly to be met with; and first to take notice of those buffons +in society, the Attitudinarians and Face-makers. These accompany every +word with a peculiar grim<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>ace or gesture; they assent with a shrug, and +contradict with a twisting of the neck; are angry by a wry mouth, and +pleased in a caper or minuet step. They may be considered as speaking +harlequins; and their rules of eloquence are taken from the +posture-master. These should be condemned to converse only in dumb show +with their own persons in the looking-glass, as well as the Smirkers and +Smilers, who so prettily set off their faces, together with their words, +by a <i>je-ne-sais-quoi</i> between a grin and a dimple. With these we may +likewise rank the affected tribe of mimics, who are constantly taking +off the peculiar tone of voice or gesture of their acquaintance, tho +they are such wretched imitators, that (like bad painters) they are +frequently forced to write the name under the picture before we can +discover any likeness.</p> + +<p>Next to these whose elocution is absorbed in action, and who converse +chiefly with their arms and legs, we may consider the Profest Speakers. +And first, the Emphatical, who squeeze, and press, and ram down every +syllable with excessive vehemence and energy. These orators are +remarkable for their dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>tinct elocution and force of expression; they +dwell on the important particulars <i>of</i> and <i>the</i>, and the significant +conjunction <i>and</i>, which they seem to hawk up, with much difficulty, out +of their own throats, and to cram them, with no less pain, into the ears +of their auditors. These should be suffered only to syringe (as it were) +the ears of a deaf man, through a hearing-trumpet; tho I must confess +that I am equally offended with the Whisperers or Low-speakers, who seem +to fancy all their acquaintance deaf, and come up so close to you that +they may be said to measure noses with you, and frequently overcome you +with the full exhalations of a foul breath. I would have these oracular +gentry obliged to speak at a distance through a speaking-trumpet, or +apply their lips to the walls of a whispering-gallery. The Wits who will +not condescend to utter anything but a <i>bon-mot</i>, and the Whistlers or +Tune-hummers, who never articulate at all, may be joined very agreeably +together in concert; and to these tinkling cymbals I would also add the +sounding brass, the Bawler, who inquires after your health with the +bellowing of a town-crier.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>The Tattlers, whose pliable pipes are admirably adapted to the "soft +parts of conversation," and sweetly "prattling out of fashion," make +very pretty music from a beautiful face and a female tongue; but from a +rough manly voice and coarse features mere nonsense is as harsh and +dissonant as a jig from a hurdy-gurdy. The Swearers I have spoken of in +a former paper; but the Half-Swearers, who split and mince, and fritter +their oaths into "gad's but," "ad's fish," and "demme," the Gothic +Humbuggers, and those who nickname God's creatures, and call a man a +cabbage, a crab, a queer cub, an odd fish, and an unaccountable skin, +should never come into company without an interpreter. But I will not +tire my reader's patience by pointing out all the pests of conversation, +nor dwell particularly on the Sensibles, who pronounce dogmatically on +the most trivial points, and speak in sentences; the Wonderers, who are +always wondering what o'clock it is, or wondering whether it will rain +or no, or wondering when the moon changes; the Phraseologists, who +explain a thing by all that, or enter into particulars, with this and +that and t'other; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>and lastly, the Silent Men, who seem afraid of +opening their mouths lest they should catch cold, and literally observe +the precept of the Gospel, by letting their conversation be only yea and +nay.</p> + +<p>The rational intercourse kept up by conversation is one of our principal +distinctions from brutes. We should, therefore, endeavor to turn this +peculiar talent to our advantage, and consider the organs of speech as +the instruments of understanding; we should be very careful not to use +them as the weapons of vice, or tools of folly, and do our utmost to +unlearn any trivial or ridiculous habits, which tend to lessen the value +of such an inestimable prerogative. It is, indeed, imagined by some +philosophers, that even birds and beasts (tho without the power of +articulation) perfectly understand one another by the sounds they utter; +and that dogs, cats, etc., have each a particular language to +themselves, like different nations. Thus it may be supposed that the +nightingales of Italy have as fine an ear for their own native woodnotes +as any signor or signora for an Italian air; that the boars of +Westphalia <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>gruntle as expressively through the nose as the inhabitants +in High German; and that the frogs in the dykes of Holland croak as +intelligibly as the natives jabber their Low Dutch. However this may be, +we may consider those whose tongues hardly seem to be under the +influence of reason, and do not keep up the proper conversation of human +creatures, as imitating the language of different animals. Thus, for +instance, the affinity between Chatterers and Monkeys, and Praters and +Parrots, is too obvious not to occur at once; Grunters and Growlers may +be justly compared to Hogs; Snarlers are Curs that continually show +their teeth, but never bite; and the Spitfire passionate are a sort of +wild cats that will not bear stroking, but will purr when they are +pleased. Complainers are Screech-Owls; and Story-Tellers, always +repeating the same dull note, are Cuckoos. Poets that prick up their +ears at their own hideous braying are no better than Asses. Critics in +general are venomous Serpents that delight in hissing, and some of them +who have got by heart a few technical terms without knowing their +meaning are no other than Mag<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>pies. I, myself, who have crowed to the +whole town for near three years past may perhaps put my readers in mind +of a Barnyard Cock; but as I must acquaint them that they will hear the +last of me on this day fortnight, I hope that they will then consider me +as a Swan, who is supposed to sing sweetly at his dying moments.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Cowper.</i></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never +inflicts pain. This description is both refined, and, so far as it goes, +accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which +hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him, and he +concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. +His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called the +comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature—like an +easy chair or a good fire, which do their best in dispelling cold and +fatigue, tho nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without +them. The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may +cause a jar or a jolt in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>mind of those with whom he is cast—all +clashing of opinion or collision of feeling, all restraint or suspicion +or gloom or resentment, his great concern being to make every one at +ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company, he is tender +toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the +absurd. He can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against +unseasonable allusions or topics which may irritate; he is seldom +prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors +when he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He +never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by +a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in +imputing motive to those who interfere with him, and interprets +everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, +never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp +sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. +From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, +that we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>if he were +one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at +insults. He is too well employed to remember injuries and too indolent +to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned on philosophical +principle; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, to bereavement, +because it is irreparable, and to death because it is his destiny. If he +engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves +him from the blundering discourtesy of better, perhaps, but less +educated minds, who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of +cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength +on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more +involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but +he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, +and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater candor, +consideration, indulgence; he throws himself into the minds of his +opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of +human reason as well as its strength, its province, and its limits. If +he can be an unbe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>liever, he will be too profound and large-minded to +ridicule religion or to act against it; he is too wise to be a dogmatist +or fanatic in his infidelity. He respects piety and devotion; he even +supports institutions as venerable, beautiful or useful, to which he +does not assent; he honors the ministers of religion, and it contents +him to decline its mysteries without assailing or denouncing them. He is +a friend of religious toleration, and that not only because his +philosophy has taught him to look on all forms of faith with an +impartial eye, but also from the gentleness and effeminacy of feeling +which is attendant on civilization.</p> + +<p class='right'>—<i>Cardinal Newman.</i></p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="ADVERTISEMENTS" id="ADVERTISEMENTS"></a>ADVERTISEMENTS</h2> + +<p class='center'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>By GRENVILLE KLEISER</p> + +<p>HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC—A practical self-instructor for lawyers, +clergymen, teachers, business men, and others. Cloth, 543 pages. $1.25, +<i>net</i>; by mail, $1.40.</p> + +<p>HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE IN SPEECH AND MANNER—A book of practical +inspiration; trains men to rise above mediocrity and fearthought to +their great possibilities. Commended to ambitious men. Cloth, 320 pages. +$1.25, <i>net</i>; by mail, $1.35.</p> + +<p>COMPLETE GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING—The only extensive, comprehensive, +encyclopedic work of its kind ever issued, with its varied and inclusive +contents alphabetically arranged by topics, and made immediately +accessible by a Complete Index. The best advice by the world's great +authorities upon oratory, preaching, platform and pulpit delivery, voice +building and management, argumentation, debate, reading, rhetoric, +homiletics, eloquence, expression, persuasion, gesture, breathing, +composition, conversation, elocution, personal power, mental +development, etc. Royal 8vo, Cloth, over 700 pages. $5.00, <i>net</i>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>HOW TO DEVELOP POWER AND PERSONALITY IN SPEAKING—Practical suggestions +in English, word-building, imagination, memory, conversation, and +extemporaneous speaking. Cloth, 422 pages. $1.25, <i>net</i>; by mail, $1.40.</p> + +<p>HOW TO ARGUE AND WIN—Ninety-nine men in a hundred know how to argue to +one who can argue and win. This book tells how to acquire such power. +Cloth, 320 pages. $1.25, <i>net</i>; by mail, $1.35.</p> + +<p>HOW TO READ AND DECLAIM—A course of instruction in reading and +declamation for developing graceful carriage, correct standing, accurate +enunciation, and effective expression. Abundant exercise is furnished in +the use of the best examples of prose and poetry. 12mo, Cloth. $1.25, +<i>net</i>; by mail, $1.40.</p> + +<p>GREAT SPEECHES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM—In this work Mr. Kleiser gives +practical methods by which young men may acquire and develop the +essentials of forcible public speaking. 12mo, Cloth. $1.25, <i>net</i>; by +mail, $1.40.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>HUMOROUS HITS AND HOW TO HOLD AN AUDIENCE—A collection of recitations, +short stories, selections, and sketches for all occasions. Cloth, 326 +pages. $1.00, <i>net</i>; by mail, $1.11.</p> + +<p>THE WORLD'S GREAT SERMONS—Masterpieces of Pulpit Oratory and +biographical sketches of the speakers. Cloth, 10 volumes. Write for +terms.</p> + +<p>GRENVILLE KLEISER'S PERSONAL LESSONS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING and the +Development of Self-Confidence, Mental Power, and Personality. +Twenty-five lessons, with special handbooks, side talks, personal +letters, etc. Write for terms.</p> + +<p>GRENVILLE KLEISER'S PERSONAL LESSONS IN PRACTICAL ENGLISH—Twenty +lessons, with Daily Drills, special books, side talks, personal letters, +etc. Write for terms.</p> + +<p>GRENVILLE KLEISER'S PERSONAL LESSONS IN BUSINESS SUCCESS. Twenty-one +lessons, with daily exercises, special books, side talks, +self-appraisement charts, etc. Write for terms.</p> + +<p class='center'><i>Published by</i> FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY<br />NEW YORK and LONDON</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALKS ON TALKING***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 17476-h.txt or 17476-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/4/7/17476">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/4/7/17476</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/17476-h/images/illust-001.png b/17476-h/images/illust-001.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b28807 --- /dev/null +++ b/17476-h/images/illust-001.png diff --git a/17476.txt b/17476.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4123219 --- /dev/null +++ b/17476.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3658 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Talks on Talking, by Grenville Kleiser + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Talks on Talking + + +Author: Grenville Kleiser + + + +Release Date: January 7, 2006 [eBook #17476] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALKS ON TALKING*** + + +E-text prepared by Kevin Handy, Suzanne Lybarger, Martin Pettit, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(http://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +TALKS ON TALKING + +by + +GRENVILLE KLEISER + +Formerly Instructor in Public Speaking at Yale Divinity School, +Yale University; author of "How to Speak in Public," "How to +Develop Power and Personality in Speaking," "How to Develop +Self-Confidence in Speech and Manner," "How to Argue and Win," +"How to Read and Declaim," "Complete Guide to Public Speaking,"; +etc. + + + + + + + +Copyright, 1916, by +Funk. & Wagnalls Company +(Printed in the United States of America) +Published, September, 1916 +Copyright under the articles of the Copyright Convention of the +Pan-American Republics and the United States, August 11, 1910 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +THE ART OF TALKING 1 + +TYPES OF TALKERS 11 + +TALKERS AND TALKING 18 + +PHRASES FOR TALKERS 25 + +THE SPEAKING VOICE 34 + +HOW TO TELL A STORY 44 + +TALKING IN SALESMANSHIP 56 + +MEN AND MANNERISMS 63 + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC 70 + +PRACTICAL HINTS FOR SPEAKERS 84 + +THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SPEAKING 87 + +CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING 94 + +A TALK TO PREACHERS 100 + +CARE OF THE SPEAKER'S THROAT 108 + +DON'TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS 116 + +DO'S FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS 118 + +POINTS FOR SPEAKERS 120 + +THE BIBLE ON SPEECH 122 + +THOUGHTS ON TALKING 123 + + + + +PREFACE + + +Good conversation implies naturalness, spontaneity, and sincerity of +utterance. It is not advisable, therefore, to lay down arbitrary rules +to govern talking, but it is believed that the suggestions offered here +will contribute to the general elevation and improvement of daily +speech. + +Considering the large number of persons who are obliged to talk in +social, business, and public life, the subject of correct speech should +receive more serious consideration than is usually given to it. It is +earnestly hoped that this volume will be of practical value to those who +are desirous of developing and improving their conversational powers. + +Appreciative thanks are expressed to the Editors of the _Homiletic +Review_ for permission to reprint some of the extracts. + + GRENVILLE KLEISER. + +NEW YORK CITY, +MAY, 1916. + + + Boys flying kites haul in their white-wing'd birds: + You can't do that way when you're flying words. + "Careful with fire," is good advice we know; + "Careful with words," is ten times doubly so. + Thoughts unexpress'd may sometimes fall back dead, + But God Himself can't kill them once they're said! + + --_Will Carleton._ + + + The first duty of a man is to speak; that is his chief business in + this world; and talk, which is the harmonious speech of two or + more, is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing; + it is all profit; it completes our education; it founds and fosters + our friendships; and it is by talk alone that we learn our period + and ourselves. + + --_Robert Louis Stevenson._ + + + Vociferated logic kills me quite; + A noisy man is always in the right-- + I twirl my thumbs, fall back into my chair, + Fix on the wainscot a distressful stare; + And when I hope his blunders all are out, + Reply discreetly, "To be sure--no doubt!" + + --_Anon._ + + + + +TALKS ON TALKING + + + + +THE ART OF TALKING + + +The charm of conversation chiefly depends upon the adaptability of the +participants. It is a great accomplishment to be able to enter gently +and agreeably into the moods of others, and to give way to them with +grace and readiness. + +The spirit of conversation is oftentimes more important than the ideas +expressed. What we are rather than what we say has the most permanent +influence upon those around us. Hence it is that where a group of +persons are met together in conversation, it is the inner life of each +which silently though none the less surely imparts tone and character to +the occasion. + +It requires vigorous self-discipline so to cultivate the feelings of +kindness and sympathy that they are always in readiness for use. These +qualities are essential to agreeable and profitable intercourse, though +comparatively few people possess them. + +Burke considered manners of more importance than laws. Sidney Smith +described manners as the shadows of virtues. Dean Swift defined manners +as the art of putting at ease the people with whom we converse. +Chesterfield said manners should adorn knowledge in order to smooth its +way through the world. Emerson spoke of manners as composed of petty +sacrifices. + +We all recognize that a winning manner is made up of seemingly +insignificant courtesies, and of constant little attentions. A person of +charming manner is usually free from resentments, inquisitiveness, and +moods. + +Personality plays a large part in interesting conversation. Precisely +the same phraseology expressed by two different persons may make two +wholly different impressions, and all because of the difference in the +personalities of the speakers. + +The daily mental life of a man indelibly impresses itself upon his face, +where it can be unmistakably read by others. What a person is, innately +and habitually, unconsciously discloses itself in voice, manner, and +bearing. The world ultimately appraises a man at his true value. + +The best type of talker is slow to express positive opinions, is sparing +in criticism, and studiously avoids a tone or word of finality. It has +been well said that "A talker who monopolizes the conversation is by +common consent insufferable, and a man who regulates his choice of +topics by reference to what interests not his hearers but himself has +yet to learn the alphabet of the art. Conversation is like lawn-tennis, +and requires alacrity in return at least as much as vigor in service. A +happy phrase, an unexpected collocation of words, a habitual precision +in the choice of terms, are rare and shining ornaments of conversation, +but they do not for an instant supply the place of lively and +interesting matter, and an excessive care for them is apt to tell +unfavorably on the substance of discourse." + +When Lord Beaconsfield was talking his way into social fame, someone +said of him, "I might as well attempt to gather up the foam of the sea +as to convey an idea of the extraordinary language in which he clothed +his description. There were at least five words in every sentence that +must have been very much astonished at the use they were put to, and yet +no others apparently could so well have expressed his idea. He talked +like a racehorse approaching the winning-post--every muscle in action, +and the utmost energy of expression flung out into every burst." + +We are told that Matthew Arnold combined all the characteristics of good +conversation--politeness, vivacity, sympathy, interestedness, geniality, +a happy choice of words, and a never-failing humor. When he was once +asked what was his favorite topic for conversation, he instantly +answered, "That in which my companion is most interested." + +Courtesy, it will be noted, is the fundamental basis of good +conversation. We must show habitual consideration and kindliness towards +others if we would attract them to us. Bluntness of manner is no longer +excused on the ground that the speaker is sincere and outspoken. We +expect and demand that our companion in conversation should observe the +recognized courtesies of speech. + +There was a time when men and women indulged freely in satire, irony, +and repartee. They spoke their thoughts plainly and unequivocally. There +were no restraints imposed upon them by society, hence it now appears to +us that many things were said which might better have been left unsaid. +Self-restraint is nowadays one of the cardinal virtues of good +conversation. + +The spirit of conversation is greatly changed. We are enjoined to keep +the voice low, think before we speak, repress unseasonable allusions, +shun whatever may cause a jar or jolt in the minds of others, be seldom +prominent in conversation, and avoid all clashing of opinion and +collision of feeling. + +Macaulay was fond of talking, but made the mistake of always choosing a +subject to suit himself and monopolizing the conversation. He lectured +rather than talked. His marvelous memory was perhaps his greatest enemy, +for though it enabled him to pour forth great masses of facts, people +listened to him helplessly rather than admiringly. + +Carlyle was a great talker, and talked much in protest of talking. No +man broke silence oftener than he to tell the world how great a curse is +talking. But he told it eloquently and therein was he justified. There +was in him too much vehement sternness, of hard Scotch granite, to make +him a pleasant talker in the popular sense. He was the evangelist of +golden silence, and though he did not apparently practice it himself, +his genius will never diminish. + +Gladstone was unable to indulge in small talk. His mind was so +constantly occupied with great subjects that he spoke even to one person +as if addressing a meeting. It is said that in conversation with Queen +Victoria he would invariably choose weighty subjects, and though she +tried to make a digression, he would seize the first opportunity to +resume his original theme, always reinforced in volume and onrush by the +delay. + +Lord Morley is attractive though austere in conversation. He never +dogmatizes nor obtrudes his own opinions. He is a master of +phrase-making. But although he talks well he never talks much. + +The story is told that at a recent dinner in London ten leading public +men were met together, when one suggested that each gentleman present +should write down on paper the name of the man he would specially choose +to be his companion on a walking tour. When the ten papers were +subsequently read aloud, each bore the name of Lord Morley. + +Lord Rosebery is considered one of the most accomplished talkers of the +day. Deferential, natural, sympathetic, observant, well-informed, he +easily and unconsciously commands the attention of any group of men. His +voice is said to recommend what he utters, and a singularly refined +accent gives distinction to anything he says. He is a supreme example of +two great qualifications for effective talking: having something worth +while to say, and knowing how to say it. + +Among distinguished Canadians, Sir Thomas White is one of the most +interesting speakers. His versatile mind, and broad and varied +experience, enable him to converse with almost equal facility upon +politics, medicine, finance, law, science, art, literature, or +business. Dates, details, facts, figures, and illustrations are at his +ready command. His manner is natural, courteous, and genial, but in +argumentation the whole man is so thoroughly aroused to earnestness and +intensity as almost to overwhelm an opponent. His greatest quality in +speaking is his manifest sincerity, and it is this particularly which +has ingratiated him in the hearts of his countrymen. + +The Honorable Joseph H. Choate must certainly be reckoned among the best +conversationalists of our time. His manner, both in conversation and in +public speaking, is singularly gracious and winning. He is unsurpassed +as a story-teller. His fine taste, combined with long experience as a +public man, makes him an ideal after-dinner speaker. + +Some eminent men try to mask their greatness when engaged in +conversation. They do not wear their feelings nor their greatness on +their sleeves. Some have an utter distaste for anything like personal +display. It is said of the late Henry James that a stranger might talk +to him for an entire evening without discovering his identity. + +There is an interesting account of an evening's conversation between +Emerson and Thoreau. When Thoreau returned home he wrote in his Journal: +"Talked, or tried to talk, with R.W.E. Lost my time, nay, almost my +identity. He, assuming a false opposition where there was no difference +of opinion, talked to the wind." Emerson's version of the conversation +was this: "It seemed as if Thoreau's first instinct on hearing a +proposition was to controvert it. That habit is chilling to the social +affections; it mars conversation." + +Conversation offers daily opportunity for intellectual exercise of high +order. The reading of great books is desirable and indispensable to +education, but real culture comes through the additional training one +receives in conversation. The contact of mind with mind tends to +stimulate and develop thoughts which otherwise would probably remain +dormant. + +The culture of conversation is to be recommended not only for its own +sake, but also as one of the best means of training in the art of public +speaking. Since the best form of platform address today is simply +conversation enlarged and elevated, it may almost be assumed that to +excel in one is to be proficient in the other. + +Good conversation requires, among other things, mental alertness, +accuracy of statement, adequate vocabulary, facility of expression, and +an agreeable voice, and these qualities are most essential for effective +public speaking. Everyone, therefore, who aspires to speaking before an +audience of hundreds or thousands, will find his best opportunity for +preliminary training in everyday speech. + + + + +TYPES OF TALKERS + + +There is no greater affliction in modern life than the tiresome talker. +He talks incessantly. Presumably he talks in his sleep. Talking is his +constant exercise and recreation. He thrives on it. He lives for +talking's sake. He would languish if he were deprived of it for a single +day. His continuous practice in talking enables him easily to +outdistance all ordinary competitors. There is nothing which so +completely unnerves him as long periods of silence. He has the talking +habit in its most virulent form. + +The trifling talker is equally objectionable. He talks much, but says +little. He skims over the surface of things, and is timid of anything +deep or philosophical. He does not tarry at one subject. He talks of the +weather, clothes, plays, and sports. He puts little meaning into what he +says, because there is little meaning in what he thinks. He cannot look +at anything seriously. Nothing is of great significance to him. He is +in the class of featherweights. + +The tedious talker is one without terminal facilities. He talks right on +with no idea of objective or destination. He rises to go, but he does +not go. He knows he ought to go, but he simply cannot. He has something +more to say. He keeps you standing half an hour. He talks a while +longer. He assures you he really must go. You tell him not to hurry. He +takes you at your word and sits down again. He talks some more. He rises +again. He does not know even now how to conclude. He has no mental +compass. He is a rudderless talker. + +Probably the most obnoxious type is the tattling talker. He always has +something startlingly personal to impart. It is a sacred secret for your +ear. He is a wholesale dealer in gossip. He fairly smacks his lips as he +relates the latest scandal. He is an expert embellisher. He adroitly +supplies missing details. He has nothing of interest in his own life, +since he lives wholly in the lives of others. He is a frightful bore, +but you cannot offend him. He is adamant. + +There is the tautological talker, or the human self-repeater. He goes +over the ground again and again lest you have missed something. He is +very fond of himself. He tells the same story not twice, but a dozen +times. "You may have heard this before," says he, "but it is so good +that it will bear repetition." He tries to disguise his poverty of +thought in a masquerade of ornate language. If he must repeat his words, +he adds a little emphasis, a flourishing gesture, or a spirit of +nonchalance. + +Again, there is the tenacious talker, who refuses to release you though +you concede his arguments. When all others tacitly drop a subject, he +eagerly picks it up. He is reluctant to leave it. He would put you in +possession of his special knowledge. You may successfully refute him, +but he holds firmly to his own ideas. He is positive he is right. He +will prove it, too, if you will only listen. He knows that he knows. You +cannot convince him to the contrary, no indeed. He will talk you so +blind that at last you are unable to see any viewpoint clearly. + +A recognized type is the tactless talker. He says the wrong thing in +the right way, and the right thing in the wrong way. He is impulsive and +unguarded. He reaches hasty conclusions. He confuses his tactlessness +with cleverness. He is awkward and blundering. His indifference to the +rights and feelings of others is his greatest enemy. He is a stranger to +discretion. He speaks first, and thinks afterwards. He may have regrets, +but not resolutions. He is often tolerated, but seldom esteemed. + +The temperamental talker is one of the greatest of nerve-destroyers. He +deals in superlatives. He views everything emotionally. He talks +feelingly of trifles, and ecstatically of friends. He gushes. He +flatters. To him everything is "wonderful," "prodigious," "superb," +"gorgeous," "heavenly," "amazing," "indescribable," "overwhelming." +Extravagance and exaggeration permeate his most commonplace +observations. He is an incurable enthusiast. + +The tantalizing talker is one who likes to contradict you. He divides +his attention between what you are saying and what he can summon to +oppose you. He dissents from your most ordinary observations. His +favorite phrases are, "I don't think so," "There is where you are +wrong," "I beg to differ," and "Not only that." Tell him it will be a +fine day, and he will declare that the signs indicate foul weather. Say +that the day is unpromising, and he will assure you it does not look +that way to him. He cavils at trifles. He disputes even when there is no +antagonist. + +To listen to the tortuous talker is a supreme test of patience. He +slowly winds his way in and out of a subject. He traverses by-paths, +allowing nothing to escape his unwearied eye. He goes a long way about, +but never tires of his circuitous journey. Ploddingly and perseveringly +he zigzags from one point to another. He alters his course as often as +the crooked way of his subject changes. He twists, turns, and diverges +without the slightest inconvenience to himself. He likes nothing better +than to trace out details. His talking disease is discursiveness. + +The tranquil talker never hurries. He has all the time there is. If you +are very busy he will wait. He is uniformly moderate and polite. He is +a rare combination of oil, milk, and rose-water. He would not harm a +syllable of the English language. His talking has a soporific effect. It +acts as a lullaby. His speech is low and gentle. He never speaks an +ill-considered word. He chooses his words with measured caution. He is +what is known as a smooth talker. + +The torpedo talker is of the rapid fire explosive variety. He bursts +into a conversation. He scatters labials, dentals, and gutturals in all +directions. He is a war-time talker,--boom, burst, bang, roar, crash, +thud! He fills the air with vocal bullets and syllabic shrapnel. He is +trumpet-tongued, ear-splitting, deafening. He fires promiscuously at all +his hearers. He rends the skies asunder. He is nothing if not +vociferous, stentorian, lusty. He demolishes every idea in his way. He +is a Napoleon of words. + +The tangled talker never gets anything quite straight. He inevitably +spoils the best story. He always begins at the wrong end. Despite your +protests of face and manner he talks on. He talks inopportunely. He +becomes inextricably confused. He is weak in statistics. He has no +memory for names or places. He lacks not fluency but accuracy. He is a +twisted talker. + +The triumphant talker lays claim to the star part in any conversation. +He likes nothing better than to drive home his point and then look about +exultingly. He says gleefully, "I told you so." That he can ever be +wrong is inconceivable to him. He knows the facts since he can readily +manufacture them himself. He is self-satisfied, for in his own opinion +he has never lost an argument. He is a brave and bold talker. + +These, then, are some types of talking which we should not emulate. +Study the list carefully--the tiresome talker, the trifling talker, the +tedious talker, the tattling talker, the tautological talker, the +tenacious talker, the tactless talker, the temperamental talker, the +tantalizing talker, the tangled talker, the triumphant talker--and guard +yourself diligently against the faults which they represent. Talking +should always be a pleasure to the speaker and listener, never a bore. + + + + +TALKERS AND TALKING + + +Conversation is not a verbal nor vocal contest, but a mutual meeting of +minds. It is not a monologue, but a reciprocal exchange of ideas. + +There are cardinal rules which everyone should observe in conversation. +The first of these is to be prepared always to give courteous and +considerate attention to the ideas of others. There is no better way to +cultivate your own conversational powers than to train yourself first to +be an interesting and sympathetic listener. + +It is in bad taste to interrupt a speaker. This is a common fault which +should be resolutely guarded against. Moreover, your own opportunity to +speak will shortly come if you have patience, when you may reasonably +expect to receive the same uninterrupted attention which you have given +to others. + +Never allow yourself to monopolize a conversation. This is a form of +selfishness practiced by many persons apparently unaware of being +ill-mannered. It is inexcusably bad taste to tell unduly long stories or +lengthy personal experiences. If you cannot abridge a story to +reasonable dimensions, it would be better to omit it entirely. The +habitual long-story teller may easily become a bore. + +Avoid the habit of eagerly matching the other person's story or +experience with one of your own. There is nothing more disconcerting to +a speaker than to observe the listener impatiently waiting to plunge +headlong into the conversation with some marvellous tale. Be +particularly careful not to outdo another speaker in relating your own +experiences. If, for instance, he has just told how he caught fifty fish +upon a recent trip, do not succumb to the temptation to tell of the time +you caught fifty-one. + +Be careful not to give unsolicited advice. It has been well said that +advice which costs nothing is worth what it costs. If people desire your +counsel they will probably ask for it, in which case they will be more +likely to appreciate what you have to tell them. + +Do not voluntarily recommend doctors, dentists, osteopaths, pills, +coffee substitutes, health foods, health resorts, or panaceas for the +ills of mankind. If you can be of service to others in these particular +respects, it will be when you are specifically asked for such +information. + +It is most imprudent to carry an argument to extremes. If you observe an +unwillingness in the other person to be convinced by what you say, you +had better turn to another subject. Conversation should never resolve +itself into controversial debate. + +It is well to avoid discursiveness, over-use of parentheses, and +positiveness of statement. Keep your desires and feelings from +over-coloring your views. A flexible attitude of mind is more likely to +win an opponent to your way of thinking. + +Take special pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others. Be +interested in what they want to talk about. Let your interest be deep +and sincere. Adopt the right tone, temper, and reticence in your +conversation. + +You should accustom yourself to look at things from the other person's +standpoint. It is surprising how this habit enlarges the vision and +gives a charitableness to speech which might otherwise be absent. It is +well to remember that no person can possibly have a monopoly of +knowledge upon any subject. + +Good conversation demands restraint, adaptability, and reasonable +brevity. There is an appalling waste of words on all sides, hence you +should constantly guard yourself against this fault. When there is +nothing worth-while to say, the best substitute is silence. + +Practice self-discipline in talking. Correct any fault in yourself the +instant you recognize it. If, for example, you realize that you are +talking at too great length, stop it at once. Should you feel that you +are not giving interested attention to the speaker, check your +mind-wandering immediately and concentrate upon what is being said. + +Do not be always setting other people right. This is a thankless as well +as useless task. They probably do not want your assistance, or they +would ask for it. Besides most people are sensitive about their +shortcomings, and prefer to get help and counsel in private. + +There is no more important suggestion than to rule your moods. Ofttimes +the feelings run away with the judgment. What you think and say today +may be due to your present mood, rather than to matured judgment. Let +your common sense predominate at all times. + +It is not well to give too strong expression to your likes and dislikes. +These, like all your feelings, should be governed with a firm hand. +Opinions advanced with too much emphasis may easily fail to impress +other minds. Remember always that your greatest ally is truth. Therefore +frankly and faithfully examine your important opinions before giving +them expression. + +Resist the desire to be prominent in conversation, or to say clever and +surprising things. This is sometimes difficult to do, but it is the only +safe course to follow. If you have something brilliant or worth-while to +say, it will be best said spontaneously and with due modesty. But if +there is no suitable opportunity to say it, put it back in your mind +where it may improve with age. Egotism is taboo in polite society. + +The suggestion that nothing should be allowed to pass the lips that +charity would check is invaluable advice. It is unfortunately all too +common to give hasty and harsh expression to personal opinions and +criticisms. Reticence is one of the most essential conditions of long +friendship. + +Judgment and tact are necessary to good conversation. It is not well to +ask many questions, and then only those of a general character. +Curiosity should be curbed. Quite properly people resent +inquisitiveness. The best way to cultivate the rare grace of judgment is +to be mindful of your own faults and to correct them with all speed and +thoroughness. + +The word "talk" is often used in a derogatory sense, and we hear such +expressions as "all talk," "empty talk," and "idle talk." But as +everyone talks, we should all do our utmost to set a high example to +others of the correct use of speech. + +It is always better to talk too little than too much. Never talk for +mere talking's sake. Avoid being artificial or pedantic. Don't +antagonize, dogmatize, moralize, attitudinize, nor criticise. Talk in +poise,--quietly, deliberately, sincerely, and you will never lack an +attentive audience. + + + + +PHRASES FOR TALKERS + + +It is said of Macaulay that he never allowed a sentence to pass muster +until it was as good as he could make it. He would write and rewrite, +and even construct a paragraph or a whole chapter, in order to secure a +more lucid and satisfactory arrangement. He wrote just so much each day, +usually an average of six pages, and this manuscript was so erased and +corrected that it was finally compressed into two pages of print. + +The masters of English prose have been great workers. Stevenson and +others like him gave hours and days to the study of words, phrases, and +sentences. Through unwearied application to the art of rhetorical +composition they ultimately won fame as writers. + +The ambitious student of speech culture, whether for use in conversation +or in public, will do well to emulate the example of such great +writers. One of the best ways to build a large vocabulary is to note +useful and striking phrases in one's general reading. It is advisable to +jot down such phrases in a note-book, and to read them aloud from time +to time. Such phrases may be classified according to their particular +application,--to business, politics, music, education, literature, or +the drama. + +It is not recommended that such phrases should be consciously dragged +into conversation, but the practice of carefully observing felicitous +phrases, and of noting them in writing, cultivates the taste for better +words and a sense of discrimination in their use. Many phrases noted and +studied in this way will unconsciously find their way into one's +expression. + +The list of phrases which follows is offered as merely suggestive. In +reading the phrases aloud it is well to think clearly what each one +means, and to fit it into a sentence of one's own making. This simple +exercise, practiced for a few weeks, will produce surprising results by +way of increased facility and flexibility of English style. + + + It is obviously desirable + I can well imagine + Broadly speaking + An admirable idea + In a literal sense + By sheer force of genius + You can imagine his chagrin + I hazard a guess + It challenges belief + He has an inscrutable face + Very fertile in resource + I am loath to believe + It is essentially undignified + Example is so contagious + I am not in her confidence + Taken in the aggregate + It is a reproof to shallowness + There is a misconception here + I strongly suspect it so + He was covered with confusion + It was a just rebuke + A pleasing instance of this + It lends dignity to life + She has a desultory liking for music + It seems incredible + A kind of detached ideal + It blunts the finer sensibilities + Beyond question or cavil + A well-founded suspicion + It has elicited great praise + They are landmarks in memory + Superhuman vigor and activity + A venerable and interesting figure + It is curious and interesting + Gives the impression of aloofness + Perfectly void of offence + Regard with misgiving + A stroke of professional luck + An unscrupulous adventurer + He spoke with extreme reticence + Robust common sense + Deficient in amiability + Done with characteristic thoroughness + A vein of philanthropic zeal + Definite, tangible, and practical + Too much effusive declamation + A man of keen ambition + It gives infinite zest + Singular qualifications for public life + They are bitterly hostile + The despair of the official wire-puller + Blind and unreasoning opponent + Ignoble strife for power + Surrounded by a cohort of admiring friends + In an imperative voice + Marked by copiousness and vivacity + Touched with sombre dignity + A ridiculous misconception + Habitual austerity of demeanor + Ostentation and lavish expenditure + A person of exquisite tact + Intolerant of bumptiousness + The obvious danger of dallying + This was grossly overstated + A mass of calumny and exaggeration + Inimical to religion + Fraught with peril + I venture to ask + Attributed to mental decrepitude + A strange phenomena + It argues a blind faith + Insatiable whirl of excitement + A substratum of truth + Under some conceivable circumstances + Bubbling over with infectious joy + Frigid dignity and arrogant reserve + A profound contempt + The fine art of hospitality + Grim morsels of philosophy + A tinge of sorrowness and jealousy + Due to ignorance and barbarism + Grave and monstrous scandal + A splendid instance of self-devotion + Amusingly exemplified in this case + Recognized and powerful element + A symbol of restraint + An utterly fallacious idea + In rapid and striking succession + We learn from stern experience + Pictures of an inspired imagination + An astonishing outbreak + Soothing words of sympathy + A rather bold assertion + The most enthusiastic adherents + Mere tepid conviction + Eminently qualified for the task + Almost supernatural charm + In glowing and exaggerated phrases + Somewhat rich and austere + An inexhaustible theme + Grave and undeniable faults + Perfectly chosen language + All the characteristics of a mob + Given to grandiloquent phrase + Peculiar vein of sarcasm + Froze like ice and cut like steel + A generous tribute to an eminent rival + Cold and stately composure + Fiery and passionate enthusiasm + Extraordinary violence of nature + A brilliant and delightful play + Rare and striking combination + Preeminently qualified for the part + Moderate and cautious conservatism + Daring perversions of justice + Devoid of rhetorical device + As a great thinker has observed + Almost morbid sensitiveness + Discreetly stifled yawn + He was dumb with wonder + Scarcely less familiar + Delightfully characteristic + It was a profound conviction + Greatly conceived and expressed + Blinded by its brightness + I have cudgelled my memory + Exposed to imminent peril + Screening a breach of etiquette + By a natural transition + Splendid anticipations of success + A very laudable attempt + Lapsed into complete oblivion + With most distinguished success + Like embarking on a shoreless sea + A really pretty imitation + Unless I greatly err + Undaunted by repeated failure + Became a term of reproach + An epoch-making achievement + In the guise of verbal nonsense + Received with cordial sympathy + With the most obvious sincerity + Held forth with fluency and zest + Gracious solicitude + Punctiliously civil and polite + An air of sphinx-like mystery + Consumed by zeal + Awaited with lively interest + Sledge-hammer blows against humbug + This recalls a happy retort + Preeminently a case in point + Exquisite precision and finish + Incomparably better informed + A keen eye for incongruities + Polite to the point of deference + To the last degree improbable + People with rampant prejudices + A model of chivalrous propriety + By way of digression + A splendid acquisition + Singularly attractive fashion + A kind of unconscious conspiracy + Amid engrossing demands + + + + +THE SPEAKING VOICE + + +There is a widespread need for a more thorough cultivation of the +speaking voice. It is astonishing how few persons give specific +attention to this important subject. On all sides we are subjected to +voices that are disagreeable and strident. It is the exception to hear a +voice that is musical and well-modulated. + +Most people make too much physical effort in speaking. They tighten the +muscles of the throat and mouth, instead of liberating these muscles and +allowing the voice to flow naturally and harmoniously. The remedy for +this common fault of vocal tension is to relax all the muscles used in +speech. This is easily accomplished by means of a little daily practice. + +The first thing to keep in mind is that we should speak through the +throat and not from it. A musical quality of voice depends chiefly upon +directing the tone towards the hard palate, or the bony arch above the +upper teeth. From this part of the mouth the voice acquires much of its +resonance. + +An excellent exercise for throat relaxation is yawning. It is not +necessary to wait until a real yawn presents itself, but frequent +practice in imitating a yawn may be indulged in with good results. +Immediately after practicing the yawn, it is advisable to test the +voice, either in speaking or in reading, to observe improvement in +freedom of tone. + +It is not desirable to use the voice where there is loud noise by way of +opposition. Many a good voice has been ruined due to the habit of +continuous talking on the street or elsewhere amid clatter and hubbub. +Under such circumstances it is better to rest the voice, since in any +contest of the kind the voice will almost surely be vanquished. + +What we need in our daily conversation is less emphasis, and more +quietness and non-resistance. We need less eagerness and more vivacity +and variety. We need a settled equanimity of mind that does not deprive +us of our animation, but saves us from the petty irritations of +everyday life. We need, in short, more poise and self-control in our way +of speaking. + +It is well to remember that few things we say are of such importance as +to require emphasis. The thought should be its own recommendation. But +if emphasis be necessary, let it be by the intellectual means of pausing +or inflection, rather than with the shoulders or the clenched fist. + +A very disagreeable and common fault is nasality, or "talking through +the nose." Many persons are guilty of this who least suspect it. This +habit is so easily and unconsciously acquired that everyone should be on +strict guard against it. Almost equally disagreeable is the fault of +throatiness, caused by holding the muscles of the throat instead of +relaxing them. + +The best tones of the speaking voice are the middle and low keys. These +should be used exclusively in daily conversation. The use of high pitch +is due to habit or temperament, but may be overcome through judicious +practice. The objection to a high-keyed voice is not only that it is +disagreeable to the listener, but puts the speaker "out of tune" with +his audience. + +A good speaking voice should possess the qualities of purity, resonance, +flexibility, roundness, brilliancy, and adequate power. These qualities +can be rapidly developed by daily reading aloud for ten minutes, giving +special attention to one quality at a time. A few weeks, assiduous +practice will produce most gratifying results. The voice grows through +use, and it grows precisely in the way it is habitually used. + +Distinct articulation and correct pronunciation are indications of +cultivated speech. Pedantry should be avoided, but every aspirant to +correct speech should be a student of the dictionary. A writer has given +this good counsel: + +"Resolve that you will never use an incorrect, an inelegant, or a vulgar +phrase or word, in any society whatever. If you are gifted with wit, you +will soon find that it is easy to give it far better point and force in +pure English than through any other medium, and that brilliant thoughts +make the deepest impressions when well worded. However great it may be, +the labor is never lost which earns for you the reputation of one who +habitually uses the language of a gentleman, or of a lady. It is +difficult for those who have not frequent opportunities for conversation +with well-educated people, to avoid using expressions which are not +current in society, although they may be of common occurrence in books. +As they are often learned from novels, it will be well for the reader to +remember that even in the best of such works dialogues are seldom +sustained in a tone which would not appear affected in ordinary life. +This fault in conversation is the most difficult of all to amend, and it +is unfortunately the one to which those who strive to express themselves +correctly are peculiarly liable. Its effect is bad, for though it is not +like slang, vulgar in itself, it betrays an effort to conceal vulgarity. +It may generally be remedied by avoiding any word or phrase which you +may suspect yourself of using for the purpose of creating an effect. +Whenever you imagine that the employment of any mere word or sentence +will convey the impression that you are well informed, substitute for +it some simple expression. If you are not positively certain as to the +pronunciation of a word, never use it. If the temptation be great, +resist it; for, rely upon it, if there be in your mind the slightest +doubt on the subject, you will certainly make a mistake. Never use a +foreign word when its meaning can be given in English, and remember that +it is both rude and silly to say anything to any person who possibly may +not understand it. But never attempt, under any circumstances whatever, +to utter a foreign word, unless you have learned to pronounce correctly +the language to which it belongs." + +There is need for the admonition to open the mouth well. Many people +speak with half-closed teeth, the result being that the quality of voice +and correctness of pronunciation are greatly impaired. Consonants and +vowels should be given proper significance. Muffled speech is almost as +objectionable as stammering. + +It enhances the pleasure and quality of conversation to speak in +deliberate style. Rapidity of utterance often leads a speaker into such +faults as indistinctness, monotony, and incorrect breathing. Deliberate +speaking confers many advantages, not the least of which is increased +pleasure to the listener. + +Many voices are too thin in quality. They fail to carry conviction even +when the thought is of superior character. The remedy here is to give +special attention to the development of deep tones. One of the best +exercises for this purpose is to practice for a few minutes daily upon +the vowel sound "O," endeavoring to make it full, deep, and melodious. +For all-round vocal development this practice should be done with varied +force and inflection, and on high as well as low keys of the voice. + +The best remedy for a weak voice is to practice daily upon explosives, +expelling the principal vowel sounds, on various keys, using the +abdominal muscles throughout. Another good exercise is to read aloud +while walking upstairs or uphill. As these exercises are somewhat +extreme, the student is recommended to practice them prudently. + +Correct breathing is fundamental to correct and agreeable speaking. The +breathing apparatus should be brought under control by daily practice +upon exercises prescribed in any standard book on elocution. Pure tone +of voice depends upon the ability to convert into tone every particle of +breath used. Aspirated voice, in which some of the breath is allowed to +escape unvocalized, is injurious to the throat, and unpleasant to the +listening ear. + +The speaker, whether in conversation or in public, should try always to +speak with an adequate supply of breath. Deliberate utterance will give +the necessary opportunity to replenish the lungs, so that the speaker +will not suffer from unnecessary fatigue. Needless to say, the habit +should be formed of breathing through the nose when in repose. + +There is a voice of unusual roundness and fulness known as the orotund, +which is indispensable to the public speaker. It is simple, pure tone, +rounded out into greater fulness. It is produced mainly by an increased +resonance of the chest and mouth cavities, and a more vigorous action of +the abdominal muscles. It has the character of fulness, but it is not +necessarily a loud tone. It is in no sense artificial, but simply an +enlargement of the natural conversational voice. + +The use of the orotund voice varies according to the intensity of the +thought and feeling being expressed. It is used in language of great +dignity, power, grandeur, and sublimity. It is appropriate in certain +forms of public prayer and Bible reading. It enables the public speaker +to vary from his conversational style. It gives vastly increased scope +and power, by enabling the speaker to bring into play all the resources +of vocal force and intensity. + +Where resonance of voice is lacking, it can be rapidly developed by +means of humming the letter _m_, with lips closed, and endeavoring to +make the face vibrate. The tone should be kept well forward throughout +the exercise, pressing firmly against the lips and hard palate. Later +the exercise may begin with the humming _m_, and be developed, while the +lips are opened gradually, into the tone of _ah_, still aiming to +maintain the original resonance. + +The speaking voice is capable of most wonderful development. There is a +duty devolving upon everyone to cultivate beauty of vocal utterance and +diction. Crudities of speech so commonly in evidence are mainly due to +carelessness and neglect. It is a hopeful sign, however, that greater +attention is now being given to this important subject than heretofore. +Surely there is nothing more important than the development of the +principal instrument by which men communicate with one another. As Story +says: + + "O, how our organ can speak with its many and wonderful voices!-- + Play on the soft lute of love, blow the loud trumpet of war, + Sing with the high sesquialter, or, drawing its full diapason, + Shake all the air with the grand storm of its pedals and stops." + + + + +HOW TO TELL A STORY + + +Someone has wittily said that only those in their anecdotage should tell +stories. De Quincey wanted all story-tellers to be submerged in a +horse-pond, or treated in the same manner as mad dogs. But story-telling +has its legitimate and appropriate use, and if certain rules are +observed may give added charm to conversation and public speaking. + +It requires a fine discrimination to know when to tell a story, and when +not to tell one though it is urging itself to be expressed. Few men have +the rare gift of choosing the right story for the particular occasion. +Many men have no difficulty in telling stories that are insufferably +long, pointless, and uninteresting. + +We have all been victims of a certain type of public speaker who begins +by saying, "Now I don't want to bore you with a long story, but this is +so good, etc.," or "An incident occurred at the American Consulate in +Shanghai, which reminds me of an awfully good story, etc." When a +speaker prefaces his remarks with some such sentences as these, we know +we are in for an uncomfortable time. + +As far as possible a story should be new, clever, short, simple, +inoffensive, and appropriate. As such stories are scarce, it is +advisable to set them down, when found, in a special note-book for +convenient reference. It is said that Chauncey M. Depew, one of the most +gifted of after-dinner speakers, was for many years in the habit of +keeping a set of scrap-books in which were preserved stories and other +interesting data clipped from newspapers and magazines. These were so +classified that he could on short notice refresh his mind with ample +material upon almost any general subject. + +Anyone who essays to tell a story should have it clearly in mind. It is +fatal for a speaker to hesitate midway in a story, apologize for not +knowing it better, avow that it was much more humorous when told to him, +and in other ways to announce his shortcomings. If he cannot tell a +story fluently and interestingly, he should first practice it on his own +family--provided they will tolerate it. + +Some stories should be committed to memory, especially where the point +of humor depends upon exact phraseology. In such case, it requires some +training and experience to disguise the memorized effort. A story like +the following, for obvious reasons, should be thoroughly memorized: + +The longest sermon on record occupied three hours and a half. But the +shortest sermon was that of a preacher who spoke for one minute on the +text: "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." He said: + +"I shall divide my discourse into three heads: (1) Man's ingress into +the world; (2) His progress through the world; (3) His egress out of the +world. + +"Firstly, His ingress into the world is naked and bare. + +"Secondly, His progress through the world is trouble and care. + +"Thirdly, His egress out of the world is nobody knows where. + +"To conclude: + +"If we live well here, we shall live well there. + +"I can tell you no more if I preach a whole year. + +"The collection will now be taken up." + +Dialect stories are usually rather difficult, and should not as a +general thing be attempted by beginners. As a matter of fact, few +persons know how to speak such dialects as Irish, Scotch, German, +Cockney, and negro without undue exaggeration. For most occasions it is +well to keep to simple stories couched in plain English. + +A story should be told in simple, conversational style. Concentration +upon the story, and a sincere desire to give pleasure to the hearers, +will keep the speaker free from self-consciousness. Needless to say he +should not be the first to laugh at his own story. Sometimes in telling +a humorous anecdote to an audience a speaker secures the greatest effect +by maintaining an expression of extreme gravity. + +No matter how successful one may be in telling stories, he should avoid +telling too many. A man who is accounted brilliant and entertaining may +become an insufferable bore by continuing to tell stories when the +hearers have become satiated. Of all speakers, the story-teller should +keep his eyes on his entire audience and be alert to detect the +slightest signs of weariness. + +It is superfluous to say that a story should never be told which in any +way might give offence. The speaker may raise a laugh, but lose a +friend. Hence it is that stories about stammerers, red-headed people, +mothers-in-law, and the like, should always be chosen with +discrimination. + +Generally the most effective story is one in which the point of humor is +not disclosed until the very last words, as in the following: + +An old colored man was brought up before a country judge. + +"Jethro," said the judge, "you are accused of stealing General Johnson's +chickens. Have you any witnesses?" + +"No, sah," old Jethro answered, haughtily; "I hab not, sah. I never +steal chickens befo' witnesses." + +This is a similar example, told by Prime Minister Asquith: + +An English professor wrote on the blackboard in his laboratory, +"Professor Blank informs his students that he has this day been +appointed honorary physician to his Majesty, King George." + +During the morning he had some occasion to leave the room, and found on +his return that some student wag had added the words, + +"God save the King!" + +Henry W. Grady was a facile story-teller. One of his best stories was as +follows: + +"There was an old preacher once who told some boys of the Bible lesson +he was going to read in the morning. The boys, finding the place, glued +together the connecting pages. The next morning he read on the bottom of +one page: 'When Noah was one hundred and twenty years old he took unto +himself a wife, who was'--then turning the page--'one hundred and forty +cubits long, forty cubits wide, built of gopherwood, and covered with +pitch inside and out.' He was naturally puzzled at this. He read it +again, verified it, and then said: 'My friends, this is the first time +I ever met this in the Bible, but I accept it as an evidence of the +assertion that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.'" + +Personalities based upon sarcasm or invective are always attended with +danger, but good-humored bantering may be used upon occasion with most +happy results. As an instance of this, there is a story of an annual +dinner at which Mr. Choate was set down for the toast, "The Navy," and +Mr. Depew was to respond to "The Army." Mr. Depew began by saying, "It's +well to have a specialist: that's why Choate is here to speak about the +Navy. We met at the wharf once and I did not see him again till we +reached Liverpool. When I asked how he felt he said he thought he would +have enjoyed the trip over if he had had any ocean air. Yes, you want to +hear Choate on the Navy." When it was Mr. Choate's turn to speak, he +said: "I've heard Depew hailed as the greatest after-dinner speaker. If +after-dinner speaking, as I have heard it described and as I believe it +to be, is the art of saying nothing at all, then Mr. Depew is the most +marvelous speaker in the universe." + +The medical profession can be assailed with impunity, since they have +long since grown accustomed to it. There is a story of a young laborer +who, on his way to his day's work, called at the registrar's office to +register his father's death. When the official asked the date of the +event, the son replied, "He ain't dead yet, but he'll be dead before +night, so I thought it would save me another journey if you would put it +down now." "Oh, that won't do at all," said the registrar; "perhaps your +father will live till tomorrow." "Well, I don't think so, sir; the +doctor says as he won't, and he knows what he has given him." + +While stories should be used sparingly, there is probably nothing more +effective before a popular audience than the telling of a story in which +the joke is on the speaker himself. Thus: + +The last time I made a speech, I went next day to the editor of our +local newspaper, and said, + +"I thought your paper was friendly to me?" + +The editor said, "So it is. What's the matter?" + +"Well," I said, "I made a speech last night, and you didn't print a +single line of it this morning." + +"Well," said the editor, "what further proof do you want?" + +Many of the best and most effective stories are serious in character. +One that has been used successfully is this: Some gentlemen from the +West were excited and troubled about the commissions or omissions of the +administration. President Lincoln heard them patiently, and then +replied: "Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was in +gold, and you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry across the +Niagara River on a rope; would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out +to him--'Blondin, stand up a little straighter--Blondin, stoop a little +more--go a little faster--lean a little more to the north--lean a little +more to the south?' No, you would hold your breath as well as your +tongue, and keep your hands off until he was safe over. The Government +is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in our hands. We are +doing the very best we can. Don't badger us. Keep silence, and we'll get +you safe across." + +Punning is of course out of fashion. The best pun in the English +language is Tom Hood's: + + "He went and told the sexton, + And the sexton tolled the bell." + +Dr. Johnson said that the pun was the lowest order of wit. Newspapers +formerly indulged in it freely. One editor would say: "We don't care a +straw what Shakespeare said--a rose by any other name would not smell as +wheat." Then another paper would answer: "Such puns are barley +tolerable, they amaize us, they arouse our righteous corn, and they turn +the public taste a-rye." + +But punning, when it is unusually clever and spontaneous, may be +thoroughly enjoyable, as in the following: + +Chief Justice Story attended a public dinner in Boston at which Edward +Everett was present. Desiring to pay a delicate compliment to the +latter, the learned judge proposed as a volunteer toast: + +"Fame follows merit where Everett goes." + +The brilliant scholar arose and responded: + +"To whatever heights judicial learning may attain in this country, it +will never get above one Story." + +Story-telling may attain the character of a disease, in one who has a +retentive memory and a voluble vocabulary. The form of humor known as +repartee, however, is one that requires rare discrimination. It should +be used sparingly, and not at all if it is likely to give offence. + +Beau Brummell was guilty in this respect, when he was once asked by a +lady if he would "take a cup of tea." "Thank you," said he, "I never +_take_ anything but physic." "I beg your pardon," said the hostess, "you +also take liberties." + +There is a story that Henry Luttrell had sat long in the Irish +Parliament, but no one knew his precise age. Lady Holland, without +regard to considerations of courtesy, one day said to him point-blank, +"Now, we are all dying to know how old you are. Just tell me." Luttrell +answered very gravely, "It is an odd question, but as you, Lady Holland, +ask it, I don't mind telling you. If I live till next year, I shall +be--devilish old!" + +The art of story-telling is not taught specifically, hence there are +comparatively few people who can tell a story without violating some of +the rules which experience recommends. But the right use of +story-telling should be encouraged as an ornament of conversation, and a +valuable auxiliary to effective public address. Many people might excel +as story-tellers if they would devote a little time to suggestions such +as are offered here. It is not a difficult art, but like every other +subject requires study and application. + +The best counsel for public speakers in the matter of story-telling may +be summed up as follows: Know your story thoroughly; test your story by +telling it to some one in advance; adapt your story to the special +circumstances; be concise, omitting non-essentials; have ready more +stories than you intend to use, because if you should speak at the end +of the list you may find that your best story has been told by a +previous speaker; and, finally, always stop when you have made a hit. + + + + +TALKING IN SALESMANSHIP + + +The salesman depends for his success primarily upon his talking ability. +Obviously, what he offers for sale must have intrinsic merit, and he +should possess a thorough knowledge of his wares. But in order to secure +the best results from his efforts, he must know how to talk well. + +All the general requirements for good conversation apply equally to the +needs of the salesman. He should have a pleasant speaking voice and an +agreeable manner, a vocabulary of useful and appropriate words, and the +ability to put things clearly and convincingly. + +It should be a golden rule of the salesman never to argue with the +customer. He may explain and reason, and use all the persuasive +phraseology at his command, but he must not permit himself for a single +instant to engage in controversy. To argue is fatal to successful +salesmanship. + +There is nothing that can be substituted for a winning personality in +the salesman. What constitutes such a personality? Chiefly a good voice, +affability of manner, straightforward speech, manly bearing, the desire +to serve and please, proper attire, and cleanliness of person. These +qualifications come within the reach of anyone who aspires to success in +salesmanship. + +Every salesman has unexpected problems to solve. A sensitive or touchy +customer may become unreasonably angry or offended. What is the salesman +to do? He should here be particularly on his guard not to show the +slightest resentment. Though he may be wholly guiltless, he cannot +afford to contradict the customer, nor to challenge him to a vocal duel. +If he talks at all, he should talk quietly and reasonably, and always +with the object of bringing the customer around to a favorable point of +view. + +The successful salesman must have tact and discrimination. He must know +when and how to check in himself the word or phrase which is trying to +force its way out into expression, but which would in the end prove +inadvisable. He must train himself to choose quickly the right and best +course under difficult circumstances. + +The salesman should give his undivided attention to the customer. If the +salesman is speaking, he should speak clearly, directly, concisely, and +understandingly; if he is listening, he should listen interestedly and +thoroughly, with all his powers alive and receptive. + +The salesman should know when to speak and when to be silent. Some +customers wish to be told much, others prefer to think for themselves. +He is a wise salesman who knows when to be mute. Loquacity has often +killed what otherwise might have been a good sale. + +There is a certain tone of voice which the salesman should aim to +acquire. It is neither high nor low in pitch. It is agreeable to the +listening ear, and is almost sufficient in itself to win the favorable +attention of the prospective buyer. Every salesman should cultivate a +musical and well-modulated voice as one of the chief assets in +salesmanship. + +The salesman should cultivate dignity of speech and manner. People +generally dislike familiarity, joking, and horse-play. It is well to +assume that the customer is serious-minded, that he means business and +nothing else. Needless to say, the telling of long stories, or personal +experiences, has no legitimate place in the business of salesmanship. + +There is a proper time and place for short story-telling. Like +everything else it is all right in its appropriate setting. Lincoln used +it to advantage, but once said: "I believe I have the popular reputation +of being a story-teller, but I do not deserve the name in its general +sense; for it is not the story itself, but its purpose, or effect, that +interests me. I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others, or +a laborious explanation on my part, by a short story that illustrates my +point of view." + +The salesman should resolve not to lose his poise and agreeableness +under any circumstances. Irritability never attracts business. To say +the right thing in the right place is desirable, but it is quite as +important, though more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the +moment of temptation. + +It is not the legitimate business of the salesman to force upon a +customer what is really not wanted, but many times the customer does +not know what he wants nor what he might be able to use. Hence the +competent salesman should know how to influence the customer towards a +favorable decision, using all honorable and approved means to bring +about such a result. + +The customer's unfavorable answer is not to be accepted always as final. +He may not clearly understand the merits or uses of the article offered. +He may need the explanations and suggestions of the salesman in order to +reach a right conclusion. Here it is that the salesman may fulfill one +of his most important duties. + +There is a wide difference between self-reliance and obtrusiveness. +Every man should have a full degree of self-confidence. It is needed in +every walk in life. But the salesman, more than most men, must have an +exceptional degree of faith in himself and in what he has to sell. + +This self-confidence, however, is a very different thing from boldness +or obtrusiveness. Courtesy and considerateness are cardinal qualities of +the well-equipped salesman, but boastfulness, glibness, egotism, +loudness, and self-assertion, are as distasteful as they are +undesirable. + +The eloquence and persuasiveness of silence is nowhere better +exemplified than in the art of salesmanship. One man says much, and +sells little; another says little, and sells much. The reason for the +superior success of one over the other is mainly due to the fact that he +knows best how to present the merits of what he offers for sale, knows +how to say it concisely and effectively, knows how to ingratiate +himself, largely through his personality, into the good graces of the +prospective buyer, and knows when to stop talking. + +Modern salesmanship is based primarily upon common sense. A man with +brains, though possibly lacking in other desirable qualifications, may +easily outdistance the more experienced salesman. It is a valuable thing +in any man to be able to think accurately, reason deeply, and size up a +situation promptly. + +The salesman should at all times be on his best talking behavior. It is +not advisable for him to have two standards of speech, and to use an +inferior one excepting for special occasions. He should cultivate as a +regular daily habit discrimination in the use of voice, enunciation, +expression, and language. This should be the constant aim not only of +the salesman, but of every man ambitious to achieve success and +distinction in the world. + + + + +MEN AND MANNERISMS + + +There is a story of a politician who had acquired a mannerism of +fingering a button on his coat while talking to an audience. On one +occasion some friends surreptitiously cut the particular button off, and +the result was that the speaker when he stood up to address the audience +lost the thread of his discourse. + +Gladstone had a mannerism of striking the palm of his left hand with the +clenched fist of his other hand, so that often the emphatic word was +lost in the noise of percussion. A common habit of the distinguished +statesman was to reach out his right hand at full arm's length, and then +to bend it back at the elbow and lightly scratch the top of his head +with his thumb-nail. + +Balfour, while speaking, used to take hold of the lapels of his coat by +both hands as if he were in mortal fear of running away before he had +finished. + +Goshen, at the beginning of a speech, would sound his chest and sides +with his hands, and apparently finding that his ribs were in good order, +would proceed to wash his hands with invisible soap. + +The strange thing about mannerisms is that the speakers are usually +unconscious of them, and would be the first to condemn them in others. +The remedy for such defects lies in thorough and severe self-examination +and self-criticism. However eminent a speaker may be with objectionable +mannerisms, he would be still greater without them. + +Every public speaker has certain characteristics of voice and manner +that distinguish him from other men. In so far as this individuality +gives increased power and effectiveness to the speaking style, it is +desirable and should be encouraged. When, however, it is carried to +excess, or in any sense offends good taste, it is merely mannerism, and +should be discouraged. + +There is an objectionable mannerism of the voice, known as "pulpit +tone," that has come to be associated with some preachers. It takes +various forms, such as an unduly elevated key, a drawling monotone, a +sudden transition from one extreme of pitch to another, or a tone of +condescension. It is also heard in a plaintive minor inflection, +imparting a quality of extreme sadness to a speaker's style. These are +all departures from the natural, earnest, sincere, and direct delivery +that belongs to the high office of preaching. + +Still another undesirable mannerism of the voice is that of giving a +rising inflection at the close of successive sentences that are +obviously complete. Here the speaker's thought is left suspended in the +air, the hearer feels a sense of disappointment or doubt, and possibly +the entire meaning is perverted. Thoughts delivered in such a manner, +unless they distinctly require a rising inflection, lack the emphasis +and force of persuasive speaking. + +Artificiality, affectation, pomposity, mouthing, undue vehemence, +monotony, intoning, and everything that detracts from the simplicity and +genuine fervor of the speech should be avoided. Too much emphasis may +drive a thought beyond the mark, and a conscious determination to make a +"great speech" may keep the speaker in a state of anxiety throughout +its entire delivery. + +A clear and correct enunciation is essential, but it should not be +pedantic, nor should it attract attention to itself. "What you are +prevents me from hearing what you say," might also be applied to the +manner of the speaker. Exaggerated opening of the mouth, audible +smacking of the lips, holding tenaciously to final consonants, prolonged +hissing of sibilants, are all to be condemned. Hesitation, stumbling +over difficult combinations, obscuring final syllables, coalescing the +last sound of one word with the first sound of the following word, are +inexcusable in a trained speaker. + +When the same modulation of the voice is repeated too often, it becomes +a mannerism, a kind of monotony of variety. It reminds one of a +street-piano set to but one tune, and is quite as distressing to a +sensitive ear. This is not the style that is expected from a public man. + +What should the speaker do with his hands? Do nothing with them unless +they are specifically needed for the more complete expression of a +thought. Let them drop at the sides in their natural relaxed position, +ready for instant use. To press the fist in the hollow of the back in +order to "support" the speaker, to clutch the lapels of the coat, to +slap the hands audibly together, to place the hands on the hips in the +attitude of "vulgar ease," to put the hands into the pockets, to wring +the hands as if "washing them with invisible soap," or to violently +pound the pulpit--these belong to the list of undesirable mannerisms. + +At the beginning of a speech it may give the appearance of ease to place +the hands behind the back, but this position lacks force and action and +should not be long sustained. To cross the arms upon the desk is to put +them out of commission for the time being. Leaning or lounging of any +kind, bending at the knee, or other evidence of weakness or weariness, +may belong to the repose of the easy chair, but are hardly appropriate +in a wide-awake speaker seeking to convince men. + +Rocking the body to and fro, rising on the toes to emphasize, crouching, +stamping the foot, springing from side to side, over-acting and +impersonation, and violence and extravagance of every description may +well be omitted in public speaking. Beware of extremes. Avoid a +statue-like attitude on the one hand and a constant restlessness on the +other. Dignity is desirable, but one should not forget the words of the +Reverend Sam Jones, "There is nothing more dignified than a corpse!" + +Gestures that are too frequent and alike soon lose their significance. +If they are attempted at all they should be varied and complete, +suggesting freedom and spontaneity. When only half made they are likely +to call attention to the discrepancy, and to this extent will obscure +rather than help the thought. The continuous use of gesture is +displeasing to the eye, and gives the impression of lack of poise. + +The young speaker particularly should be warned not to imitate the +speaking style of others. What is perfectly natural to one may appear +ridiculous in another. Cardinal Newman spoke with extreme +deliberateness, enunciating every syllable with care and precision; +Phillips Brooks sent forth an avalanche of words at the rate of two +hundred a minute; but it would be dangerous for the average speaker to +emulate either of these examples. + +There is a peculiarity in a certain type of speaking, which, while not +strictly a mannerism, is detrimental to the highest effect. It manifests +itself in physical weakness. The speaker is uniformly tired, and his +speaking has a half-hearted tone. The lifelessness in voice and manner +communicates itself to the audience, and prevents all possibility of +deep and enduring impression. Joseph Parker said that when Sunday came +he felt like a racehorse, and could hardly wait for the time to come for +him to go into the pulpit. He longed to speak. + +The well-equipped speaker is one who has a superior culture of voice and +body. All the instruments of expression must be made his obedient +servants, but as master of them he should see to it that they perform +their work naturally and spontaneously. He should be able while speaking +to abandon himself wholly to his subject, confident that as a result of +conscientious training his delivery may be left largely to take care of +itself. + + + + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC + + +There are two essential qualifications for making an effective public +speech. + +First, having something worth-while to say. + +Second, knowing how to say it. + +The first qualification implies a judicious choice of subject and the +most thorough preparation. It means that the speaker has carefully +gathered together the best available material, and has so familiarized +himself with his subject that he knows more about it than anyone else in +his audience. + +It is in this requirement of thorough preparation that many public +speakers are deficient. They do not realize the need for this +painstaking preliminary work, and hence they frequently stand before an +audience with little information of value to impart to their hearers. +Their poverty of thought can not be long disguised in flamboyant +rhetoric and sesquipedalian words, and hence they fail to carry +conviction to serious-minded men. + +I would remind you that having something worth-while to say involves +more than thorough preparation of the particular subject which the +speaker is to present to an audience. The speaker should have a +well-furnished mind. You have had the experience of listening to a +public speaker who commanded your closest attention not only because of +what he said, but also because of what he was. He inspired confidence in +you because of his personality and reserve power. + +It is often what a man has within himself, rather than what he actually +expresses, that carries greatest conviction to your mind. As you listen +to such a man speak, you feel that he is worthy of your confidence +because he draws upon broad experience and knowledge. He speaks out of +the fulness of a well-furnished mind. + +It is important, therefore, that there should be mental culture in a +broad way,--sound judgment, a sense of proportion and perspective, a +fund of useful ideas, facts, arguments, and illustrations, and a large +stock of common sense. + +Every man who essays to speak in public should cultivate a judicial +mind, or the habit of weighing and estimating facts and arguments. Such +a mind is supposedly free from prejudice and seeks the truth at any +cost. Such a mind does not want this or that to be necessarily true, but +wants to recognize as true only that which is true. + +In these days of multiplied publications and books of all kinds, when +printed matter of every description is soliciting our time and +attention, it is particularly desirable that we should cultivate a +discriminating taste in our choice of books. The highest purpose of +reading is for the acquisition of useful knowledge and personal culture, +and we should keep these two aims constantly before us. It is noteworthy +that men who have achieved enduring greatness in the world have always +had a good book at their ready command. + +If you are ever in doubt about the choice of books, you would do well to +enlist the services of a literary friend, or ask the advice of a local +librarian. But in any case, be on your guard against books and other +publications of commonplace type, which can contribute nothing to the +enrichment of your mind and life. + +It is desirable that you should own the books you read. The sense of +personal possession will give an interest and pleasure to your reading +which it would not otherwise have, and moreover you can freely mark such +books with your pencil for subsequent reference. It is also well to have +a note-book conveniently ready in which to jot down useful ideas as they +occur to you. + +Here we come to the use of the pen. All the great orators of the world +have been prolific writers in the sense of writing out their thoughts. +It is the only certain way to clarify your thought, to test it in +advance of verbal expression and to examine it critically. The public +speaker should write much in order to form a clear and flowing English +style. It is surprising how many of our thoughts which appear to us +clear and satisfactory, assume a peculiar vagueness when we attempt to +set them down definitely in writing. + +The use of the pen tends to give clearness and conciseness to the +speaker's style. It makes him careful and accurate. It aids, too, in +fixing the ideas of his speech in his mind, so that at the moment of +addressing an audience they will respond most readily to his needs. + +A well-furnished mind is like a well-furnished house. In furnishing a +house we do not fill it up with miscellaneous furniture, bric-a-brac and +antiques, gathered promiscuously, but we plan everything with a view to +harmony, beauty, and utility. We furnish a particular room in a tone +that will be restful and pleasing to the occupant. We choose every piece +of furniture, rug, picture, and drapery with a distinct purpose in view +of what the total effect will be. + +So with a well-furnished mind. We must choose the kind of material we +intend to keep there. It should be chosen with a view to its beauty, +power, and usefulness. We want no rubbish there. We want the best +material available. Hence the vital importance of going to the right +sources for the furniture of our mind, to the great books of the world, +to living authorities, to nature, to music, to art, to the best wherever +it may be found. + +The second essential of an effective public speech is knowing how to say +it. This implies a thorough training in the technique of speech. There +should be a well-cultivated voice, of adequate volume, brilliancy, and +carrying quality. There should be ample training in articulation, +pronunciation, expression, and gesture. These so-called mechanics should +be developed until they become an unconscious part of the speaker's +style. + +Your best opportunity for practice is in your everyday conversation. +There you are constantly making speeches on a small scale. Public +speaking of the best modern type is simply elevated conversation. I do +not mean elevated in pitch, but in the sense of being launched upon a +higher level of thought and with greater intensity than is usually +called for by ordinary conversation. + +In conversation you have your best opportunity for developing your +public speaking style. Indeed, you are there, despite yourself, forming +habits which will disclose themselves in your public speaking. As you +speak in your daily conversation you will largely speak when you stand +before an audience. + +You will therefore see the importance of care in your daily speech. +There should be a fastidious choice of words, care in pronunciation and +articulation, and the mouth well opened so that the words may come out +wholly through the mouth and not partly through the nose. Culture of +conversation is to be recommended for its own sake, since everyone must +speak in private if not in public. + +One of the best plans for self-culture in speaking is to read aloud for +a few minutes every day from a book of well-selected speeches. There are +numerous compilations of the kind admirably suited to this purpose. The +important thing here is to read in speaking style, not in what is termed +reading style as usually taught in schools. When you practise in this +way it would be well to imagine an audience before you and to render the +speech as if emanating from your own mind. The student of public +speaking will wisely guard himself against acquiring an artificial style +or other mannerism. + +Another good plan is to make short mental speeches while walking. When +possible it is well to choose a country road for this purpose, or a +park, or some other place where one's mind is not likely to be often +diverted by passers-by. Lord Dufferin, the eminent British orator, was +accustomed to prepare most of his speeches while riding on horseback. +The habit of forming mental speeches is a great aid to actual +speech-making, as it tends to give the mind a power and an adaptability +which it would not otherwise have. + +The painter, the musician, the sculptor, the architect, and other +craftsmen search out models for study and inspiration. The public +speaker should do likewise, and history shows that the great orators of +the world have followed this practise. You can not do better than take +as your model the greatest short speech in all history, the Gettysburg +Address. + +An authority on English style has critically examined this speech and +acknowledges that he cannot suggest a single change in it which would +add to its power and perfection. + +You recall the circumstances under which it was written. On the morning +of November 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln was travelling from Washington to +take part next day in the consecration of the national cemetery at +Gettysburg. He wrote his speech on a scrap of wrapping-paper, carefully +fitting word to word, changing and correcting it in minutest detail as +best he could until it was finished. + +The next day after the speech had been delivered, Edward Everett, the +trained and polished orator, said that he would have been content to +have made in his oration of two hours the impression which Lincoln had +made in that many minutes. + +It will repay you to study this speech closely and to wrest from it its +innermost secrets of power and effectiveness. The greatest underlying +quality of this speech is its rare simplicity--simplicity of thought, +simplicity of language, simplicity of purpose, and shining through it +all, the simplicity of the great emancipator himself. + +This simplicity is one of the great distinguishing qualities of +effective public speaking. It is characteristic of all true art. It is +subtle and difficult to define, but Fenelon gives a definition that will +aid us when he says, "Simplicity is an uprightness of soul that has no +reference to self." It is another word for unselfishness. + +In these days of self-exploitation and self-aggrandizement, how +refreshing it is to meet a man of true simplicity. We are won by his +unaffected manner, his gentleness of argument, his ingratiating tones of +voice, his freedom from prejudice and passion. Such a man wins us almost +wholly by the power of his simplicity. + +This supreme quality is noticeable in men who are said to have come to +themselves. They have tasted and tested life, they have learned +proportion and perspective, they have appraised things at their real +value, and now they carry themselves in poise and power and confidence. +They have found themselves in a high and true sense, and they have come +to be known as men of simplicity. + +Simplicity is not to be confounded with weakness or ignorance. It comes +through long education. It does not mean the trite, or the commonplace, +or the obvious. It is a strong and sturdy quality, is this simplicity of +which I am speaking, and nothing else will atone for lack of it in the +public speaker. + +Longfellow calls it the supreme excellence, since it is the quality +which above all others brings serenity to the soul and makes life +really worth living. Every man should earnestly seek to cultivate this +great quality as essential to noble character. + +This speech is conspicuous for another indispensable quality for +effective public speaking,--the quality of sincerity. It grows largely +out of simplicity and is the product of integrity of mind and heart. Men +recognize it quickly, though they cannot easily tell whence it comes. We +find it highly developed in great leaders in business and professional +life. There has never been a really great public speaker who was not +preeminently a sincere man. + +Beecher said, "Let no man who is a sneak try to be an orator." Such a +man can not be. He will shortly be found out. The world's ultimate +estimate of a man is not far wrong. + +A politician of much promise was addressing a distinguished audience in +Washington. The Opera House was crowded to the doors to hear him and +apparently he was making a good impression upon all his hearers. But +suddenly, at the very climax of his speech, while upwards of two +thousand eyes were rivetted upon him, he was seen to wink at a personal +friend of his sitting in a nearby box, and at that instant his future +political prospects were shattered as a vase struck by lightning. In +that single instant of insincerity he was appraised by that +discriminating audience and his doom was sealed. + +Still another great quality in the Gettysburg speech is its directness. +The speaker had a clearly-defined purpose in view. He knew what he +wanted to say, and he proceeded to say it--no more, and no less. + +There was no straying away into by-paths, no padding of words to make up +for shortage of ideas, no superfluous and big-sounding phrases, no empty +rhetoric or glittering generalities. + +How many speakers there are who aim at nothing and hit it. How many +speakers there are who are on their way but do not know whither. + +If this directness of quality were applied to talking in business, in +committee meetings, in telephone conversations, in public speaking, it +would save annually in this country millions of words and incalculable +time and energy. + +You will note that this speech has the rare quality of conciseness. We +have an illustration here of how much a man can say in about 265 words +and in the short space of two minutes, if he knows precisely what he +wants to say. + +It is well to bear in mind that although this speech was scribbled off +with seeming ease, Lincoln owed his ability to do it to a long and +painstaking study of words and English style. + +He was a profound student of the dictionary. He steeped himself in +words. He scrutinized words, he studied words, he made himself a master +of words. + +This is a valuable habit for every man to form,--to study words +regularly and earnestly, and to add consciously to his working +vocabulary a few words daily--so in the course of a year such a man will +acquire a large and varied stock of words which will do his instant +bidding. + +The conclusion is a vital part of a speech. It is a place of peril to +many a public speaker. Countless speeches have been ruined by a bad +conclusion. + +The most important thing here is that having decided beforehand upon the +particular ideas or message with which you intend to conclude your +speech, not to let any influence lead you away from this preconceived +purpose. + +Some speakers are about to conclude effectively but are unwilling to +omit anything which they have planned to give in their speech, and so +continue in an endeavor to recall every item. At last such a speech has +a loose and straggling ending. + +The words of the conclusion need not be memorized, but the ideas should +be definitely outlined in the mind and fixed in the memory, not as +words, but as ideas. + +The knowledge that you can turn at will to these definite ideas, and so +bring your speech to a close, will confer upon you a degree of +self-confidence which will be of immense service to you. + +You should ever bear in mind this golden rule for the conclusion of your +speech: When you have finished what you have of importance to say, do +not be tempted to wander off into by-paths, or to tell an additional +story, or to say "and one word more," but having finished your speech, +stop on the instant and sit down. + + + + +PRACTICAL HINTS FOR SPEAKERS + + +Cultivate as the most desirable thoughts those which are definite, +clear, deep, logical, profound, strong, precise, impressive, original, +significant, explicit, luminous, positive, suggestive, comprehensive, +and practical. Resolutely avoid all thoughts which are uncertain, +recondite, obscure, immature, unimportant, shallow, weak, visionary, +absurd, vague, extravagant, indefinite, or impractical. + +In your choice and use of words give preference to those which are +definite, simple, real, significant, forcible, expressive, adequate, +musical, varied, and copious. Avoid those which are foreign, slangy, +obsolete, unusual, extravagant, technical, long, colloquial, or +commonplace. + +The most desirable qualities in the use of English are the simple, +plain, exact, lucid, concise, trenchant, vigorous, impressive, lively, +figurative, polished, graceful, fluent, rhythmical, copious, elevated, +flexible, smooth, dignified, terse, epigrammatic, felicitous, +euphonious, elegant, and lofty. Undesirable qualities are the diffuse, +verbose, redundant, inflated, prolix, ambiguous, feeble, monotonous, +loose, slip-shod, dry, flowery, pedantic, pompous, rhetorical, +grandiloquent, artificial, formal, ornate, halting, ponderous, +ungrammatical, vague, and obscure. + +The qualities you should develop in your speaking voice are the pure, +deep, round, flexible, resonant, musical, clear, sympathetic, smooth, +sonorous, powerful, silvery, melodious, full, strong, natural, mellow, +magnetic, expressive, carrying, and responsive. Endeavor to keep your +voice free from such undesirable qualities as the harsh, breathy, sharp, +rough, rigid, throaty, guttural, thin, shrill, nasal, unmusical, +discordant, muffled, explosive, strained, inaudible, hollow, strident, +sepulchral, and tremulous. + +Your articulation should be clear, distinct, and correct. Avoid +carelessness, lifelessness, mumbling, weakness, and exaggeration. + +Your pronunciation should be clear-cut and accurate. Avoid mouthing, +lisping, hesitation, stammering, pedantry, omission of syllables, and +suppression of final consonants. + +Your delivery in public speaking should be simple, sincere, natural, +varied, magnetic, earnest, forceful, attractive, energetic, animated, +sympathetic, authoritative, dignified, direct, impressive, vivid, +convincing, persuasive, zealous, enthusiastic, and inspiring. Avoid that +which is timid, familiar, violent, cold, indifferent, unreal, +artificial, dull, sing-song, hesitating, feeble, unconvincing, +apathetic, monotonous, pompous, formal, arbitrary, flippant, +ostentatious, drawling, or languid. + +Your gesture should be graceful, appropriate, free, forceful, and +natural. Avoid all gesture which is unmeaning, angular, abrupt, +constrained, stilted, or amateurish. + +Your facial expression should be varied, appropriate, pleasing, and +impassioned. Avoid the unpleasant, immobile, and unvaried. + +Let your standing position be manly, erect, easy, forceful, and +impressive. Avoid that which is weak, shifting, stiff, inactive, and +ungainly. + + + + +THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN SPEAKING + + +There is a well-defined prejudice against the importation of anything +"theatrical" into the pulpit. The art of the actor is fundamentally +different from the work of the preacher. At best the actor but +represents, imitates, pretends, acts. The actor seems; the preacher is. + +It is to be feared, however, that this prejudice has narrowed many +preachers down to a pulpit style almost devoid of warmth and action. In +their endeavor to avoid the dramatic and sensational, they have refined +and subdued many of their most natural and effective means of +expression. The function of preaching is not only to impart, but to +persuade; and persuasion demands something more than an easy +conversational style, an intellectual statement of facts, or the reading +of a written message. The speaker must show in face, in eye, in arm, in +the whole animated man, that he, himself, is moved, before he can hope +successfully to persuade and inspire others. + +The modified movements of ordinary conversation do not fulfil all the +requirements of the preacher. These are necessary and adequate for the +groundwork of the sermon, but for the supreme heights of passionate +appeal, when the soul of the preacher would, as it were, leap from its +body in the endeavor to reach men, there must be intensified life and +action--dramatic action. + +It is difficult to conceive of a greater tribute to a public advocate +than that paid to Wendell Phillips by George William Curtis: + +"The divine energy of his conviction utterly possest him, and his + + 'Pure and eloquent blood + Spoke in his cheek, and so distinctly wrought, + That one might almost say his body thought.'" + +Poise is power, and reserve and repression are parts of the dignified +office of the preacher, but carried too far may degenerate into weak and +unproductive effort. Perfection of English style, rhetorical floridness, +and profundity of thought will never wholly make up for lack of +appropriate action in the work of persuading men. + +The power of action alone is vividly illustrated in the touch of the +finger to the lips to invoke silence, or the pointing to the door to +command one to leave the room. The preacher might often find it +profitable to stand before a mirror and deliver his sermon exclusively +in pantomime to test its power and efficacy. + +The body must be disciplined and cultivated as assiduously as the other +instruments of the speaker. There is eloquence of attitude and action no +less than eloquence of voice and feeling. A preacher drawing himself up +to his full height, with a significant gesture of the head, or with +flashing eye pointing the finger of warning at his hearers, may rouse +them from indifference when all other means fail. + +Sixty years ago the Reverend William Russell emphasized the importance +of visible expression. He said of the preacher: + +"His outward manner, in attitude and action, will be as various as his +voice: he will evince the inspiration of appropriate feeling in the +very posture of his frame; in uttering the language of adoration, the +slow-moving, uplifted hand will bespeak the awe and solemnity which +pervade his soul; in addressing his fellow men in the spirit of an +ambassador of Christ, the gentle yet earnest spirit of persuasive action +will be evinced in the pleading hand and aspect; he will know, also, how +to pass to the stern and authoritative mien of the reproved of sin; he +will, on due occasions, indicate, in his kindling look, the rousing +gesture, the mood of him who is empowered and commanded to summon forth +all the energies of the human soul; his subdued and chastened address +will carry the sympathy of his spirit into the bosom of the mourner; his +moistening eye and his gentle action will manifest his tenderness for +the suffering: his whole soul will, in a word, become legible in his +features, in his attitude, in the expressive eloquence of his hand; his +whole style will be felt to be that of heart communing with heart." + +Dramatic action gives picturesqueness to the spoken word. It makes +things vivid to slow imaginations, and by contrast invests the +speaker's message with new meaning and vitality. It discloses, too, the +speaker's sympathy and identification with his subject. His thought and +feeling, communicating themselves to voice and face, to hand and arm, to +posture and walk, satisfy and impress the hearer by a sense of adequacy +and completeness. + +Henry Ward Beecher, a conspicuous example of the dramatic style in +preaching, was drilled for three years, while at college, in +voice-culture, gesture, and action. His daily practise in the woods, +during which he exploded all the vowels from the bottom to the top of +his voice, gave him not only a wonderfully responsive and flexible +instrument, but a freedom of bodily movement that made him one of the +most vigorous and virile of American preachers. He was in the highest +sense a persuasive pulpit orator. + +A sensible preacher will avoid the grotesque and the extremes of mere +animal vivacity. Incessant gesture and action, undue emphasizing with +hand and head, and all suggestion of self-sufficiency in attitude or +manner should be guarded against. All the various instruments of +expression should be made ready and responsive for immediate use, but +are to be employed with that taste and tact that characterize the +well-balanced man. Too much action and long-continued emotional effort +lose force, and unless the law of action and reaction is applied to the +preaching of the sermon the attention of the congregation may snap and +the desired effect be utterly destroyed. + +The face as the mirror of the emotions is an important part of +expression. The lips will betray determination, grief, sympathy, +affection, or other feeling on the part of the speaker. The eyes, the +most direct medium of psychic power, will flash in indignation, glisten +in joy, or grow dim in sorrow. The brow will be elevated in surprise, or +lowered in determination and perplexity. + +The effectiveness of the whisper in preaching should not be overlooked. +If discreetly used it may serve to impress the hearer with the +profundity and seriousness of the preacher's message, or to arrest and +bring back to the point of contact the wandering minds of a +congregation. + +To acquire emotional power and dramatic action the preacher should +study the great dramatists. He should read them aloud with appropriate +voice and movement. He should study children, and men, and nature. He +should, perhaps, see the best actors, not to copy them, but in order +that they may stimulate his taste and imagination. + + + + +CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING + + +The ideal style of public speaking is, with very little modification, +the ideal of good conversation. The practical age in which we live +demands a colloquial rather than an oratorical style of public speaking. +A man who has something to say in conversation usually has little +difficulty in saying it. If he presents the facts he will speak +convincingly; if he is deeply in earnest he will speak persuasively; and +if he be an educated man his speech will have the unmistakable marks of +culture and refinement. + +In the conversation of well-bred children we find the most interesting +and helpful illustrations of unaffected speech. The exquisite modulation +of the voice, the unstudied correctness of emphasis, and the sincerity +and depth of feeling might well serve as a model for older speakers. + +This study of conversation, both our own and that of others, offers +daily opportunity for improvement in accuracy and fluency of speech, of +fitting words to the mouth as well as to the thought, and of forming +habits that will unconsciously disclose themselves in the larger work of +public speaking. Care in conversation will guard the public speaker from +inflated and unnatural tones, and restrain him from transgressing the +laws of nature even in those parts of his speech demanding lofty and +intensified treatment. + +Some easily remembered suggestions regarding conversation are these: + +1. Pronounce your words distinctly and accurately, like "newly made +coins" from the mint, but without pedantry. + +2. Upon no occasion allow yourself to indulge in careless or incorrect +speech. + +3. Open the mouth well in conversation. Much indistinct speech is due to +speaking through half-closed teeth. + +4. Closely observe your conversation and that of others, to detect +faults and to improve your speaking-style. + +5. Vary your voice to suit the variety of your thought. A well-modulated +voice demands appropriate changes of pitch, force, perspective, and +feeling. + +6. Avoid loud talking. + +7. Take care of the consonants and the vowels will take care of +themselves. + +8. Cultivate the music of the conversational tones. + +9. Favor the low pitches of your voice. + +10. Remember that the purpose of conscious practise and observation in +the matter of conversation is to lead ultimately to unconscious +performance. + + +The value of correct conversation as a means to effective public +speaking is realized by few men. Beecher said: "How much squandering +there is of the voice!" meaning that this golden opportunity for +improvement was generally disregarded. It is not too much to say, +however, that if the sweet and gentle expression of the mother, the +strong and affectionate tones of the father, and the spontaneous musical +notes of the children, as heard in daily conversation, could be united +in the voice of the minister and brought to the preaching of his sermon, +there would be little doubt of its magical and enduring effect upon the +hearts of men. The wooing tone of the lover is what the preacher needs +in his pulpit style rather than the voice of declamation and +denunciation. + +The study of conversation serves to guide the public speaker not only in +the free and natural use of his voice, enunciation, and expression, but +also in his use of language. He will here learn to choose the simple +word instead of the complex, the short sentence instead of the involved, +the concrete illustration instead of the abstract. He will acquire ease, +spontaneity, simplicity, and directness, and when he rises to speak to +men he will employ tones and words best known and understood by them. + +A preacher may spend too much time in study and solitude. If he does he +will soon realize a distinct loss through lack of social intercourse +with his fellow men. The faculties most needed in pulpit preaching are +those very powers that are so largely exercised in ordinary +conversation. The ability to think quickly, to marshal facts and +arguments, to introduce a vivid story or illustration, to parry and +thrust as is sometimes needed to hold one's own ground, and the general +mental activity aroused in conversation, all tend to produce an +interesting, vivacious, and forceful style in public speaking. + +We should not underestimate the value of meditation and silence to the +public speaker. These are necessary for original and profound thinking, +for the cultivation of the imagination, and for the accumulation of +thought. But conversation offers an immediate outlet for this stored-up +knowledge, testing it as a finished product in expression, and +projecting it into life and reality by all the resources of voice and +feeling. This exercise is as necessary to the mind as physical exercise +is to the body. Indeed, a full mind demands this relief in expression, +lest the strain become too great. + +The daily newspaper and the magazines should not be allowed to usurp the +place of conversation. If the art of talking is rapidly dying out, as +some assert, we should do our share to revive it. We may not again have +the wit and repartee, the brilliant intellectual combats of those other +days, but we can at least each have a cultivated speaking-voice, an +interesting manner of expressing our ideas in conversation, and a +refined pronunciation of our mother tongue. + + + + +A TALK TO PREACHERS + + +The aim of one who would interpret literature to others, by means of the +speaking voice, should be first to assimilate its spirit. There can be +no worthy or adequate rendering of a great poem or prose selection +without a keen appreciation of its inner meaning and content. This is +the principal safeguard against mechanical and meaningless declamation. +The extent of this appreciation and grasp of the inherent spirit of +thought will largely determine the degree of life, reality, and +impressiveness imparted to the spoken word. + +The intimate relationship between the voice and the spirit of the +speaker suggests that one is necessary to the fullest development of the +other. The voice can interpret only what has been awakened and realized +within, hence nothing discloses a speaker's grasp of a subject so +accurately and readily as his attempt to give it expression in his own +language. It is this spiritual power, developed principally through the +intuitions and emotions, that gives psychic force to speaking, and which +more than logic, rhetoric, or learning itself enables the speaker to +influence and persuade men. + +The minister as an interpreter of the highest spiritual truth should +bring to his work a thoroughly trained emotional nature and a cultivated +speaking voice. It is not sufficient that he state the truth with +clearness and force; he must proclaim it with such passionate enthusiasm +as powerfully to move his hearers. To express adequately the infinite +shades of spiritual truth, he must have the ability to play upon his +voice as upon a great cathedral organ, from "the soft lute of love" to +"the loud trumpet of war." + +To assume that the study of the art of speaking will necessarily produce +consciousness of its principles while in the act of speaking in public, +is as unwarranted as to say that a knowledge of the rules of grammar, +rhetoric, or logic lead to artificiality and self-consciousness in the +teacher, writer, and thinker. There is a "mechanical expertness +preceding all art," as Goethe says, and this applies to the orator no +less than to the musician, the artist, the actor, and the litterateur. + +Let the minister stand up for even five minutes each day, with chest and +abdomen well expanded, and pronounce aloud the long vowel sounds of the +English language, in various shades of force and feeling, and shortly he +will observe his voice developing in flexibility, resonance, and power. +For it should be remembered that the voice grows through use. Let the +minister cultivate, too, the habit of breathing exclusively through his +nose while in repose, fully and deeply from the abdomen, and he will +find himself gaining in health and mental resourcefulness. + +For the larger development of the spiritual and emotional powers of the +speaker, a wide and varied knowledge of men and life is necessary. The +feelings are trained through close contact with human suffering, and in +the work of solving vital social problems. The speaker will do well to +explore first his own heart and endeavor to read its secret meanings, +preliminary to interpreting the hearts of other men. Personal suffering +will do more to open the well-springs of the heart than the reading of +many books. + +Care must be had, however, that this cultivating of the feelings be +conducted along rational lines, lest it run not to faith but to +fanaticism. There is a wide difference between emotion designed for +display or for momentary effect, and that which arises from strong inner +conviction and sympathetic interest in others. Spurious, unnatural +feeling will invariably fail to convince serious-minded men. + +"Emotion wrought up with no ulterior object," says Dr. Kennard, "is both +an abuse and an injury to the moral nature. When the attention is +thoroughly awakened and steadily held, the hearer is like a well-tuned +harp, each cord a distinct emotion, and the skilful speaker may evoke a +response from one or more at his will. This lays him under a great and +serious responsibility. Let him keep steadily at such a time to his +divine purpose, to produce a healthful action, a life in harmony with +God and a symphony of service." + +The emotional and spiritual powers of the speaker will be developed by +reading aloud each day a vigorous and passionate extract from the +Bible, or Shakespeare, or from some great sermon by such men as +Bushnell, Newman, Beecher, Maclaren, Brooks, or Spurgeon. The entire +gamut of human feeling can be highly cultivated by thus reading aloud +from the great masterpieces of literature. The speaker will know that he +can make his own words glow and vibrate, after he has first tested and +trained himself in some such manner as this. Furthermore, by thus +fitting words to his mouth, and assimilating the feelings of others, he +will immeasurably gain in facility and vocal responsiveness when he +attempts to utter his own thoughts. + +Music is a powerful element in awakening emotion in the speaker and +bringing to consciousness the mysterious inner voices of the soul. The +minister should not only hear good music as often as possible, but he +should train his ear to recognize the rhythm and melody in speech. + +For the fullest development of this spiritual power in the public +speaker there should be frequent periods of stillness and silence. One +must listen much in order to accumulate much. Thought and feeling +require time in which to grow. In this way the myriad sounds that arise +from humanity and from nature can be caught up in the soul of the +speaker and subsequently voiced by him to others. + +The habit of meditating much, of brooding over thought, whether it be +our own or that of others, will tend to disclose new and deeper +meanings, and consequently deeper shades and depths of feeling. The +speaker will diligently search for unwritten meanings in words; he will +study, whenever possible, masterpieces of painting and sculpture; he +will closely observe the natural feeling of well-bred children, as shown +in their conversation; and in many other ways that will suggest +themselves, he will daily develop his emotional and spiritual powers of +expression. + +The science of preaching is important, but so, too, is the art of +preaching. A powerful pulpit is one of the needs of the times. A +congregation readily recognizes a preacher of strong convictions, broad +sympathies, and consecrated personality. An affectionate nature in a +minister, manifesting itself in voice, face, and manner, will attract +and influence men, while a harsh, rigid, vehement manner will as easily +repel them. + +It is to be feared that many sermons are written with too much regard +for "literary deportment on paper," and too little thought of their +value as pulsating messages to men. + +The preacher should train himself to take tight hold of his thought, to +grip it with mental firmness and fervor, that he may afterward convey it +to others with definiteness and vigor. Thoughts vaguely conceived and +held tremblingly in the mind will manifest a like character when +uttered. Into the writing of the sermon put vitality and intensity, and +these qualities will find their natural place in delivery. Thrill of the +pen should precede thrill of the voice. The habit of Dickens of acting +out the characters he was depicting on paper could be copied to +advantage by the preacher, and frequently during the writing of his +sermon he might stand and utter his thoughts aloud to test their power +and effectiveness upon an imaginary congregation. + +There should be the most thorough cultivation of the inner sources of +the preacher, whereby the spiritual and emotional forces are so aroused +and brought under control as to respond promptly and accurately to all +the speaker's requirements. There should be assiduous training of the +speaking voice as the instrument of expression and the natural outlet +for thought and feeling. In the combined cultivation of these two +essentials of expression--spirit and voice--the minister will find the +true secret of effective pulpit preaching. + + + + +CARE OF THE SPEAKER'S THROAT + + +The throat as a vital part of the public speaker's work in speaking is +worthy of the greatest care and consideration. It is surprising that so +little attention is given to vocal hygiene, when it is remembered that a +serious weakness or affection of the throat may disqualify a speaker for +important work. The delicate and intricate machinery of the vocal +apparatus renders it peculiarly susceptible to misuse or exposure. The +common defects of nasality, throatiness, and harshness, are due to wrong +and careless use of the speaking-instrument. + +In the training of the public speaker the first step is to bring the +breathing apparatus under proper control. That is to say, the speaker +must accustom himself, through careful practise, to use the abdominal +method of breathing, and to keep his throat free from the strain to +which it is commonly subjected. This form of breathing is not difficult +to acquire, since it simply means that during inhalation the abdomen is +expanded, and during exhalation it is contracted. It should be no longer +necessary to warn the speaker to breathe exclusively through the nose +when not actually using the voice. While speaking he must so completely +control the breath that not a particle of it can escape without giving +up its equivalent in sound. + +"Clergyman's sore throat" is the result of improper use or overstraining +of the voice. Sometimes the earnestness of the preacher causes him to +"clutch" each word with the vocal muscles, instead of using the throat +as an open channel through which the voice may flow with ease and +freedom. Many speakers, in an endeavor to be heard at a great distance, +employ too loud a tone, forgetting that the essential thing is a clear +and distinct articulation. To speak continuously in high pitch, or +through half-closed teeth, almost invariably causes distress of throat. +Most throat troubles may be set down to a lack of proper elocutionary +training. To keep the voice and throat in order there should be regular +daily practise, if only for ten minutes. The example might profitably +be followed of certain actors who make a practise of humming +occasionally during the day while engaged in other duties, as a means of +keeping the voice musical and resonant. + +When the throat becomes husky or weak it is a timely warning from nature +that it needs rest and relaxation. To continue to engage in public +speaking under these circumstances is often attended with great danger, +resulting sometimes in total loss of voice. It is economy in the end to +discontinue the use of the voice when there is a serious cold or the +throat is otherwise affected. Nervousness, anxiety, or unusual mental +exertion may cause a vocal breakdown. For this condition rest is +recommended, together with gentle massaging of the throat with cold +water mixed with a little vinegar or _eau de Cologne_. + +A public speaker should not engage in protracted conversation +immediately after a speech. The sudden transition from an auditorium to +the outer air should remind the speaker to keep his mouth securely +closed. The general physical condition of the speaker has much to do +with the vigor and clearness of his voice. A daily plunge into cold +water, or at least a sponging of the entire surface of the body, besides +being a tonic luxury, greatly invigorates the throat and abdominal +muscles. After the "tub" a vigorous rubbing with towel and hands should +produce a glow. + +To the frequent question whether smoking is injurious to the throat, it +is safe to say that the weight of authority and experience favors +abstinence. Any one who has spoken for half an hour or more in a +smoke-clouded room, knows the distressing effect it has had upon the +sensitive lining of the throat. It must be obvious, therefore, that the +constant inhaling of smoke must even more directly irritate the mucous +membrane. + +The diet of the public speaker should be reasonably moderate, and the +extremes of hot and cold avoided. The use of ice-water is to be +discouraged. Many drugs and lozenges are positively injurious to the +throat. For habitual dryness of throat a glycerine or honey tablet will +usually obviate the trouble. Dr. Morell Mackenzie, the eminent English +throat specialist, condemns the use of alcohol as pernicious, and +affirms that "even in a comparatively mild form it keeps the delicate +tissues in a state of congestion which makes them particularly liable to +inflammation from cold or other causes." + +It must not be assumed that the throat is to be pampered. A reasonable +amount of exposure will harden it and to this extent is desirable. To +muffle the throat with a scarf, unless demanded by special conditions, +may make it unduly sensitive and increase the danger of taking cold when +the head is turned from side to side. + +A leading physician confirms the opinion that the best gargle for daily +use is that of warm water and salt. This should be used every night and +morning to cleanse and invigorate the throat. Where there is a tendency +to catarrh a solution made of peroxide of hydrogen, witch-hazel, and +water, in equal parts, will prove efficacious. Nothing should be snuffed +up the nose except under the direction of a physician, lest it cause +deafness. + +Many speakers and singers have a favorite nostrum for improving the +voice. The long and amusing list includes hot milk, tea, coffee, +champagne, raw eggs, lemonade, apples, raisins,--and sardines! A good +rule is to eat sparingly if the meal is taken just before speaking. It +need hardly be said that serious vocal defects, such as enlarged +tonsils, elongated uvula, and abnormal growths in the throat and nose +are subjects for the specialist. + +Whenever possible a speaker should test beforehand the acoustic +properties of the auditorium in which he is to speak for the first time. +A helpful plan is to have a friend seat himself at the back of the hall +or church, and give his opinion of the quality and projecting power of +the speaker's voice. It is difficult to judge one's own voice because it +is conveyed to him not only from the outside but also through the +Eustachian tube and modified by the vibratory parts of the throat and +head. A speaker never hears his own voice as it is heard by another. + +Nothing, perhaps, is so taxing to the throat as long-continued speaking +in one quality of tone. There are two distinct registers which should be +judiciously alternated by the speaker. These are the "chest" register, +in which the vocal cords vibrate their whole length, and the quality of +tone derives most of its character from the chest cavity; and the "head" +register, in which the vocal cords vibrate only in part, and the quality +of tone is reenforced by the resonators of the face, mouth, and head. +The first of these registers is sometimes called the "orotund" voice +from its quality of roundness, and is employed principally in language +of reverence, sublimity, and grandeur. + +The head tone is the voice of ordinary conversation and should form the +basis of the public-speaking style. + +No one who has to speak in public should be discouraged because of +limited vocal resources. Many of the foremost orators began with marked +disadvantages in this respect, but made these shortcomings an incentive +to higher effort. One well-known speaker makes up for lack of vocal +power by extreme distinctness of enunciation, while another offsets an +unpleasantly heavy quality of voice by skilful modulation. + +A few easily remembered suggestions are: + +1. Rest the voice for an hour or two before speaking in public. + +2. Gargle the throat night and morning with salt and water. + +3. Never force the voice. + +4. Avoid all occasions that strain the voice, such as prolonged +conversation, speaking against noise, or in cold and damp air. + +5. Practise deep breathing until it becomes an unconscious habit. + +6. Favor an outdoor life. + +7. Hum or sing a little every day. + +8. Discontinue public speaking when there is a severe cold or other +affection of the throat. + +9. Rest the voice and body immediately after speaking in public. + + + + +DON'TS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS + + + Don't rant. + Don't prate. + Don't fidget. + Don't flatter. + Don't declaim. + Don't be glib. + Don't hesitate. + Don't be nasal. + Don't apologize. + Don't dogmatize. + Don't be slangy. + Don't antagonize. + Don't be awkward. + Don't be violent. + Don't be personal. + Don't be "funny." + Don't attitudinize. + Don't be monotonous. + Don't speak rapidly. + Don't sway your body. + Don't be long-winded. + Don't "hem" and "haw." + Don't praise yourself. + Don't overgesticulate. + Don't pace the platform. + Don't clear your throat. + Don't "point with pride." + Don't tell a long story. + Don't rise on your toes. + Don't distort your words. + Don't stand like a statue. + Don't address the ceiling. + Don't speak in a high key. + Don't emphasize everything. + Don't drink while speaking. + Don't fatigue your audience. + Don't exceed your time limit. + Don't talk for talking's sake. + Don't wander from your subject. + Don't fumble with your clothes. + Don't speak through closed teeth. + Don't put your hands on your hips. + Don't fail to stop when you have ended. + + + + +DO'S FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS + + + Be prepared. + Begin slowly. + Be modest. + Speak distinctly. + Address all your hearers. + Be uniformly courteous. + Prune your sentences. + Cultivate mental alertness. + Conceal your method. + Be scrupulously clear. + Feel sure of yourself. + Look your audience in the eyes. + Be direct. + Favor your deep tones. + Speak deliberately. + Get to your facts. + Be earnest. + Observe your pauses. + Suit the action to the word. + Be yourself at your best. + Speak fluently. + Use your abdominal muscles. + Make yourself interesting. + Be conversational. + Conciliate your opponent. + Rouse yourself. + Be logical. + Have your wits about you. + Be considerate. + Open your mouth. + Speak authoritatively. + Cultivate sincerity. + Cultivate brevity. + Cultivate tact. + End swiftly. + + + + +POINTS FOR SPEAKERS + + +As far as possible avoid the following hackneyed phrases: + + I rise with diffidence + Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking + By a happy stroke of fate + It becomes my painful duty + In the last analysis + I am encouraged to go on + I point with pride + On the other hand (with gesture) + I hold + The vox populi + Be that as it may + I shall not detain you + As the hour is growing late + Believe me + We view with alarm + As I was about to tell you + The happiest day of my life + It falls to my lot + I can say no more + In the fluff and bloom + I can only hint + I can say nothing + I cannot find words + The fact is + To my mind + I cannot sufficiently do justice + I fear + All I can say is + I shall not inflict a speech on you + Far be it from me + Rise phoenix-like from his ashes + But alas! + What more can I say? + At this late period of the evening + It is hardly necessary to say + I cannot allow the opportunity to pass + For, mark you + I have already taken up too much time + I might talk to you for hours + Looking back upon my childhood + We can imagine the scene + I haven't the time nor ability + Ah, no, dear friends + One more word and I have done + I will now conclude + I really must stop + I have done. + + + + +THE BIBLE ON SPEECH + + +How forcible are right words! + +To every thing there is a season, a time to keep silence, and a time to +speak. + +Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. + +Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which +is good to the use of edifying. + +Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. + +Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may +know how ye ought to answer every man. + +Be ye holy in all manner of conversation. + +Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, +be put away from you. + +Know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. + +Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable +in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. + + + + +THOUGHTS ON TALKING + + +To make a good talker, genius and learning, even wit and eloquence, are +insufficient; to these, in all or in part, must be added in some degree +the talents of active life. The character has as much to do with +colloquial power as has the intellect; the temperament, feelings, and +animal spirits, even more, perhaps, than the mental gifts. "Napoleon +said things which tell in history like his battles. Luther's Table-Talk +glows with the fire that burnt the Pope's bull." Caesar, Cicero, +Themistocles, Lord Bacon, Selden, Talleyrand, and, in our own country, +Aaron Burr, Jefferson, Webster, and Choate, were all, more or less, men +of action. Sir Walter Scott tells us that, at a great dinner party, he +thought the lawyers beat the Bishops as talkers, and the Bishops the +wits. Nearly all great orators have been fine talkers. Lord Chatham, who +could electrify the House of Lords by pronouncing the word "Sugar," but +who in private was but commonplace, was an exception; but the +conversation of Pitt and Fox was brilliant and fascinating,--that of +Burke, rambling, but splendid, rich and instructive, beyond description. +The latter was the only man in the famous "Literary Club" who could cope +with Johnson. The Doctor confessed that in Burke he had a foeman worthy +of his steel. On one occasion, when debilitated by sickness, he said: +"That fellow calls forth all my powers. Were I to see Burke now, it +would kill me." At another time he said: "Burke, sir, is such a man +that, if you met him for the first time in the street, where you were +stopped by a drove of oxen, and you and he stepped aside to take shelter +but for five minutes, he'd talk to you in such a manner, that when you +parted you'd say--'This is an extraordinary man.'" "Can he wind into a +subject like a serpent, as Burke does?" asked Goldsmith of a certain +talker. Fox said that he had derived more political information from +Burke's conversation alone than from books, science, and all his worldly +experience put together. Moore finely says of the same conversation, +that it must have been like the procession of a Roman triumph, +exhibiting power and riches at every step, occasionally mingling the low +Fescennine jest with the lofty music of the march, but glittering all +over with the spoils of a ransacked world. + +--_Mathews._ + + * * * * * + +The fault of literary conversation in general is its too great +tenaciousness. It fastens upon a subject, and will not let it go. It +resembles a battle rather than a skirmish, and makes a toil of a +pleasure. Perhaps it does this from necessity, from a consciousness of +wanting the more familiar graces, the power to sport and trifle, to +touch lightly and adorn agreeably, every view or turn of a question _en +passant_, as it arises. Those who have a reputation to lose are too +ambitious of shining, to please. "To excel in conversation," said an +ingenious man, "one must not be always striving to say good things: to +say one good thing, one must say many bad, and more indifferent ones." +This desire to shine without the means at hand, often makes men +silent:-- + + The fear of being silent strikes us dumb. + +A writer who has been accustomed to take a connected view of a +difficult question and to work it out gradually in all its bearings, may +be very deficient in that quickness and ease which men of the world, who +are in the habit of hearing a variety of opinions, who pick up an +observation on one subject, and another on another, and who care about +none any further than the passing away of an idle hour, usually acquire. +An author has studied a particular point--he has read, he has inquired, +he has thought a great deal upon it: he is not contented to take it up +casually in common with others, to throw out a hint, to propose an +objection: he will either remain silent, uneasy, and dissatisfied, or he +will begin at the beginning, and go through with it to the end. He is +for taking the whole responsibility upon himself. He would be thought to +understand the subject better than others, or indeed would show that +nobody else knows anything about it. There are always three or four +points on which the literary novice at his first outset in life fancies +he can enlighten every company, and bear down all opposition: but he is +cured of this quixotic and pugnacious spirit, as he goes more into the +world, where he finds that there are other opinions and other +pretensions to be adjusted besides his own. When this asperity wears +off, and a certain scholastic precocity is mellowed down, the +conversation of men of letters becomes both interesting and instructive. +Men of the world have no fixed principles, no groundwork of thought: +mere scholars have too much an object, a theory always in view, to which +they wrest everything, and not unfrequently, common sense itself. By +mixing with society, they rub off their hardness of manner, and +impracticable, offensive singularity, while they retain a greater depth +and coherence of understanding. There is more to be learnt from them +than from their books. + +--_Hazlitt._ + + * * * * * + +There are some people whose good manners will not suffer them to +interrupt you, but, what is almost as bad, will discover abundance of +impatience, and lie upon the watch until you have done, because they +have started something in their own thoughts, which they long to be +delivered of. Meantime, they are so far from regarding what passes, that +their imaginations are wholly turned upon what they have in reserve, for +fear it should slip out of their memory; and thus they confine their +invention, which might otherwise range over a hundred things full as +good, and that might be much more naturally introduced. + +There is a sort of rude familiarity, which some people, by practising +among their intimates, have introduced into their general conversation, +and would have it pass for innocent freedom or humor; which is a +dangerous experiment in our northern climate, where all the little +decorum and politeness we have are purely forced by art, and are so +ready to lapse into barbarity. This, among the Romans, was the raillery +of slaves, of which we have many instances in Plautus. It seems to have +been introduced among us by Cromwell, who, by preferring the scum of the +people, made it a court entertainment, of which I have heard many +particulars; and, considering all things were turned upside down, it was +reasonable and judicious; although it was a piece of policy found out +to ridicule a point of honor in the other extreme, when the smallest +word misplaced among gentlemen ended in a duel. + +There are some men excellent at telling a story, and provided with a +plentiful stock of them, which they can draw out upon occasion in all +companies, and, considering how low conversation runs now among us, it +is not altogether a contemptible talent; however, it is subject to two +unavoidable defects, frequent repetition, and being soon exhausted; so, +that, whoever values this gift in himself, has need of a good memory, +and ought frequently to shift his company, that he may not discover the +weakness of his fund; for those who are thus endued have seldom any +other revenue, but live upon the main stock. + +--_Swift._ + + * * * * * + +The highest and best of all the moral conditions for conversation is +what we call tact. I say a condition, for it is very doubtful whether it +can be called a single and separate quality; more probably it is a +combination of intellectual quickness with lively sympathy. But so +clearly is it an intellectual quality, that of all others it can be +greatly improved, if not actually acquired, by long experience in +society. Like all social excellences it is almost given as a present to +some people, while others with all possible labor never acquire it. As +in billiard-playing, shooting, cricket, and all these other facilities +which are partly mental and partly physical, many never can pass a +certain point of mediocrity; but still even those who have the talent +must practise it, and only become really distinguished after hard work. +So it is in art. Music and painting are not to be attained by the crowd. +Not even the just criticism of these arts is attainable without certain +natural gifts; but a great deal of practice in good galleries and at +good concerts, and years spent among artists, will do much to make even +moderately-endowed people sound judges of excellence. + +Tact, which is the sure and quick judgment of what is suitable and +agreeable in society, is likewise one of those delicate and subtle +qualities or a combination of qualities which is not very easily +defined, and therefore not teachable by fixed precepts. Some people +attain it through sympathy; others through natural intelligence; others +through a calm temper; others again by observing closely the mistakes of +their neighbors. As its name implies, it is a sensitive touch in social +matters, which feels small changes of temperature, and so guesses at +changes of temper; which sees the passing cloud on the expression of one +face, or the eagerness of another that desires to bring out something +personal for others to enjoy. This quality of tact is of course +applicable far beyond mere actual conversation. In nothing is it more +useful than in preparing the right conditions for a pleasant society, in +choosing the people who will be in mutual sympathy, in thinking over +pleasant subjects of talk and suggesting them, in seeing that all +disturbing conditions are kept out, and that the members who are to +converse should be all without those small inconveniences which damage +society so vastly out of proportion to their intrinsic importance. + +--_Mahaffy._ + + * * * * * + +In the course of our life we have heard much of what was reputed to be +the select conversation of the day, and we have heard many of those who +figured at the moment as effective talkers; yet, in mere sincerity, and +without a vestige of misanthropic retrospect, we must say that never +once has it happened to us to come away from any display of that nature +without intense disappointment; and it always appeared to us that this +failure (which soon ceased to be a disappointment) was inevitable by a +necessity of the case. For here lay the stress of the difficulty: almost +all depends in most trials of skill upon the parity of those who are +matched against each other. An ignorant person supposes that to an able +disputant it must be an advantage to have a feeble opponent; whereas, on +the contrary, it is ruin to him; for he can not display his own powers +but through something of a corresponding power in the resistance of his +antagonist. A brilliant fencer is lost and confounded in playing with a +novice; and the same thing takes place in playing at ball, or +battledore, or in dancing, where a powerless partner does not enable you +to shine the more, but reduces you to mere helplessness, and takes the +wind altogether out of your sails. Now, if by some rare good luck the +great talker, the protagonist, of the evening has been provided with a +commensurate second, it is just possible that something like a brilliant +"passage of arms" may be the result,--though much even in that case will +depend on the chances of the moment for furnishing a fortunate theme, +and even then, amongst the superior part of the company, a feeling of +deep vulgarity and of mountebank display is inseparable from such an +ostentatious duel of wit. On the other hand, supposing your great talker +to be received like any other visitor, and turned loose upon the +company, then he must do one of two things: either he will talk upon +_outre_ subjects specially tabooed to his own private use,--in which +case the great man has the air of a quack-doctor addressing a mob from a +street stage; or else he will talk like ordinary people upon popular +topics,--in which case the company, out of natural politeness, that they +may not seem to be staring at him as a lion, will hasten to meet him in +the same style, the conversation will become general, the great man +will seem reasonable and well-bred, but at the same time, we grieve to +say it, the great man will have been extinguished by being drawn off +from his exclusive ground. The dilemma, in short, is this:--If the great +talker attempts the plan of showing off by firing cannon-shot when +everybody else is content with musketry, then undoubtedly he produces an +impression, but at the expense of insulating himself from the sympathies +of the company, and standing aloof as a sort of monster hired to play +tricks of funambulism for the night. Yet, again, if he contents himself +with a musket like other people, then for us, from whom he modestly +hides his talents under a bushel, in what respect is he different from +the man who has no such talent? + +--_De Quincey._ + + * * * * * + +Some, in their discourse, desire rather commendation of wit, in being +able to hold all arguments, than of judgment, in discerning what is +true; as if it were a praise to know what might be said, and not what +should be thought. Some have certain commonplaces and themes wherein +they are good, and want variety; which kind of poverty is for the most +part tedious, and, when it is once perceived, ridiculous. The +honorablest part of talk is to give the occasion; and again to moderate +and pass to somewhat else; for then a man leads the dance. It is good in +discourse, and speech of conversation, to vary, and intermingle speech +of the present occasion with arguments, tales with reasons, asking of +questions with telling of opinions, and jest with earnest; for it is a +dull thing to tire, and, as we say now, to jade any thing too far. As +for jest, there be certain things which ought to be privileged from it, +namely, religion, matters of State, great persons, any man's present +business of importance, and any case that deserveth pity; yet there be +some that think their wits have been asleep, except they dart out +somewhat that is piquant, and to the quick. That is a vein which would +be bridled; _Parce, puer, stimulis, et fortius utere loris._ And, +generally, men ought to find the difference between saltness and +bitterness. Certainly, he that hath a satirical vein, as he maketh +others afraid of his wit, so he had need be afraid of others' memory. He +that questioneth much shall learn much, and content much, but +especially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he +asketh; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in +speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge: but let his +questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser; and let him +be sure to leave other men their turns to speak: nay, if there be any +that would reign and take up all the time, let him find means to take +them off, and to bring others on, as musicians use to do with those that +dance too long galliards. If you dissemble sometimes your knowledge of +that you are thought to know, you shall be thought, another time, to +know that you know not. Speech of a man's self ought to be seldom, and +well chosen. I knew one was wont to say in scorn, "He must needs be a +wise man, he speaks so much of himself;" and there is but one case +wherein a man may commend himself with good grace, and that is in +commending virtue in another, especially if it be such a virtue +whereunto himself pretendeth. Speech of touch towards others should be +sparingly used; for discourse ought to be as a field, without coming +home to any man. I knew two noblemen, of the west part of England, +whereof the one was given to scoff, but kept ever royal cheer in his +house; the other would ask of those that had been at the other's table, +"Tell truly, was there never a flout or dry blow given?" To which the +guest would answer, "Such and such a thing passed." The lord would say, +"I thought he would mar a good dinner." Discretion of speech is more +than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal, is more +than to speak in good words, or in good order. A good continued speech, +without a good speech of interlocution, shows slowness; and a good +reply, or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth +shallowness and weakness. As we see in beasts, that those that are +weakest in the course, are yet nimblest in the turn; as it is betwixt +the greyhound and the hare. To use too many circumstances, ere one come +to the matter, is wearisome; to use none at all, is blunt. + +--_Bacon._ + + * * * * * + +Think as little as possible about any good in yourself; turn your eyes +resolutely from any view of your acquirement, your influence, your +plan, your success, your following: above all, speak as little as +possible about yourself. The inordinateness of our self-love makes +speech about ourselves like the putting of the lighted torch to the +dried wood which has been laid in order for the burning. Nothing but +duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme, except it be in +humble confession of our sinfulness before our God. Again, be specially +upon the watch against those little tricks by which the vain man seeks +to bring round the conversation to himself, and gain the praise or +notice which the thirsty ears drink in so greedily; and even if praise +comes unsought, it is well, whilst men are uttering it, to guard +yourself by thinking of some secret cause for humbling yourself inwardly +to God; thinking into what these pleasant accents would be changed if +all that is known to God, and even to yourself, stood suddenly revealed +to man. + +--_Bishop Wilberforce._ + + * * * * * + +In speaking of the duty of pleasing others, it will not be necessary to +dwell on the ordinary courtesies and lesser kindnesses of our daily +living, any further than to observe that none of these things, however +trifling, is beneath the notice of a good man, ... but I mention one +thing, because I think that we are most of us apt to be rather deficient +in it, and that is in the trying to suit ourselves to the tastes and +views of persons whose professions or inclinations, or situation in +life, differ widely from our own.... As a general rule, no man can fall +into conversation with another without being able to learn something +valuable from him. But in order to get at this benefit there must be +something of an accommodating spirit on both sides; each must be ready +to hear candidly and to answer fairly; each must try to please the +other. We all suffer from the want of acquaintance with the habits and +opinions and feelings of different classes of society. + +--_Dr. Arnold._ + + * * * * * + +If you would be loved as a companion, avoid unnecessary criticism upon +those with whom you live. The number of people who have taken out +judges' patents for themselves is very large in any society. Now it +would be hard for a man to live with another who was always criticising +his actions, even if it were kindly and just criticism. It would be like +living between the glasses of a microscope. But these self-elected +judges, like their prototypes, are very apt to have the persons they +judge brought before them in the guise of culprits. + +Let not familiarity swallow up old courtesy. Many of us have a habit of +saying to those with whom we live such things as we say about strangers +behind their backs. There is no place, however, where real politeness is +of more value than where we mostly think it would be superfluous. You +may say more truth, or rather speak out more plainly to your associates, +but not less courteously than to strangers. + +--_Helps._ + + * * * * * + +Much of the sorrow of life springs from the accumulation, day by day and +year by year, of little trials--a letter written in less than courteous +terms, a wrangle at the breakfast table over some arrangement of the +day, the rudeness of an acquaintance on the way to the city, an +unfriendly act on the part of another firm, a cruel criticism +needlessly reported by some meddler, a feline amenity at afternoon tea, +the disobedience of one of your children, a social slight by one of your +circle, a controversy too hotly conducted. The trials within this class +are innumerable, and consider, not one of them is inevitable, not one of +them but might have been spared if we or our brother man had had a grain +of kindliness. Our social insolences, our irritating manners, our +censorious judgment, our venomous letters, our pin pricks in +conversation, are all forms of deliberate unkindness, and are all +evidences of an ill-conditioned nature. + +--_John Watson._ + + * * * * * + +If this be one of our chief duties--promoting the happiness of our +neighbors--most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs +counter to it, and makes it impossible, as an undisciplined temper. For +of all the things that are to be met with here on earth, there is +nothing which can give such continual, such cutting, such useless pain. +The touchy and sensitive temper, which takes offence at a word; the +irritable temper, which finds offence in everything whether intended or +not; the violent temper, which breaks through all bounds of reason when +once roused; the jealous or sullen temper, which wears a cloud on the +face all day, and never utters a word of complaint; the discontented +temper, brooding over its own wrongs; the severe temper, which always +looks at the worst side of whatever is done; the wilful temper, which +overrides every scruple to gratify a whim,--what an amount of pain have +these caused in the hearts of men, if we could but sum up their results! +How many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses; how many a prayer +have they stifled; how many an emotion of true affection have they +turned to bitterness! How hard they sometimes make all duties! How +painful they make all daily life! How they kill the sweetest and warmest +of domestic charities! The misery caused by other sins is often much +deeper and much keener, more disastrous, more terrible to the sight; but +the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must, I verily believe, if +added together, outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one +another. + +--_Bishop Temple._ + + * * * * * + +Wicked is the slander which gossips away a character in an afternoon, +and runs lightly over a whole series of acquaintances, leaving a drop of +poison on them all, some suspicion, or some ominous silence--"Have you +not heard?"--"No one would believe it, but--!" and then silence; while +the shake of the head, or the shrug of the shoulders, finishes the +sentence with a mute meaning worse than words. Do you ever think of the +irrevocable nature of speech? The things you say are often said forever. +You may find, years after your light word was spoken, that it has made a +whole life unhappy, or ruined the peace of a household. It was well said +by St. James, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth +not his tongue, that man's religion is vain." + +--_Stopford Brooke._ + + * * * * * + +There are three kinds of silence. Silence from words is good, because +inordinate speaking tends to evil. Silence, or rest from desires and +passions, is still better, because it promotes quietness of spirit. But +the best of all is silence from unnecessary and wandering thoughts, +because that is essential to internal recollection, and because it lays +a foundation for a proper regulation and silence in other respects. + +--_Madame Guyon._ + + * * * * * + +The example of our Lord, as He humbly and calmly takes the rebuff, and +turns to go to another village, may help us in the ordinary ways of +ordinary daily life. The little things that vex us in the manner or the +words of those with whom we have to do; the things which seem to us so +inconsiderate, or wilful, or annoying, that we think it impossible to +get on with the people who are capable of them; the mistakes which no +one, we say, has any right to make; the shallowness, or conventionality, +or narrowness, or positiveness in talk which makes us wince and tempts +us towards the cruelty and wickedness of scorn;--surely in all these +things, and in many others like them, of which conscience may be ready +enough to speak to most of us, there are really opportunities for thus +following the example of our Saviour's great humility and patience. How +many friendships we might win or keep, how many chances of serving +others we might find, how many lessons we might learn, how much of +unsuspected moral beauty might be disclosed around us, if only we were +more careful to give people time, to stay judgment, to trust that they +will see things more justly, speak of them more wisely, after a while. +We are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy, and narrowing in the +interests and opportunities of work around us, if we let ourselves +imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the +characters of our fellow-men. + +--_Bishop Paget._ + + * * * * * + +How much squandering there is of the voice! How little is there of the +advantage that may come from conversational tones! How seldom does a man +dare to acquit himself with pathos and fervor! And the men are +themselves mechanical and methodical in the bad way, who are most afraid +of the artificial training that is given in the schools, and who so +often show by the fruit of their labor that the want of oratory is the +want of education. + +How remarkable is sweetness of voice in the mother, in the father, in +the household! The music of no chorded instruments brought together is, +for sweetness, like the music of familiar affection when spoken by +brother and sister, or by father and mother. + +Conversation itself belongs to oratory. How many men there are who are +weighty in argument, who have abundant resources, and who are almost +boundless in their power at other times and in other places, but who, +when in company among their kind, are exceedingly unapt in their +methods. Having none of the secret instruments by which the elements of +nature may be touched, having no skill and no power in this direction, +they stand as machines before living, sensitive men. A man may be as a +master before an instrument; only the instrument is dead; and he has the +living hand; and out of that dead instrument what wondrous harmony +springs forth at his touch! And if you can electrify an audience by the +power of a living man on dead things, how much more should that audience +be electrified when the chords are living and the man is alive, and he +knows how to touch them with divine inspiration! + +--_Beecher._ + + * * * * * + +Every one endeavors to make himself as agreeable to society as he can; +but it often happens that those who most aim at shining in conversation, +overshoot their mark. Tho a man succeeds, he should not (as is +frequently the case) engross the whole talk to himself; for that +destroys the very essence of conversation, which is talking together. We +should try to keep up conversation like a ball bandied to and fro from +one to the other, rather than seize it all to ourselves, and drive it +before us like a football. We should likewise be cautious to adapt the +matter of our discourse to our company, and not talk Greek before +ladies, or of the last new furbelow to a meeting of country justices. + +But nothing throws a more ridiculous air over our whole conversation +than certain peculiarities easily acquired, but very difficultly +conquered and discarded. In order to display these absurdities in a +truer light, it is my present purpose to enumerate such of them as are +most commonly to be met with; and first to take notice of those buffons +in society, the Attitudinarians and Face-makers. These accompany every +word with a peculiar grimace or gesture; they assent with a shrug, and +contradict with a twisting of the neck; are angry by a wry mouth, and +pleased in a caper or minuet step. They may be considered as speaking +harlequins; and their rules of eloquence are taken from the +posture-master. These should be condemned to converse only in dumb show +with their own persons in the looking-glass, as well as the Smirkers and +Smilers, who so prettily set off their faces, together with their words, +by a _je-ne-sais-quoi_ between a grin and a dimple. With these we may +likewise rank the affected tribe of mimics, who are constantly taking +off the peculiar tone of voice or gesture of their acquaintance, tho +they are such wretched imitators, that (like bad painters) they are +frequently forced to write the name under the picture before we can +discover any likeness. + +Next to these whose elocution is absorbed in action, and who converse +chiefly with their arms and legs, we may consider the Profest Speakers. +And first, the Emphatical, who squeeze, and press, and ram down every +syllable with excessive vehemence and energy. These orators are +remarkable for their distinct elocution and force of expression; they +dwell on the important particulars _of_ and _the_, and the significant +conjunction _and_, which they seem to hawk up, with much difficulty, out +of their own throats, and to cram them, with no less pain, into the ears +of their auditors. These should be suffered only to syringe (as it were) +the ears of a deaf man, through a hearing-trumpet; tho I must confess +that I am equally offended with the Whisperers or Low-speakers, who seem +to fancy all their acquaintance deaf, and come up so close to you that +they may be said to measure noses with you, and frequently overcome you +with the full exhalations of a foul breath. I would have these oracular +gentry obliged to speak at a distance through a speaking-trumpet, or +apply their lips to the walls of a whispering-gallery. The Wits who will +not condescend to utter anything but a _bon-mot_, and the Whistlers or +Tune-hummers, who never articulate at all, may be joined very agreeably +together in concert; and to these tinkling cymbals I would also add the +sounding brass, the Bawler, who inquires after your health with the +bellowing of a town-crier. + +The Tattlers, whose pliable pipes are admirably adapted to the "soft +parts of conversation," and sweetly "prattling out of fashion," make +very pretty music from a beautiful face and a female tongue; but from a +rough manly voice and coarse features mere nonsense is as harsh and +dissonant as a jig from a hurdy-gurdy. The Swearers I have spoken of in +a former paper; but the Half-Swearers, who split and mince, and fritter +their oaths into "gad's but," "ad's fish," and "demme," the Gothic +Humbuggers, and those who nickname God's creatures, and call a man a +cabbage, a crab, a queer cub, an odd fish, and an unaccountable skin, +should never come into company without an interpreter. But I will not +tire my reader's patience by pointing out all the pests of conversation, +nor dwell particularly on the Sensibles, who pronounce dogmatically on +the most trivial points, and speak in sentences; the Wonderers, who are +always wondering what o'clock it is, or wondering whether it will rain +or no, or wondering when the moon changes; the Phraseologists, who +explain a thing by all that, or enter into particulars, with this and +that and t'other; and lastly, the Silent Men, who seem afraid of +opening their mouths lest they should catch cold, and literally observe +the precept of the Gospel, by letting their conversation be only yea and +nay. + +The rational intercourse kept up by conversation is one of our principal +distinctions from brutes. We should, therefore, endeavor to turn this +peculiar talent to our advantage, and consider the organs of speech as +the instruments of understanding; we should be very careful not to use +them as the weapons of vice, or tools of folly, and do our utmost to +unlearn any trivial or ridiculous habits, which tend to lessen the value +of such an inestimable prerogative. It is, indeed, imagined by some +philosophers, that even birds and beasts (tho without the power of +articulation) perfectly understand one another by the sounds they utter; +and that dogs, cats, etc., have each a particular language to +themselves, like different nations. Thus it may be supposed that the +nightingales of Italy have as fine an ear for their own native woodnotes +as any signor or signora for an Italian air; that the boars of +Westphalia gruntle as expressively through the nose as the inhabitants +in High German; and that the frogs in the dykes of Holland croak as +intelligibly as the natives jabber their Low Dutch. However this may be, +we may consider those whose tongues hardly seem to be under the +influence of reason, and do not keep up the proper conversation of human +creatures, as imitating the language of different animals. Thus, for +instance, the affinity between Chatterers and Monkeys, and Praters and +Parrots, is too obvious not to occur at once; Grunters and Growlers may +be justly compared to Hogs; Snarlers are Curs that continually show +their teeth, but never bite; and the Spitfire passionate are a sort of +wild cats that will not bear stroking, but will purr when they are +pleased. Complainers are Screech-Owls; and Story-Tellers, always +repeating the same dull note, are Cuckoos. Poets that prick up their +ears at their own hideous braying are no better than Asses. Critics in +general are venomous Serpents that delight in hissing, and some of them +who have got by heart a few technical terms without knowing their +meaning are no other than Magpies. I, myself, who have crowed to the +whole town for near three years past may perhaps put my readers in mind +of a Barnyard Cock; but as I must acquaint them that they will hear the +last of me on this day fortnight, I hope that they will then consider me +as a Swan, who is supposed to sing sweetly at his dying moments. + +--_Cowper._ + + * * * * * + +It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never +inflicts pain. This description is both refined, and, so far as it goes, +accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which +hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him, and he +concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. +His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called the +comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature--like an +easy chair or a good fire, which do their best in dispelling cold and +fatigue, tho nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without +them. The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may +cause a jar or a jolt in the mind of those with whom he is cast--all +clashing of opinion or collision of feeling, all restraint or suspicion +or gloom or resentment, his great concern being to make every one at +ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company, he is tender +toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the +absurd. He can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against +unseasonable allusions or topics which may irritate; he is seldom +prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors +when he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He +never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by +a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in +imputing motive to those who interfere with him, and interprets +everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, +never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp +sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. +From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, +that we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as if he were +one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at +insults. He is too well employed to remember injuries and too indolent +to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned on philosophical +principle; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, to bereavement, +because it is irreparable, and to death because it is his destiny. If he +engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves +him from the blundering discourtesy of better, perhaps, but less +educated minds, who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of +cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength +on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more +involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but +he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, +and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater candor, +consideration, indulgence; he throws himself into the minds of his +opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of +human reason as well as its strength, its province, and its limits. If +he can be an unbeliever, he will be too profound and large-minded to +ridicule religion or to act against it; he is too wise to be a dogmatist +or fanatic in his infidelity. He respects piety and devotion; he even +supports institutions as venerable, beautiful or useful, to which he +does not assent; he honors the ministers of religion, and it contents +him to decline its mysteries without assailing or denouncing them. He is +a friend of religious toleration, and that not only because his +philosophy has taught him to look on all forms of faith with an +impartial eye, but also from the gentleness and effeminacy of feeling +which is attendant on civilization. + +--_Cardinal Newman._ + + + + * * * * * * + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS + +By GRENVILLE KLEISER + +HOW TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC--A practical self-instructor for lawyers, +clergymen, teachers, business men, and others. Cloth, 543 pages. $1.25, +_net_; by mail, $1.40. + +HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE IN SPEECH AND MANNER--A book of practical +inspiration; trains men to rise above mediocrity and fearthought to +their great possibilities. Commended to ambitious men. Cloth, 320 pages. +$1.25, _net_; by mail, $1.35. + +COMPLETE GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING--The only extensive, comprehensive, +encyclopedic work of its kind ever issued, with its varied and inclusive +contents alphabetically arranged by topics, and made immediately +accessible by a Complete Index. 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