The Public Speaker

CHAPTER I

Introduction. Concentration and its development. Observation and its development.

The ability to express thoughts and ideas; how to acquire this ability. Exercises on the chapter.

The fact that you are interested in the art of public speaking leads me to believe that you have been faced, at some time or another, by the necessity of making a speech in public. You may have succeeded in your effort tolerably well, or, by reason of the lack of sufficient confidence in your ability, you may have miserably failed. In this work you will be shown how to make an effective speech, and how to deliver that speech in an effective manner. I'shall require from you simply an active co-operation.

If you are able to speak with fluency and power, you possess a great advantage in the strenuous struggle of modern life. You may be called upon to take the chair at a friendly or at a political meeting; you may be a preacher; or, indeed, you may cherish the hopes of one day representing your constituency in Parliament-in each of these instances it is essential that you should know precisely what to say and how to say it.

I agree that it is not possible for everyone who studies this book to become a Member of Parliament or even a Minister of Religion, yet it is important that you, as a member of a highly civilised community, should be trained to express your ideas-especially if these ideas tend to

benefit humanity-in a clear and precise manner and, if at all possible, with a resonating voice. To attain this, you merely have to study patiently and consistently, and to practise the making and delivering of speeches-simple ones, at first-in your spare time. If you will but give due consideration to the instructions contained in this book, your ultimate success will be assured.

At the very outset I would impress upon you the necessity of being earnest in your pursuit of the knowledge which is essential if you would be a successful public speaker. You will discover, however, that the interesting nature of this work, combined with the fascination of the subject of Public Speaking, will more than compensate you for whatever tasks you may have been called upon to perform.

You will recognise, I am sure, that the primary essential to success is practice. Much truth is contained in the statement," Poets are born; orators made;" and although Nature may have been so kind as to have bestowed upon you a good voice, yet the responsibility of wielding that voice to the best advantage rests with you. Practice, therefore, is necessary; and of no art can it be more truly said, than of the Art of Public Speaking, that "Practice makes perfect."

The Art of Public Speaking in civilised countries is closely allied to the Arts of Writing and Reading aloud; and these are the proper introductions to it. As a public speaker you should have perfect command of thought, of word, and of utterance: you must have ideas and emotions which you desire to express; you must have the power to choose the best words with which to clothe these ideas and emotions; and you must possess the ability to utter these words in the manner that will convey your ideas and emotions the most effectively to the minds of your hearers. In other words, you must have a subject to speak on, and you must have the correct manner of delivering your speech, if you would wish your hearers to be swayed by it.

Perfect command of thought is the direct outcome of concentration and observation; and, as no two qualities enter more freely or more forcibly into the study of the Art of Public Speaking, I mean to deal rather exhaustively with them in the next few pages.

1. Concentration may be termed intensified interest. It means bringing all your mental powers to bear steadily and persistently upon a subject. You will see, then, how important it is that you should cultivate this quality if you would "know your subject" before you begin to speak upon it. Remember, some of your hearers will, very probably, know just as much of the subject as you yourself do; be careful, therefore, to know it well; and, further, be prepared to answer any reasonable question which might be put to you by any of your hearers.

. You will, I am sure, understand that your degree of Concentration will depend chiefly upon your degree of interest in the subject you have chosen; that is, your power of Concentration will be proportional to your Interest. See to it, then, that wherever possible you select a subject for your discourse, which interests you. Naturally, you will be mostly interested in those things which strongly appeal to you; e.g., if you are a football enthusiast you are highly interested in football, and you will find it very easy indeed to follow a match from the kick-off to the sound of the final whistle, quite regardless of other things which may be taking place even at your very side. Yes, Interest measures Concentration; I would repeat, therefore, whenever possible select a subject, for your discourse, which interests you.”

At this point I would say that you should not be too inclined to concentrate on unessentials. I would recommend you, therefore, during the preparation of your speeches, to decide not to concentrate on unessentials, and to put your decision into effect. The busy speaker particularly, cannot afford to waste either his time or his energy on unessentials. Generally speaking, your hearers will be those who will be interested, not in the unessentials

of your subject, but in those things which "matter," as we say.

It is of primary importance that you should, to begin with, select a subject which has hitherto had some attraction for you. Your headings will then readily suggest themselves and you will find little difficulty in building up a speech, the points of which are arranged in logical order. You should then pass on to a subject which has less attraction for you, until, eventually, you become capable of concentrating your whole attention and preparing a good speech on a subject which, formerly, you did not like at all. If you should happen to be a preacher it is clear that, to a large degree, the choice of a subject rests with you; if, on the other hand, you are called upon to make a social or a political speech, your subject is often dictated by circumstance.

You see, then, the importance of training yourself in such a way as will make it easy for you to concentrate practically on any subject which may come within the purview of the public speaker.

Earnest and definite Concentration is essential in the preparation of a speech. The more you meditate upon a subject, the clearer it becomes to you. Subjects which, at first, seem quite beyond your grasp will, by earnest and definite Concentration, become simple, and preparing speeches on them will be a source of pleasure. As a public speaker you must be able to think clearly and to speak clearly; and, in order to do these, you must possess the power to concentrate at will upon any subject which you may care to choose. A good public speaker is, of necessity, a logician, for both his thoughts and his sentences have to come in logical order. You have to build up your speech in much the same way as a hedge builder builds 'his hedge-each stone in its proper order. If you would wish, then, your speech to be a model of perfection, Concentration is quite as important as Grammar.

Although Concentration does not necessarily mean fixing your mind exclusively upon one idea or one phase of

a subject, yet you should be careful to rivet your mind upon one subject, and upon one subject only, at a time; your mental force will not then be scattered, and you will be able, consequently, to get a full grasp of your subject. At the outset, kindle within yourself a deep interest in your subject; concentration cannot then fail to follow. I now bring to your notice a few practical suggestions which you would do well to follow :

(1) Check every tendency to wander from your subject. However interested you may be in a subject, there are times when your interest flags, when your mind wanders. You should invariably lead your mind back to the chosen subject, driving away every thought of the intrusive one. Although you will find this extremely difficult at first, repeated efforts will bring success, and in a short time you will discover that your mind will have no desire, as it were, to think of any subject save the one you have chosen.

It is an excellent practice to write out each day some of your leading thoughts-this will develop Concentration and tend to clarify your ideas. Until you have developed the power of Concentration to a remarkable degree, you will find it very difficult not to wander from your subject. Nothing tends to irritate an audience sooner than "dishonesty, shall I say; that is, assigning to a speech a name to which it is by no means entitled. You have, no doubt, come across many instances of this kind of dishonesty"; and it is not too much to say that you should avoid this kind of dishonesty as much as any other.

(2) Bring all the mental power of which you are capable to bear on your subject.

When you are preparing, and when you are delivering your speech you must summon all your mental forces to the task before you. Let your hearers feel that you have put your best into your