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facility in speaking, you must practise, practise, PRACTISE.
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
--TENNYSON, In Memoriam.
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The Art of Public Speaking
Howe'er it be, it seems to me,
'Tis only noble to be good.
Kind hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood.
--TENNYSON, Lady Clara Vere de Vere.
'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view
And robes the mountain in its azure hue.
--CAMPBELL, Pleasures of Hope.
His best companions, innocence and health,
And his best riches, ignorance of wealth.
--GOLDSMITH, The Deserted Village.
Beware of desperate steps! The darkest day,
Live till tomorrow, will have passed away.
--COWPER, Needless Alarm.
My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.
--PAINE, Rights of Man.
Trade it may help, society extend,
But lures the pirate, and corrupts the friend:
It raises armies in a nation's aid,
But bribes a senate, and the land's betray'd.
--POPE, Moral Essays.[5]
O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal
away their brains!
--SHAKESPEARE, Othello.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
--HENLEY, Invictus.
The world is so full of a number of things,
I am sure we should all be happy as kings.
--STEVENSON, A Child's Garden of Verses.
If your morals are dreary, depend upon it they are wrong.
"1_1_11">CHAPTER XI. FLUENCY THROUGH PREPARATION 69
The Art of Public Speaking
--STEVENSON, Essays.
Every advantage has its tax. I learn to be content.
--EMERSON, Essays.
8. Make a two-minute speech on any of the following general subjects, but you will find that your ideas will
come more readily if you narrow your subject by taking some specific phase of it. For instance, instead of
trying to speak on "Law" in general, take the proposition, "The Poor Man Cannot Afford to Prosecute;" or
instead of dwelling on "Leisure," show how modern speed is creating more leisure. In this way you may
expand this subject list indefinitely.
GENERAL THEMES
Law. Politics. Woman's Suffrage. Initiative and Referendum. A Larger Navy. War. Peace. Foreign
Immigration. The Liquor Traffic. Labor Unions. Strikes. Socialism. Single Tax. Tariff. Honesty. Courage.
Hope. Love. Mercy. Kindness. Justice. Progress. Machinery. Invention. Wealth. Poverty. Agriculture.
Science. Surgery. Haste. Leisure. Happiness. Health. Business. America. The Far East. Mobs. Colleges.
Sports. Matrimony. Divorce. Child Labor. Education. Books. The Theater. Literature. Electricity.
Achievement. Failure. Public Speaking. Ideals. Conversation. The Most Dramatic Moment of My Life. My
Happiest Days. Things Worth While. What I Hope to Achieve. My Greatest Desire. What I Would Do with a
Million Dollars. Is Mankind Progressing? Our Greatest Need.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 4: See chapter on "Increasing the Vocabulary."]
[Footnote 5: Money.]
"1_1_12">CHAPTER XII. THE VOICE
Oh, there is something in that voice that reaches
The innermost recesses of my spirit!
--LONGFELLOW, Christus.
The dramatic critic of The London Times once declared that acting is nine-tenths voice work. Leaving the
message aside, the same may justly be said of public speaking. A rich, correctly-used voice is the greatest
physical factor of persuasiveness and power, often over-topping the effects of reason.
But a good voice, well handled, is not only an effective possession for the professional speaker, it is a mark of
personal culture as well, and even a distinct commercial asset. Gladstone, himself the possessor of a deep,
musical voice, has said: "Ninety men in every hundred in the crowded professions will probably never rise
above mediocrity because the training of the voice is entirely neglected and considered of no importance."
These are words worth pondering.
There are three fundamental requisites for a good voice:
1. Ease
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The Art of Public Speaking
Signor Bonci of the Metropolitan Opera Company says that the secret of good voice is relaxation; and this is
true, for relaxation is the basis of ease. The air waves that produce voice result in a different kind of tone
when striking against relaxed muscles than when striking constricted muscles. Try this for yourself. Contract
the muscles of your face and throat as you do in hate, and flame out "I hate you!" Now relax as you do when
thinking gentle, tender thoughts, and say, "I love you." How different the voice sounds.
In practising voice exercises, and in speaking, never force your tones. Ease must be your watchword. The
voice is a delicate instrument, and you must not handle it with hammer and tongs. Don't make your voice
go--let it go. Don't work. Let the yoke of speech be easy and its burden light.
Your throat should be free from strain during speech, therefore it is necessary to avoid muscular contraction.
The throat must act as a sort of chimney or funnel for the voice, hence any unnatural constriction will not only
harm its tones but injure its health.
Nervousness and mental strain are common sources of mouth and throat constriction, so make the battle for
poise and self-confidence for which we pleaded in the opening chapter.
But how can I relax? you ask. By simply willing to relax. Hold your arm out straight from your shoulder.
Now--withdraw all power and let it fall. Practise relaxation of the muscles of the throat by letting your neck
and head fall forward. Roll the upper part of your body around, with the waist line acting as a pivot. Let your [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]