Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 January 1883 — Success in Public Speaking. [ARTICLE]

Success in Public Speaking.

When a subject is to be prepared for, give it close, clear thought before reading a word upon it, for a man’s first impressions of a subject are valuable, however much he may modify them; read extensively the cream of the best authors upon the subject; then give the best thoughts to applying what lips been learned by the first impressions. In regard to gaining control of the audience it must be borne in mind that there is but little difficulty the first time because mere curiosity and sympathetic interest will assure it. Tlus fact often ruins a speaker by making him over-confident the second time, thus leading to failure. A man should never assume that he is to control his audience without the utmost skill. • One element of Gough’s success is that he always appreciates how easy it is to lose his audience. An audience will always give its unreserved attention to any one who is telling something that they didn’t know before. As a permanent investment it is worth infinitely - more to impart knowledge clearly and concisely than to tell the most racy stories. An audience will give its unreserved attention when it is known there is to be something entirely naw well told. A man must talk for tne sake of his audience, and not for his own sake. The multitude of talkers are failures because they have no foundation for permanent success, have never acquired intelligent self-control, have not learned -to hold an audience. These are not gifts, they are acquisitions, A man must train himself to read widely, thinly keenly, speak only when he has something worth saying, and say it so concisely and clearly that it is no serious effort for them to take and keep the fact or theory given them.— A. E. Winship, in Youth’s Companion.