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.
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