Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-03-06
Hints and Helps.

Many talk too much, some too little.
few talk well. To talk well think
Talk what you know, but try to know
something valuable. Do not gabble,
talking for hours without saying any.
thing, telling the minutest details of
your personal affairs, and what Mr.. and
Mrs Somebody, whom your nearer new
er saw, wore, said, and did vii
Do not monopolize the conversation,
or speak affected!y, or lisp, or mince
your words. Talk naturally, freely,
sensibly, and modestly about anything
you think will interest your hearers,
except your private affairs and those of
your nelghbOrs.
Make no display of your knowledge,
but give all needful information in an
una ssuming manner. Never be asham
ed or afraid to confess your ignorance
about matters you do not clearly I'M
derstand You lose information by not
asking for explanation.
Be good listener Talk to the one
you are talking with; look him in the
eye and listen; do not be paying at
tentiOn to something across the room.
Give him your whole attention, mani
fest interest and sympathy, and do not
interrupt. e
There are times to keep silent. Do
not be like Fred Norton, possessed with
the idea that good manners require you
+ to keep conversation going all the tine
under all circumstances. When we
went to Split Rock, one June moonlit
night, and were too strongly impressed
with the beauty of the hills and river
to want to talk, Fred thought it his
duty not to let conversation lag, and so
he told how much grander the Sierra
Nevadas were, and has theory about
the moon, and what he thought about
the rocks, until our enjoyment was
spoiled.
Read and think, and you will have
resources for talk. Do not worry about
method for talking, but improve and
refine yourself, and strive to use good
language, avoiding slang, grammatical
errors, extravaganza expressions, and
bad pronunciation Never speak light
ly of what is sacred be courteous, be
discreet, tell the truth, talk your best,
and do not talk too much
When you write a letter to friend,
write as you would talk were he with
you.
When you write a composition,
choose subject you know something
about. Do not write upon HThe Pow
er of Imagination, +" or Broken Idols, p"
or anything of the kind. You know
nothing of such subjects, except that
they sound fine. Write about the trip
you took last summer, or your picnic,
or your dog, or anything else that you
understand thoroughly. Do not think
such subjects too childish Some of
hN,4
place affairs. Henry Ward Beecher
recently wrote a charming paragraph
upon an old rocking chair. m
Use the language in which you think
and talk. Do not search for long words
or pile In the adjectives. In writing
and talking, know what you want To
say, and say 1t IN the shortest, clearest
way possible. Short words and SEN
fences are better than long ones. Gen
efal Grants declaration, "Ill fight it
out on this line If it takes all summer, :"
was far better than any pompous high
sounding war speech. 1t is short, de-
c1s1ye, and clear, not word too many,
and every word a monosyllable save
one.
You need not think to write com
position at recess, between Rotations.
or IN half an hour Anything fit to
read requires time and thought.
Choose your subject and think about
it. Keep thinking when going to and
from school; after you go to bed, when
ever you can, think. One thought viii
lead to another. When you have
thought and written all you can, cut
out all the useless words, substitute
short words for long ones, rearrange
the sentences, and make all the i'm
provements you can; then write clear
copy After day or two, give that a
similar criticism and pruning. The
more times you can re-write it. the
more times the better. See that every
sentence means something on the sub
Ject. DO not try to stretch two IDEAS
over three pages. An essay spun out
shows that the writer was too lazy to
think
Study good work on composition
thoroughly it will give the rules for
the art.
Choose a subject you understand,
stick to it, think about it, strive for ex-
cellent thoughts, use simple, short
words, re-write your essays, cut them
down, be brief and pointed, and take
plenty of time, if you want to write any
thing which will be credit to YOU.
Good writing is the result of thought
and practice. "