Daily Republican., 1883-07-19
ExTEMP0RE SPEAKING,
BY EDWARD EVERETT HALE,

\ power TO speak public as sort O
/ magic gift, which cannot be obtained b,
0 care or study. You are wholly wrong
81 When L was 26 years cid was sitting
in very simple costume, by the side o
q New England lake, with two young
: law students, in similar costume. w,
had been swimming hale a mile togeth
er, and were using natures great towe
to dry ourselves. My friends were two
years younger than !, so that was pri.
vileged to advise them.
One of them said, WI b that certainty
as to his future which belongs to the age
of twenty-four:
II shall never practice in court.
shall be chamber counse', il have any
practice al all"
"Whnt is this nonsense hear ?" l
said sterDly. And he repeated he mod
est disclaimer.
| "Let me never hear such talk again."
cried with indignation. "What does
it mean? ?"
" 1t means," paid twenty-four, "that
l cannot speak eXtenpore. l am con-
fused and blunder. / cannot address the
jury or he court"
Boys cried, with the privilege of
my years, elf yon cannot do SO you
must learn. If Harvard College and the
Dane Law School have let you slip
through their fingers without teaching
you to think upon your legs, learn here,
now, at the next Fire'neu', supper par
ty, or the country meeting of The Teu-
perance Society"
Then told them both how too learn.
AMI 20 years later had the pleasure OF
hearing "a, who was now "4l, make
in the Hall Of the House Of Represen-
tatives at Washington, an off-hand re-
ply,Of the very wiItiest aud most telling
character, to an impudent debater who
had assailed Massachusetts, and who, |
think, has never since forgotten the
dressing he received hat day.
Now tell hat story to you, who are
my unknown correspondent, because you
seem to be wallOwiDg i'll the same mire
from which that day tried to extricatc
him.
Anybody can learn to speak extern.
pore who has anything to say.
or course it needs practice. Nori is it
true that practice before cabbage heads
In the garden is sufficient, though that
is very good exercise.
Thetirst great rule was given tome hy
one Ofthe leaders of our time, two years
before passed it on to young "24 OF
whom have been telling you. He said
10 me:
"Speak whenever you can speak, till
you know how to speak,"
"Speak when anyone is fool enough
e ask yoli."
And then this great man paused, and
without ihlnking how much he empress
Al us youngsters, who were listening, ,hr
aid. almost with tears: Oh, if any
,Ody had told me tlat when | was your
lge."
! will not have that failure on my
l tell YOU, first, that you
must
"sp,ak when anybody is fool enough 7
0 ask you
Speak where you are the least known
ride over to South Podunk, and spe ak /
When they dedicate the new schoOlhouSe. O
Address the children when Deacon Phil
ip asks for a "tew remarks" to Soc a
upy the time while they are pouring q
ut the coffee. Speak till you have well
Veathere'l the stage fright. Gradually
on will come to be at ease-most of all,
you speak tllls to strangers For :,
hese purposes an audience "t fifty is "
etter than an audience of a thousand. "
Second. Say nothing about yourself, Il
bsoutely nothing. Do not explain why q
ou are there, who asked you, why ',
ou should speak or why not Address :,
oursei suddenly and promptly to the :;
ubject. II
Third. Have one thing at Least to say. " "
f you have nothing to say, say that, /
'hich means stay at home. See that J.,
on have one fact idea, notion, memory, ~
ope, which it is probable no one else y, :"
i'll take tn that meeting. Make this aI ai
lear iii your own mind. DO not try to ~
X IL III words. Words are apt to y.
g a nuisance when prepared before. IT,
and. AS President Lincoln once said, ~
The words get in your way" But be !"
Ire of the tact-of the thing. -. 49,
Fourth Say that, and when you have w.
id IL, sit down. ~ ~
Fifth. If you have two, three, four =" -"
more things to say, arrange them in ,m,'
e pest order in your mind beforehand. ",
axe it perfectly sure TO yourself that u,' W.
III know just what you mean, how far W.
III are going, and what the truth is on II, I'
ese points. For this, and for this w, sn
ly, rehearsal before the cabbage-heads se' se
useful. If you have once said, in ~" -"
me words, what you mean. you will be u,
re that your idea is clear to other peo- .n' io
e, or yon can make it So: ~,
Sixth. Having laid out this plan, W.
ck to it. Any temptation to change an' ~,
after You are on your feet is temp S,, %.'
lion of Satan. You may make the Ia
nguage what you choose, but you must 81.
ok to the thing you have determined ": W:
Seventh. From beginning to end re. Sol ~,
'mber that you are not speaking that h''.
ople may praise you or like you. You .h ue,
, speaking because you have a cause, 'h' h'
purpose 70 carry. The less people 'n. :l.
nix of you and the more they think of ,n' ni
'lr purpose, the more perfect your 'I
,Cess.
As George Leonard Chancey once W.. va
d." No man can speak extempore who taa .i
rot willing TO make fool of himself .nn "u
his cause" WI so'