The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-01
WOMEN AS PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
Mrs. Lille Devereaux Blake Relates
Some of Her Experiences.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
Mrs. Lille Devereaux Blake, when asked
her opinion of woman in Oratory, said:
Women are the worlds natural orators.
A good conversationalist makes a good
public speaker. There are many brilliant
conversationalists among women. Only the
exceptional man talks we'll"
What do you consider the most essen
tial quality for an orator." was asked.
Opportunity and practice" insisted Mrs.
Blake THE reason there are not more
women orators is that there have been no
opportunities. Only the suffragists spoke
in public and so to-day the only orators
one must be very much in earnest, ones
thoughts must be clearly and logically eX-
pressed but they must we'll up from the
heart. Then one must study. The begin
ner always emphasizes the unimpOrtant
words, dwells on the 'ands, butts and
thes' and smothers the word which is the
keynote of her sentence in a mutfied voice.
One should be full of ones subject, know
how to deliver ones words and then, as
far as possible, forget self and think only
of speech and audience. AS the Romans
said A poet is born, not made, but an
orator is made at the expense of his audi
ence' and every public speaker would do
well to bear that in mind. When / first
began speaking in public used to so out
into the highways and hedges for my audi
ences. A gathering OF people meant tor
to the Slums and into the country. I spoke
in churches and in stuffy halls, in play
houses and at private residences. Occa-
saw the least, and wondering reporters
would look at me inqulringly and say,
Why, Mrs. Blake, L am surprised to see
All this was excellent training end
taught me more about the human mind
than any amount of book lore possibly
could. l learned to study faces, to take
my cue, as it were from the expressions
of my listeners faces and TO sway their
minds while keeping their interest. /
learned the art of making them laugh or
1T is very different" she continued,
smiling ito speak TO tables and chairs and
to speak to a great house full of people,
whose eyes are riveted on your face, whose
ears are open for every word and whose
opinions are to be formed or altered by
your presentation of ideas. Phrases that
seem full of music when addressed to the
marble bust on your mantelplece. ideas
that seem like the wisdom of ages en-
balmed in poetic words, when hurled at
your bookshelves, frequently become fiat,
ifeless and wordy when the Inspiration Of
solitude is gone and you see hundreds of
faces turned toward you. To be a success
full public speaker one must go into train
ing-a course quite as careful, rigorous and
exacting as the training which develops BIZ
cops, reduces avoirdupois or makes an
adept in any special branch.
Is personal appearance as important for
the woman orator as for a woman in any
other role?'
Yes, I think that an impressive appear
ance is quite indispensabl BILE | recall one
case where beauty alone carried a young
woman through two very successful sea-
sons as a public lecturer, although she
really had not enough talent to write her
own lecture. 1t was in the days when men
like Bayard Taylor and Horace Greeley
were constantly delivering lectures, and
great deal of money was to be made in
public speaking. This young woman. who
could not have been more than twenty
one. was startlingIy beautiful. She was tall
and statuesque, and with her fair skin big
blue eyes and wealth of fiaxen hair looked
like a Saxon goddess. She was extensively
advertised and her photographs We're dis
tributed broadcast. They called her the
greatest woman orator" and she trav-
eled over the continent for couple CT
seasons making money and attracting a