The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-20
on WILL BE HEARD.
THEY ARE TAKING LESSONS IN THE
ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.
Painful E.perlenees OF CIps Woman and rhe,.

ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.
Painful Experiences or CIub women ana Their
Audiences in the Pasta BRIGHT womnn's
Way OF Making Herself Heard obstruction
for women who Would Ne Orators.
Since oil tho women's clubs have sprung into
existence, tho experience of speaking in public
has come to many q woman's lot. To most Of
tho women It is a painful experience. but not
half 30 discomforting MS 1t Is to their audiences.
Tho club woman is q queer species" so n
Grabbed old bachelor says, and some who boast
possession Of the badges of no fewer than
eighteen organizations must own that this Is
true when 1t comes TO speaking in public.
Few club women refuse to read q paper or
speak whom their timo comes. Nearly all Of
them declare that they won't when appointed
to do 80 for the first time, and thoy all say that
they can't stand the nervous strain Of address.
ing a number OF their Sex who arc certain TO DO
amused at their awkwardncss in manner and
Inability to mako themselves heard. But they
always end by attempting II. Nobody could
safely assert such n thing positively, but since
the era of woman's clubdom, II Is possible
that q great many brilliant and original
thoughts may have been lost to a public ever
craving new ideas. Countless thousands have
certainly boon uttered that have never been
heard by anybody except tho speaker herself.
III Ii lhdJ u "OIncn II dlTul
to speak to ono another about their oratorlcnl
shortcomings. and as a result they go on like
the brook. forever. without Improving In
their delivery In tho slightest degree. AZ
ter a woman breaks tho leo and roads a
paper once, that settles 1t. She is al
ways moro than willing to do her share, Us
club women modestly put 1t, after that, and
goes on indefinitely adding to tho aggregate of
misery that the audiences have to endure.
Not long ago the wife Of a distinguished cngi-
neer in this city was called on to read u paper in
public. She accepted the invitation and wrote
an excellent article. Her friends were cnthusl-
astic over what she wrote, but they had grave
doubts concerning how she would say it when
the proper time came.
You have n charming voice, dear" said one,
but YOU know 1t isn't very strong, and your
paper is 30 good that tho audience would be
cheated II they missed u word; so don't you
think you had bette, get some one else to read it
for you y
81 shall read my own paper answered the
wife of the engineer firmly.
Really. your paper 10 so uncommonly strong,
II I were you l would get som man to read 1t,
suggested another friend.
II was able to write the paper, and 1 am going
to read 1t, insisted the plucky woman; and she
did. But she did something else iirst.
Fortunately she had some time for prepare
ton. and she determined to make herself as ex-
pert a speaker in that time as possible. She was
average Woman, but she she had mo- notion Hs of Of
forcing her audience to strain their ears to
c chnncN what ~ H. she asc was saving HGsS or Of Of, giving hsr sso them a
Therefore she went TO the widow OF a well known
actor who recently took charge Of the school Of
wanted. Tho teacher put her through a short
Course OF preparation, and when the woman
she swept her audience along with her and
caused even the women, present to break into
cNclamat!ons OF admiration.
Of public speaEins." said Mrs. adelaide Stan.
and there is absolutely no reason why every
Club woman in the city OF New York should not
about teaching Az nervous s"Snhs shrinEinS WON woman 10
read or speak in public so that to hear her would
give ns gsnT,nS PieasIir rm Il, l an n. a ayr great ;t, bslis eyer
! do with such students is to show them how
70 . walk on the platform and look at
lake in her entire audience With one lo S%"
Gf sn Of f the SES en- SnS VIII iiRG im so Il sHsaf fce an thd tine
selves neglected: In singing a song a Erea, deal
sung. SO in public reading or speaking just as
mu,h depends on the first sentence.
make the announcements Of an article. This
should be done In a matterof.fact tone. and then
j isst. vo 6ne s ot the be sra mSds'f iasl, to s viii ' @e% sSs,
unaccustomed to public speaking is their failure
to space their paragraphs properly so as 70 give
there is method in, this madness with some OF
them, but nearly all women speakers rush too
rapidly from one thought 10 another. As a rule,
they speak In too high and throaty q tone, accom-.
panied by a nasal twang. Their voices do not
to make themselves heard even at a short dis
tanee. find it a very successful plan to make
OF the, parquet, and then / tell them 10 breathe
from the lower part OF the lungs. which enables
force. An occasional pause, a look up. or a smile
at the audience Is a very effective stage trick
suitable for the use Of any reader or speaker.
She should make them feel that she is teaching
them something which she knows all about.
though she may not. and she must also make
them feel that she knows she Is right in what
c con and I facial eteIi's sx PRESTON ff IS one % OF the he
greatest aids to a public speaker. ! have made
tical method of teaching 1t. though there can be
NO set rule about i; as each r., student has TO be
great factor in winning and holding q an audience,
though gesticulation is not always necessary.
have s sSlesse for 1h many ! g yasRs tR RSs i iG saX u no Sne !
dress with less. taste than others, Probably
they have no time for such triaes, but l never
let one who comes to me for lessons escape with.
out giving her some slight hint as to dress when
see that 1t is necessary. Any one appearing in
eass''f to o on 1ynls indistincPi DssaD'f In tone Is an SG
SO many women prominent in club life Who 20
on Jerking and mumbling their speeches out to
say what they have to say so that It can DO
readily heard. understood. and appreciated.
American women are exceedingly intelligent
and quick, but not ono out OF twenty II free
from manncrisms OF voice or cnunciation. This
can be overcome in n few lessons. All that is
necessary is to point out the fault, to
make known the remedy; and. then the
every day for just one week will so improve a
woman's way OF presenting n paper that she
won't believe her own cars when she gets up TO
speak before an audience. | find that there Ia
n distinct demand for a now department In the
dramatic school especially devoted to tho prepa-
ration Uf women who are to speak before clubs.
This sort OF thing is not unknown with men, SO
the women need not fear to take 1t up on tho
plea of being laughed at by the sterner SEX"