The times., 1898-04-24
INGERSoLL ON oRAToRY.
Things That Are necessary for the
Public Speaker.
From the New York SUM-

From the New York Sum-
Col. Robert c. mgersoll was asked
the other evening to talk on the best
way to succeed as an orator. The con-
yersation was started by this question:
What advice would you give to
young man who was ambitious to be-
come a successful public speaker or ora
tor?"
I'm the first place. said Col. Ingersoll,
"I would advise him to have something
to say-something worth saying-some-
thing that people would be glad to hear.
This Is the important thing. Back of
the art of speaking must be the power to
think. Without thoughts words are
empty purses Most people imagine that
almost any words uttered in a loud voice
and accompanied by appropriate gest-
ures constitute an oration. l would All
wise the young man TO study his subject.
to find what others had thought, to look
at il from all sides. Then 1 would ad-
viss him to write out his thoughts. or TO
arrange them in his mind, so that he
would know exactly what he was going
to say. Waste no time on the how until
you are satisfied with the what. After
you know what you are to say, then you
can think of how it should be said. Then
you can think about tone, emphasis anG
gesture, but if you really understand
what you say. emphasis, tone and gesr-
ure will take care of themselves. All
these should come from the inside. They
should be In perfect harmony with the
feelings Voice and gesture should be
governed by the emotions. They should
unconsciously be in perfect agreement
with the sentiments. The orator should
be true TO his subject, should avoid any
reference to himself
The great column of his argument
should be unbroken. He can adorn it
with vines and flowers, but they should
not be in such profusion as to hide the
column. He should give variety of epi-
sode by illustrations. but they should be
used only for the purpose of adding
strength to the argument. The man who
wishes to become an orator should study
language He should know the deeper
meaning of words. He should understand
the vigor and velocity of verbs and the
color of adjectives He should know
how TO sketch a scene to paint picture.
to give life and action. He should be a
poet and a dramatist. a painter and an
actor He should cultivate his imagina-
ton. Me should become familiar with
the great poetry and fiction, with splen-
did and heroic deeds. He should be a
student OF Shakespeare. He should read
and devour the great plays. From
Shakespeare he could learn the art of
expression, of compression, and all the
secrets of the head and heart
THE great orator is full of variety-of
surprises. Like a juggler he keeps the
colored balls in the air. He expresses
himself in pictures. His speech is a pan
Drama. By continued change he holds
the attention. The interest does not
| flag. He does not allow himself to be
anticipated. He is always in advance.
He does not repeat himself A picture
! is shown but once. So an orator should
avoid the commonplace. There should
be no stuffing. no filing. He should put
no cotton with his silk, no comon met
| ais with his gold He should remem-
ber that 'gilded dust is not as good as
busted gold The orator Is honest, sim
| cere. He does not pretend. His brain
and heart go together. Every drop of
his blood is convinced Nothing is fore
ed He knows exactly what he wishes to
do-knows when he has finished it, and
stops.
"Only a great orator knows when anj
| how to close Most speakers go on after
| they are through. They are satisfied only