The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-05-12
How to Succeed as an Orator.

r
And in spite Of much assertion to The
contrary, the influence Of sli1ful ora
tory has not ceased to be an element in
the worlds progress The spoken word
still has its share in moulding popular
opinion and action, as well as the print.
ed word though it is probably true that
our national campaigns are determined
more by printed documents than hy
platform speeches.
When, however, we remember that
no longer ago than 1896 the national
convention Of one Of the two great par
ties was carried by storm by a single
speech, and forthwith nominated the
man who made it for president, it is
idle to say that effective oratory is with
out practical value in these, as it has
been in previous times.
To the young man who aspires TO be
leader Of men, whether in political
affairs or otherwise, it is qnite certain
that the art Of public speaking is as
useful now as it ever was. And Col
onel Ingersoll, as a past master of the
art, is probably as well qualified as any
man living to give useful advice to the
thousands Of young Americans who as|
pire to oratorical success.
He was found at his pleasant home on
Madison Avenue, New York, the other
evening, and induced to talk on the
subject.
what advice would you give to a
young man who was ambitious to be-
come a successful public speaker, or an
oratorP he was asked.
In the first place, . said Colonel In
gersoll, Il would advise him to have
something to something worth |
saying something that people would J
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 accompan-
led by appropriate gesture, constitute
an oration.
Il would advise the young man to
study his subject, to find what others
had thought, to look atit from all sides.
Then l would tell 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 satisfsd on 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 and i
gesture but if you really understand
what You say emphasis, tone and ges-
ture will take care Of themselves.
"All these should come from the in .
side. They should be in perfect har
mony with the feelings Voice and
gesture should be governed by the emo !
tions They should unconsciously be
in perfect agreement with the seuti-
ments. The orator should be true to I
his subject, should avoid any reference {
to himself
The great column Of his argument
should be unbroken. He can adorn it q
with vines and flowers, but they should i
not be in such profusion as to hide. the I
column. He should give variety Of cpl 1
sode by illustration but they should be C
used only for the purpose Of adding t
strength to the argument. t
The man who wishes to become an
orator should study language He should h
understand the vigor and velocity Of r
verbs and the color Of adjectives. He d
should know how to sketch a scene, /,
paint picture, to give life and action p
de should be a poet and dramatist p
a painter and an an actor, v
He should cultivate his imagination t,
He should become familiar with the
great poetry and fiction, with splendid c
and heoric deeds He should be a stu. g
dent Of Shakespeare. He should read h
and deyour the great plays From a
he could learn the art Of
expression, Of compression, and all the p
secrets Of the head and the heart W
The great orator Is full Of variety 81
Of surprises. Like a juggler he keeps f,
the colored balls in the air He expires.
ses himself in pictures. His speech is nj
a panorama. BY continued change be Al
holds the attention. The interest does al
not flag He does not allow himself to
be anticipated He is always in ad- Vi
vance. r
He does not repeat himself A pic OF
ture is shown but once. So an orator VI
should avoid the commonplace. There K
should be 10 studiing OF filling He rc
should put n0 cotton with bis silk, DO ii
common metals with his gold He pc
.hoald aiember that gilded dust is
sat As good a. busted gold. w
The great orator Is honest sincere. ia
ls does not pretend His brain and a1
aeart 60 together Every drop Of his pl
Wood ls convinced Nothing is forced til
.ie knows exactly what he wis hes to do oc
knows when he has finished and stops. th
Only great orator knows when and su
aw to stop Most speakers 70 cn
ft8r they are through ar
Most speakears lack variety They IN
aYol straight and dusty road The &c
qelt orator is fua d episode Hg con wi
inces and charms by indireetion He bo
asVag tHe r8Hd e5site tita eta