The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-05-05
THE FIRE OF
REAL ORATORY
Robt. G. |ngersoI| Discusses It for
Inter Ocean Readers.
ONE ESSENTIAL is IDEAS
Takers Should Have Subjects Worth Talking
About-Thomas Corwin Was Easily
the First Man of the Old
School Orators.
BY ROBERT G. INGERsoLL.

From the Chicago Inter Ocean,
You ask me, what advice would you
give to young man who was ambitious
to become successful public speaker or
orator."
In the first place, would advise him to
have something to say-something worth
saying-something 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 loud
voice and accompanied by appropriate ges-
ture, constitute an grafton. would advise
the young man to study his subject, to
find what others had thought, to look at 1t
from all sides. Then I 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 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, and gesture; but If you really
understand what you say emphasis, tone,
and gesture 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 suchs
profusion as to hide the column. lie should
give variety of episode by illustration, but
they should be used only for the purpose
,,<r+1, to ho a 0l
should Study Language
The man who wishes to become an ora
tor 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 scene, 10
paint a picture, to give life and action.
He should be a poet and dramatist, a
painter and an actor. He should become
familiar with the great poetry and fiction,
with splendid 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 ex-
preston, of compression, and all the Sc
crets 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 him.
self in pictures. His speech is panorama.
BY continued change he holds the atten-
ton. The interest does not flag. He does
not allow himself to be anticipated. He
does not repeat himself. A picture is shown
but once. So, an orator should avoid the
commonplace. There should be no stuff
ing, no filling. He should put no cotton
with his silk no common metals with his
gold. He should remember that "gided
dust is not as good as busted gold. The
great orator is honest, sincere. He does
not pretend. His brain and heart go to-
gether Every drop Of his blood Is con-
yinced Nothing is forced. He knows ex-
actIy what he wishes to do-knows when
he has finished 1t, and stops.
knowing When to Stop
Only a great orator knows when and how
TO close. Most speakers go on after they
are through. They are satisfied only with
a .1ame and impotent conclusion" Most
sneakers lack variety They travel
straight and dusty road. The great orator
is full of episode. He convinces and charms
by jndirection. He leaves the road, visits
the fields wanders in the woods, listens to
the murmurs of springs, the songs OF
birds. He gathers flowers, scales the crags
and comes back to the highway refreshed,
invigorated He does not move In
straight line. He wanders and winds like
stream.
OF course, no one can tell man what
to do to become an orator. The great ora
tor has that wonderful thing called pres
ence. He has the strange something known
as magnetism. He must have a flexible,
musical voice, capable of expressing the
pathetic. the humorous, the heroic. His
body must move in unison with his
thought. He must be a rcasoner, q logic