Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-14
SCHOOL ORATORS
WARNED OF TIME
New Limit on Speaking Tech
nique Contrast With
Former Contests.

With the approach of the school
eliminations in the National Oratorical
Contest, participants must give special
attention TO the effect which the new
time limit will have on their speaking
technique, Randolph Leigh, director of
the contest, warned today. Speakers
should follow somewhat different plan
for the 6-minute speech, as contrasted
with the longer speech of previous
years, he declared.
I'm the first place." says the director
general, there must be greater effort
than ever to make vivid presentation
OF ideas. The sentences, even the very
words, must be shorter, in order to Sc
cure the maximum result within the
short time allotted the speaker. The
speech need not suffer from this prun-
ing of words and clauses. On the con-
trary the contestants, driven by neces-
sity to use stout Anglo-Saxon words,
should produce better results than in
the past We have been too thoroughly
Latinized already in our oratorical
ideals. A return TO patrial phrases will
awaken our ears once more to the vivid
beauty of our Saxon tongue. The con-
test and contestants will gain by this
rediseovery of our quickening small
words, which always have been used
with great effect by the real masters
Of English.
Most Obvious Difference.
However, the most obvious differ
ence in the speeches this year as con-
trasted with those of last year will be-
or should be, in the speaking technique
of the orators.
1T have heard hundreds of short
speeches, In this contest and in con-
nection with other events, and have
- 49, -
minutes in the speech Of even the most
seasoned speaker there comes q marked
sagging in the driving power of the
orator. I do not mean tight-fiSted
straining to compel people to listen, but
q hot and genuine upruSh of word and
tone from the very depths OF q man,
lighting him up. In the old oratory,
In which the speaker devoted an hour
or two to developing his theme, the
first few minutes of the Grafton were
devoted to giving the pitch or tone
for what was to follow. In that initial
period of contact the orator also got
the feel of his crowd. But there was
an invariable recession of feeling after
the first full contact with the audience.
THE speaker must mount swiftly and
surely to his climax. OF course, he
should not give the outward appear
ance Of striving to do that, but he must
do 1t just the same. He may even
cover his swift ascent by an artful in
dtTectneSs, flashing out toward the very
last with an idea which knits together
ell that has been said before. His
thought must be swift without being
Ia the least hurried. 1t must be NOV
ing, but so mirrored in beauty as to
seem without motion"
Group Is Organized.
ct q conference between Mr.. Leigh and
contest participants from five of WASH
ington's high schools that ConStitu-
ton clubs would be formed at Central,
Eastern and Mckinley Manual Train
ing, a group of IS students of the last
named institution met yesterday and
formally organized.
Constitution clubs already exist at
Western and Business High Schools
and their formation at Central and
Eastern within few days Is expected
by oratorical contest Oficials.
Augustus Glasgow, president OF the
Student Congress at Mckinley, was
elected to head the new club. Other
officers are David Hill, vice president;
Robert Lins, treasurer, and Florence
Whitcomb. secretary.
A committee, of which J. Milton
Topper is chairman, was appointed to
draw up the constitution of the club.
The purpose of the club Is ito stimulate
interest in debate on matters of gen.
eral interest, with special reference to
the Constitution of the United States"
Mrs. Eda B. Frost, public speaking
teacher and Mckinley oratorical contest
committee chairman, vas chosen fac
ulty adviser. She will be assisted by
George j. Young, history teacher.
Next meeting of the club viii be held
March 20. The members expect to de-
vote most of their efforts toward per-
fecting themselves in the oratorical
contest. There viii be extemporaneous
discussions of current topics every week,
and once a month, regular debate.