THE INTRODUCTION.
The time for the speech having arrived, we will now consider its
separate parts. No division is better for our purpose than that employed
in a previous part of this work—a three-fold division into introduction,
discussion, and conclusion.
A good introduction is exceedingly valuable, and is to be sought for
with great solicitude, if it does not spontaneously present itself. Some
kind of an introduction is inevitable, for there will always be a first
moment when silence is broken, and our thoughts introduced. The
subsiding murmur of the audience tells the speaker that the time of his
trial has come. If he is very sensitive, or if he has seldom, if ever,
spoken before, his pulse beats fast, his face flushes, and an
indescribable feeling of faintness and fear thrills every nerve. He may
wish himself anywhere else, but there is now no help for him. He must
arise, and for the time stand as the mark for all eyes and the subject
of all thoughts.
There is a vast difference between reciting and extemporizing in these
opening moments, and the advantage seems to be altogether on the side of
recitation. Every word is in its proper place and the speaker may be
perfectly calm and self-collected. He is sure that his memory will not
fail him in the opening, and encouraged by that assurance, will usually
throw his whole power into his first sentences, causing his voice to
ring clear and loud over the house.
The extemporizer is in a far more difficult position. He is sure of
nothing. The weight of the whole speech rests heavily upon his mind. He
is glancing ahead, striving to forecast the coming sentences, as well as
carrying forward those gliding over the tongue, and, distracted by this
double labor, his first expressions may be feeble and ungraceful. Yet
this modesty and timidity is no real loss: it goes far to conciliate an
audience and secure their good-will. We can scarcely fail to distinguish
memorized from extemporized discourses by the introduction alone.
To avoid the pain and hesitancy of an unelaborated beginning, some
speakers write and memorize the opening passage. This may accomplish the
immediate object, but it is apt to be at the expense of all the
remainder of the discourse. The mind cannot pass easily from reciting to
spontaneous origination; and the voice, being too freely used at first,
loses its power. The hearers, having listened to highly polished
language, are less disposed to relish the plain words that follow, and
the whole speech, which, like the Alpine condor, may have pitched from
the loftiest summits, falls fast and far, until the lowest level is
reached. A written introduction may be modest and unpretending, but
unless it very closely imitates unstudied speech, painful contrasts and
disappointments are inevitable.
One mode of avoiding these difficulties is to make no formal
introduction, but to plunge at once into the heart of the subject.
Sometimes, when the minds of speaker and hearer are already absorbed by
the same general topic, as in the midst of a heated political canvass,
this mode is very good. Under such circumstances, an interest may soon
be aroused which removes all embarrassment. But usually the speaker’s
mind is full of a subject which is unfamiliar and indifferent to his
hearers. It then behooves him to find some mode of gaining their
attention and sympathy before he takes the risk of arousing a prejudice
against his subject which he might afterward strive in vain to overcome.
If something is found which can be made to bear some relation to his
subject, without too violent straining, and which already excites
interest in their minds, it will be far better to begin with that, and
lead them to the proper theme when their attention has been thoroughly
aroused.
The introduction should not be left to the chance of the moment. It may
often, with great propriety, be prepared after all other parts of the
speech are planned. But with even more care than is given to any other
portion should the introduction be prearranged. When once the wings of
eloquence are fully spread we may soar above all obstructions; but in
starting it is well to be assured that the ground is clear about us.
It is only the substance and not the words of the introduction that
should be prepared. A single sentence may be mentally forecast, but much
beyond would be harmful; and even this sentence should be simple and
easily understood. Anything that needs explanation is very much out of
place. Neither should the introduction be so striking as to be the part
of the discourse longest remembered. Rather than permit the attention to
be distracted in that manner, it would be better to have no
introduction.
A speaker gains much if he can at the outset arrest the attention and
win the sympathy of his hearers and then carry these over to his proper
subject. But it may be assumed as certain, that no kind of an apology
will accomplish this object—unless, indeed, the speaker is such a
favorite that everything in regard to his health or position is an
object of deep solicitude to his audience. A popular speaker who happens
to be late and apologizes for it by explaining that he had just escaped
from a terrible railroad accident would make a good introduction. A
loved pastor, in his first sermon after serious illness, might properly
begin by talking of his amendment and his joy at addressing his flock
again. But these are rare exceptions. The speaker about to make any kind
of an apology or personal reference as an introduction, may well heed
_Punch’s advice to persons about to be married_: “Don’t.”
In many instances it is not easy to get the mere attention of an
audience. They come together from many different employments with
thoughts engaged upon various topics, and it is difficult to remove
distracting influences and fix all minds upon one subject. Sometimes a
startling proposition, in the nature of a challenge, will secure the
object. Earnestness in the speaker goes far toward it. But above
everything else, sameness and monotony must be carefully avoided. When
the same audience is frequently addressed, variety becomes essential.
The writer knew of a minister who made it a rule to consider the nature,
reason, and manner of his subjects, in answer to the supposed questions:
“What is it? Why is it? How is it?” The eloquence of Paul could not
often have redeemed the faults of such an arrangement.
Some inattention may be expected and patiently borne with at first. Part
of the opening words may be lost—an additional reason for not making
them of capital importance to the address. It is useless to try by loud
tones and violent manner to dispel indifference. If the speaker’s words
have real weight, and if his manner indicates confidence, one by one the
audience will listen, until that electric thrill of sympathy, impossible
to describe, but which is as evident to the practiced orator as an
accord in music, tells him that every ear is open to his words, and that
his thoughts are occupying every mind. Then the orator’s power is fully
developed, and if himself and his theme are equal to the occasion it is
delightful to use that power. This silent, pulsating interest is more to
be desired than vehement applause, for it cannot be counterfeited, and
it indicates that the heart of the assembly has been reached and melted
by the fire of eloquence, and is now ready to be molded into any desired
form.
There are two or three general subjects available for introduction which
every speaker would do well to study carefully, and which will do much
to furnish him with the means of properly approaching his theme. We will
mention the most useful of these, premising that no one mode should be
depended upon to the exclusion of others.
A good mode of introduction consists in a compliment to an audience.
When a truthful and manly compliment can be given it is a most pleasant
and agreeable step toward the good-will of those we address; but if used
on all occasions indiscriminately, it is meaningless; if transparently
false, it is repulsive and disgusting; but when true, there is no reason
why it should not be employed.
There are several good introductions of the complimentary character in
the 24th and 26th chapters of Acts. When the orator, Tertullus, accused
Paul, he began by skillful, but, from the standpoint of his clients,
very insincere flattery:
“Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy
deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, we accept it always,
and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.”
No fault can be found with the form of this introduction, but it was
untrue, for the men in whose names it was made were the very reverse of
thankful to the Roman Governor.
Paul was far too skillful to lose the advantage of beginning his address
with a compliment, and too honest to give a false one. There was one
fact over which he could rejoice. Felix had been long enough in office
to know the ways of his enemies; so Paul uses that as an effective and
truthful compliment, while professing his own confidence in his cause.
“Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been for many years a Judge unto
this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because that
thou mayest understand.”
In the same exquisite combination of truthfulness and compliment to a
bad man, Paul begins his address when before King Agrippa:
“I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself
this day before thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused of
the Jews; especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and
questions which are among the Jews; wherefore, I beseech thee to hear me
patiently.”
It should always be remembered, however, that compliments, even in the
estimation of those complimented, are only grateful in proportion to
their judicious character. Their hollowness, if insincere, is easily
detected and thoroughly despised.
Effective introductions can also be constructed from those topics of the
day which may be supposed to fill all minds. A few words on such
subjects, falling in with the general current of thought, may easily
lead up to the orator’s special topic. The newspapers may thus furnish
us, especially while some striking event is yet recent, with the means
of arresting the attention of newspaper readers at our first words.
Another good mode of introduction is that of locality. The people of any
town may be presumed familiar with the objects or events of interest for
which their own place is celebrated. A ludicrous instance of this is
narrated of the eloquent Daniel Webster. He had visited Niagara Falls
and was to make an oration at Buffalo the same day, but, unfortunately,
he sat too long over the wine after dinner. When he arose to speak, the
oratorical instinct struggled with difficulties, as he declared,
“Gentlemen, I have been to look upon your mag—mag—magnificent cataract,
one hundred—and forty—seven—feet high! Gentlemen, Greece and Rome in
their palmiest days never had a cataract one hundred—and
forty—seven—feet high!”
Another mode of introduction which may be very useful under proper
restrictions is that of citing some relevant remark made by an author
whose name carries great weight, or so pointed in itself as to at once
arrest attention. A great picture, some feature of a landscape, a great
historical event, may be cited in the same way. This method of citation
is capable of very wide application. If the sentiment or impression made
by the citation is directly opposite to that which the speaker wishes to
produce this will increase rather than diminish interest, as the
enjoyment of contrast and controversy is very keen; but the speaker
should feel confident of his ability to overcome the influence of the
citation when thus hostile. A favorite introduction to abolition
lectures in a former generation was the quotation of some strong and
shocking declaration of the rightfulness or beneficence of slavery.
The last mode of introduction we will notice is very similar in
character and may be termed that of perception. Something has been seen,
heard, or imagined by the speaker, which, because of its simple,
tangible character, is easily grasped, and yet leads by some subtle
analogy to his topic. He has seen a ragged, desolate boy on the street;
he describes that poor fellow to his audience; and then finds them far
more ready to listen to a plea for orphan asylums, for education, for
better city government, for anything which can have any bearing upon the
welfare of the boy.
Here, then, are five principles upon which appropriate introductions may
be constructed. Many others might be named, but these cover a wide range
and may be very useful. They are:
1. Compliments.
2. Current Events.
3. Local Allusion.
4. Citations.
5. Things seen, heard, or imagined.
A great calamity may come to a speaker from a bad introduction. Speakers
who are great in everything else often fail at this point. Some make
their introductions too complicated, and thus defeat their own end, as
surely as the engineer who gives his railroad such steep grades that no
train can pass over it. Others deliver a string of mere platitudes and
weary their audience from the beginning.
When from these or other causes our address is mis-begun, the
consequences may be serious. The thought settles upon the speaker with
icy weight that he is failing. This conviction paralyzes all his
faculties. He talks on, but grows more and more embarrassed. Incoherent
sentences are stammered out which require painful explanation to prevent
them from degenerating into perfect nonsense. The outline of his plan
dissolves into mist. The points he intended to make which seemed strong
and important now look trivial. With little hope ahead he blunders on.
The room grows dark before him, and in the excess of his misery he longs
for the time when he can close without absolute disgrace. But alas! the
end seems far off, and he searches in vain for some avenue of escape.
There is none. His throat becomes dry and parched, and command of voice
is lost. The audience grow restive, for they are tortured as well as the
speaker, and if he were malicious and had time to think about it, he
might find some alleviation in that. No one can help him. At length, in
sheer desperation, he does what he ought to have done long before—simply
stops and sits down—perhaps hurling some swelling morsel of
common-place, as a parting volley, at the audience—bathed in sweat, and
feeling that he is disgraced forever! If he is very weak or foolish, he
resolves never to speak again without having every word written out
before him; if wiser, he only resolves, not only to understand his
speech, but how to begin it.