_Chalmers_
There is a rugged type of speaker who transcends and seemingly defies
all rules of oratory. Such a man was the great Scottish preacher
Chalmers, who was without polished elocution, grace, or manner, but who
through his intellectual power and moral earnestness thrilled all who
heard him.
He read his sermons entirely from manuscripts, but it is evident from
the effects of his preaching that he was not a slave to the written word
as many such speakers have been. While he read, he retained much of his
freedom of gesture and physical expression, doubtless due to familiarity
with his subject and thorough preparation of his message.
_John Bright_
You can profitably study the speeches of John Bright. They are
noteworthy for their simplicity of diction and uniform quality of
directness. His method was to make a plain statement of facts, enunciate
certain fundamental principles, then follow with his argument and
application.
His choice of words and style of delivery were most carefully studied,
and his sonorous voice was under such complete control that he could
speak at great length without the slightest fatigue. Many of his
illustrations were drawn from the Bible, which he is said to have known
better than any other book.
_Lord Brougham_
Lord Brougham wrote nine times the concluding parts of his speech for
the defense of Queen Caroline. He once told a young man that if he
wanted to speak well he must first learn to talk well. He recognized
that good talking was the basis of effective public speaking.
Bear in mind, however, that this does not mean you are always to confine
yourself to a conversational level. There are themes which demand large
treatment, wherein vocal power and impassioned feeling are appropriate
and essential. But what Lord Brougham meant, and it is equally true
to-day, was that good public speaking is fundamentally good talking.
_Edmund Burke_
Edmund Burke recommended debate as one of the best means for developing
facility and power in public speaking. Himself a master of debate, he
said, "He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our
skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This amiable conflict with
difficulty obliges us to have an intimate acquaintance with our subject,
and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer
us to be superficial."
Burke, like all great orators, believed in premeditation, and always
wrote and corrected his speeches with fastidious care. While such men
knew that inspiration might come at the moment of speaking, they
preferred to base their chances of success upon painstaking preparation.
_Massillon_
Massillon, the great French divine, spoke in a commanding voice and in a
style so direct that at times he almost overwhelmed his hearers. His
pointed and personal questions could not be evaded. He sent truth like
fiery darts to the hearts of his hearers.
I ask you to note very carefully the following eloquent passage from a
sermon in which he explained how men justified themselves because they
were no worse than the multitude:
"On this account it is, my brethren, that I confine myself to you who at
present are assembled here; I include not the rest of men, but consider
you as alone existing on the earth. The idea which occupies and
frightens me is this: I figure to myself the present as your last hour
and the end of the world; that the heavens are going to open above your
heads; our Savior, in all His glory, to appear in the midst of the
temple; and that you are only assembled here to wait His coming; like
trembling criminals on whom the sentence is to be pronounced, either of
life eternal or of everlasting death; for it is vain to flatter
yourselves that you shall die more innocent than you are at this hour.
All those desires of change with which you are amused will continue to
amuse you till death arrives, the experience of all ages proves it; the
only difference you have to expect will most likely be a larger balance
against you than what you would have to answer for at present; and from
what would be your destiny were you to be judged this moment, you may
almost decide upon what will take place at your departure from life.
Now, I ask you (and connecting my own lot with yours I ask with dread),
were Jesus Christ to appear in this temple, in the midst of this
assembly, to judge us, to make the dreadful separation betwixt the goats
and sheep, do you believe that the greatest number of us would be placed
at His right hand? Do you believe that the number would at least be
equal? Do you believe there would even be found ten upright and
faithful servants of the Lord, when formerly five cities could not
furnish so many? I ask you. You know not, and I know it not. Thou alone,
O my God, knowest who belong to Thee. But if we know not who belong to
Him, at least we know that sinners do not. Now, who are the just and
faithful assembled here at present? Titles and dignities avail nothing,
you are stript of all these in the presence of your Savior. Who are
they? Many sinners who wish not to be converted; many more who wish, but
always put it off; many others who are only converted in appearance, and
again fall back to their former courses. In a word, a great number who
flatter themselves they have no occasion for conversion. This is the
party of the reprobate. Ah! my brethren, cut off from this assembly
these four classes of sinners, for they will be cut off at the great
day. And now appear, ye just! Where are ye? O God, where are Thy chosen?
And what a portion remains to Thy share."
_Gladstone_
Gladstone had by nature a musical and melodious voice, but through
practise he developed an unusual range of compass and variety. He could
sink it to a whisper and still be audible, while in open-air meetings he
could easily make himself heard by thousands.
He was courteous, and even ceremonious, in his every-day meeting with
men, so that it was entirely natural for him to be deferential and
ingratiating in his public speaking. He is an excellent illustration of
the value of cultivating in daily conversation and manner the qualities
you desire to have in your public address.
_John Quincy Adams_
John Quincy Adams read two chapters from the Bible every morning, which
accounted in large measure for his resourceful English style. He was
fond of using the pen in daily composition, and constantly committed to
paper the first thoughts which occurred to him upon any important
subject.
_Fox_
The ambition of Fox was to become a great political orator and debater,
in which at last he succeeded. His mental agility was manifest in his
reply to an elector whom he had canvassed for a vote, and who offered
him a halter instead. "Oh thank you," said Fox, "I would not deprive you
of what is evidently a family relic."
His method was to take each argument of an opponent, and dispose of it
in regular order. His passion was for argument, upon great or petty
subjects. He availed himself of every opportunity to speak. "During five
whole sessions," he said, "I spoke every night but one; and I regret
that I did not speak on that night, too."
_Theodore Parker_
Theodore Parker always read his sermons aloud while writing them, in
order to test their "speaking quality." His opinion was that an
impressive delivery depended particularly upon vigorous feeling,
energetic thinking, and clearness of statement.
_Henry Ward Beecher_
Henry Ward Beecher's method was to practise vocal exercises in the open
air, exploding all the vowel sounds in various keys. This practise duly
produced a most flexible instrument, which served him throughout his
brilliant career. He said:
"I had from childhood impediments of speech arising from a large palate,
so that when a boy I used to be laughed at for talking as if I had a
pudding in my mouth. When I went to Amherst, I was fortunate in passing
into the hands of John Lovell, a teacher of elocution, and a better
teacher for my purpose I can not conceive of. His system consisted in
drill, or the thorough practise of inflections by the voice, of gesture,
posture and articulation. Sometimes I was a whole hour practising my
voice on a word--like justice. I would have to take a posture,
frequently at a mark chalked on the floor. Then we would go through all
the gestures, exercising each movement of the arm and throwing open the
hand. All gestures except those of precision go in curves, the arm
rising from the side, coming to the front, turning to the left or
right. I was drilled as to how far the arm should come forward, where it
should start from, how far go back, and under what circumstances these
movements should be made. It was drill, drill, drill, until the motions
almost became a second nature. Now, I never know what movements I shall
make. My gestures are natural, because this drill made them natural to
me. The only method of acquiring effective elocution is by practise, of
not less than an hour a day, until the student has his voice and himself
thoroughly subdued and trained to get right expression."
_Lord Bolingbroke_
Lord Bolingbroke made it a rule always to speak well in daily
conversation, however unimportant the occasion. His taste and accuracy
at last gave him a style in ordinary speech worthy to have been put
into print as it fell from his lips.
_Lord Chatham_
Lord Chatham, despite his great natural endowments for speaking, devoted
a regular time each day to developing a varied and copious vocabulary.
He twice examined each word in the dictionary, from beginning to end, in
his ardent desire to master the English language.
_John Philpot Curran_
The well-known case of John Philpot Curran should give encouragement to
every aspiring student of public speaking. He was generally known as
"Orator Mum," because of his failure in his first attempt at public
speaking. But he resolved to develop his oratorical powers, and devoted
every morning to intense reading. In addition, he regularly carried in
his pocket a small copy of a classic for convenient reading at odd
moments.
It is said that he daily practised declamation before a looking-glass,
closely scrutinizing his gesture, posture, and manner. He was an earnest
student of public speaking, and eventually became one of the most
eloquent of world orators.
_Balfour_
Among present-day speakers in England Mr. Balfour occupies a leading
place. He possesses the gift of never saying a word too much, a habit
which might be copied to advantage by many public speakers. His habit
during a debate is to scribble a few words on an envelop, and then to
speak with rare facility of English style.
_Bonar Law_
Bonar Law does not use any notes in the preparation of a speech, but
carefully thinks out the various parts, and then by means of a series of
"mental rehearsals" fixes them indelibly in his mind. The result of this
conscientious practise has made him a formidable debater and extempore
speaker.
_Asquith_
Herbert H. Asquith, who possesses the rare gift of summoning the one
inevitable word, and of compressing his speeches into a small space of
time, speaks with equal success whether from a prepared manuscript or
wholly extempore. His unsurpassed English style is the result of many
years reading and study of prose masterpieces. "He produces, wherever
and whenever he wants them, an endless succession of perfectly coined
sentences, conceived with unmatched felicity and delivered without
hesitation in a parliamentary style which is at once the envy and the
despair of imitators."
_Bryan_
William Jennings Bryan is by common consent one of the greatest public
speakers in America. He has a voice of unusual power and compass, and
his delivery is natural and deliberate. His style is generally forensic,
altho he frequently rises to the dramatic. He has been a diligent
student of oratory, and once said:
"The age of oratory has not passed; nor will it pass. The press, instead
of displacing the orator, has given him a larger audience and enabled
him to do a more extended work. As long as there are human rights to be
defended; as long as there are great interests to be guarded; as long
as the welfare of nations is a matter for discussion, so long will
public speaking have its place."
_Roosevelt_
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most effective of American public
speakers, due in large measure to intense moral earnestness and great
stores of physical vitality. His diction was direct and his style
energetic. He spoke out of the fulness of a well-furnished mind.