CHAPTER VIII

ORAL PREPARATION

Introduction. There are two methods of practice which are valuable to one who would learn to speak well. The first is called the impromptu method. This is frequently used in literary societies. A member is assigned a subject and requested to speak without previous notice. Henry Clay made a very profitable use of this method. It was his custom to read daily one chapter from some historical or scientific book and then go out immediately to the cornfield or to the stable, where he would repeat the selection aloud in his own language.

The merits of the impromptu method are evident. Such practice cannot fail to quicken the mind and increase one's command of language. Its defects, however, are quite as obvious. In the first place, it gives little practice in the arrangement of thought and, if used exclusively, is apt to lead to a habit of rambling discourse. Again, there are occasions for which preparation is necessary. As Mr. J. Berg Esenwein says, "Don't wait to dive for pearls of thought until you mount the platform it might be painful to the audience."

Although the speaker should nerve himself occasionally to an impromptu effort, he should rely mainly upon what has been called the extempore method. This kind of preparation will be fully explained in this chapter, but it may briefly be described as oral composition

based upon a word-outline. It may be used whenever the speaker is given sufficient time to gather and arrange his ideas.

The subject of oral preparation will be discussed under the following headings: (1) description of the extempore, or oral method of preparation, (2) value of this method as compared with that of writing and memorizing one's thoughts, and (3) the written speech as a last step.

I. DESCRIPTION OF THE EXTEMPORE METHOD Mental Preparation. The speaker should think through his speech, using an outline prepared as directed in Chapter VII. His purpose in this should be to phrase each idea as perfectly as possible. The student may think that he cannot polish his phrases unless he writes them, but he should remember that whether he composes orally or in writing, it is his mind that does the polishing and not his pen. If the student wishes to cultivate a good style, he should persevere during this part of his preparation until he gets a satisfactory expression of his ideas. Not even the greatest among us can without effort produce what is worth while. That master of style, Robert Louis Stevenson, once wrote in a letter, "Yesterday, I was a living half hour upon a single clause and I have a galaxy of variants that would surprise you.” All of this painstaking has its reward in the end, for, as Thomas W. Higginson says, "For intellect in the rough, there is no market."

Oral Practice. When the student has determined upon the best way to express each idea, he should practice the whole speech aloud several times. The exact number of times will depend upon the experience of the speaker

and the importance of the occasion. The beginner should repeat his speech not less than five times. This practice will accustom the speaker to the sound of his own voice and give him confidence and fluency.

There are, however, two dangers in oral composition against which the student must guard himself. He may have a tendency to repeat aloud crude or ungrammatical expressions. To avoid this, he should think a sentence through before he utters it. The untrained speaker is afraid that a pause will be considered hesitation, and so often rushes headlong into the expression of a thought before it has matured in his own mind. The polished, extemporaneous speaker, on the other hand, pauses long between his sentences, well knowing that the audience will have no quarrel with him for his deliberation. The second danger is quite the opposite of the first. He may hold so critical an attitude toward his own work that he will be led to reconstruct a sentence in the midst of it. To avoid this, he should compel himself to finish a sentence, no matter how poorly it may have been commenced. It will be possible to make mental note of the error and correct it during the next practice.

The student should not be discouraged if he does not repeat the speech twice in the same words. In fact, this may be an evidence of freedom and growth. The purpose of the repetition is not to memorize a certain phraseology, but to develop the power of expression. If the student's mind is active, the speech will gradually assume a somewhat definite shape, which will be the speaker's best form of expression at the given time.

Outline Memorized. The last step in preparation is to write the word-outline from memory. This memorized

outline should record any changes which it has been found necessary to make during the oral practice.

A speaker should be absolutely independent of an outline; for attention to notes takes his eyes from his audience and subtracts just so much from the personal element. In commenting on speeches delivered in the House of Commons, Charles Seymour says, "The speeches that were really listened to, that were enjoyed, that carried the force of conviction, were the speeches that were spoken without reference to notes." Thomas W. Higginson discusses this same matter as follows: "Never carry a scrap of paper before an audience. The late Judge B. R. Curtis once lost a case in court of which he had felt very sure one in which John P. Hale was his successful antagonist. When asked the reason, he said, 'I had all the law and all the evidence, but that fellow Hale somehow got so intimate with the jury that he won the case.' To be intimate with your audience is half the battle, and nothing so restricts and impedes that intimacy as the presence of a scrap of paper." On very important occasions one may have an outline within reach, but he should strive to be independent of it.

II. VALUE AS COMPARED WITH THE MEMORITER METHOD

The extempore method of preparation is better than the method of writing and memorizing a speech in several respects:

A Saver of Time. When one writes a speech, he often finds that it is necessary to rewrite long passages. When the speech is finished, he discovers that it is too long and must be condensed, or that certain portions need elaboration. Perhaps whole paragraphs must be copied verbatim

in order that these changes may be made. When, however, one composes a speech by the oral, or extempore method, the work of correction is a very simple matter. It is necessary only to add, or cross out, or change the position of a few words in the outline and the revision is complete.

A Better Speech. Furthermore, a speech prepared in this way is likely to produce a better impression upon the audience than one which has been written and memorized. In the first place, the delivery will be better: it will be more conversational in tone, since the mind, during the period of preparation, has been centered upon the thought rather than upon the words. Again, the speaker is not likely to become lost and forget his speech entirely as might be the case with a memorized speech. The extempore practice has served not only to impress the organization of his thought upon his mind, but also to give him confidence in himself so that if he fails on the platform to recall the prepared words he can supply others of equal merit.

In the second place, the style of a speech which has been composed orally has a tendency to be more direct and forcible and better suited to public utterance. When one writes, he is tempted to construct sentences which are long and involved. These, when delivered, give to the speech an air of bookishness and take from it the appearance of spontaneity which the speaker desires.

In the third place, the speech is more flexible; that is, it can more readily be adapted to the occasion. The speaker may insert ideas suggested by other numbers on the program, or if the time is short he may omit unnecessary portions of his subject. Neither of these things could he do if he were in the grip of a memorized speech.