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Basic Principles of Speech
Excerpt from Basic Principles of Speech I. Even more than the previous editions, it is concerned primarily with the fundamentals of speech with the principles, Skills, and body of knowl edge common and basic to all oral communication, whether private or pub lic, original or interpretative. It deals with extemporaneous public address, discussion, and oral reading not as distinctly separate areas but as somewhat differing modes of communicating ideas and feelings through speech. It thus meets the basic needs both of students who will take advanced courses in speech and of those for whom the first course will be the only course. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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July 3, 2024
“5+ stars & 10/10 hearts. This is a book I deeply, deeply love. It’s my favourite nonfiction and probably my favourite book ever. It is full of wisdom and excellent advice for forming your character. Not only does it help immensely for writing and delivering speeches, it also gives excellent advice for just writing or life in general. It is very humorous, very beautiful, and very well-written. There is one boring part where they describe how your throat works, but other than that, every single page and quotation is enjoyable. I don’t agree with everything, but 99% of it is amazing.
(This review pertains ONLY to the 1946 edition.)”
That was my first attempt at a review of this book. I felt that it was extremely insufficient, but could not think of how to improve it. That was until I reread the book in September 2021. Then I was blown away by the sheer depth and wisdom of this book. It is truly a gold mine. It’s definitely my top favourite book after the Bible... which is the highest praise I can give.
The 1946 edition of this book is not a dull, difficult list of rules to follow. It is an exceptionally well-written, humorous dissertation on the art of speech-making, with plenty of useful, helpful information on how to be the best speaker you possibly can be. The opening paragraph alone shows what a unique, interesting book this is:
“‘The power which has set in motion the greatest avalanches in politics and religion has been, from the beginning of time, the magic force of the spoken word—that and that alone.’ This was said, several years ago, by an ambitious nobody, who then, by the use of the spoken word, proceeded to set in motion the most destructive avalanche of all time. His name was Adolf Hitler.”
The purpose of this book is to insist on how important it is for a person to know how to speak and to speak well. We all have unique perspectives and knowledge, and we all have openings to speak up and share that information in order to impact our world and form it for the better. But to do this we must be able people. This book tells you how.
In this book, they discuss how to build character. How to find courage, poise, and confidence. How to speak on a platform. How to write well. How to handle awkward pauses and silences where you need to think. How to argue logically. How to persuade. How to motivate people. How to use one’s voice and gestures properly. How to write good outlines.
This information is not outdated. To this day we still make speeches of some sort in public. Teaching classes, making videos, hosting podcasts, and the old-fashioned speech-making on a platform before an audience—these things all apply. And this book teaches you how to handle nervousness, gain and hold attention, and move your audience to follow you.
But this book does not only talk about SPEECH-MAKING. Its great theme is in being a confident, able person worth listening to at any time. It has taught me so much on life in general, and as a writer, it taught me a lot about writing, too.
This is a book I urge everyone to read at least once. It is enthralling and interesting the entire 592 pages through. It has wonderful poems and quotations to read through, and excellent exercises to consider trying. It has a delicious 1940s flavour. It is clear, simple, easy to read. It is one of the books to read and ponder over at length.
Here are a few favourite quotes.
“One of the basic causes [of failure] is a wrong mental attitude. A person’s attention may be focused too steadily on himself. As long as he remains inward-looking, painfully concerned with what others say of him, think of him, do to him, he has to do battle with inner turmoil. In the moment he begins to shift his attention to ideas, principles, causes and other persons, he begins to find new powers. We repeat the paradox: he who loses his life in any good cause finds life, and finds it more abundantly. That is not visionary; it is as solid as the ground imder your feet. Bring to mind any able speaker. Probe into the comers of his mind and heart, and you will find that he has committed himself to a cause far bigger than he is. You,yourself, may not like the cause. That is beside the point. To him the cause is overpowering. It gives his life dignity, purpose, zest; it fortifies him with confidence and courage. That is the key to the power of nearly every man, famous or obscure, rich or poor, in high places or low, who has gloriously lighted up his community, his country and his age.”
“The stronger the man, the stronger the speaker; and there is no surer way to develop strength than to face situations that demand strength. If a man wishes to lift heavy weights, he does not, day after day, pick out light ones because they are easier to lift. If there are men and women in the world so cruel or hostile or petty or cocksure that you are afraid to look them in the eyes, sooner or later you must get the better of them, or else reconcile yourself to the fact that you are a coward. That thought is not easy to live with; it shakes a man’s morale. The sooner a speaker faces the most trying individuals in his audience, the better for him. At times he may go down to defeat, but that matters little. What does matter is the fact that he is fighting for self-mastery. As long as he is fighting, he is not whipped.”
“Artifice and artfulness defeat a speaker; artistry and art win response. Great art conceals art. In great speaking as in great painting, the techniques of expression never obtrude unduly; they are never labored, never encrusted with ornamentation. To be sure, in the preparation and the delivery of a speech there may well be labor, skill, and calculation. A speaker may labor long and hard to make his speech seem effortless and spontaneous. But the speech itself must bear no mark of his effort to use the mechanics of speech. When the hearers think about how a speaker is trying to achieve effects, they tend not to respond. There is a difference between artifice and artistry; between artfulness and art. Artifice and artfulness defeat a speaker; artistry and art win response. …
Great art is as simple and as free from embellishments as its theme and functions permit it to be. This is true both of speaking and of writing. Speech is a functional tool. It is at its best when it achieves its ends without waste in ornamentation. By simplicity in speech we do not mean bareness or drabness. All speaking should have color, vitality, distinction. What we object to is ornamentation for its own sake.”
“Second, before you speak and while you are speaking, say to yourself: “I am a potential force. I am important in so far as I can make my life count for good As a social instrument I have a place. The only thing that matters is that I stir my hearers with this great cause and incite them to do something about it. This cause — infinitely bigger than any audience or any speaker — is worth hving for and fighting for.”
When a speaker’s attention is thus focused on a great principle, it cannot be focused on anything as small as himself. As a rule his apprehensions for himself vanish. He acquires, in any event, coolness and courage.”
All these quotes, and many more like them, can be read in a free PDF of this book here: https://ia801602.us.archive.org/17/it...
(This review pertains ONLY to the 1946 edition.)”
That was my first attempt at a review of this book. I felt that it was extremely insufficient, but could not think of how to improve it. That was until I reread the book in September 2021. Then I was blown away by the sheer depth and wisdom of this book. It is truly a gold mine. It’s definitely my top favourite book after the Bible... which is the highest praise I can give.
The 1946 edition of this book is not a dull, difficult list of rules to follow. It is an exceptionally well-written, humorous dissertation on the art of speech-making, with plenty of useful, helpful information on how to be the best speaker you possibly can be. The opening paragraph alone shows what a unique, interesting book this is:
“‘The power which has set in motion the greatest avalanches in politics and religion has been, from the beginning of time, the magic force of the spoken word—that and that alone.’ This was said, several years ago, by an ambitious nobody, who then, by the use of the spoken word, proceeded to set in motion the most destructive avalanche of all time. His name was Adolf Hitler.”
The purpose of this book is to insist on how important it is for a person to know how to speak and to speak well. We all have unique perspectives and knowledge, and we all have openings to speak up and share that information in order to impact our world and form it for the better. But to do this we must be able people. This book tells you how.
In this book, they discuss how to build character. How to find courage, poise, and confidence. How to speak on a platform. How to write well. How to handle awkward pauses and silences where you need to think. How to argue logically. How to persuade. How to motivate people. How to use one’s voice and gestures properly. How to write good outlines.
This information is not outdated. To this day we still make speeches of some sort in public. Teaching classes, making videos, hosting podcasts, and the old-fashioned speech-making on a platform before an audience—these things all apply. And this book teaches you how to handle nervousness, gain and hold attention, and move your audience to follow you.
But this book does not only talk about SPEECH-MAKING. Its great theme is in being a confident, able person worth listening to at any time. It has taught me so much on life in general, and as a writer, it taught me a lot about writing, too.
This is a book I urge everyone to read at least once. It is enthralling and interesting the entire 592 pages through. It has wonderful poems and quotations to read through, and excellent exercises to consider trying. It has a delicious 1940s flavour. It is clear, simple, easy to read. It is one of the books to read and ponder over at length.
Here are a few favourite quotes.
“One of the basic causes [of failure] is a wrong mental attitude. A person’s attention may be focused too steadily on himself. As long as he remains inward-looking, painfully concerned with what others say of him, think of him, do to him, he has to do battle with inner turmoil. In the moment he begins to shift his attention to ideas, principles, causes and other persons, he begins to find new powers. We repeat the paradox: he who loses his life in any good cause finds life, and finds it more abundantly. That is not visionary; it is as solid as the ground imder your feet. Bring to mind any able speaker. Probe into the comers of his mind and heart, and you will find that he has committed himself to a cause far bigger than he is. You,yourself, may not like the cause. That is beside the point. To him the cause is overpowering. It gives his life dignity, purpose, zest; it fortifies him with confidence and courage. That is the key to the power of nearly every man, famous or obscure, rich or poor, in high places or low, who has gloriously lighted up his community, his country and his age.”
“The stronger the man, the stronger the speaker; and there is no surer way to develop strength than to face situations that demand strength. If a man wishes to lift heavy weights, he does not, day after day, pick out light ones because they are easier to lift. If there are men and women in the world so cruel or hostile or petty or cocksure that you are afraid to look them in the eyes, sooner or later you must get the better of them, or else reconcile yourself to the fact that you are a coward. That thought is not easy to live with; it shakes a man’s morale. The sooner a speaker faces the most trying individuals in his audience, the better for him. At times he may go down to defeat, but that matters little. What does matter is the fact that he is fighting for self-mastery. As long as he is fighting, he is not whipped.”
“Artifice and artfulness defeat a speaker; artistry and art win response. Great art conceals art. In great speaking as in great painting, the techniques of expression never obtrude unduly; they are never labored, never encrusted with ornamentation. To be sure, in the preparation and the delivery of a speech there may well be labor, skill, and calculation. A speaker may labor long and hard to make his speech seem effortless and spontaneous. But the speech itself must bear no mark of his effort to use the mechanics of speech. When the hearers think about how a speaker is trying to achieve effects, they tend not to respond. There is a difference between artifice and artistry; between artfulness and art. Artifice and artfulness defeat a speaker; artistry and art win response. …
Great art is as simple and as free from embellishments as its theme and functions permit it to be. This is true both of speaking and of writing. Speech is a functional tool. It is at its best when it achieves its ends without waste in ornamentation. By simplicity in speech we do not mean bareness or drabness. All speaking should have color, vitality, distinction. What we object to is ornamentation for its own sake.”
“Second, before you speak and while you are speaking, say to yourself: “I am a potential force. I am important in so far as I can make my life count for good As a social instrument I have a place. The only thing that matters is that I stir my hearers with this great cause and incite them to do something about it. This cause — infinitely bigger than any audience or any speaker — is worth hving for and fighting for.”
When a speaker’s attention is thus focused on a great principle, it cannot be focused on anything as small as himself. As a rule his apprehensions for himself vanish. He acquires, in any event, coolness and courage.”
All these quotes, and many more like them, can be read in a free PDF of this book here: https://ia801602.us.archive.org/17/it...
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