What Makes a Great Public Speaker
By: Liza Othman | Posted: 24th July 2007
This is the day of concise speech. The tedious, long-drawn-out oratory of former times is no longer tolerated by intelligent audiences. There is a silent but no less insistent demand that a speaker waste no time in words, but give expression to his ideas with reasonable brevity.
It is surprising how much can be said in the space of one minute by a speaker who has his subject well in hand. The most notable example in all history of short speech-making is Lincoln's Gettysburg speech, which occupied in delivery less than three minutes. At the inauguration of the new president of Harvard University, the Hon. John D. Long, president of the Board of Overseers, carried out the impressive ceremony of the day, investing President Lowell with the ceremonial emblems of the office, in a speech of three sentences, as follows:
Abbott Lawrence Lowell, you having been duly chosen to be President of Harvard College, I now, in the name of its governing bodies and in accordance with ancient custom, declare that you are vested with all the powers and privileges of that office. It is a great trust, but it is laid on you in full confidence that you will discharge it in the interest alike of the college we love and of the democracy it serves. I deliver into your hands, as badges of your authority, the college charter, seals and keys. God bless you.
This was an occasion of unusual interest, thousands of persons having gathered from all parts of the country. The temptation to make a ''great speech'' would have been irresistible to most men, but President Lowell's acknowledgment occupied only a minute, in these words—
It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I receive at your hands these insignia of the office to which the governing boards have chosen me. You have charged me with a great trust, second in importance to no other, for the education of American youth, and therefore for the intellectual and moral welfare of our country.
I pray that I may be granted the wisdom, the strength, and the patience which are needed in no common measure; that Harvard may stand in the future, as she has stood under the long line of my predecessors, for the development of true manhood and for the advancement of sound learning, and that her sons may go forth with a chivalrous resolve that the world shall be better for the years they have spent within these walls.
There are primarily two things concerned in the making of a public speaker: (1) the Person, and (2) the Message. The qualifications laid down by Cicero, Quintilian, and other great authorities are too severe and comprehensive for present-day needs. We think the following are essential attributes of a good public speaker:
1. Sterling character
2. High ideals
3. Sincerity
4. Devotion to truth
5. A good appearance
6. A well-furnished mind
7. Graceful action
8. Fluency of language
9. A cultivated voice
10. A refined pronunciation
11. Unfailing tact
12. Singleness of purpose
13. Sympathy
14. Common sense
The message should have the three qualities of clearness, vitality, and timeliness. The attributes just indicated are a matter of acquisition rather than natural gifts. No man should be dissuaded from developing his speaking powers because he is not "a born orator."
More tips on how to be a great speaker can be found at http://MakeGreatSpeeches.FunHowToBooks.com
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Tags: harvard university, sense of responsibility, acknowledgment, badges, deep sense, brevity, governing bodies, emblems, inauguration, new president