The Structure Of An Effective Public Speech PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ... STATEMENT OF FACTS OB NAERATION The narration, or statement of facts, should be an immediate expansion of the principal idea as expressed in the introduction. Its purpose is to give to the audience a clear understanding of the basic facts on which the argument is to be constructed. Here again great clarity should prevail. Unless the audience clearly understand the facts forming the basis of the speaker's contention they may miss the point of the argument entirely, a little later on. Of course, this statement must be as concise as comprehensiveness and clearness will permit. If it is too long and an undue amount of time is given to a recital of details the attention of the audienco will be lost. The result of this will be that they will not thoroughly understand the matter and when the speaker comes to the point of stating his proposition, immedi ately after the narration, the audience will not be in a mental condition to grasp the point thoroughly, and the address will become more or less obscure. The cumulative effort of losing the attention of an audience at a critical point in a speech, not infrequently spells complete failure. If a book containing language which is obscure and difficult to understand is tiresome and hard to read, how much more so is a speech couched in obscure and ambiguous sentences. A reader can turn back and read over again matter which he does not understand on the first perusal. But if the meaning of any portion of a speech is lost the listener cannot go back and study over the words again. Not having understood the meaning of one sentence the next becomes still more blind. A little later, when another reference is made to the same subject on the mistaken assumption of the speaker that those in the audience have...