a clear voice, speak so that you can be heard, speak to the point, use the best style of language you can, and the many other qualities necessary for a good speech.

The teacher will request in connection with your daily recitations in English literature, history, chemistry, etc., that you make reports upon certain specific topics. Make it a point to use this as an opportunity for practice, for effectiveness. Strive to hold the attention of every boy and girl. Make that report as interesting and instructive as you In giving these reports always face the class and speak from notes, or follow some other method of delivering a speech. It is presumed, however, that those who read this book will have a special class in Reading or Speaking. In that event, the exercises following each chapter will be helpful.

can.

Organize and take an active interest in some debating society, or public speaking club. A history club is an excellent thing for high school boys and girls. This will give you an excellent opportunity to prepare and deliver a more elaborate address and to an appreciative audience. Enter all contests in public speaking to which you are eligible. Suppose you do lose out. Try again next time and make better preparation; and if you do the chances will be that you will win. If you win, do not rest on your oars; there are new, greater, and more difficult victories ahead of you; make ready for them. If you lose, whatever else you do, do not become discouraged.

THE LENGTH OF A SPEECH. You may be able to judge accurately the passing of time when some one else is speaking; but you are inclined to forget all about time when you, yourself, are on the floor. Usually, yes, nine times out of ten, the speaker talks too long-he overruns the time set by the program. Make up your mind that you will be the one of the ten who never will.

When you are asked to speak ten minutes, speak ten min

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utes; if five minutes, speak five minutes. Go over your speech enough times so that you know precisely what you can say and what you must omit. Again, if you are expected to speak ten minutes, do not say almost anything just to fill out the time. Your aim should be: How much can I crowd into my ten-minute limit? If you desire to be a popular speaker, there are two things you must never lose sight of: (1) observe strictly the time limit; (2) be dependable. If you are scheduled to appear upon a certain program, be there. Here are a few commandments for the public speaker:

"Stand up, so you can be seen; speak up, so you can be heard; shut up, so you will be liked.”

The second is like unto the first:

"Say it in as few words as you can; when you have said it hold your tongue."

STAGE-FRIGHT. It is quite impossible to diagnose that common malady known as stage-fright. Usually it afflicts the speaker during the first few seconds, or first few minutes, of his speech. Most speakers have it, in varying degrees. Preachers tell us, for example, that even after long experience, they never begin their weekly sermons without the most intense nervousness. True, experiences vary. Gladstone, when asked if he never became nervous before speaking, said that he often did in opening a debate, but never in replying. Says Sir John Byers in The British Medical Journal of recent date:

No great orator has ever lived who did not feel very nervous before rising to his feet. I have often seen the legs of one of the most effective and heart-stirring speakers in the House of Lords, to whom that assembly never failed to listen, shake like an aspen leaf during the delivery of the first few sentences of his speech; and should the young speaker feel his tongue grow twice too big for his mouth, and curl itself inextricably round one of his canine teeth, he may console himself with the conviction that

he possesses one at least of the characteristic qualities of a great speaker.

An amusing feature of this matter is, that young speakers are apt to think that they are the only ones that become seriously embarrassed. And right here is the lesson: trained speakers learn to control their embarrassment. It should be remembered that a nervous tension, if brought under control, may prove a help rather than a hindrance to the speaker, for it puts a nerve-force into his delivery that might otherwise be wanting. How attain that control? There is no way but through practice in speaking to audiences. Continued practice, if it does not eliminate all embarrassment, gradually does reduce the earlier terrors. The practice should, of course, be directed along right lines. Nervousness may be aided much by a feeling of mental and physical preparedness. Have the speech thoroughly in hand long enough beforehand to give both mind and body a rest. Students often make the mistake of worrying over a speech up to the very moment of its delivery. This method is suicidal. Even speakers of experience sometimes fail to realize how much the success or failure of a speech depends upon physical conditions. To undergo the severe nervous strain of public speaking, mind and body should be fresh. The day preceding an athletic event the trained contestant either rests or exercises very moderately. So, if a speech is to be given at night, say, the speaker should wholly lay it aside during the afternoon and go for a walk or go to sleep -do anything but exhaust faculties that will be needed in the evening.

Control is also effected through the communicative, conversational attitude, as one rises to speak, and by an exercise of the will. A good plan is to take a few deep breaths. Give your nerves plenty of oxygen and you will not feel so shaky. Certain drugs are sometimes prescribed by physicians to steady the nerves by equalizing the circulation,

but these should be avoided. Rather cultivate self-confidence.

Self-fear is quite as often a cause of stage-fright as is a fear of the audience. Encourage a feeling that you and your audience are getting on well together. Self-confidence is not undue conceit, or "brag, brass, and bluster"; it is having the courage of one's convictions. It is that selfreliance which enables one to rise to the occasion. It is that confidence which leads the speaker to say to himself, "I know what I want to say and I am able to say it."

STUDY AND PRACTICE. Like Like every other art, public speaking demands long-continued study and practice. The most proficient always feel there is room for improvement; and like other things in life, if one is earnestly striving to reach an ideal, there is hope for him; if he thinks he has reached it, he is lost. The complex art of public address cannot be learned quickly, and should never be taken up as a plaything. If you expect to be a speaker, make a business of the study, as you would of anything else worth learning. Do not dabble in it. A little dabbling with the technique given in this book is useless. It is because we have so many dabblers that we have so many bunglers. And by way of repetition, do not expect to correct in a month a fault that is the habit of years. Certain incurable defects may be fatal, certain natural qualities are desirable, though not indispensable; the rest is work, thorough preparation` and continual practice.

The drill on technique and the daily practice on some speech may be irksome, but the student should undertake it as he does any other task,—do it and. make it count for something. If you have a declamation, an oration, or an argument to deliver, drill on the oral presentation. Speak to an imaginary audience. Invite your friends in and compel them to listen. Do not be afraid of drilling too much. Students often talk about getting "stale" who do not even

enunciate clearly. An expert in technique to criticize and suggest is desirable, but not indispensable. Sometimes a friend who is not over-fastidious, has no dogmatic standards, and can judge of general effectiveness, is the most valuable sort of critic. Take all the advice offered anddo not always act on it. A little experience will enable you to judge of its value; you will soon learn to know your leading faults yourself; and unless you are to surrender your individuality, you must be the final judge. And then, when the occasion arrives, put your technique in the background; let mental and moral earnestness be the predominant processes; and let the practice in technique unconsciously repeat itself in the final effort. Do not fail to make conscientious and thorough preparation for all those occasions, so frequent under the conditions of American life and government, when you will be called upon to speak: and thereby make general preparation for those times, unforeseen yet also frequent—those social or political crises in the affairs of a community, a State, or a Nation-when the public speaker must create, mould, and direct public opinion that conduces to right thinking and right acting.

EXERCISES

I. Select five subjects appropriate for addresses to a group of high school boys urging them to attend college. II. Select five subjects appropriate for addresses to a group of high school girls urging them to attend college. III. Suppose you were invited to address the Business Men's Club of your city; select five appropriate topics. IV. Select five subjects for each of the following occasions:

1. A group of high school boys urging them to attend.

A a business school; B an agricultural college.

2. A group of high school girls urging them to attend