| Training to acquire speech ability is an often | | | | corn field, at others in the forests, and not infrequently |
| overlooked but vitally important facet of public | | | | in some distant barn with the horse and ox for my |
| speaking. The general consensus is that one either has | | | | auditors. It is to this early practice in the art of all arts |
| the ability or one does not. If they do not, it does not | | | | that I am indebted to the primary and leading impulses |
| matter how much training to acquire speech ability | | | | that stimulated me forward, and shaped and molded |
| they undergo-their abilities will be mediocre at best. | | | | my entire destiny." |
| Never will they have the opportunity to rise in the | | | | The purpose of these illustrations is to show that the |
| ranks with such powerful speakers as Abraham | | | | greatest speakers of our time won their abilities in |
| Lincoln or Daniel Webster. | | | | public speaking not through any natural inclination or |
| If they only knew! Many of the individuals throughout | | | | talent but through careful training to acquire speech |
| history that have been renowned for their abilities in | | | | ability throughout the course of their lives. These were |
| public speaking were actually very poor speakers. | | | | ordinary men with extraordinary ideas who learned |
| They stuttered. They paused. They filled their | | | | how to present their extraordinary ideas in |
| speeches with nonsense and drivel intended to | | | | extraordinary ways. They learned the art of presenting |
| increase the length of their material but not the depth. | | | | their words with the proper expression. They |
| These individuals required a tremendous amount of | | | | overcame their handicaps. They learned to speak in a |
| training to acquire speech ability! | | | | strong, clear voice. They wrote their speeches over |
| From the time he was a child Abraham Lincoln | | | | and over again in their minds, trimming the fat until they |
| practiced public speaking. Prior to his presidency his | | | | could make their point in a clear and logical manner. |
| employers often referred to him as an "idle fellow" | | | | Perhaps most importantly, these men believed so |
| because he was far more likely to be found giving an | | | | strongly in what they had to say that they were able |
| oration to his fellow employees than doing his job. Who | | | | to present their ideas in a way that would convince |
| would have imagined a man like that becoming | | | | others to think as they did. |
| president of one of the largest nations in the world! | | | | Acquiring prowess in public speaking through careful |
| Daniel Webster, a senator from Massachusetts prior | | | | and intensive training to acquire speech ability is |
| to the Civil War known for his inspiring orations, said | | | | something that anyone can do. A person with enough |
| that as a child he found public speaking to be incredibly | | | | intelligence to have an idea and the strength of |
| difficult. | | | | personality to stand behind it can learn how to speak |
| "I could not speak before the school...Many a piece did I | | | | well, regardless of their natural inclinations. For some |
| commit to memory and rehearse in my room over | | | | individuals, those who suffer from handicaps or |
| and over again, but when the day came, and the | | | | nervous disorders, the training process may be more |
| schoolmaster called my name, and I saw all eyes | | | | difficult. It will certainly require a great deal more effort; |
| turned upon my seat, I could not raise myself from it.... | | | | however, modern day therapies have yielded results |
| Mr. Buckminster always pressed and entreated, most | | | | that are nothing short of miraculous when it comes to |
| winningly, that I would venture, but I could never | | | | helping those with disabilities speak with conviction and |
| command sufficient resolution. When the occasion | | | | skill. |
| was over I went home and wept bitter tears of | | | | Stuttering and stammering can be overcome. Weak |
| mortification." | | | | voices can be strengthened, and speeches filled with |
| When asked about his speaking abilities Henry Clay, | | | | "ums" and "ahs" can be made coherent. Careful |
| the man known throughout history as "The Great | | | | training to acquire speech ability with a teacher that is |
| Compromiser" for his ability to bring others around to | | | | willing to take the time and patience to help a speaker |
| his way of thinking, said: | | | | overcome their handicaps and their hesitancies can |
| "I owe my success in life to one single fact, namely, at | | | | help anyone can learn to climb their mountains and |
| the age of twenty-seven I commenced, and continued | | | | achieve the kind of proficiency in public speaking that |
| for years, the practice of daily reading and speaking | | | | Abraham Lincoln used to inspire a nation so many |
| upon the contents of some historical or scientific book. | | | | centuries ago. |
| These offhand efforts were made sometimes in a | | | | |