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“How
to Develop Self-Confidence
In Speech and Manner” eBook Online Version
A large working vocabulary is a valuable aid to self-confidence. The speaker is not hampered by lack of the right word, nor is he embarrassed by poverty of language. Should his memory fail regarding one set of words, he promptly brings forward others to take their places. One of the best ways to amass a fund of such words is to read aloud daily two or more pages from some master stylist, and carefully note his use of language. Beading aloud gives the additional advantage of hearing the words, and by fitting them to the mouth imparts to the organs of articulation both familiarity and flexibility.
The voice receives much of its quality from the lips, tongue, palate and throat. If these are held rigidly, the voice will be of like character. In very earnest argumentation the speaker should be cautious about contracting the muscles of the mouth and throat. This is the time to be particularly careful to give the vocal apparatus its greatest possible freedom, and to keep the key of the voice low. The speaker may be intense, but not loud; he may enforce, but not threaten; and, above all, his voice should accompany, not lead, his argument.
There are times when a speaker must express himself with unusual feeling. The power of the mind and the earnestness of the speaker will project themselves into his eyes, mouth, voice, gesture, perhaps into a single finger, and this passion made so manifest will the more likely become aroused in the hearer. But in whatever manner his subject may require him to speak, he must not violate elocutionary canons, but do all with becoming grace and skill. Cicero's advice to the student may be followed to advantage:
"The qualities that attract favor to the orator are a soft tone of voice, a countenance expressive of modesty, a mild manner of speaking; so that if he attacks any one with severity, he may be seen to do so unwillingly and from compulsion. It is of peculiar advantage that indications of good nature, of liberality, of gentleness, of piety, of grateful feelings, free from selfishness and avarice, should appear in him; and everything that characterizes men of probity and humility, not acrimonious, nor pertinacious, nor litigious, nor harsh, very much conciliates benevolence, and alienates the affections from those in whom such qualities are not apparent. The contrary qualities to these, therefore, are to be imputed to your opponents. This mode of address is extremely excellent in those causes in which the mind of the judge can not well be inflamed by ardent and vehement incitation; for energetic oratory is not always desirable, but often smooth, submissive, gentle language, which gains much favor for the defendants, a term by which I designate not only such as are accused, but all persons about whose affairs there is any litigation; for in that sense people formerly used the word."
It can not be too often repeated that the style of one's every-day conversation will largely determine what his public speaking will be. Here a speaker should form his best habits both of thought and expression. He should speak in the style he would employ when he speaks in public. He can state his arguments as clearly and precisely to one as he would to five hundred. It is true that, for the larger occasion, he must have larger vocal effects, but this must all be done naturally and symmetrically. A man should cultivate an ear for his own voice. He must know what he is about at all times, and suffer no occasion to permit of slovenly speech. A man makes a series of speeches every day of his life, and these should be the very best preparation for public effort. To be thoroughly self-confident, a man must hold himself superior to his surroundings--not in the sense of pride or self-exaltation, but in the better sense of being superior through knowledge. He must dominate by the force of his strong personality and his thorough grasp of his subject. He must have himself well in hand, and know definitely the object of his speaking. No one has a right to speak in public unless he has something worth while to say. If he has something of the kind to say, let him say it distinctly, deliberately, and earnestly.
Deliberateness of speech will save the beginner from many pitfalls. The trouble with a rapid speaker is that he does not take time to breathe properly, pronounce his words distinctly, or to frame his sentences in his mind before giving them expression. All within is a jumble and the outward style follows as a matter of course. The effect of a slow and easy style in speaking is illustrated in a story of Lord Palmerston, who was known always to take his time. While he was addressing an audience, a member of the audience, as is the custom in England, interrupted him, asking if he would give a plain answer to a plain question. When asked what the question was, the man said, "Will you vote for such-and-such measure of reform!" Lord Palmerston very slowly answered, "I will"--then. paused long, while some of the audience cheered, and added, "not," while others cheered, and then he said, "tell you!" whereupon the whole audience broke forth into hearty and vociferous applause. Haste is not only waste, but means inferiority. A man can not hope to be self-possessed in public speaking unless he is deliberate. A reasonably slow style of speaking gives increased weight to one's words, and gains credit for depth and profundity, not always, however, wholly deserved. But more than this, it gives the speaker time in which properly to formulate his sentences, to observe their effect upon the audience, and to express exactly what he wishes to say. A rapid speaker is forever saying the wrong thing, or something he did not intend, or running off into dreary discursiveness. A deliberate speaker is likely to be more careful and accurate, his words more particularly rounded out into clearness and fullness, and his whole style more emphatic and energetic. He must not drawl, nor give the impression of tardiness, since these, too, are faults to be avoided. The deliberateness of which we speak simply means that he be self-possessed, sincere, and deeply solicitous that everyone should understand him. What has been said must not be confounded with a monotonous delivery. Nothing is more uninteresting than to listen to an unvaried tone of voice, however good the speaker's ideas may be. We are recommending energetic and expressive deliberateness, not drawling monotony or hesitation.
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