How To Speak In Public

The demand for this book, exhausting several editions in i* comparatively short time, testifies to the wide-spread interest in. the subject of speech culture. There has never been a time when convincing and forceful speech exerted so great an influence as now in business, social, and public life. It is not too much to say that to speak well is a certain passport to success.
As many teachers and private students are now using this work, it is deemed desirable to offer some more specific directions for its use. Certain portions of the book have purposely been made suggestive rather than explanatory, thus compelling the pupil to solve some of the problems for himself.
The best procedure is to vary the work of each lesson. Fifteen minutes daily should be given to the practise of exercises in deep breathing, articulation, and voice culture, and forty-five minutes to the study of expression and reading, aloud.
Begin the deep breathing with Exercise 1, page 3, and practise it for at least five minutes daily. Continue this for a week. Endeavor to make the abdominal method of breathing an unconscious habit. Apply it as you walk along the street, in your conversation, and while lying down at night. Determine to keep your mouth closed. Take a new breathing exercise each week, and practise in moderation at first. The work in articulation should begin with the set of syllables on page 14. Repeat these various combinations both horizontally and perpendicularly. Aim at accuracy at first, then at great rapidity. They should gradually commit themselves to memory. If you practise this exercise thoroughly, you will find that your lips, tongue, and palate will be rendered surprizingly flexible and responsive. The pronunciation test on page 17, Exercise 25, is intended to stimulate the student’s interest in this subject, and to send him to his dictionary. The list of words on pages 20 to 23 may be augmented from the pupil’s reading and observation.

SEVENTEENTH EDITION
NEW YORK AND LONDON
Printed in the United of America Published October, 1906 11-26