The most successful speech of to-day would be one of Emerson's essays
rearranged in logical order--if such a thing were possible. Therefore,
in matter, the statement is the form of address now most effective.
Recall the opinion of Senator McDonald--the greatest natural lawyer I
ever knew--that the best argument in a case always is the statement of
the case.
In form, the sentences should be short; in language, the words should
be as largely as possible Anglo-Saxon. These are the words of the
people you address, therefore they are most influential with them.
Also, therefore, your best method of getting Anglo-Saxon is to mingle
with and talk with the common people. The next best method is to read
the Bible, the King James translation of which is undoubtedly the
purest fountain of English that flows in all the world of our
literature.
What nonsense the repeated statement that public speaking has had its
day, that the newspaper has taken its place, and all the rest of that
kind of talk. Public speaking will never decline until men cease to
have ears to hear. How hard it is to read a speech; how delightful to
listen!
Speaking is Nature's choicest method of instruction.
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