PUBLIC SPEAKING- DALE DOROTHY chap 2

CHAPTER TWO

 Self-Confidence Through Preparation. 

It has been the author’s professional duty as well as his pleasure to listen to and criticize approximately six thousand speeches a year each season since 1912. These were made, not by college students, but by mature business and professional men. If that experience has engraved on his mind any one thing more deeply than another, surely it is this: the urgent necessity of preparing a talk before one starts to make it and of having something clear and definite to say, something that has impressed one, something that won’t stay unsaid. Aren’t you unconsciously drawn to the speaker who, you feel, has a real message in his head and heart that he zealously desires to communicate to your head and heart? That is half the secret of speaking.

When a speaker is in that kind of mental and emotional state he will discover a significant fact: namely, that his talk will almost make itself. Its yoke will be easy, its burden will be light. A well-prepared speech is already nine-tenths delivered. The primary reason why most people want this training,as was recorded in Chapter I, is to acquire confidence and  The primary reason why most people want this training,as was recorded in Chapter I, is to acquire confidence courage and self-reliance.

 And the one fatal mistake many make is neglecting to prepare their talks. How can they even hope to subdue the cohorts of fear, the cavalry of nervousness, when they go into the battle with wet powder and blank shells, or with no ammunition at all? 

Under the circumstances, small wonder that they are not exactly at home before an audience. “1 believe/’ said Lincoln in the White House, “that I shall never be old enough to speak without embarrassment when I have nothing to say.” 

If you want confidence, why not do the things necessary to bring it about? “Perfect love,” wrote the Apostle John,“casteth out fear.” So does perfect preparation. 

Webster said he would as soon think of appearing before an audience

half-clothed as half-prepared. Why don’t we prepare our talks more carefully? Why? Some don’t clearly understand what preparation is  nor how to go about it wisely; others plead a lack of time. So we shall discuss these problems rather fully in this chapter. 

The Right Way to Prepare What is preparation? 

Reading a book?

 That is one kind, but not the best. Reading may help; but if one

attempts to lift a lot of “canned” thoughts out of a to give them out immediately as his own, the whole performance will be lacking in something. The audience may not know precisely what is lacking, but they will not warm to the speaker.  

To illustrate: some time ago, the writer conducted a course in public speaking for the senior officers of NewYork City banks. Naturally, the members of such a group,having many demands upon their time, frequently found it difficult to prepare adequately, or to do what they conceived of as preparing.

 All their lives they had been thinking their own individual thoughts, nurturing their own personal convictions, seeing things from their own distinctive angles, living their own original experiences. So, in that fashion, they had spent forty years storing up material for speeches. But it was hard for some of them to realize that They could not see the forest for “the murmuring pines and the hemlocks.” This group met Friday evenings from five to seven. 

One Friday, a certain gentleman connected with an uptown bank—for our purposes we s hall designate him as Mr. Jackson—found four-thirty had arrived, and, what was he to talk about? 

He walked out of his office, bought a copy of Forbes’Magazine at a news stand and, in the subway coming downto the Federal Reserve Bank where the class met, he readan article entitled, “You Have Only Ten Years to Succeed.”He read it, not because he was interested in the article especially; but because he must speak on something, on anything, to fill his quota of time. An hour later, he stood up and attempted to talk convincingly and interestingly on the contents of this article. What was the result, die inevitable result? He had not digested, had not assimilated what he wastrying to say. “Trying to say”—that expresses it precisely.He was trying. There was no real message in him seekingfor an outlet; and his whole manner and tone revealeditunmistakably. How could he expect the audience toHow could he expect the audience to be anymore impressed than he himself was? He kept referring tothe article, saying the author said so and so. There wasasurfeit of Forbes’ Magazine in it: but regrettably little ofMr. Jackson. So the writer addressed him somewhat in this fashion:“Mr. Jackson, we are not interested in this shadowy personality who wrote that article. He is not here. We can’t seehim. But we are interested in you and your ideas. Tell uswhat you think, personally, not what somebody else said.Put more of Mr. Jackson in this. Why not take this samesubject for next week? Why not read this article again, andask yourself whether you agree with the author or not?If you do, think out his suggestions and illustrate them withobservations from your own experience. If you don’t agreewith him, say so and tell us why. Let this article be merelythe starting point from which you launch your own speech.

Mr. Jackson accepted the suggestion, reread the articleand concluded that he did not agree with the author at all.He did not sit down in the subway and try to prepare this 20 HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCEnext speech to order. He let it grow. It was a child of hisown brain; and it developed and expanded and took onstature just as his physical children had done. And like hisdaughters, this other child grew day and night whenhewas least conscious of it. One thought was suggested to himwhile reading some item in the newspaper; another illustra-tion swam into his mind unexpectedly when he was dis-cussing the subject with a friend. The thing deepenedd andheightened, lengthened and thickened as he thought overitduring the odd moments of the week. The next time Mr. Jackson spoke on this subject, he hadsomething that was his, ore that he dug out of his own mine,currency coined in his own mint. And he spoke all thebetter because he was disagreeing with the author of thearticle. There is no spur to rouse one like a little opposition.What an incredible contrast between these two speechesby the same man, in the same fortnight, on the same subject.What a colossal difference the right kind of preparationmakes! Let us cite another illustration of how to do it and hownot to do it. A gentleman, whom we shall call Mr. Flynn,was a student of public speaking in Washington, D.C. Oneafternoon he devoted his talk to eulogizing the capital cityof the nation. He had hastily and superficially gleaned facts from a booster booklet issued by a newspaper. Theysounded like it—dry, disconnected, undigested. He hadnotthought over his subject adequately. It had not elicited hisenthusiasm. He did not feel what he was saying deeplyenough to make it worth while expressing. The whole affairwas flat and flavorless and unprofitable.

A Speech That Could Not Fail 

A fortnight later, something happened thattouched Mr. Flynn to the core: a thief stole his car out ofapublic garage. He rushed to the police and offered rewards,but it was all in vain. The police admitted that it was wellnigh impossible for them to cope with the crime situation;yet, only a week previously, they had found time to about the street, chalk in hand, and fine Mr. Flynn becausehe had parked his car fifteen minutes overtime. These“chalk cops,” who were so busy that they could not catchcriminals, aroused his ire. He was indignant He had something now to say, not something that he had gotten out ofabooklet issued by the newspaper, but something that wasleaping hot out of his own life and experience. Herewassomething that was part and parcel of the real man—something that had aroused his feelings and convictions. Inhisspeech eulogizing the city of Washington, he had laboriouslypulled out sentence by sentence; but now he had buttostand on his feet and open his mouth, and his condemnation of the police welled up and boiled forth like Vesuviusin action. A speech like that is almost foolproof. It canhardly fail. It was experience plus reflection.

What Preparation Really Is 

Does the preparation of a speech mean the gettingtogether of some faultless phrases written down or memorized? No. Does it mean the assembling of a few casualthoughts that really convey very little to you personally?Not at all. It means tie assembling of your thoughts, yourideas, your convictions, your urges. And you have suchthoughts, such urges. You have them every day of yourwaking life. They even swarm through your dreams. Yourwhole existence has been filled with feelings and experiences.These things are lying deep in your subconscious mindasthick as pebbles on the seashore. Preparation means thinking, brooding, recalling, selecting the ones that appealtoyou most, polishing them, working them into a pattern,amosaic of your own. That doesn’t sound like such a difficult program, does it? It isn’t Just requires a little concentration and thinking to a purpose. How did Dwight L. Moody prepare those addressesofhis which made spiritual history? “I have no secret”hereplied in answer to that question. When I choose a subject I write the name of it onthe 22 HOW TO DKVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCEoutside of a large envelope. 1 have many such envelopes.If, when l am reading, 1 meet a good thing on any subject I am to speak on, 1 slip it into the right envelope, andlet it lie there. I always carry a notebook, and if I hearanything in a sermon that will throw light on that subject,1 put it down, and slip it into the envelope. Perhaps 1 letit lie there for a year or more. When I want a new7 sermon, 1 take everything that has been accumulating.Between what 1 find there and the results of myownstudy, I have material enough. Then, all the time I amgoing over my sermons, taking out a little here, addingalittle there. In that way they never get old. The Sage Advice of Dean Brown of Yale When the Yale Divinity School celebrated the onehundredth anniversary of its founding, the Dean, Dr.Charles Reynolds Brown, delivered a series of lectures onthe Art of Preaching. These were published in book formunder that name by the Macmillan Company, New York.Dr. Brown had been preparing addresses himself for a third of a century, and also training others to prepareand deliver; so he was in a position to dispense some sageadvice on the subject, advice that will hold good regardlessof whether the speaker is a man of the cloth preparingadiscourse on the Ninety-first Psalm, or a shoe manufacturerpreparing a speech on Labor Unions. So I am taking theliberty of quoting Dr. Brown here: Brood over your text and your topic. Brood over themuntil they become mellow and responsive. You will hatchout of them a whole flock of promising ideas as you causethe tiny germs of life there contained to expand anddevelop. . . . It will be all the better if this process can go on foralong time and not be postponed until Saturday forenoonwhen you are actually making your Anal preparation next Sunday. If a minister can hold a certain truth in hismind for a month, for six months perhaps, for a yearit Self-Confidence Through Preparation 23may be, before he preaches on it he will find new ideasperpetually sprouting out of it, until it shows an abundantgrowth. He may meditate on it as he walks the streets, oras he spends some hours on a train, when his eyes aretoo tired to read. He may indeed brood upon it in the night-time. It isbetter for the minister not to take his church or hissermon to bed with him habitually—a pulpit is a splendidthing to preach from, but it is not a good bed-fellow. Yet,for all that, I have sometimes gotten out of gotten out of bed in themiddle of the night to put down the thoughts which cameto me, for fear I might forget them before morning. . . . When you are actually engaged in assembling the material for a particular sermon, write down everything thatcomes to you bearing upon that text and topic. Writedown what you saw in the text when you first chose it. Write down all the associated ideas which now occurto you. . . , Put all these ideas of yours down in writing, just a fewwords, enough to fix the idea, and keep your mind reaching for more all the time as if it were never to see another book as long as it lived. This is the way to train themind in productiveness. You will by this method keepyour own mental processes fresh, original, creative. . . Put down all of those ideas which you have broughttothe birth yourself, unaided. They are more precious foryour mental unfolding than rubies and diamonds andmuch fine gold. Put them down, preferably on scraps ofpaper, backs of old letters, fragments of envelopes, wastepaper, anything which comes to your hand. This ismuch better every way than to use nice, long, clean sheetsof foolscap. It is not a mere matter of economy—youwill find it easier to arrange and organize those loose bitswhen you come to set your material in order. Keep on putting down all the ideas which come to yourmind, thinking hard all the while. You need not this process. It is one of the most important mental trans-actions in which you will be privileged to engage. Itisthis method which causes the mind to grow in realproductive power. . . . You will find that the sermons you enjoy preachingthemost and the ones which actually accomplish the mostgood in the lives of your people will be those sermonswhich you take most largely out of your own interiors.They are bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, thechildren of your own mental labor, the output of yourown creative energy. The sermons which are garbledand compiled will always have a kind of second-hand,warmed-over flavor about them. The sermons whichliveand move and enter into the temple, walking and leapingand praising God, the sermons which enter into thehearts of men causing them to mount up with wingslikeeagles and to walk in the way of duty and not faint

these real sermons are the ones which are actually bomfrom the vital energies of the man who utters them.How Lincoln Prepared His Speeches How did Lincoln prepare his speeches? Fortunately, we know the facts; and, as you read here of hismethod, you will observe that Dean Brown, in his lecture,commended several of the procedures that Lincoln hademployed three-quarters of a century previously. OneofLincoln’s most famous addresses was that in which hedeclared with prophetic vision: “ ‘A house divided againstitself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannotendure, permanently, half slave and half free.” This speechwas thought out as he went about his usual work, as heatehis meals, as he walked the street, as he sat in his bammilking his cow, as he made his daily trip to the shop and grocery, an old gray shawl over his shoulders,his market basket over his arm, his little son at his side,chattering and questioning, growing peeved, and jerkingatthe long bony fingers in a vain effort to make his father talk Self-Confidence Through Preparation 25to him. But Lincoln stalked on, absorbed in his own reflections, thinking of his speech, apparently unconsciousofthe boy’s existence. From time to time during this brooding and hatchingprocess, he jotted down notes, fragments, sentences hereand there on stray envelopes, scraps of paper, bits torn frompaper sacks—anything that was near. These he stowedaway in the top of his hat and carried them there until was ready to sit down and arrange them in order, andtowrite and revise the whole thing, and to shape it upfordelivery and publication. In the joint debates of 1858, Senator Douglas deliveredthe same speech wherever he went; but Lincoln kept studying and contemplating and reflecting until he foundit easier, he said, to make a new speech each day thantorepeat an old one. The subject was forever widening andenlarging in his mind. A short time before he moved into the White House,hetook a copy of the Constitution and three speeches, and withonly these for reference, he locked himself in a dingy, dustyback room over a store in Springfield; and there, away fromall intrusion and interruption, he wrote out his inauguraladdress. How did Lincoln prepare his Gettysburg address? How did Lincoln prepare his Gettysburg address? Unfortunately, false reports have been circulated about it. Thetruestory, however, is fascinating. Let us have it: When the commission in charge of the Gettysburg cemetery decided to arrange for a formal dedication, they invitedEdward Everett to deliver the speech. He had been a Bostonminister, president of Harvard, governor of Massachusetts,United States senator, minister to England, secretary ofstate, and was generally considered to be America’s mostcapable speaker. The date first set for the dedication cere-monies was October 23, 1863. Mr. Everett very wisely declared that it would be impossible for him to prepare adequately on such short notice. So the dedication was postponed until November 19, nearly a month, to give him timeto prepare. The last three days of that period he spent inGettysburg, going over the battlefield, familiarizing himselfwith all that had taken place there. That period of and thinking was most excellent preparation. It madethebattle real to him. Invitations to be present were despatched to all the members of Congress, to the President and his cabinet. Mostofthese declined; the committee was surprised when Lincolnagreed to come. Should they ask him to speak? Theyhadnot intended to do so. Objections were raised. He wouldnothave time to prepare. Besides, even if he did have time, hadhe the ability? True, he could handle himself well inadebate on slavery or in a Cooper Union address; butnoone had ever heard him deliver a dedicatory address. Thiswas a grave and solemn occasion. They ought not to takeany chances. Should they ask him to speak? They wondered, wondered. . • . But they would have wonderedathousand times more had they been able to look into thefuture and to see that this man, whose ability they werequestioning, was to deliver on that occasion what is verygenerally accepted now as one of the most now as one of the most enduringaddresses ever delivered by the lips of mortal man. Finally, a fortnight before the event, they sent Lincolnabelated invitation to make “a few appropriate remarks.”Yes, that is the way they worded it: “a few appropriateremarks.” Think of writing that to the President of theUnited States! Lincoln immediately set about preparing. He wrotetoEdward Everett, secured a copy of die address that thatclassic scholar was to deliver, and, a day or two later, goingto a photographer's gallery to pose for his photograph, tookEverett’s manuscript with him and read it during the sparetime that he had at the studio. He thought over his talk fordays, thought over it while walking back and forth the White House and the war office, thought over it whilestretched out on a leather couch in the war office waitingforthe late telegraphic reports. He wrote a rough draft of it ona piece of foolscap paper, and carried it about in the topof his tall silk hat. Ceaselessly he was brooding overit,ceaselessly it was taking shape. The Sunday before it wasdelivered he said to Noah Brooks: “It is not exactly written.It is not finished anyway. I have written it over two or three Self-Confidence Through Preparation 27times, and I shall have to give it another lick before I amsatisfied.” He arrived in Gettysburg the night before the dedi

He arrived in Gettysburg the night before the dedication.The little town was filled to overflowing, its usual population of thirteen hundred had been suddenly swelled tofifteen thousand. The sidewalks became clogged, impassable; men and women took to the dirt streets. Halfadozen bands were playing; crowds were singing “JohnBrown’s Body.” People fore-gathered before the homeofMr. Wills where Lincoln was being entertained. Theyserenaded him; they demanded a speech. Lincoln respondedwith a few words which conveyed with more clearness thantact, perhaps, that he was unwilling to speak until themorrow. The facts are that he was spending the latter partof that evening giving his speech “another lick.” Heevenwent to an adjoining house where Secretary Seward wasstaying and read the speech aloud to him for his criticism.After breakfast the next morning, he continued “to giveitanother lick,” working on it until a rap came at the doorinforming him that it was time for him to take his placein the procession. “Colonel Carr, who rode just in the procession. “Colonel Carr, who rode just behindthePresident, stated that when the procession started, the President sat erect on his horse, and looked the part of the commander-in-chief of the army; but, as the procession movedon, his body leaned forward, his arms hung limp, andhishead was bowed. He seemed absorbed in thought.” We can only guess that even then he was going over hislittle speech of ten immortal sentences, giving it “anotherlick.” Some of Lincoln’s speeches, in which he had only a superficial interest, were unquestioned failures; but he was possessed of extraordinary power when he spoke of slavery andthe union. Why? Because he thought ceaselessly on theseproblems and felt deeply. A companion who shared a roomwith him one night in an Illinois tavern awoke next morning at daylight to find Lincoln sitting up in bed, staringat the wall, and his first words were: “This governmentcannot endure permanently, half slave and half free.” How did Christ prepare his addresses? He withdrewfrom the crowd. He thought. He brooded. He

He pondered.He 28 HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCEwent out alone into the wilderness and meditated and fastedfor forty days and forty nights. “From that time on,”records Saint Matthew, “Jesus began to preach.” Shortlyafter that, he delivered one of the world’s most celebratedspeeches: the Sermon on the Mount. “That is all very interesting,” you may protest; “butIhave no desire to become an immortal orator. I merelywant to make a few simple talks occasionally.” True, and we realize your wants fully. This book is forthe specific purpose of helping you and others like you to dojust that. But, unpretending as the talks of yours may proveto be, you can profit by and utilize in some methods of the famous speakers of the past. How to Prepare Your Talk What topics ought you to speak on for practice?Anything that interests you. Don’t make the almost universal mistake of trying to cover too much ground in a brieftalk. Just take one or two angles of a subject and attemptto cover them adequately. You will be fortunate if youcando that in a short speech. Determine your subject in advance, so that you will havetime to think it over in odd moments. Think over odd moments. Think over it forseven days; dream over it for seven nights. Think of it thelast thing when you retire. Think of it the next morningwhile you are shaving, while you are bathing, while youareriding down town, while you are waiting for elevators, forlunch, for appointments, while you are ironing or cookingdinner. Discuss it with your friends. Make it a topicofconversation. Ask yourself all possible questions concerning it. If, forexample, you are to speak on divorce, ask yourself whatcauses divorce, what are the effects economically, socially.How can the evil be remedied? Should we have uniformdivorce laws? Why? Or should we have any divorce laws?Should divorce be made impossible? More difficult? Easier?Suppose you were going to talk on why you are studyingspeech. You ought then to ask yourself such questionsas

these: What are my troubles? What do I hope to get outofthis? Have 1 ever made a public talk? If so, when? Where?What happened? Why do I think this training is valuablefora business man? Do I know men and women whoareforging ahead commercially or in politics largely becauseof their self-confidence, their presence, their ability to talkconvincingly? Do I know others who will probably neverachieve a gratifying measure of success because they lackthese positive assets? Be specific. Tell the stories of thesepeople without mentioning their names. If you stand up and think clearly and keep going for twoor three minutes, that is all that can be expected of you during your first few talks. A topic such as why you are studying public speaking, is very easy; that is obvious. If youwill spend a little time selecting and arranging your materialon that topic, you will be almost sure to remember it, foryou will be speaking of your own observations, your desires, your own experiences. On the other hand, let us suppose that you have decidedto speak on your business or profession. How shall yousetabout preparing such a talk? You already have a wealthofmaterial on that subject. Your problem, then, will betoselect and arrange it. Do not attempt to tell us all aboutitin three minutes. It can? t be done. The attempt will be toosketchy, too fragmentary. Take one and only one phaseofyour topic: expand and enlarge that. For example, whynottell how you came to be in your particular business or profession? Was it a result of accident or choice? Relate yourearly struggles, your defeats, your hopes, your triumphs.Give a human interest narrative, a real life picture basedon firsthand experiences. The truthful, inside story of almostanyone’s life—if told modestly and without offending egotism—-is most entertaining. It is almost sure-fire speechmaterial. Or take another angle of your b

aterial. Or take another angle of your business: what are itstroubles? What advice would you give to a young personentering it? Or tell about the people with whom you come in contact—the honest and dishonest ones. Tell of your problems.What has your work taught you about the most interesting 30 HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCEtopic in the world: human nature? If you speak about thetechnical side of your job, about things, your talk mayveryeasily prove uninteresting to others. But people, personalities—one can hardly go wrong with that kind of material.Above all else, don’t make your talk an abstract preachment. That will bore. Make your talk a regular layer cakeofillustrations and general statements. Think of concrete you have observed, and of the fundamental truths whichyou believe those specific instances illustrate. You will alsodiscover that these concrete cases are far easier to rememberthan abstractions; are far easier to talk about. They willalso aid and brighten your delivery. Here is the way a very interesting writer does it. Thisisan excerpt from an article by B. A. Forbes on the necessityof executives’ delegating responsibilities to their associates.Note the illustrations—the gossip about people. Many of our present-day gigantic enterprises wereatone time one-man affairs. But most of them have outgrown this status. The reason is that, while every greatorganization is ‘the lengthened shadow of one man,’business and industry are now conducted on on suchacolossal scale that of necessity even the ablest giant mustgather about him brainy associates to help in handlingall the reins. Woolworth once told me that his was essentially aone-man business for years. Then he ruined his health,and it was while he lay week after week in the hospitalthat he awakened to the fact that if his business wastoexpand as he hoped, he would have to share the managerial responsibilities. Bethlehem Steel for a number of years was distinctlyof the one-man type. Charles M. Schwab was the wholeworks. By and by Eugene G. Grace grew in stature anddeveloped into an abler steel man than Schwab, according to the repeated declarations of the latter. Eastman Kodak in its earlier stages consisted mainlyof George Eastman, but he was wise enough to create anefficient organization long ago. All the greatest Chicagopacking houses underwent a similar experience t a similar experience duringthe time of their founders. Standard Oil, contrary to the Self-Confidence Through Preparation 31popular notion, never was a one-man organization afterit grew to large dimensions. J. P. Morgan, although a towering giant, was an ardentbeliever in choosing the most capable partners and sharingthe burdens with them. There are still ambitious business leaders who wouldlike to run their business on the one-man principle, but,willy-nilly, they are forced by the very magnitudeofmodem operations to delegate responsibilities to others.Some men, in speaking of their businesses, Some men, in speaking of their businesses, committhemforgivable error of talking only of the features that interesthem. Shouldn’t the speaker try to ascertain what will enterain not himself but his hearers? Shouldn’t he try to appeal0 their selfish interests? If, for example, he sells fire inurance, shouldn’t he tell them how to prevent fires on theiriwn property? If he is a banker, shouldn’t he give themdvice on finance or investments? If the speaker is a naional leader of a women’s organization, shouldn’t she tellter local audience of the ways they are part of a nationaltiovement by citing specific examples from their localrogram? While preparing, study your audience. Think of theirrants, their wishes. That is sometimes half the battle. In preparing some topics, it is very advisable to do someeading, to discover what others have thought, what iave said on the same subject. But don’t read until you havexst thought yourself dry. That is important—very. Thengoo the public library and lay your needs before the librarian.Tell her you are preparing a speech on such and suchaDpic. Ask her frankly for help, if you are not in the habitf doing research work, you will probably be surprised atlie aids she can put at your disposal; perhaps a specialolume on your very topic, outlines and briefs for debate,jiving the principal arguments on both sides of the public[uestions of the day; the Reader’s Guide to Periodical.iterature listing the magazine articles that have appearedm various topics since the beginning of the century; Inormation Please Almanac, the World Almanac, the En- 32 HOW TO DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCEcyclopedias, and dozens of reference books. They are toolsin your workshop. Use them. The Secret of Reserve Power Luther Burbank said, shortly before his death;“ihave often produced a million plant specimens to find butone or two superlatively good ones, and have then destroyedall the inferior specimens.” A speech ought to be preparedsomewhat in that lavish and discriminating Assemblea hundred thoughts, and discard ninety. Collect more material, more information, than thereis any possibility of employing. Get it for the additional con-fidence it will give you, for the sureness of touch. Getit for the effect it will have on your mind and heart and wholemanner of speaking. This is a basic, important factor ofpreparation; yet it is constantly ignored by speakers, bothin public and in private. “I have drilled hundreds of salesmen and saleswomen,canvassers, and demonstrators,” says Arthur Dunn, “andthe principal weakness which I have discovered in mostoithem has been their failure to realize the importanceofknowing everything possible about their products and get-< ting such knowledge before they start to sell. “Many salesmen have come to my office and after getting< a description of the article and a line of sales talk “Many salesmen have come to my office and after getting< a description of the article and a line of sales talk have beeneager to get right out and try to sell. Many of these salesmen1 have not lasted a week and a large number have not lasted! forty-eight hours. In educating and drilling canvassers andsalesmen in the sale of a food specialty, I have endeavored: to make food experts of them, I have compelled themtc : study food charts issued by the U. S. Department of Agri-< culture, which show in food the amount of water, the; amount of protein, the amount of carbohydrates, the amoun:; of fat, and ash. 1 have had them study the elements whichmake up the products which they are to sell. I have hadthem go to school for several days and then pass examinations. I have had them sell the product to other salesmen.I have offered prizes for the best sales “I have often found salesmen who get impatient at thepreliminary time required for the study of their articles.They have said, ‘I will never have time to tell all of thisto a retail grocer. He is too busy. If I talk protein andcarbohydrates, he won’t listen and, if he does listen, hewon’t know what I am talking about.’ My reply has been,‘You don’t get all this knowledge for the benefit of yourcustomer, but for the benefit of yourself. If you knowyourproduct from A to Z you will have a feeling about it thatis difficult to describe. You will be so positively charged,sofortified, so strengthened in your own mental attitude thatpou will be both irresistible and unconquerable.’ ” Miss Ida M. Tarbell, the well-known historian of theStandard Oil Company, told the writer that years ago, when>he was in Paris, Mr. S. S. McClure, the founder ofMcClure’s Magazine, cabled her to write a short articleibout the Atlantic Cable. She went to London, interviewedhe European manager of the principal cable, and obtained

mfficient data for her assignment. But she did not stophere. She wanted a reserve supply of facts; so she studiedill manner of cables on display in the British Museum;sheead books on the history of the cable and even wenttonanufacturing concerns on the edge of London and saw:ables in the process of construction. Why did she collect ten times as much information as she:ould possibly use? She did it because she felt it would giveter reserve power; because she realized that the things shemew and did not express would lend force and color to theittle she did express. Edwin James Cattell has spoken to approximately thirtynillion people; yet he confided to me that if he did not, onhe way home, kick himself for the good things he had leftmt of his talk he felt that the performance must have 1 failure. Why? Because he knew from long experience thathe talks of distinct merit are those in which there abounds1 reserve of material, a plethora, a profusion of it—farnore than the speaker has time to use.

1. When a speaker has a real message in his headand heart—an inner urge to speak, he is almost sure to dohimself credit. A well-prepared speech is already ninetenths delivered. 2. What is preparation? The setting down of somemechanical sentences on paper? The memorizing ofphrases? Not at all. Real preparation consists in diggingsomething out of yourself, in assembling and arranging yourown thoughts, in cherishing and nurturing your own convictions. (Illustrations: Mr. Jackson of New York failedwhen he attempted merely to reiterate another man’sthoughts he had culled from an article in Forbes' Magazine. He succeeded when he used that article merely as a startingpoint for his own speech—-when he thought out his point for his own speech—-when he thought out his ownideas, developed his own illustrations.) 3. Do not sit down and try to manufacture a speechinthirty minutes. A speech can’t be cooked to order like asteak. A speech must grow. Select your topic early in theweek, think over it during odd moments, brood overit, sleep over it, dream over it. Discuss it with friends. Makeit a topic of conversation. Ask yourself all possible questionsconcerning it. Put down on pieces of paper all thoughts andillustrations that come to you and keep reaching out formore. Ideas, suggestions, illustrations will come drifting toyou at sundry times—when you are bathing, when youaredriving downtown, when you are waiting for dinner to beserved. That was Lincoln’s method. It has been the of almost all successful speakers. 4. After you have done a bit of independent thinking, goto the library and do some reading on your topic—if timepermits. Tell the librarian your needs. She can render yougreat assistance. Self-Confidence Through "Preparation 355. Collect far more material than you intend to use.Imitate Luther Burbank. He often produced a Imitate Luther Burbank. He often produced a millionplant specimens to find one or two superlatively good ones.Assemble a hundred thoughts; discard ninety. 6. The way to develop reserve power is to know far morethan you can use, to have a full reservoir of information. Inpreparing a speech, use the methods Arthur Dunnemployed in training his salesmen to sell a breakfast foodspecialty, the methods that Ida Tarbell employed in preparing her article on the Atlantic cable