SPEECH
RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Arguments, Criticism & Gossip, Justifying Yourself, Listening, Mark 16:15, Relations with People, Silence.
1. A young man was asked to guess the age of the hostess at the party. With a tactful smile he said, "I have several ideas, but I'm trying to decide whether to make you 10 years younger on account of your looks or 10 years older on account of your intelligence."
2. I try to watch the words I say,
And keep them soft & sweet.
For I don't know from day to day
Which ones I'll have to eat.
3. Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.
4. Tact is the ability
--to be brief, politely;
--to be aggressive, smilingly;
--to be positive, diplomatically;
--to be right, graciously.
5. Do be careful--remember your tongue is in a wet place & is apt to slip.
6. During William White's long reign as editor of the Emporia Gazette he quite often was swamped with stories that aspiring authors wanted printed in his paper.
In answer to one of his rejections a lady once wrote:
"Sir: You sent back last week a story of mine. I know that you did not read the story, for as a test I pasted together pages 18,19 and 20. The story came back with these pages still pasted. So I know you are a fraud and turn down stories without reading them."
Mr. White wrote back:
"Dear Madam: At breakfast when I open an egg I don't have to eat it all to determine if it is bad."
7. Opportunities are often missed because we are broadcasting when we should be listening.
8. A poor listener seldom hears a good sermon.
9. It's easy to keep from being a bore. Just praise the person to whom you're talking.
10. It is usually best to be generous with praise, but cautious with criticism.
11. Praise does wonders for a person's hearing.
12. A kind word picks up a man when trouble weighs him down.
13. A man may wrong another as well by silence as by slander.
14. There is a time when silence is the best way to yell at the top of your voice.
15. Silence is one of the most beautiful, impressive, & inspiring things known to man. Don't break it unless you can improve on it.
16. The art of silence is as great as that of speech.
17. If you don't say it, you won't have to unsay it.
18. Before you begin to tell your troubles to another person, ask yourself if you would like to listen to his.
19. To avoid trouble & insure safety, breathe through your nose. It keeps your mouth shut.
20. Applause at the beginning of a speech is faith. Applause during the speech is hope. Applause at the end of a speech is charity.
21. As soon as you observe that everybody agrees with you, you can be sure they don't mean it.
22. If you are not a charming conversationalist, you may still be a big hit as a charmed listener.
23. A conversation should be like a good meal. You should leave just before you've had enough.
24. The secret of polite conversation is never to open your mouth unless you have something to say.
25. Don't advertise your troubles --people are already over-supplied.
26. You can't carve you way to success with cutting remarks.
27. Knock your friends often enough & soon you'll find no one at home.
28. Man works like a zipper--better after a little "soft soap."
29. Talk to a man about himself, & he will listen for hours.
30. Mouth:
The grocer's friend,
the dentist's fortune,
the singer's pride, and
the fool's trap.
31. Tact is the art of saying nothing when there is nothing to say.
32. Tact is the ability to shut your mouth before someone wants to do it for you.
33. Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff,
And nudge me when I've said enough.
34. As a man grows wiser, he talks less & says more.
35. If you must speak your mind, then mind how you speak.
36. If a thing will go without saying--then let it go!
37. Medical doctors measure physical health by how the tongue looks. The Great Physician measures spiritual health by how the tongue acts.
38. The woman who constantly interrupts a man's conversation is either already married or never will be.
39. If you can't remember a joke--don't dismember it.
40. A good idea poorly expressed often sounds like a poor one.
41. People who say what they think would not be so bad if they thought.
42. It's so easy to misunderstand things, so you have to ask the Lord to help you not to be too proud to ask & to help you to be honest with each other, because there are so many things which people say that you don't understand or you might misinterpret.
43. Hitler swayed people with three rules: Make it simple, say it often, & make it burn.
44. Some preachers seem to think if they stop & pause that they've lost the anointing or the spirit or something, & they've got to keep rattling on real fast non-stop or it's not inspired. Actually, pauses are helpful to let things sink in & allow for questions etc. You can't swallow things so fast.
45. Loose lips sink ships!
46. The way to convince another is to state your case moderately and accurately. Then scratch your head, or shake it a little and say that is the way it seems to you, but that, of course you may be mistaken about it. This causes your listener to receive what you have to say, and, as like as not, turn about and try to convince you of it, since you are in doubt. But if you go at him in a tone of positiveness and arrogance, you only make an opponent of him.--Benjamin Franklin
47. One secret of successful conversation is learning to disagree without being disagreeable. It isn't what but how you speak that makes all the difference. Ben Franklin used to remark diplomatically, "On this point, I agree. But on the other, if you don't mind, may I take exception?"
48. There are three times when you should never say anything important to a person: When he is tired, when he is angry, & when he has just made a mistake.
49. In speech-making: Make eye contact with three people before you say a single word. What that does: Gets the audience's attention. Makes you appear in control. Telegraphs that you're a direct, believable person.
50. Three things matter in a speech: Who says it, how he says it, & what he says...and, of the three, the last matters the least.
51. It is better to speak from a full heart & an empty head than from a full head & an empty heart.
52. Some basic rules:
a) Know what you're going to say in advance.
b) Look your listeners in the eye.
c) Take your time. Talk clearly, concisely, & deliberately.
d) Use an outline instead of memorising a speech.
e) Be constructive. Stress the merits of your viewpoint, not the flaws in someone else's.
f) Use visual aids to engage your audience's eyes as well as ears, & capitalise by using gestures to emphasise important points.
g) Go beyond self-interest. Showing the audience how you can help them achieve what they want is much more effective than putting yourself in the limelight.
h) Be specific.
i) Be yourself. You can learn from others, but don't make the mistake of trying to imitate a successful orator.
j) Use a positive approach.
k) Stop at the right time. When you sense that you have scored your points & that the audience gets the message, stop talking.
53. General Grant is said to have retained an incompetent officer on his staff for a single purpose. "If he can understand my orders, anyone can," explained Grant.
54. The greatest ideas, the most profound thoughts, & the most beautiful poetry are born from the womb of silence.