such a silence will then have a great deal more effect.

 

When your country cousins come to town, the noise of a passing car will awaken

them, though it seldom affects a seasoned city dweller. By the continual passing

of cars his attention-power has become deadened. In one who visits the city but

seldom, attention-value is insistent. To him the noise comes after a long pause;

hence its power. To you, dweller in the city, there is no pause; hence the low

attention-value. After riding on a train several hours you will become so

accustomed to its roar that it will lose its attention-value, unless the train

should stop for a while and start again. If you attempt to listen to a

clock-tick that is so far away that you can barely hear it, you will find that

at times you are unable to distinguish it, but in a few moments the sound

becomes distinct again. Your mind will pause for rest whether you desire it to

do so or not.

 

The attention of your audience will act in quite the same way. Recognize this

law and prepare for it--by pausing. Let it be repeated: the thought that follows

a pause is much more dynamic than if no pause had occurred. What is said to you

of a night will not have the same effect on your mind as if it had been uttered

in the morning when your attention had been lately refreshed by the pause of

sleep. We are told on the first page of the Bible that even the Creative Energy

of God rested on the "seventh day." You may be sure, then, that the frail finite

mind of your audience will likewise demand rest. Observe nature, study her laws,

and obey them in your speaking.