will live have been delivered by men ablaze with the courage of their

convictions, who uttered their words as eternal truth. Of Jesus it was said that

"the common people heard Him gladly." Why? "He taught them as one having

_AUTHORITY_." An audience will never be moved by what "seems" to you to be truth

or what in your "humble opinion" may be so. If you honestly can, assert

convictions as your conclusions. Be sure you are right before you speak your

speech, then utter your thoughts as though they were a Gibraltar of

unimpeachable _truth_. Deliver them with the iron hand and confidence of a

Cromwell. Assert them with the fire of _authority_. Pronounce them as an

_ultimatum_. If you cannot speak with conviction, be silent.

 

What force did that young minister have who, fearing to be too dogmatic, thus

exhorted his hearers: "My friends--as I assume that you are--it appears to be my

duty to tell you that if you do not repent, so to speak, forsake your sins, as

it were, and turn to righteousness, if I may so express it, you will be lost, in

a measure"?

 

Effective speech must reflect the era. This is not a rose water age, and a

tepid, half-hearted speech will not win. This is the century of trip hammers, of

overland expresses that dash under cities and through mountain tunnels, and you

must instill this spirit into your speech if you would move a popular audience.

From a front seat listen to a first-class company present a modern Broadway

drama--not a comedy, but a gripping, thrilling drama. Do not become absorbed in

the story; reserve all your attention for the technique and the force of the

acting. There is a kick and a crash as well as an infinitely subtle intensity in