Now these three factors--respect for authority, tendency to follow lines of

least resistance, and susceptibility to environment--all help to bring the

auditor into a state of mind favorable to suggestive influences, but they also

react on the speaker, and now we must consider those personally causative, or

subjective, forces which enable him to use suggestion effectively.

 

_How the Speaker Can Make Suggestion Effective_

 

We have seen that under the influence of authoritative suggestion the audience

is inclined to accept the speaker's assertion without argument and criticism.

But the audience is not in this state of mind unless it has implicit confidence

in the speaker. If they lack faith in him, question his motives or knowledge, or

even object to his manner they will not be moved by his most logical conclusion

and will fail to give him a just hearing. _It is all a matter of their

confidence in him._ Whether the speaker finds it already in the warm, expectant

look of his hearers, or must win to it against opposition or coldness, he must

gain that one great vantage point before his suggestions take on power in the

hearts of his listeners. Confidence is the mother of Conviction.

 

Note in the opening of Henry W. Grady's after-dinner speech how he attempted to

secure the confidence of his audience. He created a receptive atmosphere by a

humorous story; expressed his desire to speak with earnestness and sincerity;

acknowledged "the vast interests involved;" deprecated his "untried arm," and

professed his humility. Would not such an introduction give you confidence in