UNACCUSTOMED AS I AM...

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 15

UNACCUSTOMED AS I AM...

Handbook For Public Speakers. By James 0. Milburn. A. H. and A. W. Reed. 231 pp. N.Z. price $3.50. Mr Chairman. By Marjorie Puregger. University ot Queensland Press. 178 pp. N.Z. price $3.50. (Reviewed by Eric Beardsley)

Speech, said Pubhus Syrus, is the mirror of the soul: as a man speaks, so is he. This assessment speaks volumes for the verbal dribblers and public mumblers too frequently found at the lectern, in the pulpit, on the platform at the wedding reception and the office farewell. But even if they are not big on soul, they can surely polish the mirror. And that is why Milburn’s book, sensible, practical and simple, should be required reading for those accustomed but not accomplished and for those who admit only that they are unaccustomed. Mr Milburn, who for many years has effectively practised what he has preached as a tutor and writer on public speaking, has much to tell both classes. It is not difficult — far less difficult than standing Up There and making a hash of it — but it will require thought, application, an appreciation of and feeling for an audience and some practice. It may not make you into a Churcnill, or even a Bob Lowe, overnight, but it will help to make you competent and respected. Don’t, therefore, write out a speech

and read it; don’t memorise it either. Follow Mr Milburn’s advice on its preparation, analysis, the memorising of key points, on its opening and, more important, its closing, and on its delivery, and you may be asked again. “Think deeply, feel deeply, speak fluently and sincerely and your speech will be a success,” he says. Wellington papers please copy. “Mr Chairman,” now in a third and revised edition, is a useful companion piece. While courtesy and common sense may be the basic principles of good meeting procedure, centuries of experience have shown that the most efficient way to transact business is to have a clear set of rules which will ensure that decisions are reached democratically, that minority opinion is respected and that a few dominant persons do not impose their will on the majority. Marjorie Puregger’s book is a concise and authoritative guide to meeting procedure, to the duties of officers and to the correct action to be taken in all the situations that could arise. There are specimen minutes and standing orders and useful notes on ceremonial procedure and forms of address. If every organisation made “Mr Chairman” required reading for all its officers and members, more meetings would become a pleasure and not a chore.