PUBLIC SPEAKING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 143, 21 June 1927, Page 6

PUBLIC SPEAKING

AN INTERESTING ADDRESS

Members of the Melbourne Kolarv C'iuli recently were privileged to hear Mr. Alexander "Watson address them on the subject of public speaking. Acknowledged to be one of the world's foremost exponents of the art of elocution, it 13 safe to say that no one could be found better qualified to speak on such a subject.

Mr. "Watson, reports a Melbourne paper, said he was not accustomed to public speaking. (A laugh.) He was ac- ■ custoincd to speaking matter written by other people, which demanded an entirely different attitude of mind. A public speaker spoke to an audience, but an elocutionist spoke before an audience. He nevertheless thought ho might claim to be a fairly good critic of other public speakers. Ho believed that through the medium of wireless public speaking was going to be a greater factor in public affairs than over it had been before in the history of the world. It would bo necessary for men to train themselves more than over to become good speakers over the wireless. He did not think Australia would l>c behind in this matter. During his tour of Australia ho had received very many lotters from people who asked him to givo special selections from-itho works of the greatest authors. That was an indication of the taste for a good literature and the lino effect of education in this country. In setting a standard for public speaking, it would bo-necessary to adopt a lusher standard than that'which he had heard from the loud speakers at .Spencer street, station, for instance. (Laughter.) He had listened to the blatant, roaring, stentorian blast of sound issuing from these speakers, "but, whilst they roared at him like a bull, ho had not been able to understand more than a syllable at a time, though his intuition informed him the speaker was making diverse references to the platforms from which • certain trains were destined to depart. That was whore elocution came in. He apologised for using the word elocution. If there Was one word in the English language ho hated it was "elocution" and its derivatives. There was something sinister about it—almost criminal, in fact. (Laughter.) Unfortunately the word was misunderstood, and had bocome a synonym for "recite." Many people hated reciters, and he did not blame them. A friend had once suggested that he should write another book on How to Recite and Retain Your Friends. (Loud laughter.) A popular delusion about public speaking was that when a man got on a platform he should "speak urj." A speaker should never force his voice by "speaking up," as this created strain' for both himself and his audience. He should always speak in his natural or middle pitch. Another thing many speakers were guilty of was turning the head from one side tg the other. A. speaker should always speak in one direction. The moment he turned his head away his voice had a different sound, and his listeners had to re-attune their ears, creating a kind of indistinctness, which worried them. Tho natural voice was often marred by bad speaking habits. It was possible for everyone to so train his voice- that it was clear and good to listen to.