AFTER-DINNER SPEECHES

Evening Star, Issue 19551, 9 May 1927, Page 1

AFTER-DINNER SPEECHES

———♦- PLEASURE- OF GUESTS .MARRED. A West of England (.‘ham,her of Commerce lias decided to abolish a I'tordinner speeches at its periodical dinners, on the ground that they “mar the pleasure ot the diners,” and one I of the rules at two recentfy-opened dining Qiubs in London is tnat, “except on special occasions and by permission of the committee, after-dinner speechmaking is forbidden.” Probably most men and women whose fate it is to be compelled to attend many public dimicrs will feel cheered, by this announcement (writes Jia.sil Tozer, in the London ‘ Daily Mirror '). For how many of us have not been bored almost to tears’ by those wearisome, interminable talks inflicted upon us,by men—-seldom by women—to whom it seems never to occur that nobody wants to hear themP At a dinner which I attended recently,, and where most of the diners were people interested in the arts, we had no fewer than eighteen speedier, and they lasted for an hour and twenty minutes.

Mot more than four of those speeches were worth listening to, and long before (boy came to an end everybody was exasperated. Perhaps 1 ought in justice to add - though as a man it hurts my pride to do so—that two of the speeches worth listening to wore delivered by women. And that reminds me that at dinners at women’s dubs that 1 have attended the speech-making lias almost always been a good deal brighter and more amusing than it is at dinners where only men are present. “TOO SERIOUS.” Try to analyse the reason for this, and J think you will presently deride that it_ comes of our taking ourselves too seriously, sometimes terribly seriously, when we get up to make a speech after dinner, whereas women generally looii upon tiie whole thing more or less as a joke. Alsoji newly-nourished man, particularly if he is at all flushed with wine, is not particularly restful to the eye, and when, as often happens, he begins to meander and to repent himself and obstinately ignores significant “ hear, hears” and Tappings on tho table, he emphatically does “-mar the pleasure of the diners ” .considerably. ..A woman, oil the other ‘hand, even if not strikingly beautiful, invariably smiles pleasantly at her listeners whilst addressing them, and introduces a touch of humor into tier talk hpre and there; while, if shc does Ituppct/ (o be attrac-tive-looking, nobody much minds. But perhaps the strongest reason of all why after-dinner speeches may soon come to be. generally taboo, now that opposition to them has set in, is that nearly all of us prefer to do the talking ourselves. Usually <ve have friends with us, at other times we 'have during dinner made new and often interesting acquaintances, and wo would much sooner continue our, conversation with them than lie peremptorily called upon at every moment to become silent and strain our ears to listen to what .Mr This or Captain That may have to‘say about something Which doesn’t in the least interest us.