LESSON 24

PRACTICAL SPEECH DIRECTIONS (Continued)

THE CHAIRMAN OF OCCASION

Often there are speech occasions when many addresses are made and a chairman presides over all. We have in mind dedicatory services, the laying of corner stones, commemorative gatherings, commencement exercises, and, above all, banquets. Of first interest are the duties of the chairman, or, as he is called at dinners, the toastmaster. He is master of ceremonies; he must preserve the tone of the meeting and see that the program is carried out smoothly. His speaking consists of an address at the beginning, short introductions to the other speeches, and sometimes comments at their conclusion.

OPENING ADDRESS

The opening talk by the chairman or address of welcome should as a rule be very brief. There are, to be sure, times when this introductory address has importance in itself, either because of a stand to be taken by the presiding officer or because of some special feature of the occasion which gives him and his message peculiar weight. But when he is simply the master of ceremonies, his address is merely introductory and should in no way compete with the set speeches. The following are suggested as proper, typical features for such an address.

1. It should set the tone of the gathering. If the occasion is a solemn one, the speech should give that tone;

if it be convivial, the speech should be jovial; if it be a brisk business meeting, the speech may be snappy.

2. It may refer to (a) the general purpose of the organization, (b) the special reason for the gathering, (c) the personal attitude of the speaker himself to either of these or some special phase: This last, however, must be indulged in sparingly and with entire good taste.

3. It may welcome those present explicitly or implicitly to participate appropriately in the ceremonies.

4. It should launch the meeting by introducing the first speaker or by ushering in whatever else the program calls for first.

At the commemorative services conducted by the Senators and Representatives of Massachusetts in honor of Charles Sumner, the following introductory address was given by the Honorable Alexander H. Bullock:

In the train of those paying mournful tribute to Charles Sumner, most fit is the presence of the Legislature of Massachusetts. By their act, twenty-four years ago, the gate was opened through which he passed to the Senate of the United States for life. And now, after this lapse of time and the close of his career, the Government and the people of this Commonwealth contemplate with just and solemn satisfaction the contribution they then made to the higher sphere of statesmanship. They recall his first appearance there, seemingly lost amidst a majority who were the embodiment and type of ideals so much less heroic and elevated than his own; with what masterly unreserve he began and continued his great mission, disguising nothing, sweeping in his perspective many of the vast results which have since been attained; how he lived to see his grand central aspirations realized, his main purposes accomplished, at his death leaving as a truth, never before so well illustrated at the Capital, that the character of statesman and senator derives added strength and lustre from the character of scholar and philanthropist, liberator and reformer.

At the moment of the greatest triumph of Wilberforce, on the passage of his bill abolishing the slave trade, Sir Samuel Romilly, amid the ringing acclamations of the House of Commons, called upon the younger members to observe how superior were the rewards of virtue to all the vulgar conceptions of ambition. In the hour of the greatest triumph of Sumner-the

hour of his death-a like admonition arose from his vacant chair, calling upon American public life to mark the lofty exemplar, by whom, amid abounding corruption, comparative poverty had been held as honor; to whom artifice and intrigue had been an abhorrence; who, in the long practice of official transactions and official manners, had never acquired an official heart; who had guarded his conscience against every assault, and always kept that vessel pure; upon whose headstone the whole Republic inscribes for its souvenance, "Incorruptible and Unapproachable."

With one mind the Senators and Representatives of Massachusetts, successors to those who, nearly a quarter of a century. since, sent him forth with the seal of his great commission, are present by these fine and august ceremonies to deliver him over to history. In selecting their orator for this tender office, they could not fail to call for him who best would give voice to their eulogy. As our lamented Senator was a master in all the art of letters, it is fitting that he should be embalmed by the art of another and similar master and personal friend. I introduce to you Mr. George William Curtis.

Study this example carefully and notice the way the tone of the meeting is established. Observe how fitting the ideas are to the occasion. Also note the adaptation to the special audience, as well as the appropriate introduction of him who was to make the long eulogistic oration.

The opening speech of a toastmaster at a dinner conforms to the plan just described for general occasions. But of all opening speeches, it should be-in most casesthe shortest. Obviously the toastmaster has the guests at his mercy and he can do as he pleases. Too often we fear he takes advantage of his position, bores the diners and irritates the speakers who are to follow. A longwinded toastmaster is insufferable.

The introduction of each speaker, by the toastmaster, should be short and it should tend to make the audience eager to hear the man introduced. Here it is appropriate to refer appreciatively to (1) some general trait of the speaker, of a distinguishing character, (2) some particular attainment, or (3) the value and interest of what he

has to say. Often these things are conveyed by means of an anecdote, story, or fable. Observe how the reference was made in the introduction of George William Curtis, at the end of the last example.

The following is an introduction that was used at a dinner of a department of a large corporation:

Gentlemen, somewhere in Greek mythology, we read of an individual who carried a new-born calf to the barn. And every day, he made it a practice to lift the calf, always managing to hold up the gradually increasing weight. The strength of the lifter grew with the calf's growth, and when it was a full grown bull, the master could raise it clear off the ground. Five years ago our contract department was born and it was lifted and carried by one man. Now it is the largest of its kind in the state; Mr. Brown, the manager, will speak to us and possibly give the secret of strength which enables him to conduct so efficiently and alone the work which had its small beginnings under his Mr. Brown.

care:

The complimentary introduction should not be too fulsome in its praise and gratifying reference; to exceed the bounds of good taste gives evidence here of insincerity. Extravagant and insincere praise before others partakes of the nature of an insulting imposition; it is as though the toastmaster were having fun at the expense of his speaker. This remark applies also to the comment which the toastmaster sometimes makes at the conclusion of an address.

AFTER-DINNER SPEECH

The dinner speech proper now receives our attention. It is an established feature of civilized life and all speakers should acquire some facility in this form of address. The occasion is a convivial one, though not necessarily frivolous. The whole tone is one of tolerance and good nature. If a speaker has some vigorous contention to make, the dinner, as a rule, is not the place to make it.

The speeches should be addresses calculated to charm and give pleasure.

This pleasure may be of the intellectual sort which comes from hearing a lofty theme treated in a sympathetic and artistic manner. It may be rollicking good humor or it may be quiet fun through an appreciation of a dry but kindly criticism of life. But whatever it is, it has no element of contention. It is customary for a speaker at such a dinner to ascertain beforehand just the sort of people he is to address and who the other speakers will be. If among the other speakers there is one with whom he has a difference, that difference must not be aired, save in good-natured, genuine poking of fun at himself as well as his adversary. It is better to decline an invitation to speak after dinner than to use the occasion as a means of getting at some one else present or absent.

After settling the question of audience and other speakers, the candidate for post-prandial honors will consider his subject and manner of treatment. He will not attempt to demonstrate anything rigorously by force of argument. Neither will he make a strenuous appeal, unless the dinner occasion is to be changed from its social purpose to some other. Rather will he select some topic of interest and treat it in a broad, human, genial way. The treatment should be expansive rather than intensive.

The matter used, therefore, is more of the general, cultural sort than the special, rigorous message. As in all speeches, there should be a central theme and unity of treatment, but the attraction of the speech is not so much the driving home of the theme in itself as the graceful development of it by reference to a wide and rich field. Such speeches reveal the speaker's general attitude toward life, for in ornamenting his central theme, he draws upon the things nearest his heart and most pleasing to his taste. While revolving his thoughts before those