Elements of Public Speaking

e speak poorly is that they have nothing worth while to say, and that if a speaker has anything really worth while to give to his audience ? any real message ? he will deliver it well. It would be as reasonable to expect that one who has anything to write will write it well or that he who has anything to paint will paint it well upon the canvas, regardless of training. In respect to the importance of good delivery in speaking, Emerson once made the significant statement that what is said is the least part of an oration, which is only one way of saying that the most vital message may be ineffective if poorly delivered. We are all familiar with instances where speakers have spent much time in careful preparation, where there has been clear and logical organization of material, and yet where the final effect of the speech has been wholly unsatisfactory because of a failure to deliver it well. It is important that we consider at the outset some of the causes for the failure of speeches that would be good if well delivered. Nearly all faults of speech work on the side of delivery are due either to a wrong conception of what good delivery is or to the failure to employ correct principles in its use. Misconceptions of speech delivery. A wrong conception of good delivery is much more common than one would generally suppose. The most common misconception seems to be that the tone to be used in the delivery v of a speech, no matter what the character of the speech ma...