Most of this talking is in the form of conversation , and it is obvious therefore that if we improve our everyday discourse , we shall raise the standard of our after-dinner speaking .sx Avoid " hum " -ing , " haw " -ing and " err " -ing .sx Do not begin sentences and leave them unfinished .sx Avoid running words into one another , and beware of slang expressions .sx Do not over-use or misuse words , either .sx Recently , " marvellous , " " divine " and " intrigue , " have been three overworked terms , while it has been said that a woman will use the word " nice " to describe everything from a blouse to the prospect of meeting one's friends in Heaven .sx Employ words in their right places .sx The daily use of good English will help to make you an effective speaker .sx DEVELOP YOUR OBSERVATION .sx Observe all things closely .sx By acquiring a large fund of useful knowledge you will be sure that you have something worth while to say .sx Constantly be on the alert for new and original ideas , and make a note of them as they occur to you .sx The daily round will furnish many opportunities for the observation of common objects which may be employed in metaphor and simile .sx A commentator of Shakespeare's plays said that it was watching a butcher sharpening skewers that gave our greatest poet the fine thought " There's a divinity that shapes our ends , rough-hew them how we will .sx " So the meanest things may be used as emblems of the loftiest .sx For this imagination must accompany observation .sx Some time ago Mr. Ramsay MacDonald witnessed some sheep-dog trials in Scotland .sx This supplied him with an illustration in a speech when referring to the difficulty of a political leader in controlling his followers .sx During a bye-election in 1930 Mr. Lloyd George likened the attempts of the Liberal Party to get an opponent to state his views on one of the issues , to chasing the corn-crake , a pastime of his schooldays .sx Likewise you will be able to .sx brighten your speeches if you observe keenly and use your imagination .sx PRACTISE SPEAKING IN PUBLIC .sx Undoubtedly the best way to learn to speak is to speak in public .sx All the steps mentioned so far will be of great service , but confidence will be engendered principally by actual attempts to talk when standing .sx If you were being taught to play the violin , you would not merely listen to other people playing , or read books upon the subject you would play , or attempt to play , upon the instrument .sx Similarly you will not become a good speaker if you merely practise exercises in the privacy of your own home .sx You must speak .sx publicly .sx Seize every opportunity which comes your way of doing this , even though the speech lasts but a few minutes .sx MENTAL ATTITUDE IS IMPORTANT .sx Finally , the right mental attitude must be developed .sx Have you , up to now , regarded speaking at banquets as very difficult ?sx Have you doubted your ability to succeed ?sx Have most of your thoughts been fear-thoughts ?sx If so , change your outlook from to-day .sx Tell yourself that the preparation for success upon which you are about to embark is bound to make you an effective speaker .sx Picture yourself as an easy , confident after-dinner talker with an appreciative , enthusiastic audience .sx Recall this picture to mind often .sx At Hollywood , where the advent of the " talkies " has caused film artistes to take lessons in speaking , one of the principal teachers is Doctor Marafioti .sx Mrs. Alice M. Williamson , in an article , has stated that he " begins by teaching that psychology is your best friend .sx You must believe , and then you can do .sx " This is as true in the case of the person who desires to speak well in the banqueting-hall , as it is in that of the sound-film artiste .sx CHAPTER FIVE .sx PREPARING A SPEECH .sx " May industry always be the favourite of Fortune .sx " Ancient Toast .sx Necessity for Preparation Prepare Always Length of Speeches First Steps Your Aim Proposing Toasts Responding to Toasts Writing the Speech Personal References Adapting Yourself Regrets at Absence What to Avoid " The Visitors " " The Ladies " Rehearsing Speech Note Card Assisting the Press .sx LORD ROSEBERY'S definition of an after-dinner speech as " a prolonged harangue , .sx uttered by a man who does not want to say .sx anything , addressed to people who do not want to hear him , " is not entirely true of the oratory connected with all toasting .sx . Speeches are usually .sx delivered to persons who are attentive and who are willing to be appreciative if the talkers are interesting and audible .sx But one often feels that the speakers are not desirous of orating , so ill-prepared and badly spoken are their remarks .sx What is the principal step to be taken to change this state of affairs ?sx In the great majority of cases it is preparation .sx Perhaps you do not require to be told this .sx On .sx the other hand , if in the past you have relied upon inspiration , you should bear in mind the words of G. K. Holyoake , " He who speaks without preparing what he will say , is but a gambler in oratory who trusts to the right dice turning up as he proceeds .sx " At least five reasons for preparing your toast can be given .sx Firstly , it will be much more easy to follow because it will be more logically arranged .sx You should not give a banquet audience any heavy thinking to do , and the easiest way to avoid this is by writing out your speech before going to the function .sx Secondly , you will not be likely to make the slips of the unprepared talker .sx One danger is the use of a double-edged word .sx Lora Coleridge , speaking at the first Palmerston Club dinner said :sx " You must look at Oxford as a whole , and what a whole it is .sx " Even the majesty of the Lord Chief Justice could not prevent the undergraduates from laughing .sx Thirdly , writing is a very fine exercise .sx You may feel that you have your ideas clearly in mind .sx But have you tried to put them in black and white ?sx If you do try , you may find that there is a considerable amount of difficulty in doing so .sx Writing will disclose deficiencies in information and arrangement .sx It will probably be realised that the subject must be pondered over more thoroughly .sx Fourthly , you will have an opportunity of verifying any facts , figures or quotations .sx When trusting to the inspiration of the moment you will utter thoughts as they come to mind .sx But when statements are seen in writing , you will be likely to confirm their accuracy .sx Fifthly , preparation will increase confidence .sx When facing your auditors you will have the comforting feeling that , at any rate , you know what you intend to say .sx It is for these , and probably additional reasons , that most effective speakers prepare .sx The Prince of Wales is an example .sx The Times , in a report of his speech at a City of London luncheon in 1920 , said :sx " His humour shone again and again through the sentences of what was clearly a most carefully-prepared oration .sx " ` .sx Sir Austin Chamberlain , in an article in the Empire Review , said that after hearing some very polished speeches by a Member of Parliament , he asked him how he hit on the good things which he said .sx " Well , " replied the other , " I have a clever secretary .sx I shut him up in one room and myself in another , and we each write a speech .sx Then we compare notes , and I take the best of both .sx " Many other examples could be given , but it will be sufficient to say that the great majority of those whose eloquence is applauded , are speakers who have followed a plan similar to the one outlined in the following pages .sx YOU SHOULD PREPARE ALWAYS .sx It has been well said that everyone attending a dinner should remember the Boy Scouts' motto , " Be prepared .sx " Do not write out a speech only when you have been invited in advance to deliver one .sx If there is the slightest possibility of your being called upon either to propose or respond , then draft a speech , however short .sx You will usually have a good idea of what the toast will be to which you may be likely to be asked to speak .sx Particularly take care that you are ready if attending as a visitor .sx Often the names of those to be coupled with this toast are decided upon at the dinner , although , of course , this is a bad plan .sx Sometimes reliance is placed upon a stock speech , but the danger is that there may be persons present who have heard you deliver it on one or more occasions .sx When this happens your reputation for eloquence and originality will suffer , so avoid the stock speech .sx In Sir James Crichton-Browne's book , What the Doctor Thought , were two tales illustrating the manner in which public men prepare for emergencies .sx When Sir James was in the reception room prior to the Annual Dinner of the Galloway Association , a Scottish reporter asked him :sx " Are ye gaun to speak the nicht ?sx " " Yes , I suppose so , " he replied , " as the secretary has this instant asked me to propose a toast .sx " " Then , " said thereporter , " gie's a haund o' that manuscript ye've got in your pocket .sx " The other story was told by Sir John Lavery of Joseph H. Choate , the United States Ambassador , who was a famous after-dinner speaker .sx On one occasion he accepted an invitation to the Savage Club on the express stipulation that he was not to be called on to make a speech .sx This was agreed to , but after the speech of the evening had been delivered by Professor Walter Raleigh , there were vociferous demands for Choate , to which he was at last obliged to yield .sx He delivered , as was his wont , an eloquent and witty oration .sx It so happened that Lavery was at that time painting the portrait of Choate's daughter , who gave him a sitting at his studio the morning after the dinner .sx He congratulated her warmly on her father's speech , on which she said , " Yes , I thought it would be good , for he spent two whole days in preparing it .sx " Of course , at times a speech composed in anticipation of being called upon will not be delivered .sx Every December the Gimcrack Dinner is held at York .sx The chief address at this is delivered by the owner of the winning horse of the Gimcrack Stakes at the York race-meeting .sx As he is able to air his views on turf reforms before a select audience , there is a good deal of competition for the honour .sx It has been stated that Lord Barnby was so hopeful of his colt in 1925 , that he began began .sx before the race to make notes for his speech that is , over three months before the dinner .sx That speech was not required , for the horse did not win .sx But although preparation on occasion may prove to be a wasted effort , it is an undeniable advantage to be ready for the invitation to speak at short notice .sx THE LENGTH OF SPEECHES .sx Before you sit down to write a speech , you must decide how long it is to be .sx The correct average rate of utterance for the after-dinner talker is approximately 125 words per minute .sx A five-minutes talk should therefore comprise between 600 and 650 words , one of ten minutes' duration-about 1,200 words , and so on .sx It has already been pointed out that a common failing is garrulity , and that all except special guests and experienced speakers might well be tactfully informed in advance what time-limits .sx have been put upon speeches .sx Most toasts and replies can be adequately dealt with in from five to ten minutes , although the speaker with something to say will not be thought unreasonable if he takes fifteen minutes .sx Do not let it be said that the words flow from you as treacle flows from a cask , in a thin , unending stream .sx Until you have achieved some success , keep within the ten minutes' limit .sx Lateron people may not mind how long you speak .sx The London Evening News stated recently that at a luncheon at Chicago , Sir John Simon spoke for nearly three-quarters of an hour .sx When he sat down an American lawyer turned with shining eyes to his neighbour , and said :sx " I wish he would continue ; it has only seemed like seven minutes to me .sx "