Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.
Sir Ralph Richardson
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To be a person is to have a story to tell.
-Isak Dinesen
Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Extemporaneous speaking should be practised and cultivated. It is the lawyer’s avenue to the public….
Abraham Lincoln
“The audience only pays attention as long as you know where you are going.”
– Phil Crosby
“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
… and what a wonderful accomplishment if we, as speakers, can provide that moment!!
It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.
~~ Mark Twain
(Thank you so much for your insight, Sir, again!!)
“No more than six words on a slide. Ever. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.”
– Seth Godin
Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.
Dionysius Of Halicarnassus
Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk too much.
John Wayne
Is this about public speaking? Um … no, probably not. It was his advice on acting. And it probably worked well for him, in his settings. It’s certainly not something that would work for a speaker – all of the time. But used some of the time, it is a powerful tool. Deliberately speaking slowly in the midst of enthusiastic speed is powerful. Simplicity is powerful. Keeping to time is vital. And in those terms this is golden advice for public speakers.