Very often a little coterie of enthusiasts will think that with the
aid of a few handbills they can get a great crowd of their stupefied,
over-worked and discouraged fellow beings to give up their other
engagements and walk to some out-of-the-way place or corner of the town
to listen to their speaker. Our friendly promoters do not know that
to the eye of the multitude the bills suggest only an uninteresting
harangue or the visionary proclamations of a dreamer that in no way
concern them. The result is that very often instead of a thousand
greeting the speaker, all eager for information and ready for a change
of heart, as anticipated, there are a dozen or so already familiar
with his teachings and sharing his opinion on all important subjects
and half as many idle curiosity seekers without influence in the
community. The speaker is discouraged and the ardent reformers are
chilled to the bone and despairingly admit to each other that the
citizens of their particular community are more perverse and hardened
against new ideas and reforms than the residents of any other locality
under the sun.
If, instead of the preparation for an out-of-the-way meeting and the
laborious provision of seats for people who never came, a few circulars
announcing the meeting and containing two or three gems of thought had
been distributed and the speaker had mounted a wagon or box in the
center of town as heretofore suggested, the meeting would probably have
been a success.
Except on occasions of great excitement, when men are drawn together
by some celebrated orator, or on holidays, when they expect, under any
circumstances, to leave their homes and work and betake themselves with
their families to the woods and fields, it is important to hold outdoor
meetings where an audience can be gathered largely from passersby.
THE NEWSPAPER.
A speaker talks to one hundred, one thousand or more hearers, but
by proper co-operation on the part of the press his words are often
carried to tens of thousands more. Where the press is not absolutely
united for the purpose of maliciously misrepresenting or suppressing
the speaker's words, at least half of his work consists in the silent
appeal to auditors he never sees, those who read his words as reported
in the papers. A few suggestions may, in this connection, be found of
value.
First, have printed, typewritten, or copied by hand, all the
essential points of your speech, ready to be handed to the newspaper
representative. Properly prepared manuscript, written on one side of
the paper only, will often be published in full. It may be thrown into
the waste basket. But any paper will publish more of a man's speech, if
he has neatly prepared his manuscript beforehand than otherwise.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account