Theocratic Aid To Kingdom Publishers

Lesson 19

SPEAKING UNDER ADVERSE CONDITIONS

To speak well under ordinary conditions is an art. To speak well under trying conditions is proof of mastery of the art of public speaking. A few suggestions may be helpful.

Above all, use tact, maintain poise, be good-natured. There are times and occasions when showing righteous indignation is not only justified but helpful, yet such occasions when addressing the public are so rare that, as a rule, one must be careful to keep his public speech free from angry words. They may antagonize a part of the audience, and they react on the speaker himself by lessening his ability to master circumstances, to make correct judgments, and to maintain composure.

Meet an unforeseen situation as though it were expected, and master it by maintaining composure. Expect the unexpected and meet any condition with serenity. When interferences or distractions are of a really harmless nature, simply ignore them, or meet them with a good-natured smile. But if a distraction continues, one has to recognize it and rope with it. A failure to do so ceases to be good-naturedness and becomes a sign of weakness and lack of appreciation on the part of the speaker himself for the dignity of the divine message he is privileged to deliver. For instance, a romping youngster may appear "cute" in its mother's eyes, but will surely annoy other listeners. A respectful request for the parent to control the child, if the disturbance continues, is not only in order but due to the remainder of the listeners.

Likewise a crying baby is a serious interference. Stop the speech and kindly suggest that the parent might like to take the baby out and calm it there. Most mothers would

take the baby out as soon as it starts to cry if they didn't feel that by so doing they would disturb others in the row. Now if the speaker recognizes the mother's problem and gives her the opportunity for which she had wished, he makes friends with her and those seated around her. At the same time he shows that he is human, friendly, and considerate. Such interferences, however, should be remedied by alert ushers. But if they fail, then the speaker must fill the breach.

If one finds the acoustics in a hall poor, that is, a bad echo, he can partly overcome it by speaking slower and by pausing. Sharpen enunciation. This is the only way to partly overcome the interference of echo. What to do with sleepy listeners? If one notices that a hearer is falling asleep, he should prod himself, not necessarily the drowsy one. Speak with more contrastful modulation and forceful emphasis, and use emphatic gestures. Avoid monotony of any kind. Another means to stir the interest is to spice up the talk with more specific instances and illustrative examples. Be careful, though, not to make the strategy obvious. Avoid any reference to sleepiness or inattention.

A very usual interference is the latecomer. Maintain a calm spirit. Several listeners will likely turn and gaze at the new arrivals. This is imperfect human nature, and one cannot change it. Many listeners will not resist the temptation to look around. They know that no monster is stalking into the hall, but they will turn around to make sure, except those who have good self-control. The best aid to lessen the disturbance is to reserve some rows toward the rear for latecomers.

Occasionally one may find listeners who disturb by whispering. If one fails to win their attention by such devices as talking directly and exclusively to them until one has their undivided attention, pause and kindly tell them it is obvious that they feel their private conversation more important than this message from God's Word, and that you will not be offended if they leave to continue their

discussion somewhere else where they will not be disturbed by the speaker. This procedure is advisable only when the whisperers manifestly show no interest in or respect for the talk. Sometimes persons whisper unwisely when they try to explain to their neighbor what the speaker says, because the neighbor is either newly interested or hard of hearing. A kind reminder that others are disturbed will certainly suffice, if the speaker's addressing a few sentences of his talk directly to them will not.

Serious or vicious heckling is an interference that calls for different measures. One may be sure to meet somewhere, sometime, ungentlemanly people who will rudely interrupt by flat contradictions or irritated remarks. The speaker should never retaliate with like ungentlemanly behavior. Do not lose self-control, because loss of it defeats effective delivery of the message. Keep calm, maintain poise, do not argue in return and thus allow the meeting to deteriorate into disorganized wrangling. This attitude of calm assurance will impress the audience. Simply say to the heckler, "If you are sincerely for the truth (and I have no reason to doubt it), if you are convinced that you are right (and I have no reason to doubt that either), it is very important, sir, that you inform the public about it. but not here, because you have not rented the hall. Permit me to remind you that you are here as a guest, and a gentleman should know how to deport himself as a guest. The public has been invited here to hear a lecture, not a debate, and this program and promise to the public must be carried out." Then continue.

If the heckler continues to interrupt, appeal to the audience. Appeal to the audience as order-loving, intelligent people who have been invited to hear a talk on a subject of vital importance. Appeal to them as people who love truth and righteousness, who are for freedom of expression and of worship, without un-American interference by disorderly elements. Then ask them after this emphatic appeal, "How many of the audience strongly disapprove the

conduct of these disturbers of public peace and good order? Raise your hands." Almost without exception all hands will be raised, except, of course, the hecklers' hands. This usually suffices to deter hecklers from further annoying speaker and audience. All this presupposes, of course, that an usher force able to remove the disturbers is not present.

There are rare cases where disturbing elements form an overwhelming majority of the audience, and the ushers and others are unable to eject the rowdies, and the police are unwilling to protect the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of peaceable assembly. If they are as brute beasts and an appeal to fairness strikes no responsive chord, then this injunction of our Lord applies: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine." (Matt. 7:6) Addressing the people of good-will who came to hear and find out the truth, ask such to leave their names and addresses with the ushers so that they can be invited to a private gathering where they will be able to hear and to reason without lawless interference. Then dismiss the meeting. This, however, only as a last resort.  —See Religion, pages 291-299.

Regardless of conditions under which a talk must be given, remember always that it is in the strength of the Lord that his witnesses are able to succeed. The greater the obstacles, the more evident will be the Lord's spirit working in behalf of the faithful servant. The servant must do his part by using Theocratic tact and maintaining poise; in other words, he must properly keep or control his spirit or mental disposition under adverse conditions. So doing, he will with confidence leave the result in the Lord's all-capable hands.