Bits for Beginners

You are now ready to make more than a brief appearance before a meeting. Not a heavy subject and for certain nothing that’s long or wordy-perhaps just a recount of an interesting article you’ve read or a significant event in your life that brought a moral home to you. Your personal experience is the preferable topic because others in attendance might also have read the article you try to refurbish.

Speeches for Special Occasions

Every speech is divided into three parts: the beginning, the ending, and what goes in between. As a novice you might find it easiest to select a clever opening sentence once you’ve decided on your subject. Memorize this starter. Now figure out how to finish your talk with a punch line. Memorize that conclusion too. Finally, fill in the middle with the things you want to tell about, and build your enthusiasm up until you are “bustin’ out all over” with a desire to speak your piece. One of the first tasks a fledgling performs as a public speaker is plugging for a worthy organization, or playing
up some praiseworthy people. The following may serve as prototypes:

4-H Clubs

No matter how much you admire the prize stock, the prime prizes at County Fairs and Livestock Shows are the 4-H youngsters: the kids who comb the calves, polish horns, manicure hooves, exhibit steers and help with the judging. They are the cream of America’s rural crop. A post World War I song, “How’re You Gonna Keep Them Down on the Farm after They’ve Seen Paree,” initiated the idea behind the 4-H movement. To keep young people from leaving the land, far-sighted farmers promoted the 4-H idea and interested boys and girls in raising livestock and planting crops as well as in designing and sewing clothes. They stimulated interest by means of competition. Prize-winning awards gave young people a sense of recognition and confidence in the worth of their work. The organization now polls a membership of 2 million.

If Farm folks can employ this successful plan, why can’t city people find a way to solve their youth problems? Teen age crime boils down to too much time and too little to do. The 4-H magic lies in work. Young members are interested in something besides themselves; their energies are directed away from their own impulses and frustrations, and kept in proper proportion.

JayCees see action

The Junior Chamber of Commerce movement was born in St. Louis in 1915 and ever since, these “young men in action” are among the city’s finest products. There are occasions when senior citizens show more sound judgment, but when the accent is on action these young leaders respond to responsibility like Engine No. 1 answering a fourth alarm.

JayCees were born at a time when too many Chambers of Commerce resembled the male section of an old ladies’ sewing circle, and too many members were somber luncheon singers. JayCees altered that trend when young boosters began to bolster up those old roosters. The organization keeps itself young and spry as a bull calf in blossom time by weeding out members at the ripe old age of thirty-five. Junior Chamber serves about 3500 communities on six continents. Each Chapter’s activity depends upon the problems, challenges and needs of its particular community. The more common projects include blood bank drives and clean-up campaigns, (not to mention the beards that the members grow for centennial celebrations), organizing Junior baseball leagues, and sponsoring safe driving “road-e-os” to promote sane driving among the hot-rod set.

Tags: public speaking

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