How "Briefing" and "Committing"
are Important for Your Speech

BRIEFING

A "brief" is not the exclusive possession of the lawyer, as so many persons believe, nor something that has to do only with the court room. It is a plan whereby any speaker may arrange his material in logical order, in somewhat the same manner that the architect draws his plans of a proposed building.

The regular divisions of a brief are: 1. The Introduction. 2. The Brief Proper. 3. The Conclusion. It is made up of certain definite statements, put into concise language and distinguished by letters or numerals. Under each of the main headings may come subheadings setting forth subordinate ideas. As the name implies, a "brief" means conciseness and clearness throughout, so that the entire plan can be readily understood by another. For a full exposition of this subject the student is referred to "The Principles of Argumentation," by Professor Baker, of Harvard University , and '' Argumentation and Debate,'' by Professors Laycock and Scales, of Dartmouth College .

COMMITTING

It is good discipline for the average beginner to thoroughly memorize his speeches. This will train him in accuracy of expression and increase his self-confidence. As he gains experience, he may speak simply from full notes, then from an outline or "brief," and finally from a series of "catch-words" or headings.

There is a wide difference of opinion as to whether a speech should be memorized or not. This is a matter that depends largely upon the temperament of the speaker. Some men are handicapped by a memorized effort. They must have free exercise of the mind at the moment of speaking, otherwise they prove cold and mechanical. It should be the aim of every student to eventually acquire the art of extemporaneous and impromptu speaking, but in the majority of cases the habit of memorizing at first will be found both necessary and advantageous.

The proposed speech should be recited aloud many times, before a looking-glass, with suitable gesture, in the fields or the open air, and, when possible, in the hall or place where it is finally to be given.

A successful speaker once said: '' They talk of my astonishing bursts of eloquence, and doubtless imagine it is my genius bubbling over. It is nothing of the sort. I'll tell you how I do it. I select a subject and study it from the ground up. "When I have mastered it fully, I write a speech on it. Then I take a walk and come back, and revise and correct. In a few days I subject it to another pruning, and then recopy it. Next I add the finishing touches, round it off with graceful periods, and commit it to memory. Then I speak it in the fields, on my father's lawn, and before my mirror, until gesture and delivery are perfect. It sometimes takes me six weeks or two months to get up a speech. When I am prepared I come to town. I generally select a court day, when there is sure to be a crowd. I am called on for a speech, and am permitted to select my own subject. I speak my piece. It astonishes the people, as I intended it should, and they go away marvelling at my power of oratory. They call it genius, but it is the hardest kind of work."

If you'd like to learn more by watching others speak publicly, search our Calendar of Events to find different speakers presenting on various topics at different locations. If you'd like to try your hand at public speaking, and need a venue, then try searching the Internet using the phrase "public speaking in Tucson ." The results of the search will give you current places that are seeking speakers.

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