Chapter 21 Books are just guidelines, you must be brave enough to practice

Even if you read all the books on public speaking, including this one, and still can't speak, it's no use.This book is just a guide, you have to practice it. Before World War I, the course I taught at the Young Christians at 125th Street changed from what it had been.Every year new ideas are added to the curriculum and old ideas are thrown out.However, one thing that has remained constant is that every student stands up and speaks in front of their classmates at least once (and often twice).why?No one can learn to speak in public without speaking in public.It's like a person can't learn to swim if he doesn't go into the water.Even if you read all the books on public speaking, including this one, and still can't speak, it's no use.This book is just a guide, you have to practice it.

When George Bernard Shaw was asked how he learned to speak in public, he said, "I did it the way I learned to skate -- I made a fool of myself until I got used to it." As a young man, Bernard Shaw was one of the most timid people in London, often wandering the corridors for twenty minutes or more before he could muster up the courage to knock on other people's doors.He admits that few people suffer from cowardice, or are deeply ashamed of it, as he does. Later, he inadvertently used the best, fastest and most effective method to overcome shyness, timidity and fear.He is determined to turn his weakness into his strongest capital.He joined a debating society, and attended whenever there were meetings of public discussion in London.Shaw threw himself into the socialist movement, lecturing, and turning himself into one of the most confident and brilliant speakers of the first half of the 20th century.

Opportunities to speak are everywhere, so why not join some organizations and engage in positions that require speaking.Stand up in the meeting and say something, even if it's just a second.Never hide in a corner during a meeting.Speak!Go teach Sunday school!Or be a childhood leader, or join any group, giving yourself the opportunity to be active and participate in various parties.You have only to look around yourself to see that there is no work or life that does not require talking, not even the activities of the residential complex.If you don't talk about it, you'll never know how much progress you'll make. "I understand all this," a young business executive said to me, "but I always hesitate, afraid of the hard test of learning." "What hard test?" I said, "get rid of this idea. How do you never Want to study without a right spirit—a conquering spirit?" "What kind of spirit is that?" he asked. "Adventurous spirit!" I told him, and I told him some examples of people who had succeeded in speaking in public and brightened their personalities. "I'm going to try," he said at last, "I'm going to take the risk." As you read on and put it into practice, you are taking the risk.You'll find that your powers of self-direction and keen observation will help you on this adventure.You will find that this adventure changes you from the inside out.