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Study 08 of 31

Concentration in Delivery

Speak, don't anticipate

Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.

Synopsis

The final chapter addresses a subtle but pervasive fault: speakers who mentally leap ahead to the next sentence while still uttering the present one, causing their sentences to start strongly and trail off weakly just where the emphatic word often falls. The mind, the authors argue, cannot truly attend fully to two thoughts at once; divided attention produces divided power, and an audience unconsciously senses and mirrors the speaker's own lapse of focus. The remedy is given as a single-minded rule: while speaking one sentence, do not think of the sentence to follow; let forward planning happen only in the natural pauses, like a driver's forward glance, not during the act of speaking itself. Genuine expression requires that words be 'born again every time they are spoken,' rising from real, present thought and feeling rather than mechanical recitation — illustrated by Hamlet's empty 'Words. Words. Words.' and the King's confession that 'words without thoughts never to heaven go.' The chapter closes by describing concentration as a discipline of the will: to concentrate is simply to attend to one thing and nothing else, achieved by resolutely withdrawing attention from every distraction.

Key points

  • A common fault is thinking ahead to the next sentence while still speaking the current one, weakening delivery.
  • The mind cannot fully attend to two thoughts simultaneously; divided attention divides power.
  • The rule given is: while speaking one sentence, do not think of the sentence to follow.
  • Genuine speech requires words to be 'born again every time they are spoken,' not mechanically recited.
  • To concentrate is simply to attend to one thing and nothing else, by resolutely withdrawing attention from all else.

Key texts

  • James 1:8
  • Matthew 6:22
  • Luke 9:62
  • Philippians 3:13-14

From the book

Chapter VIII — Concentration in Delivery · Open the reader

  • “It is fatal to either the actor or the speaker to cross his bridges too soon.”
  • “_SPEAK--DON'T ANTICIPATE_. Divide your attention and you divide your power.”
  • “The truth is, that as a speaker your words must be born again every time they are spoken”

Put it into practice

  • While speaking a sentence, keep your attention fixed on it alone, not on what comes next.
  • Use the natural pauses in your speech, not the moments of speaking, to glance ahead at your material.
  • Before speaking, let your words arise from genuinely present thought and feeling rather than rote recitation.
  1. Comprehension

    1. What common fault in public speakers does the chapter identify?

  2. Comprehension

    2. What rule does the chapter give for handling this fault?

  3. Doctrinal Clarity

    3. What does the chapter say about the mind's ability to think two thoughts at once?

  4. Scripture

    4. How does the chapter use Hamlet to illustrate empty, unconcentrated speech?

  5. Scripture

    5. What does the King's confession in Hamlet illustrate about insincere speech?

  6. Contrast

    6. Contrast a speaker who anticipates his next sentence with one who concentrates fully on his present sentence.

  7. Doctrinal Clarity

    7. Why, according to the chapter, do repeated speeches like Dr. Conwell's 'Acres of Diamonds' not become stale?

  8. Doctrinal Clarity

    8. How does the chapter define the act of concentrating?

  9. Application

    9. The next time you teach, pray publicly, or give a testimony, try consciously focusing only on the sentence you are speaking. What did you notice about your delivery's strength at the end of sentences?

  10. Application

    10. Where else in life (not just speaking) does the chapter's principle 'divide your attention and you divide your power' apply to you personally?