Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.
Synopsis
The chapter introduces 'tempo,' the rate of movement in delivery, borrowed from music, and argues it is a vital yet neglected tool of the public speaker. A speaker who delivers an entire address at nearly the same rate of speed forfeits one of his chief means of emphasis and power, just as a pitcher, bowler, or tennis server relies on change of pace to be effective. Naturalness, the chapter argues, is best studied not in the exaggerated mannerisms of actors but in the common conversation of well-bred society, though public speech should represent only the typical, most expressive parts of natural speech rather than every stray sound. An illustration shows how speaking one sentence slowly and the next quickly produces a natural effect that uniform delivery destroys. The chapter also notes tempo can shift within a single sentence, not merely between sentences or whole sections of a speech. Practice selections are provided, marked for fast and slow delivery, to train the speaker's ear and habit toward continual, purposeful variation of pace as a further defense against the monotony described in Chapter II.
Key points
- Tempo means rate of movement in delivery, borrowed from the musical term.
- Delivering a whole speech at one unchanging rate forfeits a chief means of emphasis and power.
- Naturalness is best studied in the common conversation of well-bred people, not stage exaggeration.
- Public speech should reproduce the typical, representative parts of natural speech, not every literal nuance.
- Change of tempo can occur even within a single sentence, not only between larger sections.
Key texts
- Ecclesiastes 3:1
- Habakkuk 2:2-3
- Isaiah 28:10
From the book
Chapter V — Efficiency Through Change of Pace · Open the reader
- “Tempo is a tremendously important element in good platform work”
- “Naturalness in public address is something more than faithful reproduction of nature--it is the reproduction of those _typical_ parts of nature's work”
- “Imagine a song written with but quarter notes. Imagine an auto with only one speed.”
Put it into practice
- Identify sentences in your material suited to a slow tempo versus a fast tempo, and mark them before speaking.
- Study everyday conversation among well-bred speakers to hear natural tempo variety.
- Practice a passage first at uniform speed, then with deliberate changes of pace, and compare the effect.
- Comprehension
1. What is tempo, and from what field does the term come?
- Comprehension
2. What does the chapter say happens when a speaker delivers a whole address at nearly the same speed?
- Scripture
3. What sporting comparisons does the chapter use to illustrate the value of changing pace?
- Doctrinal Clarity
4. Where does the chapter say naturalness in delivery is best studied?
- Doctrinal Clarity
5. How does the chapter qualify the goal of 'naturalness' in public speech?
- Contrast
6. Contrast delivering the sentence about the knife ('I can't recall...Oh, now I remember') with uniform rapidity versus varied tempo.
- Scripture
7. Can tempo change within a single sentence, according to the chapter?
- Doctrinal Clarity
8. What do the canary and 'a song written with but quarter notes' illustrate in this chapter?
- Application
9. Read a familiar Bible passage aloud at one unvarying pace, then again varying your pace to match urgency, calm, or emphasis. What difference did you notice?
- Application
10. Where in your own speaking do you tend to speak at one unbroken rate, and what content in your next talk could call for a slower or faster passage?