"I believe that one always does himself
and his audience an injustice when he speaks merely for the sake of speaking. I
do not believe that one should speak unless, deep down in his heart, he feels
convinced that he has a message to deliver.
When one feels, from the bottom of
his feet to the top of his head, that he has something to say that is going to
help some individual or some cause, then let him say it; and in delivering his
message I do not believe that many of the artificial rules of elocution can,
under such circumstances, help him very much.
Although there are certain
things, such as pauses, breathing, and pitch of voice, that are very important,
none of these can take the place of soul in an address. When I have an address
to deliver, I like to forget all about the rules for the proper use of the
English language, and all about rhetoric and that sort of thing, and I like to
make the audience forget all about these things, too."
-Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery: An Autobiography; educator, civil rights activist and Tuskegee University founder
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com