description of Gratiano's talk, quoted earlier in this
book.

A speaker then must have material. He must get material. The clergyman
knows that he must deliver about a hundred sermons a year. The lawyer
knows he must go into court on certain days. The lecturer must
instruct his various audiences. The business man must address
executive boards, committees, conventions, customers. The student must
address classes, societies. The beginner in speech training must seize
every opportunity to talk. Certainly the natural reserve stock of
ideas and illustrations will soon be exhausted, or it will grow so
stale that it will be delivered ineffectively, or it will be
unsuitable to every occasion. A celebrated Frenchman, called upon
unexpectedly to speak, excused himself by declaring, "What is suitable
to say I do not know, and what I know is not suitable."

Getting Material. There are three ways of getting material. The first
is by observation, the second by interview, the third by reading.

Observation. The value of securing material by observation is apparent
at first glance. That which you have experienced you know. That which
you have seen with your own eyes you can report correctly. That which
has happened to you you can relate with the aspect of absolute truth.
That which you have done you can teach others to do. That which has
touched you you can explain correctly. That which you know to be the
fact is proof against all attack.

These are the apparent advantages of knowledge gained at first hand.
The faculty of accurate observation is one of the most satisfying that
can enter into a person's mental equipment. It can be trained,
broadened, and made more and more accurate. In some trades and
professions it is an indispensable part of one's everyday ability. The
faculty may be easily developed by exercise and test for accuracy.

Everyone acknowledges the weight and significance of material gained
by observation. In America especially we accord attention and regard
to the reports and accounts made by men who have done things, the men
who have experienced the adventures they relate. There is such a
vividness, a reality, a conviction about these personal utterances
that we must listen respectfully and applaud sincerely. Magazines and
newspapers offer hundreds of such articles for avid readers. Hundreds
of books each year are based upon such material.

With all its many advantages the field of observation is limited. Not
eve