PTER XI

FLUENCY THROUGH PREPARATION

Animis opibusque parati--Ready in mind and resources.

--_Motto of South Carolina_.

In omnibus negotiis prius quam aggrediare, adhibenda est
praeparatio diligens--In all matters before beginning a diligent
preparation should be made.

--CICERO, _De Officiis_.

Take your dictionary and look up the words that contain the Latin stem
_flu_--the results will be suggestive.

At first blush it would seem that fluency consists in a ready, easy use
of words. Not so--the flowing quality of speech is much more, for it is
a composite effect, with each of its prior conditions deserving of
careful notice.

_The Sources of Fluency_

Speaking broadly, fluency is almost entirely a matter of preparation.
Certainly, native gifts figure largely here, as in every art, but even
natural facility is dependent on the very same laws of preparation that
hold good for the man of supposedly small native endowment. Let this
encourage you if, like Moses, you are prone to complain that you are not
a ready speaker.

Have you ever stopped to analyze that expression, "a ready speaker?"
Readiness, in its prime sense, is preparedness, and they are most ready
who are best prepared. Quick firing depends more on the alert finger
than on the hair trigger. Your fluency will be in direct ratio to two
important conditions: your knowledge of what you are going to say, and
your being accustomed to telling what you know to an audience. This
gives us the second great element of fluency--to preparation must be
added the ease that arises from practise; of which more presently.

_Knowledge is Essential_

Mr. Bryan is a most fluent speaker when he speaks on political problems,
tendencies of the time, and questions of morals. It is to be supposed,
however, that he would not be so fluent in speaking on the bird life of
the Florida Everglades. Mr. John Burroughs might be at his best on this
last subject, yet entirely lost in talking about international law. Do
not expect to speak fluently on a subject that you know little or
nothing about. Ctesiphon boasted that he could speak all day (a sin in
itself) on any subject that an audience would suggest. He was banished
by the Spartans.

But preparation goes beyond the getting of the facts in the case you are
to present: it includes also the ability to think and arrange your
thoughts, a full and precise vocabulary, an easy manner of speech and