HOW TO INTEREST YOUR AUDIENCE
1. We are interested in extraordinary facts about ordinary things.
2. Our chief interest is ourselves.
3. The person who leads others to talk about themselves and their interests and listens intently will generally be considered a good conversationalist, even though he does very little talking.
4. Glorified gossip, stories of people, will almost always win and hold attention. The speaker ought to make only a few points and to illustrate them with human interest stories.
5. Be concrete and definite. Do not belong to the "poor-but honest"school of speakers. Do not merely say that Martin Luther was"stubborn and intractable"as a boy. Announce that fact. Then follow it with the assertion that his teachers flogged him as often as"fifteen times in a forenoon". Thatmakes the general assertion clear, impressive and interesting.
6. Sprinkle your talks with phrases that create pictures with words that set images floating before your eyes.
7. If possible use balanced sentences and contracting ideas.
8. Interest is contagious. The audience is sure to catch it if the speaker himself has a bad case of it. But it cannot be won by the mechanical adherence to mere rules.
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