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In 'Getting at the Inner Man, and, Fifty Years on the Lecture Platform,' readers are presented with a compelling anthology that bridges motivational discourse with historical insights into public speaking across half a century. The collection offers a rich tapestry of literary styles, from reflective essays to dynamic oratory, encapsulating the diverse methodologies and philosophies of engaging with an audience. The significance of these works lies not only in their individual merits but also in their collective portrayal of the evolution of motivational speaking and its impact on diverse audiences over the decades. The anthology shines a light on the transformative power of effective communication, making it a seminal collection for enthusiasts of oratory and personal development. The contributing authors, Russell H. Conwell and Robert Shackleton, are figures of substantial renown in their respective fields, bringing a wealth of experience and insight to this collection. Conwell, best known for his famous 'Acres of Diamonds' speech, and Shackleton, a distinguished journalist and author, together represent a unique confluence of perspectives on public speaking. Their backgrounds reflect a period of significant growth and change in the art of oratory, mirroring broad historical and cultural movements of their time. This anthology, therefore, not only captures the essence of their cumulative wisdom but also situates it within the larger context of American cultural and intellectual evolution. For readers seeking to immerse themselves in the art and science of motivational speaking, this anthology offers an unrivaled journey through time and thought. It provides a unique opportunity to explore, under one cover, the multifaceted approaches to and philosophies of public communication, as seen through the experiences and reflections of its eminent contributors. This collection stands as a testament to the enduring power of speech, making it an invaluable resource for students of communication, history enthusiasts, and anyone intrigued by the potential of the spoken word to inspire and transform.
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Getting at the Inner Man, and, Fifty Years on the Lecture Platform
Table of Contents
I
MILLIONS OF HEARERS
That Conwell is not primarily a minister—that he is a minister because he is a sincere Christian, but that he is first of all an Abou Ben Adhem, a man who loves his fellow-men, becomes more and more apparent as the scope of his life-work is recognized. One almost comes to think that his pastorate of a great church is even a minor matter beside the combined importance of his educational work, his lecture work, his hospital work, his work in general as a helper to those who need help.
For my own part, I should say that he is like some of the old-time prophets, the strong ones who found a great deal to attend to in addition to matters of religion. The power, the ruggedness, the physical and mental strength, the positive grandeur of the man—all these are like the general conceptions of the big Old Testament prophets. The suggestion is given only because it has often recurred, and therefore with the feeling that there is something more than fanciful in the comparison; and yet, after all, the comparison fails in one important particular, for none of the prophets seems to have had a sense of humor!
It is perhaps better and more accurate to describe him as the last of the old school of American philosophers, the last of those sturdy-bodied, high-thinking, achieving men who, in the old days, did their best to set American humanity in the right path—such men as Emerson, Alcott, Gough, Wendell Phillips, Garrison, Bayard Taylor, Beecher;[1] men whom Conwell knew and admired in the long ago, and all of whom have long since passed away.
And Conwell, in his going up and down the country, inspiring his thousands and thousands, is the survivor of that old-time group who used to travel about, dispensing wit and wisdom and philosophy and courage to the crowded benches of country lyceums, and the chairs of school-houses and town halls, or the larger and more pretentious gathering-places of the cities.
Conwell himself is amused to remember that he wanted to talk in public from his boyhood, and that very early he began to yield to the inborn impulse. He laughs as he remembers the variety of country fairs and school commencements and anniversaries and even sewing-circles where he tried his youthful powers, and all for experience alone, in the first few years, except possibly for such a thing as a ham or a jack-knife! The first money that he ever received for speaking was, so he remembers with glee, seventy-five cents; and even that was not for his talk, but for horse hire! But at the same time there is more than amusement in recalling these experiences, for he knows that they were invaluable to him as training. And for over half a century he has affectionately remembered John B. Gough, who, in the height of his own power and success, saw resolution and possibilities in the ardent young hill-man, and actually did him the kindness and the honor of introducing him to an audience in one of the Massachusetts towns; and it was really a great kindness and a great honor, from a man who had won his fame to a young man just beginning an oratorical career.
Conwell's lecturing has been, considering everything, the most important work of his life, for by it he has come into close touch with so many millions—literally millions!—of people.
I asked him once if he had any idea how many he had talked to in the course of his career, and he tried to estimate how many thousands of times he had lectured, and the average attendance for each, but desisted when he saw that it ran into millions of hearers. What a marvel is such a fact as that! Millions of hearers!
I asked the same question of his private secretary, and found that no one had ever kept any sort of record; but as careful an estimate as could be made gave a conservative result of fully eight million hearers for his lectures; and adding the number to whom he has preached, who have been over five million, there is a total of well over thirteen million who have listened to Russell Conwell's voice! And this staggering total is, if anything, an underestimate. The figuring was done cautiously and was based upon such facts as that he now addresses an average of over forty-five hundred at his Sunday services (an average that would be higher were it not that his sermons in vacation time are usually delivered in little churches; when at home, at the Temple, he addresses three meetings every Sunday), and that he lectures throughout the entire course of each year, including six nights a week of lecturing during vacation-time. What a power is wielded by a man who has held over thirteen million people under the spell of his voice! Probably no other man who ever lived had such a total of hearers. And the total is steadily mounting, for he is a man who has never known the meaning of rest.
