(h) One of Macbeth's witches. (i) Hamlet soliloquizing. (j) Polonius. (k) Mrs. Malaprop. (1) Lydia Languish. (m) Lady Macbeth in her sleep. (n) Cæsar coming home from the games. (0) Puck. CHAPTER VII POSTURE, MOVEMENT, GESTURE Argument of the Chapter.-A speaker must convince the eye of the observer. More than this, he must be in command of himself in his various bodily parts. To achieve command and to make the proper visual appeal he must take account of posture, movement, and gesture. WE have seen that the body is the basis of speech; for without bodily competence there is small likelihood of competency in speaking and reading. Also meanings expressed by the body become important because they are read with the greatest facility by the majority of people. we come to an analysis of action in practice. Now Looking the Part of a Speaker.-An easy criterion of a speaker's worth is found in the question, "Does he look and sound like a speaker?" As you observe him on the platform before he begins to speak and while he is speaking, do you feel yourself in the presence of a leader of your thought? Do you get the impression as you look at him that this man is master of himself and master of the occasion? Or do you, as you look, feel that he is defeated before he begins? Then when he speaks, does he sound like a master of men, like a person with a purpose, strong enough to command attention? As you listen does the impression increase that he is a person with the right to lead? The speaker should always act the part. He should not be afraid of assuming it with positiveness, clearness of purpose, and modest assurance. I. A STUDY IN PERSONALITY CULTURE Essential to Free the Body.-Practice in freeing the body can be of profit to all students of speech. For such as are already competent thinkers, with many interesting things to talk about, with some command of language, mastery of the body removes the last bar between the speaker's meaning and his auditors. For those who think slowly and are not sure of their message, practice in bodily expressiveness helps to free the thinking mechanism and to clarify the meaning. For those who find their chief troubles in their voices, proper total action helps invigorate the blood, relaxes the tight, restricting vocal muscles, and resolves the emotional tie-ups that are the chief causes of voice inadequacy. Muscular Control Cures Emotionality.-Earnest and faithful practice in gaining mastery of legs, back, trunk, head, arms, and hands is the best method known of curing complexes. An emotional complex such as too high nervous tension, over-aggressiveness, erratic control, moodiness, fear, shyness, negativism, morbidness, introspectiveness-is best defined as a condition in which certain vital muscle systems are either too tight or too slack. The cause is usually in one's intestinal equipment, in the flow or stoppage of the juices of the glands, and in the toning-up power of the blood. So the cure is either in doing something directly for the glands and the blood or, failing that, in deliberately doing for one's arms, legs, back, and head what the glands and blood fail to do. This calls for activity, and activity under control. A Cure for Negativism.-Take negativism, for example. Suppose we have before us a boy who cannot look people in the eye, who dodges company, who "flocks by himself." What is the cure? Shall we try lectures and stories dealing with ambition and energetic living? They usually fail in hard cases. Medicine? A remote likelihood; stimulants in his blood will put a flash in his eye, but only temporarily. An operation? Often enough a good cure, but by no means always. Scolding and threats? The worst treatment that can be given him. Exercise in the open-running, football, baseball, tennis? The very best type of cure that can be applied. One specific application of this type of cure, especially where the negativism is acute, is through boxing, fencing, and wrestling. In boxing and fencing men constantly keep an eye glued on the opponent, even at times boring into his eyes at close range, while at the same time they are engaged in active exercise of arms and legs. In wrestling the close physical contact drives out the excessive subjectivism of the negative one and compels him to think in terms of others. Here is a type of cure for negativism that will work wonders if treated faithfully and fully-and when applied in time. Maladjustments Remedied by Action. Similarly, other "emotional" ailments-which means bodily and muscular maladjustments-can be reduced or cured by the mastery of bodily parts. For the excitable student prescribe exercise in smooth, rhythmical action, and his excitability can be reduced; for the overaggressive, exercises demanding delicate control; like many forms of esthetic dancing. This will calm down the excess activity. For morbidness give exercises of a leaping, lifting, joyous nature. Inasmuch, then, as a very great portion of poor speaking is the result of emotional tie-ups, especially among those who have really worthwhile things to say, the most reasonable first step for them in relearning, or in learning, speech is to free themselves from their muscular slavery by means of practice in bodily control. Only thus can eventual mastery be won. Be Yourself, as a Rule for Platform Conduct.-There need be no absurdity or feeling of awkwardness in using a speaker's stance, in moving about on the platform, and in making gestures. A very simple and sensible rule prevails: Do not do on the platform anything you would not do at home or among your friends. Stand as you stand when talking to others; move as you move when addressing your friends; use hands and arms as you do elsewhere. The rub comes in doing these things on the platform-doing them. easily and with confidence in spite of attacks of stage fright and your struggles to keep your ideas straight and your vocabulary fluent. The rule is simple enough; the accomplishment of it is not quite so simple. A corollary to this rule is: what you do not do elsewhere. that has hoofs instead of feet. Do not do on the platform Don't go limp like a rope. Don't flop your arms like a scarecrow. Don't lift them like a semaphore. Don't exhibit crippled hands. Do just what you do when you are alert, in earnest, and mannerly anywhere and at any time. II. POSTURE The first thing that observers are likely to notice about a speaker after they have caught sight of his stature, his face, his general dimensions, and probably his clothes-is his bearing, his carriage, the position he assumes. Or, speaking more to the point, the first meaning that he carries to his hearers comes from his general position on the platform. This we call Posture. THE WEIGHT Posture and Weight.-Posture is the way a man stands and holds himself. Possibly you have been told in the past how to place your feet, on the assumption that if the feet are in the right position everything else will be rightly set. Yet if you will but try to secure good posture by thinking only of your feet, you will readily be convinced of the futility of such an attempt. True, the feet must be reckoned on, but one can set one's feet according to the most carefully considered rules and still present to observers a picture of awkwardness. The vital consideration in posture is not the planting of the feet in a given relation to each other, but the distribution of the weight of the whole body. Get the weight of the whole in the right place, and the feet, if they have any sense at all, have to take care of themselves. Nature provides for this, for we hardly allow ourselves to tip over when a slight movement of a foot will save us. Get the weight placed aright and the feet will do their duty. The Weight Should Be Primarily on One Foot Only.In the first place, the weight must be chiefly on one leg at a time. By this it is not meant that a man should stand like a stork, but that the major portion of the weight-very much so-should be distinctly on one leg and, so, on one foot. If you will try the following experiment you will appreciate the point: |