Text 1: Five minutes at the microphone, by Leonie Ward

An original contemporary blog.

I had agreed to speak at our local history evening because five minutes sounded harmless. Then I stood in my kitchen the night before, holding three pages about my collection of old postcards, and discovered that five minutes can contain a great deal of panic.

My first mistake was practising silently. In my head, every sentence sounded effortless. When I recorded myself saying it aloud, the talk lasted nearly nine minutes and was crowded with dates nobody needed. I cut the script down to six headings on one card and tried again in front of my sister. She stopped me whenever I rushed or used a word that needed explaining.

At the event, my hands shook so badly that the card made a small flapping noise against the lectern. I began too quickly, heard my first sentence tumble into the second and forced myself to pause. Looking at my sister helped at first. Then I chose other friendly faces in different parts of the room and spoke to them one at a time.

Halfway through, somebody laughed at a joke I had not realised was funny. I lost my place completely. Instead of filling the silence, I looked at the next heading and carried on. Later, I gave the wrong year for the rebuilding of the town hall, corrected it in one sentence and moved to the next point.

The nerves never disappeared, but they stopped controlling the talk. Rehearsing aloud had shown me what to remove, while the headings gave me a route back whenever my mind wandered. I had thought successful speakers felt calm. Now I suspect they simply know how to continue when they do not.

Text 2: Counsel for the inexperienced speaker, by Edmund Vale

An original guidebook written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.

This extract comes from a handbook on public speaking, published in 1894.

The beginner commonly prepares an address by writing every syllable and committing the whole to memory. This gives an appearance of security, but a single forgotten phrase may break the chain and leave the unfortunate speaker unable to proceed. It is wiser to know the order of the argument, together with the opening and concluding sentences, than to become the prisoner of a manuscript.

Rehearsal should be conducted aloud and upon one’s feet. A candid companion is more valuable than a flattering looking-glass, for the companion will detect a hurried passage, an obscure expression or a tiresome repetition. The address must also be timed, and shortened before the patience of the audience is tested.

On rising to speak, begin more slowly than inclination commands. Nervousness hurries the tongue, whereas a deliberate pause gives weight to an idea and allows the speaker to recover breath and thought. Do not gaze continually at the ceiling or bury the face in notes. Find two or three attentive persons in different parts of the room and address each in turn.

Should a word or sentence escape the memory, remain silent for a moment and pass to the next point. Lengthy apologies only advertise an error which many listeners may not have noticed. A trembling hand is no disgrace: it often proves that the speaker understands the importance of the occasion. Courage does not consist in feeling no alarm, but in continuing sensibly despite it.

What guidance about preparing for and giving a public talk emerges from these two accounts? Explain briefly, making clear which text supports your points.