Influencing behavior throuth speech

Front matter

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Division

Part I. Influencing Human Beings

INTRODUCTION. WHY UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE! I, THE BASIS OF HUMAN NATURE II, GETTING THE ATTENTION OF HUMAN BEINGS . Ill, WHY HUMAN BEINGS DIFFER IV. PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNIC FOR INFLUENCING . HUMAN BEINGS . 5 ; : iS . = . . ° . . .

Part II. Speechcraft

INTRODUCTION. VALUES OF THE SPEECH COURSE V. WHAT IS PUBLIC SPEAKING!

VI. THE SPEECH SUBJECT AND MATERIAL

VII. CONSTRUCTING THE sPEECH

VIII. DELIVERING THE SPEECH

APPENDIX A. SPEECH COURSE MATERIALS

I, ASSIGNMENTS ‘ . ' : ° Ii, EXPERIMENTS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING III, QUESTIONS .

APPENDIX B. BIBLIOGRAPHY

PAGE

161 172 179

234 283

299 300

303 222

‘] ¢ iy Ny ee a Y ye be aoe?

| BORE ave oye LUENCING HUMAN BEINGS

May UNDERSTAND ‘HUMAN NATURE?

N 1926 John Washington Porter, the Democratic candidate for the state legislature from Boone County,

Nebraska, won the election in a county that is normally very strongly Republican. Mr. Porter’s plea for votes was this:

HELP PORTER WIN—IF HE WINS YOU WIN.

PORTER DOESN’T BELIEVE IN FEEDING THE COW IN BOONE COUNTY AND MILKING HER IN OMAHA.

PORTER DOES BELIEVE IN EQUAL RIGHTS TO ALL—SPECIAL PRIVILEGES HE WILL GIVE NONE.

Once upon a time there was a man by the name of Uncle Sam. He had four sons, the oldest he named Agriculture, the farmer; the second he called Labor; the third he called Consumer. These three were husky lads, healthy, robust and good workers. The fourth son he called Manufacture or Industry. In his infancy, Manufacture wasn’t as strong or robust as his older brothers, Labor, Agriculture and Consumer, so his father, Uncle Sam, thought it right to take a little food away from the three older brothers and he mixed up a food that he called Tariff and fed it to this weaker child, Manufacture.

In the course of time Manufacture being fed this infant food, ‘Tariff, which was taken from Consumer, Labor, and Agriculture, grew and grew until one day Uncle Sam saw that he had grown so large that his head was sticking away out of his crib at one

4. InrFiuuvencinGc BEHAvior THROUGH SPEECH end and his feet were sticking away out at the other end. So Uncle Sam said: “Manufacture, get up and do for yourself. You are bigger now than Labor, Consumer and Agriculture.” So Manufacture jumped up with a howl and lo—he was bigger than his father, Uncle Sam, and said, “Look here, Dad, you give me some more of that Tariff food or Pll knock your head off.”

So Uncle Sam is still taking food away from Labor, Agriculture and Consumer, and feeding it to Manufacture.

ENOUGH SAID. VOTE FOR JOHN WASHINGTON PORTER, YOUR CANDIDATE FOR REPRESENTATIVE, AND HELP WEAN MANU- FACTURE.

Porter’s first statement (Help Porter win—if he wins you win) means nothing.

His other statements appeal to prejudices ae the voters. There is a prejudice in Nebraska against the “capitalistic” Fast. Omaha is in the extreme eastern portion of Nebraska; it is also the largest city in Nebraska so there is a prejudice against it in the western rural districts. Porter’s second statement appeals to this prejudice— although he does not state what he proposes to do to alter the “unjust” situation. His third statement (about equal rights) is a broad generality which sounds well and means practically nothing. The statement would be subscribed to by his opponent. It is not an issue. His allegory about Uncle Sam and his four sons is a tremendous appeal to the prejudice of the farmer voters against the hated capitalists. As a member of the Nebraska legislature he would have nothing whatever to do with the tariff. But he was elected.

In 1921 Dr. Thomas C. Howe, former president of Butler College, made a race against Lew Shank for the

Wuy UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE? 5

Republican nomination for the office of mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Howe was prominent in educational circles; Lew Shank had never entered high school. Dr. Howe was a polished speaker who dealt with real city problems in his campaign; Lew Shank was a fluent speaker who used poor English but whose antics and stories were amusing. In the primaries Dr. Howe received 21,878 votes; Lew Shank received 23,742 votes.

A few years ago Professor Merriam, of the University of Chicago, made a race against William Hale Thompson for the office of mayor of Chicago. Professor Merriam had taught political science at the University of Chicago for many years. He had served on the city council for several years. He was an ideal candidate from the standpoint of preparation for the job and he had the support of most of the civic organizations of Chicago. Yet when the votes were counted Professor Merriam had a few thousand and William Hale Thompson had all the rest.

“Colonel” Tom West, of Bright County,’ Iowa, is an auctioneer whose hobby is politics. Although Tom has never sought an office for himself, he gets the political fever with the approach of an election and for about two weeks just before an election he lays aside his professional duties to enter the political arena as a speaker. He goes about the county, eating at the homes of his political friends and making speeches whenever an audience can be gathered. Four years ago he was campaigning especially in the interests of a friend who was a candidate for the office of sheriff. In his speeches the “Colonel” entertained the audience for an hour; occasionally he mentioned the man in whose interests he was campaigning. He told them

* Fictitious names are used by request.

what a fine man the candidate was, how he “stood by his friends,” and how he had enlisted to help “save the world for democracy.”” He did not mention the fact that the candidate was an expert craps shooter and that in the army he had developed an ardent desire for liquor. He said nothing about the candidate’s views on affairs with which his office would have to deal.

On Friday night the Republican candidate sate in the same community. He was well educated; he used far better English; he devoted his time to a presentation of his views on matters with which his office would have to deal. Yet in the election this normally Republican township gave a slight majority to the Democratic candidate.

This interesting question arises—Why were “Colonel” Tom West, William Hale Thompson, Lew Shank, and John Washington Porter successful? Certainly these men had worthy opponents. “Colonel” West and John Washington Porter won against odds in communities of opposing political faith. If we analyze the speeches of these men and their opponents we can hardly say that these men were successful because they were better public speakers; ° that is, we can hardly say they were better public speakers if we consider as the elements of our standard of good public speaking only the use of reliable and ample evidence, good reasoning, correct pronunciation, good enunciation, good English, and a pleasing voice. By these

*The writer realizes that political campaigns are not won entirely as the result of the candidates’ public speaking. Winning an election does not necessarily prove that the successful candidate is a better speaker than his defeated opponent. Factors, other than the speaking of a candidate, enter into every campaign.

The author does not mean to imply that education is a barrier to success in politics. The uneducated succeed in spite of a lack of education and not because of it.

Wry UNpERsTAND HUMAN NATURE? 7 standards three of the successful candidates were inferior to their opponents. In one element we find the successful candidates superior to their opponents; the successful candidates showed a far better understanding of human nature. To illustrate: During the campaign of Dr. Howe, his supporters gave much publicity to the fact that when Lew Shank was married he was a teamster and his wife a clerk in a ten cent store. They seemed to think that this would reflect upon Lew Shank. Apparently they did not realize that there was no more certain way of getting all the teamsters, ten cent store clerks, their friends and workers in the same wage class to vote for Lew Shank than to make light of him and his wife on account of their former occupations.

Cynics may sneer at human nature; they may point out the follies of the masses; unsuccessful, highly schooled public speakers may mutter something about “casting pearls before swine,” but if public speakers wish to be most successful in influencing human beings they need to understand the nature of these human beings. One of the most successful preachers in the days before the Civil War said: “You may just as well wage war against the law of gravitation, as against essential laws of the mental constitution. When you find these laws abused and misapplied, don’t try to ignore them, but try to correct the abuse, and turn them into the right channel.” °

John B. Gough was probably the most popular lecturer of the last century. In explaining Gough’s remarkable success on a speaking tour of England, the London Morning Star * says: “. . . the secret of his strength is hidden

* William Taylor, The Model Preacher. Cincinnati: Swormstedt and Poe, 1859, p. 35. “August 10, 1860.

in the fact that, like all successful orators, from Demosthenes to Lord Bougham, he deals with nature as it is, and not as . . . [he] would prefer to see it.”

Contemporaries of Henry Ward Beecher regarded him as the greatest of American preachers. In explaining Beecher’s position as the leader in his profession, a contemporary, Dr. Armitage, a distinguished - Baptist preacher of New York, said: “His [Beecher’s] sermons exhibit a larger reading of human nature . . . than can be found in any other modern preacher.” °

A great writer and public speaker who exerted a strong influence in improving the quality of the preaching done in the Episcopal Church in England in the days when the reading of sermons was rather general said: “The general rules of the art of persuasion . . . are founded on human nature, and must remain the same so long as human nature continues unchanged. . . . There is one species of knowledge which it is most important to acquire, and that is, the knowledge of the human heart. ®

In your American history textbook you read of the powerful preaching of Cotton Mather. Why was Mather outstanding in his day? Most of the preachers of his day scorned the use of an understanding of “profane” human nature. Yet Mather advised young preachers to get an understanding of human nature and to use that knowledge in their preaching. He even went so far as to recommend to young preachers, “Whatever truths at any time you would most efficaciously preach unto them, you may make them hear you pray down these truths into them, with a

* Albert Henry Currier, Nine Great Preachers. New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1912, p. 325.

° William Gresley, 4 Treatise on Preaching. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1843, pp. 7 ff.

Wuy UNpDERSTAND HuMAN NATURE? 9 most surprizing and most subduing efficacy.” He also gives this suggestion to the young preacher: “If you have laid up an inexhaustible store of stories . . . and have a skill in telling them handsomely . . . you may not only ingratiate yourself wherever you make your appearance, but also obtain almost any request that you shall make one of them a witty introduction to... .”7

It seems almost obvious that it is necessary to understand human nature in order to make an intelligent attempt to change it. In order to influence people’s beliefs it would seem wise to understand how they get their beliefs. If a speaker should wish to convince the residents of Zion City, Illinois, that the world is round, it would be well for him to understand why they believe the world to be flat. Scientific evidence which proves to you and me that the world is round does not prove it to them. This is not necessarily because you and I are either more intelligent or more gullible. A knowledge of human nature would aid more than scientific evidence in changing the beliefs of the Zion City folk about the shape of the earth. Before attempting to change their beliefs a speaker should know how they got them and why they retain such beliefs.

It is the purpose of the first part of this book to explain human nature. It will attempt to explain why the officials of Dayton, Tennessee, are opposed to the teaching of the theory of evolution and why the officials of Dayton, Ohio, favor the teaching of the theory. It will attempt to explain why a Presbyterian preacher in Oakville, Canada, in 1839 could say that Christ foresaw the day when people who professed to be Christians would propose abstinence

*Cotton Mather, Student and Preacher. London: T. Scollick and J. Matthews, 1789, p. 245.

from drinking intoxicating liquors and that Christ therefore instituted the Lord’s Supper to remind Christians that they should never forsake the drinking of intoxicating liquors, and why the preaching of this same doctrine to-day in Oakville, Canada, would be rejected most vigorously. It will attempt to explain why it was not considered discourteous in 1847 for the pastor of the Congregational Church of Malden, Massachusetts, to announce an address by a woman lecturer in this manner: “I am requested by Mr. Mowey to say that a hen will undertake to crow like a cock at the Town Hall this afternoon at five o’clock. Any body who wants to hear that kind of music will of course, attend.” * Part I of this book will attempt to give a scientific explanation to the physiological and psychological bases of human behavior.

The second part of the book will discuss the technicalities of speech-making. Such topics will be discussed as “The Nature of Public Speaking,” “Choosing the Subject,”? “Gathering Material,” “Organizing The Speech,” and “Platform Conduct.”

This division of the material is made as the result of a belief that the special training of a public speaker consists of (a) a study of human nature and (b) a study of technical speechcraft. The special training of a public speaker must have as its basis a liberal education.

SUGGESTED READING

Overstreet, H. A., Influencing Human Behavior. New York, 1925. The Preface (pages I-5).

* After the announcement, people besieged Mr. Mowey to learn what kind of hen it was. He told them that it was Miss Lucy Stone, a young woman who had graduated from a college in an Ohio town called Oberlin where women were allowed the same educational privileges as men. The pastor’s supercilious announcement proved to be a splendid bit of publicity for the meeting.

THE BASIS OF HUMAN NATURE

I. The Structure of the Nervous System. II. The Basis of Inherited Behavior.

III. The Basis of Acquired Behavior.

IV. The Basis of Emotion.

“Schriner, the great animal painter, painted the picture of a bony mule eating a tuft of hay. That picture sold in St. Petersburg, Russia, for fifteen thousand dollars, while the original mule sold for one dollar and thirty cents.” *

‘A rich man and a poor man stepped on the scales, one after the other, and each in his turn discovered that he had lost weight. Each had been too fat, and was the better for losing weight. Each had been doing without white bread—the rich man in hope of reducing his waistline, the poor man because he could not afford it. Observe, now that the same thing had happened to both men; yet the rich man went his way rejoicing and the poor man felt abused.

“Again, a rich man and a poor man, clothed in shabby suits that were identical in every detail, appeared upon the street. Said the rich man: ‘I do well to wear these garments; they prove to the world that riches have not turned my head.’ But the poor man said: ‘Woe is me! These shabby garments proclaim my poverty to all the MOF 3...’

*George W. Bain, Popular Lectures. Louisville: Pentecostal Publishing Co., 1915, p. 253.

It

“A youth to fame unknown looked through a book of phrases in quest of alien wisdom to use in an essay. ‘A little Latin,’ said he, ‘will make me seem learned.’ A savant whom the world honored labored long with phrases of his own. ‘I must write plainly and simply,’ said he, ‘in order that all may understand.’

‘‘A great man and another who had an inferiority complex occupied the only chairs in a room. A stranger entered. His weariness was obvious. He looked about the room for a seat. The one whose complex troubled him felt an urge to offer his chair, but caution restrained him. ‘If I appear humble,’ said he, ‘this stranger will think me a nobody.’ The great man got quickly to his feet. ‘Sir,’ said he, “you are weary . 2.5 takesmy seat?” =

I. SrRUCTURE OF THE NERvous SysTEM; THE Basis oF BEHAVIOR.

People are interesting—aren’t we? How do we get this way? We start this way the moment we arrive in the world. At birth an individual consists usually of about seven, eight, or nine pounds of flesh and bones, Throughout the tiny body is a nervous system. If we compare the development of this nervous system with that of an adult, we realize that we arrive in a sorry plight. True it is that the Creator has arranged it so that, among several activities,*> we sneeze, hiccough, cry, smile, move various parts of the body, grasp, blink, suck and swallow, that our excretive organs, lungs, and heart function, and so that we are “afraid” of loud noises and of falling. In this compara-

7 The Baltimore Evening Sun, quoted in Laramie, Wyoming, The Laramie Republican-Boomerang, September 27, 1924, p. 2.

>For a more complete list and an interesting discussion of these activities, see John B. Watson and others, Psychologies of 1925. Worcester, Massachusetts: Clark University, 1926, Chapter I.

Tue Basts oF Human NATURE 13 tively sorry condition we arrive in the world to begin the training which will make us laborers, lawyers, sinners, saints, garbage collectors, bishops, farmers, politicians, teachers, constables, loafers, efficiency experts, etc., etc.

If, as babies, a pin sticks us we have to cry until mother succeeds in discovering what causes the crying. What is the connecting link between that pin in the leg or back and the vocal organs which produce the yelling? The connecting link is the nervous system. This pin affected a portion of the nervous system which transmitted to the vocal organs and lungs an impulse which resulted in the crying. Before we can fully understand how the nervous system is able to cause crying in response to the sticking of the pin we need to understand how the structure of the nervous system enables it to function in its business of making us respond to all kinds of stimuli.

The nervous system is made up of nerve cells, called neurons. Figure I gives a diagram of one type of neuron. Neurons vary greatly in size and shape; this diagram shows the essential features of all neurons. The stimulation of the neuron takes place at the ends of the dendrites. This stimulation may be received in some sense organ (eye, ear, etc.) or from the axone of another neuron. From the dendrite the impulse * is sent through the cell body to the axone where it stimulates the dendrite of another neuron or it stimulates some gland or muscle into activity. Between the axone of one neuron and the dendrite of another there is a minute space—called a synapse, As might be expected, this synapse offers resistance to the nerve impulse, and it is fortunate for us that it does for the axone

“The nature of this impulse is not known. Some think that it is chemical; others think that it is electrical.

of one neuron may come in contact, except for the syn-. apses, with the dendrites of several neurons. If the nerve impulse were transmitted frequently from one neuron to endyites he ~—

FIG. I. A NEURON

(A Diagram)

all other neurons with which it comes into near contact what excessively active organisms we would be—if we lived through it!

Tue Basis of Human NaTurRE 15

But to return to the illustration of the pin sticking the baby! The prick of the pin stimulates the dendrite of some neuron. This starts an impulse which passes through the neuron to its axone. This axone stimulates the dendrite of another neuron which in turn passes on the impulse until it causes some response—in our illustration the response was the crying of the infant.

In traveling from the part of the body which receives the stimulation to the part of the body which responds to the stimulation, the nerve impulse passes over three parts of the nervous system: (a) the sensory part which conveys the impulse from the part of the body which has received the stimulus, to (b) the central part—the brain or spinal cord—which directs the impulse to the proper (c) motor part which effects the response. We call this entire sequence a reflex arc. Every act we perform comes as the result of a stimulus which causes a nerve impulse to travel over the sensory, central, and motor parts of the nervous system. In other words, the reflex arc is the functional unit of human behavior.

The brain and spinal cord, which comprise the central part of the reflex arc, have much the same function as the switchboard in a telephone office. It will simplify our understanding of the brain and spinal cord if we think of them as composed of millions of central neurons which make it possible to connect every sensory pathway with every motor pathway just as the switchboard makes it possible to connect any phone in the city with any other phone. It is apparent then that there are many possibilities in the way of response to any given stimulus.

According to the explanation thus far made of the nature of the nervous system it would seem to be possible for the impulse started by the sticking of the pin to be directed by the central neurons to these motor neurons which would cause laughing, singing, whispering, dancing, jumping, or any other response of which the human being is capable. And it is possible for these connections to be made and we do see actions resulting from these very peculiar connections in the cases of people whose nervous systems do not function normally (for instance, the insane). Children who have not learned to respond in the ordinary adult manner to many stimuli, do show amusing responses. And yet in normal adults many familiar stimuli result in characteristic responses: the ringing of the class bell at the end of a recitation will cause students to close their books and prepare to leave; ordinarily a person who is hungry will eat if food is available and if social restrictions do not prevent. In many cases the central connections which determine our actions are hereditary. The actions resulting from connections which are hereditary we call reflexes. In other cases the central adjustments are learned as the result of experience; in this case the actions are called habits.

Il. Tue Basis or INHERITED BEHavior; Its ErFrectT Upon Apu.T BEHAVIOR.

As has just been stated, there are certain of the reflex arcs which are established at birth or shortly thereafter; that is, there are certain methods of response which we inherit. Most careful investigations of inherited tendencies to act indicate that we inherit the neural pathways (reflex arcs) which function in six kinds of responses.® We call

° Floyd Henry Allport, Social Psychology. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1924, p. 50. The types of inherited tendencies are classified differently by different psychologists.

Tue Basts oF Human NaTurReE 17 reflex arcs in which the pathways are established without training at birth or shortly thereafter, prepotent reflexes. We call them prepotent because they are fundamental not only at birth or shortly thereafter but because they are fundamental in the formation of our habits throughout life. The six types of responses which result from the prepotent reflexes are:

I. Avoiding Responses. 1. Starting and Withdrawing. 2. Rejecting. 3. Struggling.

II. Approaching Responses. 4. Hunger Reactions. 5. Sensitive Zone Reactions. 6. Sex Reactions.

Most of the reflexes which cause these responses are functional at birth; however, the sensitive zone reactions do not normally appear until about the sixth week; sex reactions are delayed on account of the lack of development at birth of the structures involved in the sex act.

An explanation follows which shows how much of adult behavior is due to the modification of these six classes of prepotent reflexes:

Starting and Withdrawing. The newborn infant will start at the removal of support or at loud noise. We might say that baby is “afraid” of falling and of loud noises. As the result of these stimuli there is a general activity of the newborn babe’s body; crying may result.

-Exceedingly early in his life the baby will withdraw from disagreeable stimuli. His seemingly random movements will continue until he is removed from the nocuous stimulus. |

As the babe grows older both the sensory and motor phases of the starting and withdrawing reflexes are modified; that is, through teaching and experience, he becomes “afraid” of more complex stimuli and modifies his method © of responding to his fears. A very young baby is not afraid of the dark, snakes, the cemetery, fire, razors, policemen, loaded pistols, and may other things which may frighten older children. They learn to be afraid of these things— more technically stated: there is a sensory modification of the starting or withdrawing reflexes.

The child may have an unpleasant experience with an object—say, a fire—and thus learn to withdraw from it. Later the response of starting and withdrawing may be brought about by language stimuli; he may be told of real or fancied dangers and thus respond to a stimulus (say, a policeman) by a withdrawing response where the stimulus in itself, without experience or verbal representations would not cause the withdrawing or starting responses. The possibility of causing responses as the result of Janguage rather than actual experience enables the human race to modify the withdrawing tendencies in such a manner that they become socially desirable. If the youngster receives a painful chastisement every time he strikes the piano with a screwdriver, he soon learns to associate the painful chastisement with the contact between the piano and screwdriver for which he is responsible and this contact ceases. Although the use of language enables elders to attach the withdrawing responses to anti-social acts such as stealing, lying, etc., it also unfortunately allows elders to attach these withdrawing responses foolishly to harm-

Tue Basis of Human NATURE 19 less objects such as haunted houses, ghosts, policemen, and the cemetery.

Rejection. You have noticed a baby push at something which is painful to him or put out his hands to reject bitter medicine or even his nursing bottle and playthings when they are offered to him to appease his wrath. It takes training to modify this response so that the child has an aversion for dirt; that is, until he builds up the habit of cleanliness. Later in life we learn to reject debasing proposals which would reflect upon our integrity.

Struggling. If you should restrain the random movements of the head, legs, or arms of the newborn babe, a struggle begins at once followed almost simultaneously by crying and then screaming. The babe struggles against blankets which restrain his random movements even though these blankets may be necessary to keep him comfortably warm.

As the babe grows older he learns that struggling with and striking inanimate objects is of no avail; his struggling is effective only against human beings. As a boy he struggles against restraint of his play activity; as he grows still older he struggles against restriction of his “liberty,” and finally if sufficiently trained socially he may struggle against the restriction of others; that is, he may take up arms against the “injustice” done the slums, criminals, teachers, labor unions, etc.

Hunger. In hunger an internal need arises which stimulates the person to the activity necessary to satisfy that desire; when satisfied the person returns to his former passive state until the desire arises again. If our hunger responses were unmodified by society we should go about the satisfaction of our hunger in the greedy, selfish manner of the lower animals. Society soon modifies the responses to our hunger sensations.

The drive of hunger is important in our learning. The babe’s quickest learning is in connection with the satisfaction of his hunger sensations. He quickly learns to turn his head to locate the source of his food. The responses which baby makes to the taste of his food are quickly transferred to the sight of it, then to his parents who bring it, and later to their footsteps.

You know the alacrity with which a youngster will perform a task at the end of which he is to receive a stick of candy. While many of us do not do our work with the same display of energy as the youngster working for the stick of candy, nevertheless we do an enormous amount of work in order to satisfy the prepotent reflexes of hunger.

Sensitive Zone Reactions. A few weeks after birth the babe will smile if brushed lightly on the lips or cheeks. Later other regions of the body (associated with both hunger and sex reactions) become sensitive to light touch and cause the child to smile, giggle, and finally laugh; they cause the child to make withdrawing movements as though he dislikes the tickling, and yet the child returns for more. Haven’t you seen a small child return to be tickled? Even the sight of the person who has been doing the tickling, especially if the person makes a sudden movement, is sufficient to make the child giggle hilariously. The child wants more of the tickling—the stimulation of the sensitive zones. The child soon learns to associate the approving, joyful tones of the voice of the person tickling him with the playful conduct, kisses, caresses, and other stimulations of the sensitive zones. Just as the child