p. 435 | Make It Short

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Sep 28, 1882

Make It Short.

A STORY is told of a school, the pupils of which, on the eve of a summer vacation, got very weary of the long speeches with which the committee entertained them. When the president of the board of trustees at last arose to address them, he commenced by saying, "Well, children, what sort of a speech shall I make?" and then halting a little, as if waiting for an answer, while gathering up his thoughts, to his surprise, up went a little boy's hand, in a distant part of the room. Thinking that there might be an idea behind it which could be turned to good account, he invited the owner of it to speak out; but was somewhat taken aback when the boy said, "Make a short one!"

He proceeded to act upon the suggestion, to the great satisfaction of the children.

It requires great wisdom to speak short, and sometimes still greater wisdom not to speak at all. We remember a missionary meeting where an effort was being made to raise funds for the purpose of scattering gospel light and truth. At this meeting, after an earnest appeal had been made, and we thought that the prospect was fair for raising two or three thousand dollars, one or two men arose, and instead of offering their own liberal subscriptions, made speeches which seemed lengthy and tedious, exhorting other people to give money, some of which they might, perhaps, have given themselves. But before they had finished, the interest and enthusiasm of the meeting was so dead that it was utterly impossible to resuscitate it. We should judge that these speeches damaged the subscriptions to the extent of perhaps five or ten dollars a minute. Some man, complaining of the high price, at Niagara Falls, said that it cost a dollar to pay a man for opening his mouth and another dollar to get him to shut it. In this case, we judge that a dollar invested in shutting each of these mouths would have been a very profitable investment, so far as the interests of the collection were concerned. Blessed is the man who speaks short, for he shall be asked to speak again; and when work is to be done, and a number of persons are to speak, the man who wearies the audience, and absorbs an undue proportion of time, needs to be instructed in the simple elements of common sense, as well as to be reminded of the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."—Selected.