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Show WHY WE ARE POOR TALKERS. In olden times the art of eonveisi-tlon eonveisi-tlon reached ,i much hlghei standard than that or toda The d"terloia-tlon d"terloia-tlon Is due to tlio complete revolution of the conditions of modern civ ill 1-tlon 1-tlon Poimeil) people had almost no other wav'of cotiimnnlc.it lug their thoughts than by speech. Knowledge i of all kinds was disseminated almost I wholly tlnoiigh the spDken woid There were no greit d.illv newspapers, no magalnes or pcilodlcals Thi' ic.it dUco cries of vast wealth In the precious mineials, the new world opened up bv the Inventions and disooveiies mid tlio teat hnpetusto 'ambition hau' changed nil this In this IlKhtnfii),' evpiess age, in these strenuous times, when everjdod his the mania to attain wealth and position, posi-tion, we no lonnor liuu time to relied with dellb'eiatlon. and to dee)op our powers of conversation In these great newspaper and periodical dajs, wiien everybody can et foi ono oi a few cents trie news and information which has cost thousands of dollars to collect, everybody sits behind the mag alne or is burled In the morning paper pa-per oi a book There is no longer the saiic need of communlcatlni; thoughts by the spoken word Oratory is becomlnn a lost ait for tlio same reason. Print Inn has become be-come so cheap that even the pool est can (jot niori reaciini,' for a few dollars thun kings and noblemen could alhnd In the Middle Ages It is a raip thing to liml a polished conversationalist toiay. So rare is it to hear one speaking cxiiusitc Knglish and using a supeib diction, that It is a luxury. Wo are not only poor conversationalists, conversational-ists, but we are pool listeners as well Wc are too impatient to listen Instead In-stead of being attentive and eager to drink In the story or the Information, we have not enough rospect for the Ulkr to krppjiiilet. We look about Impatient I), perhars snap our watch plat u tattoo with our lingers on a chair or a table, Illicit about .is If wc 'were bored and anxious to getaway, i and IniPirupt the speaker before he j reaches his conclusion In fact, we are such an Impatient people that we have no time for anything excepting to push ahead, to elbow our w'ay thru the crowd to get the position or the money vvodesiie. Our life Is feverish and unnatural. Wc have notimoto develop charm of manner, or elegance of diction We aie too Intense for repartee re-partee oi epigram We lack time Nervous Impatience is a conspicuous characteJlstlcof the American people for every thihg bores us which does not bring business, or more money, or which does not help us to attain the position for which we are striving Instead In-stead of enjoying our friends, wo arp Inclined to look upon them as so many rungs In a ladder, and to value them In piopoitlon as tney furnish readers for our books, sends us patients or clients, cli-ents, or show their ability to give us a boost for pHlltleal purposes,. Ilefore these dajsof hurry and dilvc and before this age of cxcitemcut, It was considered one of the greatest luxuries possible to be a listener in a group surrounding an intelligent talk-ci talk-ci ' It was bettei than most modern leetiires, than anything out could lind hi a book; for there was a touch of pcrsonallt). a charm of style a mag nctlsni which held, a superb poisonal-ity poisonal-ity which fascinated Tor the hungry soul, y earning for an education, to drink In knowledge, from those wise lips was to be fed wltharojal feast indeed, lint today ever) thing Is "touch and go." We have no time to stoponthe street and give a decent salutation. It Is a nor) of the head Instead of a graceful bow. We have no time for the graces and the charms We have no time for the development develop-ment of a line manner- the charm of the dajs of chivalry and leisure has almost vanished from our civilization. A new type of Individual has sprung up. We work like Trojans during the dav, and then rush to the theatre or I other place of amusement in the evening even-ing Wc have no time to make our own amusement or to develop the faculty fac-ulty of humor and fun-making as people peo-ple used to do, but pay theru for doing that while wc. sit and laugh We are like college boys, who depend upon tutors to carry them through their examinations. One cause for our conversational decline de-cline is a lack of svmpathy. We are too s.'ltlsh, too busily engaged in our own welfare, and wrapped up In our own little world, too intent upon our own self-promotion to be Intereste'' in any other. No one can make a good conversationalist con-versationalist who is not sympathetic You must be able toenttr Into the other life, to live It with the other person, to be a good listener or a good talker. Success |