He very soon acquired the reputation of being the best public speaker of his time. He had taken pains to master the art, approaching it with scientific precision. On the morning of a day on which he was giving a speech, he once told Wilkie Collins, he would take a long walk during which he would establish the various headings to be dealt with. Then, in his mind’s eye, he would arrange them as on a cart wheel, with himself as the hub and each heading a spoke. As he dealt with a subject, the relevant imaginary spoke would drop out. When there were no more spokes, the speech was at an end. Close observers of Dickens noticed that while he was speaking he would make a quick action of the finger at the end of each topic, as if he were knocking the spoke away. . Simon Callow
Some Similar Quotes
  1. Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you go, and fix it along the way… - Paul Arden
  2. Be a worthy worker and work will come. - Amit Kalantri
  3. Great losses are great lessons. - Amit Kalantri
  4. €7, 500, first-class, everything–and all that for 40 minutes selling them some old stuff. - Unknown
  5. Fail soon so that you can succeed sooner. - Amit Kalantri
More Quotes By Simon Callow
  1. To enter a theatre for a performance is to be inducted into a magical space, to be ushered into the sacred arena of the imagination.
  2. He very soon acquired the reputation of being the best public speaker of his time. He had taken pains to master the art, approaching it with scientific precision. On the morning of a day on which he was giving a speech, he once told Wilkie...
  3. My mother wanted me to be a teacher. She had this vision of me walking across the quadrangle in an Oxford college wearing my academic gown.
  4. Bleak House is just the most astounding piece of work. There's huge, visionary poetry in it.
Related Topics