Voice Training for Workers
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Some of our most talented ministers are doing themselves great
injury by their defective manner of speaking. While teaching the
people their duty to obey God’s moral law, they should not be found
violating the laws of God in regard to health and life. Ministers should
stand erect, and speak slowly, firmly, and distinctly, taking a full
inspiration of air at every sentence, and throwing out the words by
exercising the abdominal muscles. If they will observe this simple
rule, giving attention to the laws of health in other respects, they
may preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any
other profession. The chest will become broader, and ...the speaker
need seldom become hoarse, even by constant speaking. Instead of
becoming consumptives, ministers may, by exercising care, overcome
all tendency to consumption.
Unless ministers educate themselves to speak in accordance with
physical law, they will sacrifice life, and many will mourn the loss of
“those martyrs to the cause of truth;” when the facts in the case are,
that by indulging in wrong habits, they did injustice to themselves and
to the truth which they represented, and robbed God and the world of
the service they might have rendered. God would have been pleased
to have them live, but they slowly committed suicide.
The manner in which the truth is presented often has much to do in
determining whether it will be accepted or rejected. All who labor in
the great cause of reform should study to become efficient workmen,
that they may accomplish the greatest possible amount of good, and
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not detract from the force of the truth by their own deficiencies.
Ministers and teachers should discipline themselves to articulate
clearly and distinctly, allowing the full sound to every word. Those
who talk rapidly, from the throat, jumbling the words together, and
raising the voice to an unnaturally high pitch, soon become hoarse, and
the words spoken lose half the force which they would have if spoken
slowly, distinctly, and not so loud. They sympathies of the hearers are
awakened for the speaker; for they know that he is doing violence to
himself, and they fear that he will break down at any moment. It is
no evidence that a man has zeal for God because he works himself up
into a frenzy of excitement and gesticulation. “Bodily exercise,” says
the apostle, “profiteth little.” [
1 Timothy 4:8
.]