Tactfully, gracefully, courteously, put before the audience such facts as the occasion, the reason for the topic of the speech, the fitness and appropriateness of the choice of the speaker, then present the man or woman.  Be extremely careful of facts and names.  A nominating speaker at a great political convention ruined the effect of a speech by confusedly giving several first names to a distinguished man.  It is embarrassing to a speaker to have to correct at the very beginning of his remarks a misstatement made by the presiding officer.  But a man from one university cannot allow the audience to identify him with another.  The author of a book wants its title correctly given.  A public official desires to be associated in people’s minds with the department he actually controls.

The main purpose of a speech of introduction is to do for the succeeding speaker what the chapter on beginning the speech suggested—­to render the audience attentive and well-disposed, to introduce the topic, and in addition to present the speaker.

Choosing a Theme.  The speaker at a special occasion must choose the theme with due regard to the subject and the occasion.  Frequently his theme will be suggested to him, so that it will already bear a close relation to the occasion when he begins its preparation.  The next matter he must consider with extreme care is the treatment.  Shall it be serious, informative, argumentative, humorous, scoffing, ironic?  To decide this he must weigh carefully the significance of the occasion.  Selecting the inappropriate manner of treatment means risking the success of the speech.  Recall how many men and speeches you have heard criticized as being “out of harmony with the meeting,” or “not in spirit with the proceedings,” and you will realize how necessary to the successful presentation is this delicate adjustment of the speech to the mood of the circumstances.

The After-dinner Speech.  When men and women have met to partake of good food under charming surroundings and have enjoyed legitimate gastronomic delights it is regrettable that a disagreeable element should be added by a series of dull, long-winded, un-appropriate after-dinner speeches.  The preceding adjectives suggest the chief faults of those persons who are repeatedly asked to speak upon such occasions.  They so often miss the mark.  Because after-dinner speaking is so informal it is proportionally difficult.  When called upon, a person feels that he must acknowledge the compliment by saying something.  This, however, is not really enough.  He must choose his theme and style of treatment from the occasion.  If the toastmaster assign the topic he is safe so far as that is concerned, but he must still be careful of his treatment.