A practical manual argues for extemporaneous speaking over memorized essays and compares unwritten and written discourse while listing intellectual and physical prerequisites such as knowledge, voice, courage, and self-reliance. It emphasizes methods of preparation and cultivation—imagination, language, gesture, earnestness, and study habits—and recommends ways to acquire general, biblical, and theological learning. A detailed section uses sermon composition as a model for selecting subjects, arranging material, using notes, opening and concluding effectively, and improving subsequent performances. Additional chapters address secular oratory and lecturing, and the volume closes with sketches of eminent speakers and a chairman's guide for conducting public meetings under parliamentary rules.