[Ads-l] Advice: Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em; then tell 'em; then tell 'em what you told 'em.

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The Quote Investigator website now has an entry with a slightly
earlier citation in 1908, and a bonus discussion of Aristotle's
"Rhetoric". Feedback welcome.

Tell ‘Em What You’re Going To Tell ‘Em; Next, Tell ‘Em; Next, Tell ‘Em
What You Told ‘Em
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/08/15/tell-em/

Date: 1908 August 13, 1908
Newspaper: Northern Daily Mail (Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail)
Newspaper Location: Durham, England
Article: Three Parts of a Sermon
Quote Page 3, Column 4,
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Mr. Jowett, of Birmingham, tells of a lay preachers’ conference, in
which a veteran described his method of sermon preparation. “I take my
text,” he said, “and divide my sermon into three parts. In the first
part I tell ’em what I am going to tell ’em; in the second part—well,
I tell ’em; in the third part I tell ’em what I’ve told ’em.”—The
“Sunday Strand.”
[End excerpt]

Garson


On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 2:36 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> I received a request to trace the popular tripartite advice given to
> speechmakers which is presented in the subject line. This guidance has
> been attributed to Aristotle and Dale Carnegie. Below are three early
> cites I found. The phrasing is variable which makes it difficult (for
> me) to trace. Insights and earlier citations would be welcome.
>
> [ref] 1909, The Brotherhood and the Church: Report of the Third
> Convention of the Presbyterian Brotherhood of America, at Pittsburg,
> February Twenty-Third to Twenty-Fifth Nineteen-Nine, Article:
> Greetings from the Baptist Brotherhood  by Rev. Fred. E. Marble,
> Ph.D., General Secretary, Start Page 134, Quote Page 134, The
> Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
> (HathiTrust Full View) link [/ref]
>
> https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t57d41q38
> https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t57d41q38?urlappend=%3Bseq=140
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> From what I have seen and heard since my arrival this morning I am
> persuaded that anything I might say would be a twice-told tale. It
> would be like the sermonizing of an old minister of whom I heard in
> England last summer. When asked how he did it, he replied, "First I
> tells 'em what I am going to tell 'em, second I tells 'em and third I
> tells 'em what I told 'em." (Laughter.)
> [End excerpt]
>
>
> [ref] 1910 January 13, The Christian Register, Pleasantries, Quote
> Page 56, Column 1, Published by The Christian Register, Boston,
> Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=kt4fAQAAMAAJ&q=%22told+em%22#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Rev. J.H . Jowett of Birmingham, England, tells of a lay preachers'
> conference, in which a veteran described his method of sermon
> preparation. "I take my text," he said, "and divide my sermon into
> three parts. In the first part I tell 'em what I am going to tell 'em;
> in the second part—well, I tell 'em; in the third part I tell 'em what
> I've told 'em." —Christian Endeavor World.
> [End excerpt]
>
>
> [ref] 1911, Proceedings of the New Jersey Conference of Charities and
> Corrections, Tenth Annual Meeting, Held in Princeton, New Jersey on
> April 2 through 4, 1911, Section: Session on Homes in the Country,
> Article: Living Conditions in Rural Communities, An Address by
> Professor Royal Meeker, Princeton, New Jersey, Start Page 226, Quote
> Page 226, MacCrellish & Quigley, State Printers, Trenton, New Jersey.
> (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=vnYXAAAAYAAJ&q=%22tell+em%22#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> I might tell the story of the very successful English lay-clergyman
> who was asked, once upon a time, how he constructed his sermons. He
> replied: "Well, I always divide my sermons into three parts. First, I
> tell 'em what I'm going to tell 'em; secondly, well, I tell 'em what I
> tell 'em; and, third, I tell 'em what I have told 'em." Now, if I
> followed that plan, I think we would need to prolong the Conference
> until the coming day.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson

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