[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]

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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