Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1108IR // #c1108Synthesis

"It is as hard to kindle enthusiasm in a scattered audience as to build a fire with scattered sticks." "Have your audience seated compactly."

— In our words · Source: The Art of Public Speaking (J. Berg Esenwein & Dale Carnegie)

[Use when]

Forty people are scattered across a room for three hundred.

[Why it matters]

The authors say feeling catches across a packed crowd and dies across empty benches, and point out that St. Peter's moves ordinary services into side chapels.

Filed under situations:When you need a yes and they’re not there yet

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