Franklin D. Roosevelt? James Roosevelt? Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher? William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr.? C. Z. Weiser? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Successful public speaking is both difficult and stressful, but it can be highly rewarding. The following tripartite guidance is both cogent and humorous. Here are two versions:
Be brief, be sincere. and be seated.
Be sincere, be brief, and be seated.
These words have been credited to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest ascription to Franklin D. Roosevelt located by QI appeared in “The Washington Post” in January 1940. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
The other day James Roosevelt opened a talk he made at Hollywood by saying: “My father gave me these hints on speechmaking. Be sincere … be brief … be seated.”
Thus, there is some evidence that F.D.R. employed the expression while conversing with his son James. However, the remark was already circulating before 1940, and it is unlikely that F.D.R. coined it.
For example, in February 1935 U.S. actor Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher appeared on stage in a farce titled “Hollywood Holiday”. After a successful performance there were multiple curtain calls. When Gallagher appeared he delivered a one-line speech:2
Gallagher said his mother had often told him, “When you are called upon to make a speech, always be brief, sincere and be seated.”
It is conceivable that the expression was originally crafted by the mother of Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, but the existence of other apparently unrelated citations in 1935 suggest to QI that the creator remains anonymous.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1880 an entertaining precursor expression occurred within a speech delivered by Dr. C. Z. Weiser at the commencement exercises of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania:3
After keeping the guests in merriment for fully half an hour, the Doctor closed with advice to young men as to the best method of becoming successful public speakers — “Stand up, speak up and then shut up.”
The three parts are connected via the repetition of the word “up”. The saying under study uses a similar idea. The three parts are connected via the recurrence of “be”.
This precursor expression also circulated in England. For example, in 1896 an instance appeared in a London newspaper:4
Mr. A. Hall, of Uxbridge, addressed the gathering upon the words, “Stand up, speak up, and shut up.” Members of the Band of Hope and total abstainers generally should stand up for their principles, and speak up for the cause with which they were associated, and all could shut up their mouths against intoxicating drink.
In February 1935 Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher employed the saying under investigation as mentioned previously in this article:
Gallagher said his mother had often told him, “When you are called upon to make a speech, always be brief, sincere and be seated.”
In March 1935 U.S. actor William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr. employed the saying according to “The Hollywood Reporter”. Collier credited his father:5
Buster Collier was called upon to address a meeting of Broadwayites last night. “My father gave me these hints on speech-making,” were Buster’s words. “Be sincere . . . be brief . . . be seated!”
In June 1935 a newspaper in Green Bay, Wisconsin described a religious banquet held at a local hotel. The toastmaster Reverend Delbert Basche employed the saying:6
All expressed the happiness of the day in past, present, and future phases, and all fulfilled the requirements set down by the toastmaster, to “be brief, be sincere, and be seated.”
In January 1940 “The Washington Post” reported that James Roosevelt credited his father Franklin D. Roosevelt with the advice as mentioned previously in this article:7
The other day James Roosevelt opened a talk he made at Hollywood by saying: “My father gave me these hints on speechmaking. Be sincere … be brief … be seated.”
Interestingly, the article above described the saying as a:
… variant of the old advice to “stand up . . . speak up . . .shut up.”
In May 1940 the saying appeared in an Atwood, Kansas newspaper with an anonymous attribution:8
The best advice that can be given to a speaker is: be brief, be sincere, be seated. — (Borrowed)
In June 1940 the high-circulation periodical “Reader’s Digest” printed the following:9
Said James Roosevelt, addressing a meeting in Hollywood, “My father gave me these hints on speech-making: ‘Be sincere … be brief . . . be seated.’”
— George Ross in N. Y. World-Telegram
Also, in June 1940 U.S. actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks Jr. used the saying during a speech:10
. . . Douglas Fairbanks Jr., arrived late and was ushered to the speaker’s table. Quite breathless, Doug looked out over the sea of salesmen faces and said: “I am totally unprepared, gentlemen, so I shall try to remember that the secret of good speech making is to ‘be sincere, be brief and be seated!’
The connection to William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr. was not forgotten. In December 1940 popular gossip columnist Hedda Hopper ascribed the saying to Collier:11
Wiliam Collier’s advice to public speakers: Be sincere, be brief, be seated.
In 1943 “Esar’s Comic Dictionary” compiled by Evan Esar printed the saying without attribution:12
public speaking. 1. The art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary. 2. The three secrets of success in public speaking are: be sincere, be brief, be seated
In 1966 “Presidential Wit from Washington to Johnson” compiled by Bill Adler included this item:13
FDR’s advice to his son James on speechmaking: “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”
In 1988 “A Father’s Book of Wisdom” compiled by H. Jackson Brown Jr. contained the following:14
How To Make A Speech:
Be Sincere
Be Brief
Be Seated
— Dad
In conclusion, the earliest evidence located by QI appeared in February 1935 when Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher attributed an instance to his mother. Shortly afterwards in March 1935 William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr. credited his father. Also, in June 1935 another citation appeared. This collection of temporally close citations indicate to QI that the creator was anonymous.
In January 1940 James Roosevelt credited his father Franklin D. Roosevelt with the saying. Thus, the Roosevelts helped to popularize the saying, but it was already in circulation.
Image Notes: Picture of empty seats from Hansjörg Keller at Unsplash. The image has been cropped.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Calvin Engime whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
Update History: On May 12, 2024 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated. Also, the full article was placed on this website.
- 1940 January 13, The Washington Post, My Friends, Quote Page 8, Column 2 and 3, Washington, D.C. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1935 February 16, Journal-Every Evening, Movie Stars Back To Stage by W. P. F., Quote Page 19, Column 1, Wilmington, Delaware. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1880 June 19, The Weekly New Era, Commencement: Franklin and Marshall College, Quote Page 5, Column 3, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1896 January 25, The Middlesex County Times, Southall: Band of Hope Anniversary, Quote Page 7, Column 6, Ealing, London, England. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1935 March 12, The Hollywood Reporter, Last Night On Broadway, Quote Page 14, Column 4, Hollywood, California. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1935 June 17, Green Bay Press-Gazette, 200 Guests at Banquet, Quote Page 8, Column 6, Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1940 January 13, The Washington Post, My Friends, Quote Page 8, Column 2 and 3, Washington, D.C. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1940 May 2, The Citizen-Patriot, (Filler item), Quote Page 6, Column 2, Atwood, Kansas. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1940 June, Reader’s Digest, Volume 36, Number 218, (Filler item), Quote Page 110, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎
- 1940 June 2, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Movie-Go-Round, Section 4, Quote Page 6, Column 4, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1940 December 7, Los Angeles Times, Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood by Hedda Hopper, Quote Page 9, Column 8, Los Angeles, California. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1943, Esar’s Comic Dictionary by Evan Esar, Entry: public speaking, Quote Page 224, Harvest House, New York. (Verified on with hard copy) ↩︎
- 1966, Presidential Wit from Washington to Johnson, Compiled and Edited by Bill Adler, Chapter: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Quote Page 165, Trident Press, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1988, A Father’s Book of Wisdom by H. Jackson Brown Jr., Topic: Observations, Quote Page 145, Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, Tennessee. (Verified with scans) ↩︎