November 12, 2025

Humming, Hawing and Hesitation are the three Graces of contemporary Parliamentary oratory.

Julian Critchley (1930–2000), British Conservative politician, journalist, Westminster Blues (1985), Jay p.104

When speaking in public, are you a hummer? A hawer? A hesitator? Or all three? What have you done to improve your oratory?

Not every politician is a born orator. Indeed, some are boredom-inducers of the first rank. If you are among the latter, even marginally so, determine once and for all that you will never assume that a captive audience is an interested audience. Keep it short! Practice! Practice! Practice!