The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 15.1967  Wednesday, 17 November 2004

From:           Al Magary <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Tuesday, 16 Nov 2004 15:25:55 -0800
Subject:        A Few Quick Words

A Canadian businessman named Sean Shannon can't claim to be the world's
fastest talker, merely the most rapid reciter of Hamlet's "To be..."
soliloquy:  260 words in 23.8 seconds.  I tracked down the audio for
this feat at a BBC Polish ESL
site-http://www.bbc.co.uk/polish/specials/1447_extreme_eng/page9.shtml
(it starts at 1:44 into the audio segment).  He told Reuters what his
secret is:  "To reach that pitch of verbal perfection, Shannon finds it
best to empty the mind completely before embarking on his word sprints.
  'I think it is important NOT to think about what you are saying. I
gather newscasters do an entire newscast without understanding a word
they say. They just say it convincingly and this is probably the best
way.'"
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=621979§ion=news

Exit, pursued by a black cat,
Al Magary

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