Chapter 3 Take courage from the experience of others

There are no natural public speakers.There was a time when public speaking was considered a fine art, one that required careful rhetorical, grammatical, and an elegant manner of speaking.In such circumstances, it is even more difficult to be a natural public speaker.Now that we think of speaking as a broader conversation, people are tired of the overblown presentations of the past.When we have dinner with someone, go to church, watch TV, or listen to the radio, we all like to hear the truth from others, and we like topics that provoke thought and discussion, rather than a speaker who is just talking. Just preaching.

Public speaking is an open art, not like many school textbooks make it out to be: an art that can be mastered by a select few and requires years of training in perfecting one's voice and intonation and using complex Knowledge of grammar and rhetoric is required to succeed.But in fact, it's not.My entire teaching career has been about showing people that speaking in public is not difficult at all, as long as you follow some simple but important rules. In 1912, when I began to teach the cadets of the adult training class at the Young Christians' Association on 125th Street in New York City, I felt the same way as those early cadets.I teach in much the same way I was educated as a college student in Wallenberg, Missouri.But this approach was quickly proven wrong-I even taught adults in the business world as if they were just college students.I found that the theories of famous speakers such as Webster, Burke Pitt, and O'Connell cannot be used. Letting students blindly follow imitation will not improve their actual speech ability at all.What the trainees who pay to attend the training get is the courage to stand up and speak up in order to present a clear and coherent presentation at the next business meeting.So, I completely abandoned those textbooks.Just rely on some simple concepts and discuss them directly on the stage with the students until they can effectively present their own reports.It seems that my trick is really working, because people who ask for training keep coming, and they all want more training.

Through my training and their personal efforts, these trainees quickly realized their wishes, so they wrote a special letter to express their gratitude.Among these many people, one example popped into my mind as I was writing this book and has had a great impact on me.Let's take a look at the story first: Years ago, Mr. D. W. Gantt, a successful Philadelphian businessman, signed up for my training class and invited me to lunch shortly after he attended.At the dinner table, he leaned forward and said to me: "Sir, I used to try my best to avoid the opportunity to speak in various gatherings, but this kind of opportunity is too much for me. Sometimes I have to Speak a few words. Now that I have been elected president of a university, I have to come out and chair every meeting. From your point of view, a man of my age. Is it possible to learn to speak in public?"

I assured him, because it was not uncommon in my training classes, but they have changed a lot since then, and of course I am sure Mr. Gant will do the same. About three years later, we had lunch again at the same restaurant, at the same table, and it reminded me of our conversation, so I brought up that conversation and asked him if his original prophecy had come true.He smiled slightly, and took out a small red leather notebook from his pocket, which contained a schedule of his speeches, and the schedule had been scheduled for several months.He said: "It is a kind of enjoyment to be able to stand on the podium and give a speech. The speech can bring endless joy and achieve some unexpected effects. This is the happiest and most satisfying thing in my life."

The matter was more than that. Mr. Gant then told a very proud thing: Once, the British Prime Minister was invited to come to Philadelphia and gave a speech in a church.The prime minister rarely comes to the United States, and the Philadelphian who accompanied the prime minister on his visit and was responsible for explaining it was Mr. Gantt.What an honor it made him! It was Mr. Gant who sat at the table with me in this restaurant three years ago and asked me timidly: "Sir, can I also talk freely in public one day?" It was not some magical force that made Mr. Gant's ability to speak so rapid; he was just a common case in my seminars.There are hundreds of similar examples in my training classes.Let me give another example at random.

A few winters ago, Cordis, a Brooklyn doctor, went on vacation to Florida.The location of his vacation happened to be not far from the training ground of the "Giants".He himself is also very fond of baseball, and he often goes to watch them practice when he is on vacation.Before long, he became good friends with some players and was invited by them to a banquet in honor of the team. After the waiter brought the coffee and sweets, the guests invited several VIPs to come on stage to "say a few words".The host of the banquet announced: "A friend from the medical field is here tonight. We specially invite Dr. Curtis to talk to us about the health problems of baseball players." will be invited to speak.

Is this an esoteric and unfamiliar topic for Dr. Curtis?of course not!He should have a good grasp of this issue, and he doesn't even need to prepare at all, because he studies health care and has practiced medicine for more than 30 years.If you sit down with him, he can talk to you about it, even all night long.But now the host asked him to speak in public, even though he was going to speak on the same issue, and only to a group of people in front of him-but that was another matter.To him, it seemed like a conundrum that he was overwhelmed with.His heart rate doubled, and as soon as he meditated, it stopped beating.He had never spoken in public before, and at this moment all the thoughts in his mind seemed to fly away with wings.

At this time, everyone at the banquet was applauding vigorously.Everyone looked at Dr. Curtis, who shook his head in refusal.But the more he did this, the more enthusiastic applause he attracted, and the guests asked him to speak on stage. "Doctor Curtis, please say a few words, please say a few words!" People's voices became louder and more determined, making it impossible for him to refuse. This situation really made Dr. Curtis feel extremely sad.Because he knows best that if he stands up and talks to everyone, he won't be able to utter five or six complete sentences.In desperation, he had no choice but to stand up, without saying a word, turned his back to his friend, and walked out silently.He felt very embarrassed, and felt that this was a great shame for himself.He felt that he had failed so badly that he couldn't even speak to the crowd!

And so signing up for my effective speaking training course became the first thing he did back in Brooklyn.He didn't want to be in that embarrassment that made people blush and be speechless again. The teachers in the training class like this kind of students the most, because such students have deeply realized an urgent need, and eagerly hope that they have a blurred and amazing speech ability.In every training session, he thoroughly prepared his lecture notes, actively practiced them, and never missed every class in the training session. He trains so hard and improves at a speed that surprises himself and exceeds his self-expected expectations.After the first few training sessions, his nervousness was completely eliminated and his confidence grew.Two months later, he had become an excellent speaker in the training class, and soon he was invited by many places to give speeches in various places.Now, he already likes the feeling of speaking very much, as well as the unique joy.Through speeches, he won honors and made more friends.

A member of the New York City Republican campaign committee, after hearing one of Cordis's speeches, immediately invited him around the city to speak for the Republican Party.If anyone had said to the statesman that a year earlier the orator he admired had turned away in shame and bewilderment because he was speechless and afraid to face the audience, This politician must be taken aback, beyond belief! Gaining in yourself the confidence, courage, and ability to think calmly and clearly when you're speaking in front of a group is not as difficult as most people think, and it's not a gift from God. someone's gift.Just like golf, anyone can tap into their latent abilities if only they have the desire to do so.Yet another example:

One day, a visitor came to my office. He was Mr. David Goodrich, Chairman of B. P. Goodrich Company.As soon as he entered the door, he said: "In my life, whenever I want to speak, there is never a time when I am not panicked. As the chairman of the company, it is impossible for me not to preside over the meeting. The directors are all regular visitors I have known for many years. Well, when people are sitting around the table, I can talk to them without any problems. But when I get up and talk, I'm so terrified that I can't say a word. It's been like this for years. I don't believe you Can you help me, because I have a very serious problem, and it has been going on for a long time." "Well," I said, "if you don't think I can help you, why did you come to me?" "Because I really want to try my luck," he replied. "I have an accountant who handles my private accounts. He is usually very shy. When he goes into his office, he has to go through my Office. For many years, whenever he walked by my office, he would tiptoe, keep his eyes on the ground, and rarely say a word. But recently, he seems to have changed a lot. Now when he walks into my office, his jaw lifts. When I woke up, there was a little light in his eyes, and he greeted me proactively: "Good morning, Mr. Goodlitch." He spoke and walked with confidence and radiance. I was very surprised by this change in him, and then Ask him: 'Who cast a spell on you to make you change like this?' He told me that he took your speech training course and became who he is now. That's why I want to come Let me try it with you." I firmly told Mr. Goodlitch that by coming to the classes regularly and really following the training, he would enjoy speaking in public within a few weeks. "If you really made me do that, I'd be one of the happiest people in the world," he replied. Later, he really signed up for my training class and insisted on attending the class. Just as I imagined, he made rapid progress in the class. Three months later, I invited him to a party of a thousand in the ballroom of the Astor Hotel and arranged for him to talk about the help he had received from our training.He said he was sorry, but he couldn't go because of a prior appointment.But the next day, he called me and said, "I want to apologize to you, I canceled my appointment. I'm coming to the party and accepting your speaking arrangement, which I owe you. I'm going to train I want to tell everyone the truth about what I have gained in life. I do this because I want to inspire everyone through my own personal experience, so that they can also take the initiative to eliminate the sense of fear that ruined their lives." Originally, I only arranged for him to speak for two minutes, but in the end he spoke in front of thousands of people for more than ten minutes! There are probably far more than thousands of similar miraculous stories in my training classes.I have seen men and women who have completely transformed their lives and careers as a result of their training. Many have achieved coveted promotions, and others have achieved prominence both professionally and socially.A good speech is enough to make a person's success.Let's take a look at the story of Mario Lajo. A few years ago, I was surprised to receive a telegram from Cuba.The telegram said: "Unless you send a telegram to object, otherwise, I will come to New York to receive your speech training." The letter was signed by "Mario Lajo".Who he was, I can't remember, and I've never heard of him. After arriving in New York, Mr. Lajo explained: "Havana Country Club is celebrating the founder's 50th birthday. I was invited to attend and wanted to present him with a silver cup, and I would also be the host of the evening. Although I am a lawyer , but have never given a public speech before. Thinking about this speech, I am terrified. If I behave badly, it will embarrass me and my wife in social situations. Besides, it will also reduce my status in front of customers. Therefore, I came here from Cuba to ask for your help. I can only stay for 3 weeks." During those three weeks, I moved Mario from class to class, giving three or four speeches a night. Three weeks later, he attended a grand party at the "Havana Country Club" and delivered a speech.His speech was so brilliant that "Time" magazine even made a special report in its "Foreign News" column and praised him as "a silver-tongued orator". This story sounds like a miracle to us, right?It is a miracle indeed—the miracle of overcoming fear in the 20th century.But this is also a fact of my own experience!