Chapter 23 Choose a topic you are passionate about

We have repeatedly emphasized before that it is extremely important to have a deep feeling for the topic you want to speak.Unless you have a special preference for your chosen subject, do not expect your audience to believe what you say.The reason is obvious, if you have actual contact and experience with the topic you choose, if you are passionate about it-such as some kind of hobby or recreational pursuit; Don't worry about lack of enthusiasm when speaking. No one in New York more than 20 years ago gave a talk on one of my shifts whose enthusiasm and persuasiveness is still vividly displayed before my eyes.I've heard many convincing speeches, but this one—I call it a case of "bluegrass versus hickory ash"—stands alone as an example of sincerity triumphing over common sense.

In a well-known New York sales company, a first-rate salesman made the perverse claim that he could make "bluegrass" grow without seeds and without roots.According to the storyline he provided, he scattered hickory ashes in the freshly plowed field, and bluegrass appeared in the blink of an eye.He was convinced that hickory ash had magical powers and that only hickory ash was what made the bluegrass grow. Commenting on his speech, I gently pointed out to him that his extraordinary discovery, if true, would make him extremely rich overnight.Because bluegrass seeds are worth a few bucks a bushel.I also told him that this discovery would make him one of the most eminent scientists in the history of mankind.I informed him that no one—living or dead—had ever performed or been able to perform the miracle he claimed to have performed, that is, no one had yet bred new life from inanimate matter.

I told him this calmly, because I felt that his error was too obvious and absurd to require any particular refutation.After I finished speaking, all the students in the class saw the fallacy in his exposition, but he himself didn't see it, and he didn't even realize it for a second.He was passionate about his views, almost beyond redemption.He immediately stood up and told me that he was not wrong.He protested that he was not citing a theory, but merely stating his own experience.He knew the person he was talking to very well, and he continued to speak, expanding the original discussion, presenting more materials, and citing more evidence, with sincerity and enthusiasm in his voice.

I told him again that the chances of his being right were extremely slim.Unexpectedly, he immediately stood up again and proposed to bet me 5 yuan to let the US Department of Agriculture settle the dispute. Do you want to know what strange things happened next?Several students in the class were won over by him to his side.Many people began to be skeptical.If I make a clear vote on this, I believe that more than half of the businessmen in the class will fall to him.I asked them, what had shaken their original argument?One by one they said it was the speaker's zeal and credibility that made them doubt common sense.

Since the students in my class were so gullible, I had to write to the Ministry of Agriculture.I told them how embarrassed I was to ask such a ridiculous question.Sure enough, they replied that it was impossible to make bluegrass or other living things grow out of hickory ash.They also added that they had received another letter from New York asking the same question.It turned out that the salesman was so sure of his proposition that he wrote a letter immediately after sitting down. This incident made me unforgettable all my life, and also gave me a useful enlightenment.A speaker who believes something fervently and strongly, and expresses his opinion fervently and strongly, can gain support for his beliefs, even if he claims that he can grow bluegrass from dust and ashes.In this case, if the beliefs summarized and sorted out in our minds are on the side of common sense and truth, they will have a great driving force.

Almost all speakers will doubt whether the topic they choose will hold the interest of the audience.There's only one way to keep them interested: to ignite your own enthusiasm for the topic, and there's no fear that it won't keep people interested. The following examples illustrate the importance of choosing topics carefully: There is a gentleman, let's call him Mr. John, who attends our courses in our capital, Washington.When he was first in class, he gave a talk one night describing the capital of the United States.The facts he chose, gleaned hastily from a pamphlet published by a local newspaper, sound dry, incoherent, and undigested.Although he has lived in Washington for many years, he has not been able to cite a personal experience to explain why he likes Washington.He just kept listing a series of dry and uninteresting facts.The classmates in the class felt uncomfortable, and he himself was in pain.

An incident happened two weeks later, which made Mr. John miserable.He had a new car parked on the street, and an unknown person drove into it, smashed it to pieces, and the perpetrator, who did not give his name after the incident, fled without a trace.This is a real personal experience.So when he spoke of the battered car, his speech seemed genuine, erupting and boiling like Vesuvius erupting.In the same class, only two weeks apart, the students felt irritable and bored last time, writhing uneasy in their chairs, but now they gave warm applause to Mr. John. I have repeatedly pointed out that if the topic is chosen correctly, you can't even want to succeed.Among the alternative topics, there is one type of topic that is guaranteed not to be wrong, and that is to talk about your own beliefs.You must have some strong beliefs about some aspect of your life around you, so you don't have to go out of your way to find these subjects.They are usually on your conscious level because you think about them from time to time.