Chapter 63 make your speech more natural

To speak naturally is to make your speech clearer and more vivid. In fact, these are not mysterious, when you talk to people, you have actually used most of these principles, and you may not feel that you have used them at all, just like you will eat dinner The food digested so naturally.Hey, that's exactly the way you're going to use these principles, and it's the only way.In speaking, there is really no other way to achieve this state than practice, as we have said many times before.Specific suggestions are as follows: In everyday conversation, we should emphasize some important words and skip over others.This is also the way to deal with the entire sentence, so that some important words, words, and sentences can be highlighted.

Let me give you an example, read aloud the following passage from General Napoleon, the elicited words are pronounced emphatically, and the other words are pronounced quickly.How do you feel about the effect? "I can 'succeed' in whatever work I decide to do because I am 'decided'. I never 'decide' so I am above the rest of the world." Of course, this is not the only way to read this passage, and another speaker may pronounce it differently than you.How to emphasize the tone, and there is no certain rules, it depends on the situation. Read the following little poem aloud with enthusiasm, trying to make the meaning clear and persuasive.See if you are emphasizing the important words and saying the unimportant ones quickly?

"If you think you're beaten, well you are. "If you think you're not defeated, you can't fail. "If you want to win but think you can't, "It is certain that you will not win." In life it's not always the strong or the fastest who wins, it's the ones who think they can win in the end. There is perhaps nothing more important in a man's personality than firm determination.If you want to be a great person in the future, or plan to become a great person in the future, you must make up your mind. When we are talking with people, the voice tends to go from high to low, and this state of high and low will continue to repeat, just like the surface of the sea.Why is this?I'm afraid no one knows, and no one cares.But it's a pleasant way to do it, and it's a natural way to do it.We never have to learn to express it this way.We have been able to speak in this way since childhood, we don't need to pursue it, we just learn it unconsciously.But as soon as we stand up and face the audience, our voices are as dull, flat and monotonous as the Nevada desert.If you find yourself speaking in a monotonous voice--usually a high-pitched voice--pause for a moment and say to yourself, "I'm talking like an Indian carved out of wood. .Speak humanly and naturally to these people in the audience.”

Would it be any help to say these words to myself when I was in such an embarrassing situation?Maybe a little.At least a little pause will help you.But you usually have to practice more to develop your own solution. You can make any sentence or word you pick stand out like that green laurel tree in your front yard.You can achieve this simply by raising or lowering your voice abruptly when speaking these prominent sentences.Dr. Cadman, a well-known Congregational Church pastor in Brooklyn, New York, often does this, as do Sir Oliver Roger, Brian, and Roosevelt.Almost every famous speaker does it—it's an immutable law of speech.

Here are three quotes from famous people, you can try to read them again, but when you read the words in quotation marks, you should lower your voice very low.See how it works? When children speak, or when we usually talk to people, we always change the speed of our speech.This method is very pleasant to listen to, very natural, does not make people feel strange, and has an emphatic effect.In fact, this is the best way to make a point stand out. Walter Stevens tells us in his book "Lincoln Through the Eyes of a Reporter" that this was one of Lincoln's favorite ways of emphasizing a point:

He would utter a few words at a rapid pace, and when it came to the word or sentence he wished to emphasize, he would let his voice draw out and speak each word heavily, and then, like lightning, Sentences are finished quickly... He prolongs the word or sentence he wants to emphasize almost as long as he spends on the other five or six unimportant sentences. Speaking in this way is bound to get the listener's attention.To illustrate with another example: I often quote the following speech by Bishop Gibbons in my lectures.I like to emphasize the tone of my quotations, so I always draw out the important words as much as I can, and bring them up for emphasis, as if I were moved by them myself—and I was really moved too.Please read it aloud, try this method, and see how it works.

Try the following experiment: Say $30 million quickly, in a flat tone that makes it sound like it's a small amount of money.Then, say $30,000 again, slowly and with a heavy feeling, as if you were extremely impressed by the sheer amount of money.Does that sound like $30,000 is more than $30 million? ! Lincoln often paused in the middle of the conversation.When he said something he thought was important, and he hoped that his audience would leave a deep impression on his mind, he would lean forward and look directly into the other person's eyes for a full minute. For a long time, but did not say a word.This sudden silence has the same effect as a sudden noise, that is, it attracts people's attention.Doing this will cause everyone to pay attention, become alert, and listen to what the other person is going to say next.

For example, as the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate drew to a close, he was dismayed by all indications that he had lost, and the anguish of his demeanor eroded him, which served instead to serve as the basis for his speech. Added a lot of tragic and touching atmosphere.In his last lecture he stopped suddenly and stood silent for a minute, looking at the faces of the audience before him who were half friends, half spectators, with his sunken, melancholy eyes as usual, It seemed to be full of tears that had never been shed.He pressed his hands together as if they were too weary for the helpless struggle, and then, in his characteristic monotonous voice, said: "My friends, whether Judge Douglas or myself Elected to the United States Senate, that's inconsequential, it doesn't matter at all; but the big question we put before you today is what matters, far above any personal interest and any personal political future. Friends ’” Here he paused again, and the audience waited with bated breath for fear of missing a word, “even when Judge Douglas’ and my own poor, frail, useless tongue lay in its grave, The problem will continue to live, breathe and burn."

A biographer for him pointed out: "These simple words, as well as his speech attitude at the time, deeply touched everyone's heart." Lincoln often paused after saying what he wanted to emphasize.By keeping silent, he amplifies the power of these words, but also makes their meaning enter the heart of the listener, and has a huge impact on the other party. The following passage is excerpted from Herman's "Lively Talking," where I have noted the pauses.I am not saying that the places I have marked are the only places a speaker should pause, or that they are the best places to pause.I'm just saying, it's one of the ways to pause.Where should stop is not static, it should be determined according to its meaning, atmosphere and feeling.If you pause at one point in your speech today, you may pause at another point when you give the same speech tomorrow.

Read the following passage aloud without pausing.Then read it again, pausing where I marked it.Take a look, what is the effect of pausing? "Selling merchandise is a battle?" (Pause, let the "battle" enter the audience's mind), "Only the fighters win." (Pause, let this enter the audience's mind) "Maybe we don't like this situations, but we can neither create them nor change them." (Pause) "When you step into sales, take your courage." (Pause) "If you don't, (Pause, put suspense 1 second) Every time you strike out, you're going to get struck out and get nothing but a string of zeros." (Pause) "A hitter who fears the pitcher never gets to three Base." (Pause, let your statement sink into the audience's mind) "Keep this in mind." (Pause, let it go deeper) "Be able to hit the ball far, or even let the ball fly The net, the one who hits the home run, is usually the player; as he steps into position, (Pause, and lengthen the suspense a little, to keep everyone attentive to what you're going to say about this great hitter) I have made a firm decision in my heart.”

Read the following quotes from famous people out loud and powerfully.Notice where you pause naturally. A speaker who follows the guidelines I've laid out in this chapter will probably still have a hundred flaws in his talk.Had he spoken exactly as he usually talks to people, his voice might have been unpleasant, he had made grammatical errors, and his manner was rude. Plus, there might be some unpleasant moves.One's uninhibited conversation in everyday life may itself need much improvement.Therefore, first bring your daily conversation to a state of perfect naturalness, and then bring this method to the podium.