Chapter 64 Typhoon and Personality

Typhoon and personality are important factors that determine the success or failure of a speech.Only by being natural and sincere can we win the trust of the audience.On one occasion, the Carnegie Institute of Technology conducted an intelligence test on 100 famous business people.The content of the test was similar to that given to the Army during the war.The institute finally announced the results of the test solemnly: Among the various factors for a person's career success, the importance of personality is far more important than his intelligence. This is a conclusion of great significance: for businessmen, very important; for education, very important; for professionals, very important; and for speakers, very important.

Personality is probably the most important factor in a successful speech, aside from preparation.The famous speaker Albert Hubbard once said, "In a speech, it is the attitude of the speech, not the words of the script, that wins the trust of the audience." I would like to paraphrase his statement slightly, It should be an attitude plus a concept.But individuality is a vague and elusive thing, like the scent of violets, beyond the grasp of even the ablest analyst.Personality is the totality of a person: physical, mental, and psychological, as well as heredity, preferences, tendencies, temperaments, thoughts, energy, experience, training, and all life circumstances.It's as complicated as Einstein's theory of relativity, and it's likewise only a handful of people understand it.

Personality is determined by heredity and environment and is extremely difficult to change or improve, but we can enhance it to a degree that makes it more powerful and attractive.In any case, we can all try to make the best use of this wonderful thing that nature has given us.This goal is of considerable importance to each of us.The possibility of improvement is minimal, but we can still discuss and analyze it.