Chapter 4 Chapter 3 How to Make Your Presentation Memorable
Give the speech fresh vitality and make the public speech deeply rooted in the hearts of the people:
Vitality, vigor, and enthusiasm—these three, I've always thought, are the first things a speaker should have.People flock to a charismatic speaker like birds flock to an autumn wheat field.
How can we give such a charming speech to grab the audience's attention and move the audience's heart?Language has a magical appeal, so we must learn to use it, not roughly, but precisely.I'm going to give you a few tips on how to make your presentations radiate enthusiasm and life.
An empty mind is like an empty refrigerator. If there is no food in the refrigerator, the housewife will not nervously jingle the empty plates, she will go to the supermarket to buy.If you don't have an idea, don't talk nonsense, say something useless, try to come up with something, don't talk until then. You have to have more than enough to fill your head so that the pressure of your deep thoughts and feelings will keep your speech going and you will be confident and calm. Reserve power is attractive.This does not mean that you tell something you have previously remembered, but that you convey to the audience the cheese you have made from observation, reading, surprise, emotion and thought.Therefore, in order to reserve strength, you must have enough milk ingredients on hand to allow you to provide enough cheese. My friend told me that he wrote 4 short essays, which are simple and interesting, and they are good topics for speeches.The pages on which the article is written may weigh only a few ounces.But remember the dense notebooks and other things - the data he used as a basis for these few ounces of product weighed 20 pounds. A surgeon friend of mine said it well: "I can teach you how to take out a cecum in ten minutes, but it will take me four years to teach you how to deal with it when something goes wrong." The same goes for lectures: Be well prepared , in case of emergency.For example, you may have to change the focus of your presentation because of the tone of a previous speaker, or you may have to answer audience concerns during the discussion time after your presentation. If you can choose the topic as soon as possible, and you are fully prepared, then don't procrastinate, because if you decide the topic early, your subconscious mind can play a big role, which is of great benefit.In the sporadic hours after work is done each day, you can delve into your topic and refine and polish the thoughts you want to convey to your audience.As you drive home, wait for the bus, or ride the subway, think about your subject matter.Most of the flashes of enlightenment come from such brewing.Therefore, if you decide the topic long ago, your brain can subconsciously refine it. Norman Thomas was a master speaker, able to command the attention and admiration of audiences who were strenuously opposed to his political views.He once said: "If a speech is really important, the speaker should be concerned with its subject or content, and run it over in his head. He will be surprised to find himself walking down the street, reading a newspaper, and getting ready for bed. Or when he wakes up in the morning, many useful exemplified expressions will come to him naturally. Mediocre lectures are often the result of mediocre thinking, the inevitable result of incomplete knowledge and preparation of the subject." When you are actively preparing a speech, you will feel a strong temptation to write your speech in sequence.But don't do this, because once you have settled on a type, you are likely to be satisfied with it.That way, you might stop thinking about it more constructively.Also, there is the danger of trying to memorize the words from the manuscript.Mark Twain once commented on this practice of memorizing speeches: "What is written with the pen is not for the purpose of speech; their form is literary, and they are stiff and inelastic, and cannot allow themselves to use the tongue to make pleasant, Effective communication. If the purpose of speeches is to entertain, not to preach, make them soft and colloquial, or they will kill a room instead of entertaining them." Charles Gitlin was the inventive genius who made General Motors grow.He is also one of America's best-known and most earnest speakers.When asked if he ever wrote out his speech, he said: "I believe that the words I have to say are too many to write. I would rather write them in the minds of the audience and imprint them in their emotions. A mere speech , there is no place between me and what I intend to move my audience with.”
I once asked Professor Lin Harold Hu what he thought was the most important thing in a speech.He thought for a while and answered me: "I think the most important thing is an opening speech that can attract the audience's attention." Not only Professor Lin Harold Hu thinks so, I have consulted many speakers on the art of speaking , they also place equal emphasis on opening remarks. A good beginning is half the battle.For a speech, the opening remarks are indeed very important. If a speech is compared to a flight, and the opening is compared to the takeoff of an airplane, then the failure of the opening is equivalent to the failure of the takeoff. Although every speaker does not want his well-prepared speech to be destroyed by a mediocre or even very failed opening speech, But not everyone can avoid this - time and time again they cause their planes to crash on takeoff, or take off barely after going through danger. We hope that the audience's attention can be firmly grasped at the beginning of the opening, and a close and harmonious relationship with the audience can be established, and we don't want the opposite to happen.We want our audience to come to our openings and say, "Looks like I should pay attention." If you want to do the same, then you need to avoid the following openings that will lead to your ultimate failure, some of which you think are very serious. it is good. Audiences don't want to hear your excuses or apologies, even if they don't show it.You don't need to waste the audience's time, you know, they listened to your speech with great enthusiasm! The reason for apologizing is because of your inner unease.Anxiety is natural, but you don't have to talk about it in the first place.Imagine listening to a speaker with great interest, and he says, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to give you a few words because I'm short on time." Do you feel that?This clearly shows that you are a self-centered person.Don't the audience have the right to stand here and listen to you? Or a lot of people say, "I'm sorry you didn't see the original speaker, but me." Do you think this is useful for the audience?This is undoubtedly an emotional devastation to the audience and oneself. Let's listen to this opening statement first: "I hope everyone will not waste their time listening to my speech, but I am really not well prepared..." Maybe this confession is to get the audience's forgiveness, because you "really not prepared enough."However, such a confession is undoubtedly a suicidal opening, and such an opening will get you nothing.Because you are not only denying yourself, but also denying the audience below.Because, the audience will read this meaning from your confession: "You are not important at all." Otherwise, why don't you prepare? If your opening is this self-denying, I'm quoting the first line of a poem by Kipling here: "Go on, and it will be pointless." Because, that's what this opening is. as a result of. Opening with humor is a bit of a low bet — I'm an advocate of risk taking, but I'm firmly against gambling.Because a lot of comedians say that, "It's easy to die, but it's hard to be a good comedy." Yes, it's hard to create humor, especially when it's about your speech. The method is undoubtedly creating trouble for yourself at the beginning, and the result will make your speech cold. But there are countless speakers who like to start their speeches with humor, as if there is no other option.You might say, aren't they successful?Audiences love to hear it.Appearing to be popular with the audience on the surface, he seems to be successful, but in fact it is not.Because the audience is like watching a farce, and forgets its content and performers after watching it. Are you trying to scare away or frighten the audience?Otherwise, don't use those weird, unfamiliar words in the first place!Because these boring words will kill the interest of the audience.As much as you'd like to show that you're knowledgeable and inscrutable, an opening like this would be worse than no opening at all. Opening your speech with stereotyped or trendy, vulgar words will disappoint and bore your audience, because these sentences simply desensitize the audience's ears and, for them, completely lose their interest.You have to try to give the audience a new feeling. It is not difficult to do this, it just takes a little thought. Some speakers always start by specifically mentioning important people sitting in the audience, such as leaders, academic authorities, or people of high esteem.I'm not against mentioning them, but don't let other listeners think you're being slighted.Never treat the audience differently, or you will lose most of the people's interest in the speech.You need to tell them that they are all important people and that you have noticed them. Everyone has a common understanding that when you are forced to do something, you generally don't do it well, or you could have done better but didn't do it well.However, some speakers do often begin by telling the audience that they are compelled to deliver the speech.Such an opening statement will undoubtedly make the audience unnecessary associations, such as you may talk about something else-why are you forced?More importantly, this sentence shows that you are helpless and negative.In this case, it can be very difficult to keep the audience interested in what you have to say. It's a sign of low self-confidence, and no one likes listening to someone with low self-confidence nagging.Because, it makes people feel less than what they want.So don't say things like, "I'm feeling overwhelmed with this subject..." Such an opening statement will reveal your timidity. Is it because you are afraid that there will be mistakes in your speech and you will be laughed at by the authority?Now that you have chosen the topic, it must be familiar to you—unless someone else prepared your speech for you.If your audience thinks you're expressing your own opinion, why should they mind you making a mistake?
I once asked a group of American businessmen in Paris to give a lecture on "The Way to Success."Most of them just list a long list of abstract success traits and preach about the value of hard work, perseverance, and big ambitions. So I stopped the class and said something like this: "None of us want to be lectured, nobody likes that. Remember, make sure it's enjoyable and interesting for us, otherwise, we won't listen to what you say." Will pay attention. Also remember that one of the funniest things in the world is a neat, witty celebrity anecdote. So please tell us the story of two people you know and why one of them One will succeed, and the other will fail. We'll be happy to hear it. And remember, we might also have a lot to gain from this example." There is a student in this class who always finds it difficult to raise his own interest or to arouse the interest of the audience.But this night, he grasped the suggestion of "human nature story" and told us the story of his two college classmates.One of the classmates is currently working in town selling shirts and drawing charts showing which ones will hold up to laundering the most, last the longest, and get the most out of every dollar invested.His mind is always on the pennies.The reason for this is, in his opinion, because he thinks highly of himself after graduation, and he does not want to start from the grassroots and gradually climb up like other graduates.So when the third-year reunion rolled around, he was still laundering shirts, drawing diagrams, still waiting for that special good job to come to him.As a result, it never came at all.Since then, a quarter of a century has passed, and this person has resented and dissatisfied all his life, and still holds a small position by himself. The speaker then compared the failure to the story of another classmate who had surpassed all of his original goals.This friend is easy to get along with, everyone likes him.Although he was ambitious in the future and aspired to accomplish great things, he started as a draftsman.However, he is always looking for opportunities.At that time, the New York World's Fair was in the planning stage, and he knew where engineering talents would be needed, so he resigned from his post in Philadelphia and moved to New York.There, he partnered and immediately started a contracting business.They did a lot of business with the phone companies, and this guy was hired by the Fair for a good salary. What I have recorded here is only the outline of what the speaker said.He included many amusing and human details that made his lectures entertaining.He went on talking and talking.Usually, this person could not find materials to give a three-minute speech, but this time when he stopped talking, he was surprised to find that this time he had spoken for ten minutes.Because the speech was so exciting, everyone seemed to think it was too short, and there was still more to say.This is his first real victory. Everyone can learn something from this event.Plain speeches are bound to be more engaging if they can be enriched with human stories.The speaker should cover only a few key points and then cite specific examples.Constructing the appeal of the speech in this way will definitely attract the attention of the audience. Of course, the rich source of this kind of human interest material is precisely my own life experience.Don't be hesitant to talk about your experiences because you don't think you should talk about yourself.It is only when a person talks about himself with hostility and arrogance that the audience is offended.Otherwise, the audience is very interested in the personal story told by the speaker.Personal experience is the surest and surest way to grab your audience's attention, and it should never be overlooked. When other people are involved in a story, it is in any case better to use their first names, or to invent aliases if you want to protect their identities.Even if you use an impersonal name like "Mr. Smith" or "Joe Brown" it will be more vivid than "this person" or "a person."Surnames and personal names have the function of authenticating and presenting individuals.As Rudolph Frech pointed out: "Nothing adds to the truth of a story more than a name, and nothing is more false than anonymity. Just imagine, what would it be like if the protagonist in the story had no name or surname? " If many names and personal pronouns appear in your speech, you can be sure that it has high audibility.Because in your speech, there is already this invaluable element of human interest.
Maybe you have this feeling: you have worked hard for a long time, but you still haven't explained what you mean to the audience.Originally, you are very clear about this matter, but if you want the audience to understand it, you need to explain it in depth.What should we do?My suggestion is that you might as well compare it to something familiar to your audience, and tell them that it is like another thing, like something they are familiar with. When you speak to your audience about a topic they are not familiar with, can you expect them to have a deep understanding?Of course it is difficult.So, we have to figure out a way.Go about it in the simplest and most natural way you can think of, connecting what people don't know with what they already know and are very familiar with. For example, to introduce the contribution of catalysts to industry in chemistry, if you tell people that this is a substance that can change other substances without changing itself, it may be difficult for people to understand.You can say that it is just like a little boy, jumping, fighting, making noise, and pushing other children in the schoolyard, but in the end, he is safe and sound, and has never been hit or touched by anyone. Isn't that better? In the speech, you must make your language popular and make your language a language that everyone can understand, so that you have reached the highest level of speaking. One of my students, as a doctor, once started his speech in class like this: "The diaphragm is something that, if it's being used for breathing, will obviously help the bowels move, and that's a huge benefit to your health." He wanted to go on to something else, but the teacher interrupted him.The teacher asked the people who understood the sentence to raise their hands, but to the doctor's surprise, no one raised their hands.In other words, no one understood what he was saying, and the teacher asked him to explain that sentence, telling him not to rush forward until everyone knew what the thing looked like and how it worked.So the doctor explained: "The diaphragm is actually a very thin muscle that sits between the bottom of the ribcage and the roof of the abdomen, and it moves as the chest and belly breathe. When the chest breathes, it compresses, so Like an upside-down washbasin; when the abdominal cavity breathes, it will be pushed down to make it a plane, and at this time the stomach will be squeezed. And its downward thrust will massage and Stimulate the upper organs of the abdominal cavity, such as the stomach, liver, pancreas, etc. When people exhale, the stomach and intestines push up against the diaphragm, which is equivalent to a second massage. This massage It helps the body to excrete. Many people’s physical discomfort is mainly due to gastrointestinal discomfort, and once our intestines and stomach get proper exercise due to the massage of the diaphragm, most of the discomfort will disappear.” Made this After the explanation, although it was a little troublesome, the students understood what he said. Many of us make the same mistake as this student when we speak—they speak something they know well, and they think the audience will understand it too.In fact, this problem is not difficult to solve, but it is often ignored by the speaker. I have heard countless speeches for professional reasons, but some of them have failed because of the negligence of the speakers.The reason for the analysis's failure is not that their expertise is not solid, but on the contrary, they just talk about their expertise.Obviously they have no idea, as a general audience lacks understanding of their industry.Such a result can be imagined, although they talked loudly and used a lot of vocabulary commonly used in their work, it made the lay audience completely unable to understand what they said. This is not just the case in speeches, but in virtually any conversation involving speakers from different walks of life.This inadvertent omission deprives the conversation of its intended effect.Therefore, if you want to make your speech more understandable to everyone, you must learn to popularize your language and make your language a language that everyone can understand, so that you have reached the highest level of speaking.In other words, what you say needs to be easy to understand, so that more people can understand it. How can I speak more colloquially?Perhaps the biggest problem many people face is using some technical vocabulary, which is the "terminology" we mentioned earlier.These words can only be truly understood by those who are related to a certain job or a specific field of study.In addition, some industries may create acronyms that only those in the industry understand, and these languages are usually composed of only initials.For people who are not familiar with them, when you use these words, they may not know what you mean.And due to many reasons, the average person will not stand up and explain that he did not understand.So, they're likely to smile and walk away confused.So, when it is necessary to use these technical terms, you have to make sure that these terms can be understood by them. For example, when you explain to a housewife why the refrigerator needs to be defrosted, you might say something like this: "The principle of freezing is like this. The evaporator absorbs heat from the refrigerator and then dissipates it outside the refrigerator. At this time, the heat sucked out is accompanied by moisture, which will adhere to the evaporator, forming a thick layer A layer of frost, causing the evaporator to insulate, and making the motor work more often to compensate." For those housewives, this passage may be equivalent to saying nothing.You can actually say this: "The role of the evaporator is like a suction fan. It sucks out the heat in the refrigerator, so that the refrigerator can freeze your things. When you open the refrigerator, you will definitely find that the layer of your refrigerator where the meat is placed There is a layer of frost, and these frosts are formed on the evaporator. The thicker the frost, the thicker and thicker the asbestos is, which separates the evaporator from the air in the refrigerator, so that there is no way to absorb heat normally. In this way, you The freezing effect of the refrigerator will become worse and worse. At this time, the motor can only keep running to ensure the coldness in the refrigerator, but this will reduce the service life of your refrigerator. In order to make the motor run slower, use To make your fridge less taxing, we have to figure out a way to get the frost out. And having an automatic defroster in the fridge would do that." When speaking in front of more people, how should you ensure that what you say is understood and understood by more people?Former Indiana Senator Beverage has a suggestion on this: "The best thing to do is to take the least intelligent-looking person you have to deal with, and try to make him understand what you are saying. You can only speak in the most common terms, and make your point as clearly as possible. , so that he can understand. Another good way is to target those children who are accompanied by their parents. Then, you need to keep reminding yourself-of course, you can also say it to the other party- —Try to make it as simple and clear as possible, so that everyone can understand your explanation, remember it, and be able to tell others what you have said.” Once, I went to listen to a speech by a securities broker. The people I listened to were housewives who wanted to know something about banking and investment.The speaker started off by using plain language and a humorous, light-hearted approach to put them at ease.He articulated their concerns, and more importantly, he explained technical terms such as "clearing", "taxation" and "payment" in simple and popular terms. clear.As a result, the speech was an unprecedented success.People are very grateful to him, and they all take the initiative to ask him about investment. If what you say is incomprehensible to other people, or beyond their comprehension, it is torture both for you and for the listener.There was once a missionary who wanted to translate the Bible into the language of the place where he was preaching.Among them was the line: "Though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snowflakes." Ordinarily, this line was translated verbatim, but now he had a problem.These aborigines have no experience in clearing snow at all, and they don't even know the word "snow". They don't know the difference between snow and coal.But there are coconut trees in the local area, and people are very familiar with it.So the missionaries linked "snowflakes" with "coconut meat".In the end, that sentence was translated as: "Although your crime is bright red, it will eventually be as white as coconut meat." Just such a clever change made it easy for the other party to understand what you said.
There must be a rhythm in speaking, fast when it should be fast, slow when it should be slow, and rising when it should rise. This way there are ups and downs, speed, and severity, which form the musicality and melodiousness of the spoken language. Otherwise, the words will not be touching and not moving.There are regular changes in spoken language, called rhythm.Only with this change can the language be vivid, otherwise it will appear dull.There was an Italian musician. He did not sing on stage, but counted the numbers from 1 to 100 rhythmically and with changes. As a result, he captivated all the audience, and even some audience were moved to tears. It can be seen that the rhythm is in life How important is it. You definitely hope that you can give people a capable and lively impression, so you must master the rhythm of speaking, which is the charm of speaking rhythm.There are two main factors affecting the rhythm of speaking: the speed of speaking and the simplicity and complexity of speaking content.If you speak so fast that some words are slurred, others will not understand what you are saying, and speaking too slowly will show that you are too slow and slow.In verbal communication, how fast or slow you speak will affect the information you convey to the other party.Too fast, like too high a pitch, can create tension and anxiety. Walter Stevens said in his book "Lincoln Through the Eyes of a Reporter": "He (referring to Lincoln) would utter a few words quickly, but when he came to a word he wished to emphasize, he would draw out his voice and speak each word with a heavy weight. Then he would be as fast as lightning He'll finish the whole sentence in a hurry...he will try to prolong the words that need to be emphasized, about as long as the other five or six sentences that are not important." Now you try to say the following sentence: "Today we are going to introduce to you this product of our company." The "" these three words, then paused, and enthusiastically said "this product" aloud.You will be able to get unexpected results by using this technique. But one thing to note is that although I don't object to you deliberately slowing down certain words and sentences to emphasize this or other content (depending on your pitch), if you speak the whole or most of the text In this case, I suggest that you never do this.Because this kind of deliberate procrastination will make people feel very annoying and eventually unbearable, so that the effect you expected will not be achieved. When we speak, we need to clarify the purpose of speaking: social language should be concise, concise, and carry as much and more useful information as possible.Only in this way can you make your speaking rhythm lively and make the audience feel that you are decisive, direct and sure of the content of your speech.Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand why some people state too much when expressing their views, and go on for too long, and the result is a complete failure.In Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg, he only spoke for two minutes, and the whole speech was only 226 words, but his rival Edward Everett talked for two hours.As a result, it is not difficult to know that Lincoln was successful. In life, some people speak very quickly, and can finish a lot of words in one breath. Others describe it as a machine gun.The other kind of people are just the opposite, they speak slowly and can't squeeze out a word for a long time.These two extreme situations are failure to master the rhythm of speaking.
Do you know what is the purpose of public speaking?Whether you know these things or not, any presentation generally has one of four purposes. (1) Persuade the audience to get a response. (2) Explain the situation. (3) Enhance the impression of the audience and make people convincing. (4) Bring joy to the audience. If your speech does not fall into one of these four, then your speech is undoubtedly a failure. In this section we are discussing "impressing the audience to get positive action and response". First of all, we need to know how to organize the speech so that the audience is willing to accept your suggestion and take positive action. I discussed this topic with a friend in 1930.At that time, my course became popular all over the country, and because the class was too crowded, we required each student to give a speech of only two minutes.This restriction does not affect speech if the speaker's goal is simply to entertain or explain a situation.We needed something fresh, a solid and effective approach that got results within two minutes and got responses and actions from the audience.God rewards us, and from these discussions we finally worked out a "magic formula" for speech structure.After this method was adopted in the class, it has been used to this day.What is this "magic formula"? First, describe the details of the example at the beginning, vividly explaining the idea you want to convey to the audience; second, express your point of view in detail and clearly; finally, state the reasons, emphasizing that if the audience does what you say, they will What benefits do you get. People are getting busier and they want speakers to say what's on their minds in direct words.This formula is perfect for today's fast-paced life.Speakers can no longer get bogged down in long, idle introductions.They are used to listening to condensed news reports, and they can get the facts directly without beating around the bush. Using this "magic formula," you are guaranteed to get your audience's attention and focus on the main points of your speech.Know that your audience isn't interested in apologizing or justifying, they want action, and in this "magic formula," you give them the motivation to act as soon as you speak. This formula works well for short speeches where there is some level of suspense.The audience will be hooked into your story the first time you begin the narrative, but it won't be until two or three minutes later that they get the point of your story.This trick is necessary if you want your audience to do what you ask them to do. If a speaker wants the audience to donate to something and starts by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here because I want you to donate $5 each." If they don’t have the money, they’re bound to scramble for the door; conversely, if a speaker describes visiting a remote children’s hospital and seeing a toddler unable to operate due to lack of assistance, he’s sure to win the audience’s support. This "magic formula" can also be used in business letters and instructions to employees, and mothers can use it to motivate children, who will find it easy to use it to ask parents for things.It is like a sharp weapon, through which you can convey your ideas to others in daily life. Even in the advertising world, this "magic formula" is used every day. For example, the series of TV advertisements made by the famous Everedy Battery Company recently were designed according to this formula. First, the host vividly described a story about someone trapped in an overturned car in the middle of the night.At this time, the host invited the victim out and asked him to tell the audience how he brought him help in time by shining the light of the flashlight using the Ifredy battery.Then, the host went back to his original purpose and pointed out the "importance and why": "Buy Everedy Batteries, and you can survive similar emergencies." These stories are all from Everedy Batteries real profile data.I don't know how many batteries this ad helped sell Ifredy, but I'm pretty sure this "magic formula" really works, effectively telling your audience what you want them to do or avoid. Here are a few ways to effectively move your audience to action. According to psychologists, there are two ways for people to learn: one is the law of practice, that is, let a series of similar events change people's behavior patterns; the other is the law of effect, that is, let a single event produce a strong shock, This changes people's behavior.In your speech, you should spend a lot of time describing experiences that have inspired you. When presenting facts, be sure to reframe things from your own experience so that your listeners feel the same way you do, and you can dramatize your experiences to make them sound more interesting and powerful. Then you can follow the suggestions below, which can make the audience like your speech very much. (1) Start with an unforgettable memory. Generally speaking, those single events that have a strong impact on your life will be a good choice, and will be a very effective choice.This kind of thing may not last more than a few seconds, but in that short moment, you have learned an unforgettable lesson. You need to remember this: a never-to-be-forgotten lesson is a must for this kind of talk.Use this kind of incident to move your audience and get them to take action, because the audience will reason that if this happened to you, it will happen to them in the future, then it is better to take your advice and do what you want them to do. do. (2) Always keep the audience curious about what comes next. There’s a famous slang saying: “Curiosity killed the cat.” Likewise, people’s curiosity about the unknown often creates an urgency to listen.As long as you grasp the psychological needs of people and create such an atmosphere in your speech content, then your speech will be successful.Remember the advice of a leading magazine columnist: "At the beginning of your story, grab your audience's attention." Doing so will grab your audience's attention immediately. In fact, there are also some heart-warming opening lines in my memory, they are always lingering in my ears, attracting me to pay attention to them: "That year, I suddenly woke up from my sleep, only to find myself lying on a hospital bed..." "Last summer, when I was speeding my car down the freeway..." "When I was reading in the study, I turned around and saw that the door was ajar..." "The door to the office was opened and our manager came straight in..." "While I was walking by the beautiful lake, I saw a huge wave rippling in the middle of the lake..." (3) Precise descriptions are more attractive. Details are not interesting by themselves, and too many details that don't matter can make a speech a boring activity, so you must choose those details that will highlight the main points of your speech. If you can focus on the topic and use details to render your story, this is indeed the best way.Here is a speech from a student in a Carnegie training course: “The morning before Christmas 1949, I was driving north on Indiana Route 41 with my wife and two children in the car. We had been traveling slowly for several hours along a mirror-smooth icy road. Hours. With the slightest touch of the steering wheel, my Ford car would skid freely. The time passed slowly hour by hour. ... The car soon went uphill and entered a forest area. When the car sped to the top ，我突然看到北边的山坡因为没有阳光照射，所以路面的冰还没有融化。可是已经太迟了，我们的车一打滑就冲了出去。我们的车冲过路沿，完全失去了控制，然后落进雪堆里，仍然直立着。汽车的车门被撞碎了，我们身上全是碎玻璃。” 这个事例中丰富的细节，很容易让听众有身临其境之感。你就是要让听众看到你所看到的，让听众听到你所听到的，让听众感觉到你所感觉到的。而要做到这一点，唯一的方法就是使用丰富而具体的细节。 （4）按照你的感觉情景再现。 除了运用图画般的细节之外，演讲者还应该尽可能让情景再现。演讲和“表演”有相近的地方，所有著名的演说家都有一种表演的天分，这并非是一种只能在雄辩家身上找到的稀有的特质，孩童们大多具有这种才能，我们所认识的许多人也都有这样的天赋，他们富于面部表情，善于模仿或做手势。我们多数人也都有这样的技巧，只要稍微努力和练习，就能有一定的发展。 假设你只讲两分钟，那你就只剩下30秒钟来表达你的期望，说明你希望听众采取的行动以及他们采取这种行动会有什么好处。这时，你就不再需要讲述细节了，该做直截了当的声明。这与报纸消息的技巧相反，不是先说标题，而是先讲故事，再以自己的目的或对听众行动的要求作为标题。这一步要通过三条法则来进行： （1）把你想要表达的汇总成一个重点。 你要简明扼要地告诉听众，你希望他们做什么。所以，你必须问自己，你是不是确实告诉他们该做什么了？像写电报稿一样把你的重点写下来，这是个很不错的主意，应该尽可能精简，又要使其清楚明白。不要说：“帮助我们本地孤儿院患病的孩子。”因为这样太笼统，而应该这样说：“今晚就签名，下星期天集合，带25名孤儿去野餐。” （2）使你表述的方法可以执行。 不论问题是什么，不论人们是不是还在争论不休，你都必须把自己的重点和要求讲得更容易让听众理解和实行，最好的方法就是要明确。 演讲者对听众给予明确的行动指示，比概略的言辞更容易激发听众的行动。例如“在祝贺康复的卡片上签名”，要比劝人们寄一张慰问卡或写信给一位住院的同学更好。 至于是使用肯定还是否定的语气来叙述，则要取决于听众的观点，这两种方式之间并没有好坏之分。 （3）对自己演讲的东西要自信。 演讲，直接表达出来。你现在就要给听众留下积极的印象，因此你应该有力而且信心十足地陈述出来，让听众感觉到你的诚意。你的请求不应有不确定或信心不足的语气，游说的态度也应该持续到最后一个词，然后再进行“魔法公式”的第三步。 在我们演讲的最后阶段，我们的时间几乎没有多少了。因此，我们要把握好最后的这点时间，做到结尾简短扼要，否则就收不到应有的效果。在这一步中，你必须说出自己说话的动机；或者告诉听众，如果按照你的要求去做，他们会有什么益处。 但是，这种目的明确的方法你也许会认为是一处败笔。其实不然，按照我给予你的方法去做吧： （1）给自己的例子做一句话的总结。 在演讲中，你所要做的，就是在演讲的高潮之际，用一两句话把好处说出来，然后坐下。不过，有一点很重要，就是你所强调的好处应该是从你所举的事例推论出来的。 （2）总结出一个类似广告语的口号。 说给听众的最后几句话应该清楚而明确，就像刊登在全国性的杂志里的广告词那样。推销员可以举出许多理由，劝说你为什么应该购买他们的产品；你也能举出好几个理由，来支持你自己的观点，并且全都与你所使用的事例有关。然而，最好还是选一个最突出的理由或利益。 如果你能研究一下各种广告，分析它们的内容，你就会惊讶地发现，在劝说人们购买商品时，这一“魔法公式”被使用的次数实在是太多了，你可以由此体会到，“切合题意”是整个广告成为一个统一整体的经纬线。
为什么罗素·康威尔能在一场接一场的演讲中成功地维系着和听众之间轻松愉快的关系呢？其中的确存在他成功的秘诀。 在罗素·康威尔发表著名的演说《发现自我》时，他前后发表过近6000次。或许你会想，重复这么多次的演讲，可能已经根深蒂固地刻在演讲者的脑海里，说话时的字句音调该不会有任何改变了吧？但结果并非如此，因为康威尔博士知道，听众的知识水平与背景各不相同，那么必须要让听众感到他的演讲是有针对性的、活生生的东西，是特意为他们准备的。 康威尔博士非常清楚，成功的沟通有赖于演讲者使他的演讲成为听众的一部分，同时也使听众成为演讲的一部分。尽管《发现自我》成为最受欢迎的演说，但我们却找不到一本演说词的副本。尽管他已经给大约6000场的听众讲过，但同一次演讲不会说两次。 通过这个例子，也许你应该有所领悟，准备演讲时，头脑里始终应该想着特定的听众。这里有一些简单有效的方法，可以帮助你建立起与听众之间的和谐与密切关系。 这种方法也正是康威尔博士所用的有效方法。他习惯在自己的演讲中加入许多当地人经常谈论的东西和他们熟悉的事情。听众之所以对他感兴趣，就是因为他的谈话内容与他们自身有关，与他们的兴趣有关，与他们的问题有关。正是这种与听众本身及其兴趣相关联的内在联系，才使他能够牢牢地抓住听众的注意力，保证他和听众之间的沟通顺利进行。 许多人在说话时，只谈论自己感兴趣的事情，但是听众对这些事情却感到无聊至极，所以他就不能成为一名成功的演讲者。所以，你不妨反过来做，引导别人谈论他们自己的兴趣、他们自己的事业、他们自己的成绩、他们自己的成就，如此一来，即使你说话很少，你也会被他人认为是一位很好的谈话对象。 当你面对听众时，如果不考虑听众自我中心的自然倾向，你就会发现自己面对的是一群烦躁不安的听众。他们会局促不安，表现出不耐烦，不时地抬起手看手表，并且渴望尽早离开。 如果你对他们所做的值得称赞的事情表示衷心的赞美，你就会赢得通往他们心灵的钥匙，但这也需要你去认真地加以研究。如果你的赞美只是一些夸张、肉麻的词句，比如“各位是我曾见过的最有智慧的听众”，也许会被大多数听众认为是空洞的谄媚而感到厌恶。在这里，我只想引用著名演说家德普的话：“你必须告诉他们一些有关他们的事，并且是一些他们没想到你可能会知道的事。”这将会是一项非常高超而有效的赞美手法。 有一个人最近要在巴尔的摩的基瓦尼俱乐部发表演讲，虽然他找不到该俱乐部的特殊资料，他只是知道大家都掌握的新闻，俱乐部的会员中曾有一位出任过国际会长、一位出任过国际董事，但是，他却使大家感到了与众不同的东西，他是如何做到的呢？ “巴尔的摩基瓦尼俱乐部是101898个基瓦尼俱乐部中的一个！”会员们听了有些奇怪，这个演讲者大错特错，因为全球只有2897个基瓦尼俱乐部。 然后这位演讲者接着说：“就算各位不相信我说的，但这仍然是事实，至少在数学方面是这样。各位的俱乐部确实是101898个当中的一个，而不是10万或20万个中的一个。 “我是如何计算出来的呢？不错，国际基瓦尼组织只有2897个俱乐部。但是，巴尔的摩俱乐部过去曾有人担任过国际会长和国际董事。从数学的角度来看，任何一个基瓦尼俱乐部想同时出一个国际会长和董事的概率是1：101898。我曾获得过琼斯·霍普金斯大学的数学博士学位，可以证明我计算出来的数字的准确性。”于是，他引起了大家的注意。 当然，他的赞美虽然巧妙，更主要原因还是他经过了精心的策划、用心的思考，可以看出他是发自内心的真诚，所以，如果你表示不出真心诚意的赞赏，那最好什么也别说。 演讲时，要尽早指出你和听众之间存在某种直接关系。如果你感到被邀请很荣幸，就不妨照实说出来。 另一种有效的方法，就是提到听众的名字。 在一次演讲前的宴会上，我坐在主持人的边上。我很奇怪他竟然对每一个人都非常好奇，不停地向宴会的主人打听，如那个穿蓝色西装的人是谁？那位帽子上缀满了鲜花的女士叫什么？直到他站起来讲话时，我才了解他为什么好奇。他非常巧妙地把他刚才了解的名字用到了自己的演讲中，那些被他提到名字的人，脸上全都洋溢着快乐，而这个简单的技巧也为演讲者赢得了听众的友谊。 不过要提醒你的是，如果你在演讲中用了比较奇特的名字，而这些名字是你通过询问得知的，那么你必须确保要正确无误，而且只能以友好的方式提到它们，当然还得有一定的节制。 还有一个方法可以让听众始终保持高度的注意力，那就是在演讲中使用第二人称代词“你”，而不要使用第三人称“他，他们”，这样可以让听众保持一种亲自参与的感觉。 你是否想过，怎样用点小小的表演技巧，就能让听众紧跟着你的思路前进呢？如果你在演讲时，让听众来协助你展示某个观点，或是把你的观点戏剧化地表现出来，那么听众的注意力就会明显地提升。 有个演讲者为了说明汽车在刹车后，还必须前进多长的距离才能够停下来，特意请了前排一位听众出来，帮他展示汽车在不同速度下的距离有什么不同。这个听众拿着钢卷尺的一端，沿着走道把它拉长到45尺……就在这位听众演示的过程中，其他听众也都全神贯注。那条卷尺除了能生动地层现演讲者的论点之外，还成了听众与演讲者之间一座沟通的桥梁。 这种方法之所以见效，正是因为当听众中的一个人被演讲者带入“表演”中时，其他听众就会敏锐地注意所发生的事。很多演讲者认为，在讲台上的人和讲台下的人之间有一堵墙，而你若能利用听众的共同参与，就可以推倒这堵无形的墙。 提问也是一些最常用到的方法。我喜欢请听众站起来，跟着我重复一句话，或举手回答我的问题。请记住本小节所讨论的重点，如果能让听众参与进来，你就把合伙人的权利送给了他们。
一次，美国参议院调查委员会被一位政府高级官员搞得坐立不安，如坠雾里。原来，这位官员不停地指挥，却含混不清，毫无重点，根本就没有把他自己的意思向大家讲清楚，委员会所有成员的困惑也逐渐增加。事后，一位来自北卡罗莱纳州的参议员小撒姆尔·詹姆士·阿尔文对此事说了几句精彩的比喻把大家说笑了。 他说：“这位官员让我想起了我家乡的一个男子。这个男子通知律师，说要把他的老婆休掉，不过他却向律师承认她很漂亮，是个好厨子，而且还是个模范母亲。” “那你为何还要休掉她？”律师问他。 “因为她总是在我耳边说个不停。”这个男人说。 "What did she say?" “这正是令我讨厌的地方呀，”男人说，“因为她从来没说清楚过。” 这名参议员的比喻让我们联想到了许多演说家，他们在当众说话时也像上面那个男子的妻子一样让人讨厌，大家根本不知道他们在说些什么，他们也从来没有说清楚过，从未把自己的意思讲明白过。你可千万不可小瞧了“说清楚”，它的重要性及困难程度说起来其实很大。 普鲁士名将毛奇元帅在普法战争爆发之初，对他属下的军官说：“各位，请记住，任何'可能会被误解'的命令，'将会被误解'。”拿破仑也深知这种“不清楚”的危险。他曾一再向他的秘书下达的最慎重的一道指示就是：“要清楚！一定要清楚！” 在前面小节中，我们介绍了一套“魔法公式”，它有助于你做简短的演讲，并且有效地获得听众的行动。那么在本小节中，我要教给你一些方法，帮助你如何将自己的意思表达清楚。 下面各项建议，将让你清晰、精确地使用语言，让听众毫无困难地了解你。 威廉·詹姆斯教授曾指出：“一个人在一次演讲中，只能针对一个要点。”当然，他所说的演讲是针对一小时的演讲而言的，但是我却听过一次3分钟的演讲，演讲者一开始就说他想谈11个要点。What?这样说来，平均每16.5秒钟就要表达一个要点！居然有人想做如此荒谬的事情，有些不可思议吧？ 我们要认清现状，要知道想在一天之内匆匆忙忙地看完巴黎所有的风光显然是办不到的，然而，如果你可以在有限的时间内表达完你所有的观点，结果又会怎样呢？听众最终什么印象也没有！ 如果你坚持要表达得面面俱到，其结果就是没有人会留下印象，而只是一片混乱和含糊，而且只是一些太过简单的大纲。 相反，你可以只讲述这个组织的一个方面，并且详细讲述。这样做的话，虽然你将给听众留下一个单一的印象，但却透彻易懂，也容易记忆。不过，如果你的演讲要谈论的内容真的很多，那我建议你至少在每个部分结束时做一个简要的总结。 有时，一些经验丰富的演讲者也会犯这样的低级错误——也许是他们具备多方面的才华，所以看不到精力分散的危险。但你千万不要向他们学习，而是要紧扣主题。 你所说的话中，也许存在多个主题，这样的结果是什么呢？这将使你和对方的精力都被分散。实际上，你要把一个主题讲得很透彻十分困难，所以更不可能把每个主题都讲透。如果非得这样，那么每个主题你都只会浅尝辄止，因此跟对方讨论各种话题会影响你主要观点的表达。 此外，很多人喜欢注重细节的描述。这并没有错，但是你必须注意一个前提，即不能影响你的主题的表达。如果你把精力和时间都放在这些细节中，那么，你的信息重点就会不清晰。千万不要期待对方花费更多的努力、精力或时间来分析解读你的观点，大多数人都不愿意这么去做。所以，通过你的表达，让对方直接得到重要的信息，这才是最重要的。 在演讲之前，材料的整理都是从最粗糙的原材料开始，然后经过各种各样的加工，最后完成真正的产品，至于其中加入多少细节，就取决于演讲的时间了。 几乎所有的演讲题材，都可以利用一定的时间顺序、空间顺序或者事物的内在逻辑顺序来展开演讲。比如时间顺序，我们可以按照“过去、现在、将来”这样的顺序来展开，也可以从某一天开始进行倒叙。 在空间顺序上，演讲者可以某个点为立足点，然后由此向外拓展；或者按照东、南、西、北的方位来处理。假设你要描述华盛顿城，你可以领着听众，从国会山庄的顶端按照各个方向来叙述。如果你要说明一驾喷气引擎或一辆汽车，最好是把它分解成各部分，再逐一谈论。 不过，有些演讲题材本身就具有自己的内在逻辑顺序。例如，美国政府的结构，有它原有的组织形态，只要按照立法、行政、司法三部门来介绍，效果就必然清晰。 如果你把要表达的语言全部杂乱无章地呈现给听众，肯定会把他们吓跑。如果你想让听众对你的演讲有一种井然有序、条理分明的印象，最简单的方法之一，就是在演讲过程中明白地表示你有几个重点，你会先讲哪一点，接下来再讲哪一点。例如你完全可以这样开门见山地说： “我要讲的第一点是……”在讨论完这一点之后，你可以提示将要谈第二点、第三点……就这样一直说到结尾。 在美国国会联合委员会举行的商业会议上，经济学家道格拉斯以税务专家和伊利诺州参议员的身份演讲，同样巧妙而有效地使用了这种办法。 他是这样开始的：“我演讲的主题是：最迅速、最有效的经济增长方式，是减少那些几乎会用去所有收入的中低收入阶层的个人所得税。” 然后，他用这样的方式继续他的谈话： 具体说…… 进一步说…… 此外…… 最后他说：“总之，我们需要做的，是立即减免中低收入阶层实行的个人所得税，以增加需求与购买力。” 因此，为了使你的说话不拖泥带水，你最好确保自己的信息简短、直接。为了达到这一点，你可以采用下面的方法来安排你需要表达的信息。 对于你要陈述的重要观点，你需要记住这一点：词汇或句子越少越好。有这么一句老话可以很好地表达我的意思，它是这么说的：“我问你几点钟，你不用告诉我表的工作原理。” 话虽如此，但是事实却并不是这样。明明可以用少数词句就可以表达清楚的观点，很多人却总是喜欢用过多的词句，甚至堆砌故事、人物、数字来说明他的主题。你需要避免过多的修饰，它只会损害你的表达。 一个十几岁的孩子第一次参加正式的舞会，他的父亲这样教导他说：“你也许不应该在今晚的舞会之前、之中或之后喝酒。” 这位父亲在这句话中犯了哪些错误呢？首先，像“也许”这样缺乏说服力的限制词或关联词，听起来叫人不那么肯定你要表达的究竟是什么意思，对方可能不明白你所肯定的是什么。其次，“之前、之中或之后”这样的词汇无非就是要说明不允许他喝酒这么一个目的，何须加这么多修饰的词语呢？这样就给人留下不果断、不直接和不坚决的印象，还会使你的表达不够简洁。
俗话说：“编筐编篓，重在收口；描龙画凤，难在点睛。”演讲的结尾，就是演讲的“收口”、“点睛”。美国作家约翰沃尔夫认为“演讲最好在听众兴趣未尽时戛然而止。”其意就是说，最好在演讲达到高潮时果断“刹车”，以此来强化给听众的最佳印象。 我曾经对工业家乔治·福·詹森做过一次访问。当我到达他的办公室的时候，他对我说：“你来的正是时候，我马上要进行一次演讲。你看，我现在已经准备好它的结尾了。” “对一个演讲者来说，”我说，“能够预先在头脑中有清晰的思路，这的确是很好的。” “噢，”他说，“我现在才开始准备它的结尾，我头脑里还没有完全清晰的思路，刚刚有了笼统的概念和结尾的方式。” 詹森先生并不是一个专业演说家，他只是依照自己的经验进行了许多成功的演讲。他已经认识到了结尾对一个演讲来说非常重要，并且认识到需要合情合理地进行推理，最后得出结论。结论可以说是演讲最重要的一部分。当演讲者结束演讲后，他所说的最后几句话可能还停留在听众的脑海中，这些话将会被听众长久地记住。 好的结尾能揭示题旨，加深认识，给听众留下完整深刻的印象；能收拢全篇，使通篇浑然一体；能鼓动激情，促人深思，令人觉醒，能让听众在反复回味中受到教育和启发。所以，每位演讲者不仅要熟练地掌握演讲结尾的艺术技巧，而且要善于设计，安排出既符合内容要求，又符合演讲的时境的新颖而又精彩的结尾，只有这样才能使自己的演讲取得全面成功。 如果说开场白是飞行的起飞的话，那么结论就是飞行的降落。我希望你能够做到“平稳降落”，为了做到这一点，你不防借鉴一下这几类结尾方式： 以总结归纳的方式结尾。这种结尾用极其精练的语言，对演讲内容和思想观点作一个高度概括性的总结，以起到突出中心、强化主题、首尾呼应、画龙点睛的作用。 用提希望或发号的方式结尾。这种结尾是演讲者以慷慨激昂、扣人心弦的语言，对听众的理智和情感进行呼唤，或提出希望，或发出号召，或展示未来，以激起听众感情的波涛，使听众产生一种蓬勃向上的力量。 以留余味、泛余波的方式结尾。这种结尾语尽而意不尽，意留在语外，像撞钟一样，清音有余，余味袅袅，回味无穷，三日不绝。 在演讲的高潮中结尾。即把演讲的高潮设计在最后，在高潮中结尾。演讲结束时，演讲者设法最后一次拨动听众的心弦，打开听众的心扉，掀起高潮。 用重复题目的方式结尾。演讲的题目或标题是演讲的重要组成部分，是最具个性和特色的标志。在演讲结束时，如果重复题目，再一次点题，那么，就能加深听众对演讲的印象，使听众产生强烈的共鸣。 用幽默、风趣的语言结尾。除了某些较为庄重的演讲场合外，利用幽默结束演讲可为演讲添加欢声笑语，使演讲更富有趣味，令人在笑声中深思，并给听者留下一个愉快的印象。 同时，你需要避免下面几种错误的结尾方式： 有些演讲者常常不知道应该如何结束自己的演讲。他们带领观众就如同进行一次没有规划过的旅行一样，他引领听众进入一个又一个的景观，并对景观进行了详细的描述，但是他却不知道如何停止下来。只有天黑了，他才意识到自己该结束了。这种演讲没有任何结论性的语言，但是他确实已经发表完自己的演讲了。 这种感觉就好像跌入了一个没有底的洞，原本愉快的心情突然被毫无征兆地关闭起来，让人感觉很不舒服。 很多人在演讲结束部分都会这么说：“对于这件事，我只能说这么多了。”又比如他们会这么说：“谢谢诸位。” 既然他们已经发表完自己的演讲，为什么还不坐下来呢？这种结论就好像他们放的烟雾弹，他们想借此来遮掩自己不会做结论的事实。 演讲就如同一场平等的交易，开场的时候你告诉听众你想要得到什么，结束的时候你很自然地希望听众能够满足你的要求。这是成功的演讲者常常会做的事情，这很自然，听众通常也不会拒绝。 也正因为这种交易，才让听众有参与的感觉，才能引起听众的兴趣。 说话切忌说雷同的话，千万不要让你的结论照抄前面的话，这种结论没有任何好处，只会让听众更加厌烦。因此，当听众不耐烦地说“又来了”的时候，你千万要小心。 演讲如同开车一样，平稳的驾驶才能让人感觉舒服，但是有些演讲者结束得过于迅速——当听众还沉浸在他的演讲之中，并且准备听他继续说下去的时候，他就匆匆地结束了演讲。 “这就结束了吗？”听众会产生这样的疑问。这就像汽车还没有到达目的地就抛了锚一样令人不愉快。这种结论没有任何的过渡，在听众刚开始感到愉快的时
An empty mind is like an empty refrigerator. If there is no food in the refrigerator, the housewife will not nervously jingle the empty plates, she will go to the supermarket to buy.If you don't have an idea, don't talk nonsense, say something useless, try to come up with something, don't talk until then. You have to have more than enough to fill your head so that the pressure of your deep thoughts and feelings will keep your speech going and you will be confident and calm. Reserve power is attractive.This does not mean that you tell something you have previously remembered, but that you convey to the audience the cheese you have made from observation, reading, surprise, emotion and thought.Therefore, in order to reserve strength, you must have enough milk ingredients on hand to allow you to provide enough cheese. My friend told me that he wrote 4 short essays, which are simple and interesting, and they are good topics for speeches.The pages on which the article is written may weigh only a few ounces.But remember the dense notebooks and other things - the data he used as a basis for these few ounces of product weighed 20 pounds. A surgeon friend of mine said it well: "I can teach you how to take out a cecum in ten minutes, but it will take me four years to teach you how to deal with it when something goes wrong." The same goes for lectures: Be well prepared , in case of emergency.For example, you may have to change the focus of your presentation because of the tone of a previous speaker, or you may have to answer audience concerns during the discussion time after your presentation. If you can choose the topic as soon as possible, and you are fully prepared, then don't procrastinate, because if you decide the topic early, your subconscious mind can play a big role, which is of great benefit.In the sporadic hours after work is done each day, you can delve into your topic and refine and polish the thoughts you want to convey to your audience.As you drive home, wait for the bus, or ride the subway, think about your subject matter.Most of the flashes of enlightenment come from such brewing.Therefore, if you decide the topic long ago, your brain can subconsciously refine it. Norman Thomas was a master speaker, able to command the attention and admiration of audiences who were strenuously opposed to his political views.He once said: "If a speech is really important, the speaker should be concerned with its subject or content, and run it over in his head. He will be surprised to find himself walking down the street, reading a newspaper, and getting ready for bed. Or when he wakes up in the morning, many useful exemplified expressions will come to him naturally. Mediocre lectures are often the result of mediocre thinking, the inevitable result of incomplete knowledge and preparation of the subject." When you are actively preparing a speech, you will feel a strong temptation to write your speech in sequence.But don't do this, because once you have settled on a type, you are likely to be satisfied with it.That way, you might stop thinking about it more constructively.Also, there is the danger of trying to memorize the words from the manuscript.Mark Twain once commented on this practice of memorizing speeches: "What is written with the pen is not for the purpose of speech; their form is literary, and they are stiff and inelastic, and cannot allow themselves to use the tongue to make pleasant, Effective communication. If the purpose of speeches is to entertain, not to preach, make them soft and colloquial, or they will kill a room instead of entertaining them." Charles Gitlin was the inventive genius who made General Motors grow.He is also one of America's best-known and most earnest speakers.When asked if he ever wrote out his speech, he said: "I believe that the words I have to say are too many to write. I would rather write them in the minds of the audience and imprint them in their emotions. A mere speech , there is no place between me and what I intend to move my audience with.”
I once asked Professor Lin Harold Hu what he thought was the most important thing in a speech.He thought for a while and answered me: "I think the most important thing is an opening speech that can attract the audience's attention." Not only Professor Lin Harold Hu thinks so, I have consulted many speakers on the art of speaking , they also place equal emphasis on opening remarks. A good beginning is half the battle.For a speech, the opening remarks are indeed very important. If a speech is compared to a flight, and the opening is compared to the takeoff of an airplane, then the failure of the opening is equivalent to the failure of the takeoff. Although every speaker does not want his well-prepared speech to be destroyed by a mediocre or even very failed opening speech, But not everyone can avoid this - time and time again they cause their planes to crash on takeoff, or take off barely after going through danger. We hope that the audience's attention can be firmly grasped at the beginning of the opening, and a close and harmonious relationship with the audience can be established, and we don't want the opposite to happen.We want our audience to come to our openings and say, "Looks like I should pay attention." If you want to do the same, then you need to avoid the following openings that will lead to your ultimate failure, some of which you think are very serious. it is good. Audiences don't want to hear your excuses or apologies, even if they don't show it.You don't need to waste the audience's time, you know, they listened to your speech with great enthusiasm! The reason for apologizing is because of your inner unease.Anxiety is natural, but you don't have to talk about it in the first place.Imagine listening to a speaker with great interest, and he says, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to give you a few words because I'm short on time." Do you feel that?This clearly shows that you are a self-centered person.Don't the audience have the right to stand here and listen to you? Or a lot of people say, "I'm sorry you didn't see the original speaker, but me." Do you think this is useful for the audience?This is undoubtedly an emotional devastation to the audience and oneself. Let's listen to this opening statement first: "I hope everyone will not waste their time listening to my speech, but I am really not well prepared..." Maybe this confession is to get the audience's forgiveness, because you "really not prepared enough."However, such a confession is undoubtedly a suicidal opening, and such an opening will get you nothing.Because you are not only denying yourself, but also denying the audience below.Because, the audience will read this meaning from your confession: "You are not important at all." Otherwise, why don't you prepare? If your opening is this self-denying, I'm quoting the first line of a poem by Kipling here: "Go on, and it will be pointless." Because, that's what this opening is. as a result of. Opening with humor is a bit of a low bet — I'm an advocate of risk taking, but I'm firmly against gambling.Because a lot of comedians say that, "It's easy to die, but it's hard to be a good comedy." Yes, it's hard to create humor, especially when it's about your speech. The method is undoubtedly creating trouble for yourself at the beginning, and the result will make your speech cold. But there are countless speakers who like to start their speeches with humor, as if there is no other option.You might say, aren't they successful?Audiences love to hear it.Appearing to be popular with the audience on the surface, he seems to be successful, but in fact it is not.Because the audience is like watching a farce, and forgets its content and performers after watching it. Are you trying to scare away or frighten the audience?Otherwise, don't use those weird, unfamiliar words in the first place!Because these boring words will kill the interest of the audience.As much as you'd like to show that you're knowledgeable and inscrutable, an opening like this would be worse than no opening at all. Opening your speech with stereotyped or trendy, vulgar words will disappoint and bore your audience, because these sentences simply desensitize the audience's ears and, for them, completely lose their interest.You have to try to give the audience a new feeling. It is not difficult to do this, it just takes a little thought. Some speakers always start by specifically mentioning important people sitting in the audience, such as leaders, academic authorities, or people of high esteem.I'm not against mentioning them, but don't let other listeners think you're being slighted.Never treat the audience differently, or you will lose most of the people's interest in the speech.You need to tell them that they are all important people and that you have noticed them. Everyone has a common understanding that when you are forced to do something, you generally don't do it well, or you could have done better but didn't do it well.However, some speakers do often begin by telling the audience that they are compelled to deliver the speech.Such an opening statement will undoubtedly make the audience unnecessary associations, such as you may talk about something else-why are you forced?More importantly, this sentence shows that you are helpless and negative.In this case, it can be very difficult to keep the audience interested in what you have to say. It's a sign of low self-confidence, and no one likes listening to someone with low self-confidence nagging.Because, it makes people feel less than what they want.So don't say things like, "I'm feeling overwhelmed with this subject..." Such an opening statement will reveal your timidity. Is it because you are afraid that there will be mistakes in your speech and you will be laughed at by the authority?Now that you have chosen the topic, it must be familiar to you—unless someone else prepared your speech for you.If your audience thinks you're expressing your own opinion, why should they mind you making a mistake?
I once asked a group of American businessmen in Paris to give a lecture on "The Way to Success."Most of them just list a long list of abstract success traits and preach about the value of hard work, perseverance, and big ambitions. So I stopped the class and said something like this: "None of us want to be lectured, nobody likes that. Remember, make sure it's enjoyable and interesting for us, otherwise, we won't listen to what you say." Will pay attention. Also remember that one of the funniest things in the world is a neat, witty celebrity anecdote. So please tell us the story of two people you know and why one of them One will succeed, and the other will fail. We'll be happy to hear it. And remember, we might also have a lot to gain from this example." There is a student in this class who always finds it difficult to raise his own interest or to arouse the interest of the audience.But this night, he grasped the suggestion of "human nature story" and told us the story of his two college classmates.One of the classmates is currently working in town selling shirts and drawing charts showing which ones will hold up to laundering the most, last the longest, and get the most out of every dollar invested.His mind is always on the pennies.The reason for this is, in his opinion, because he thinks highly of himself after graduation, and he does not want to start from the grassroots and gradually climb up like other graduates.So when the third-year reunion rolled around, he was still laundering shirts, drawing diagrams, still waiting for that special good job to come to him.As a result, it never came at all.Since then, a quarter of a century has passed, and this person has resented and dissatisfied all his life, and still holds a small position by himself. The speaker then compared the failure to the story of another classmate who had surpassed all of his original goals.This friend is easy to get along with, everyone likes him.Although he was ambitious in the future and aspired to accomplish great things, he started as a draftsman.However, he is always looking for opportunities.At that time, the New York World's Fair was in the planning stage, and he knew where engineering talents would be needed, so he resigned from his post in Philadelphia and moved to New York.There, he partnered and immediately started a contracting business.They did a lot of business with the phone companies, and this guy was hired by the Fair for a good salary. What I have recorded here is only the outline of what the speaker said.He included many amusing and human details that made his lectures entertaining.He went on talking and talking.Usually, this person could not find materials to give a three-minute speech, but this time when he stopped talking, he was surprised to find that this time he had spoken for ten minutes.Because the speech was so exciting, everyone seemed to think it was too short, and there was still more to say.This is his first real victory. Everyone can learn something from this event.Plain speeches are bound to be more engaging if they can be enriched with human stories.The speaker should cover only a few key points and then cite specific examples.Constructing the appeal of the speech in this way will definitely attract the attention of the audience. Of course, the rich source of this kind of human interest material is precisely my own life experience.Don't be hesitant to talk about your experiences because you don't think you should talk about yourself.It is only when a person talks about himself with hostility and arrogance that the audience is offended.Otherwise, the audience is very interested in the personal story told by the speaker.Personal experience is the surest and surest way to grab your audience's attention, and it should never be overlooked. When other people are involved in a story, it is in any case better to use their first names, or to invent aliases if you want to protect their identities.Even if you use an impersonal name like "Mr. Smith" or "Joe Brown" it will be more vivid than "this person" or "a person."Surnames and personal names have the function of authenticating and presenting individuals.As Rudolph Frech pointed out: "Nothing adds to the truth of a story more than a name, and nothing is more false than anonymity. Just imagine, what would it be like if the protagonist in the story had no name or surname? " If many names and personal pronouns appear in your speech, you can be sure that it has high audibility.Because in your speech, there is already this invaluable element of human interest.
Maybe you have this feeling: you have worked hard for a long time, but you still haven't explained what you mean to the audience.Originally, you are very clear about this matter, but if you want the audience to understand it, you need to explain it in depth.What should we do?My suggestion is that you might as well compare it to something familiar to your audience, and tell them that it is like another thing, like something they are familiar with. When you speak to your audience about a topic they are not familiar with, can you expect them to have a deep understanding?Of course it is difficult.So, we have to figure out a way.Go about it in the simplest and most natural way you can think of, connecting what people don't know with what they already know and are very familiar with. For example, to introduce the contribution of catalysts to industry in chemistry, if you tell people that this is a substance that can change other substances without changing itself, it may be difficult for people to understand.You can say that it is just like a little boy, jumping, fighting, making noise, and pushing other children in the schoolyard, but in the end, he is safe and sound, and has never been hit or touched by anyone. Isn't that better? In the speech, you must make your language popular and make your language a language that everyone can understand, so that you have reached the highest level of speaking. One of my students, as a doctor, once started his speech in class like this: "The diaphragm is something that, if it's being used for breathing, will obviously help the bowels move, and that's a huge benefit to your health." He wanted to go on to something else, but the teacher interrupted him.The teacher asked the people who understood the sentence to raise their hands, but to the doctor's surprise, no one raised their hands.In other words, no one understood what he was saying, and the teacher asked him to explain that sentence, telling him not to rush forward until everyone knew what the thing looked like and how it worked.So the doctor explained: "The diaphragm is actually a very thin muscle that sits between the bottom of the ribcage and the roof of the abdomen, and it moves as the chest and belly breathe. When the chest breathes, it compresses, so Like an upside-down washbasin; when the abdominal cavity breathes, it will be pushed down to make it a plane, and at this time the stomach will be squeezed. And its downward thrust will massage and Stimulate the upper organs of the abdominal cavity, such as the stomach, liver, pancreas, etc. When people exhale, the stomach and intestines push up against the diaphragm, which is equivalent to a second massage. This massage It helps the body to excrete. Many people’s physical discomfort is mainly due to gastrointestinal discomfort, and once our intestines and stomach get proper exercise due to the massage of the diaphragm, most of the discomfort will disappear.” Made this After the explanation, although it was a little troublesome, the students understood what he said. Many of us make the same mistake as this student when we speak—they speak something they know well, and they think the audience will understand it too.In fact, this problem is not difficult to solve, but it is often ignored by the speaker. I have heard countless speeches for professional reasons, but some of them have failed because of the negligence of the speakers.The reason for the analysis's failure is not that their expertise is not solid, but on the contrary, they just talk about their expertise.Obviously they have no idea, as a general audience lacks understanding of their industry.Such a result can be imagined, although they talked loudly and used a lot of vocabulary commonly used in their work, it made the lay audience completely unable to understand what they said. This is not just the case in speeches, but in virtually any conversation involving speakers from different walks of life.This inadvertent omission deprives the conversation of its intended effect.Therefore, if you want to make your speech more understandable to everyone, you must learn to popularize your language and make your language a language that everyone can understand, so that you have reached the highest level of speaking.In other words, what you say needs to be easy to understand, so that more people can understand it. How can I speak more colloquially?Perhaps the biggest problem many people face is using some technical vocabulary, which is the "terminology" we mentioned earlier.These words can only be truly understood by those who are related to a certain job or a specific field of study.In addition, some industries may create acronyms that only those in the industry understand, and these languages are usually composed of only initials.For people who are not familiar with them, when you use these words, they may not know what you mean.And due to many reasons, the average person will not stand up and explain that he did not understand.So, they're likely to smile and walk away confused.So, when it is necessary to use these technical terms, you have to make sure that these terms can be understood by them. For example, when you explain to a housewife why the refrigerator needs to be defrosted, you might say something like this: "The principle of freezing is like this. The evaporator absorbs heat from the refrigerator and then dissipates it outside the refrigerator. At this time, the heat sucked out is accompanied by moisture, which will adhere to the evaporator, forming a thick layer A layer of frost, causing the evaporator to insulate, and making the motor work more often to compensate." For those housewives, this passage may be equivalent to saying nothing.You can actually say this: "The role of the evaporator is like a suction fan. It sucks out the heat in the refrigerator, so that the refrigerator can freeze your things. When you open the refrigerator, you will definitely find that the layer of your refrigerator where the meat is placed There is a layer of frost, and these frosts are formed on the evaporator. The thicker the frost, the thicker and thicker the asbestos is, which separates the evaporator from the air in the refrigerator, so that there is no way to absorb heat normally. In this way, you The freezing effect of the refrigerator will become worse and worse. At this time, the motor can only keep running to ensure the coldness in the refrigerator, but this will reduce the service life of your refrigerator. In order to make the motor run slower, use To make your fridge less taxing, we have to figure out a way to get the frost out. And having an automatic defroster in the fridge would do that." When speaking in front of more people, how should you ensure that what you say is understood and understood by more people?Former Indiana Senator Beverage has a suggestion on this: "The best thing to do is to take the least intelligent-looking person you have to deal with, and try to make him understand what you are saying. You can only speak in the most common terms, and make your point as clearly as possible. , so that he can understand. Another good way is to target those children who are accompanied by their parents. Then, you need to keep reminding yourself-of course, you can also say it to the other party- —Try to make it as simple and clear as possible, so that everyone can understand your explanation, remember it, and be able to tell others what you have said.” Once, I went to listen to a speech by a securities broker. The people I listened to were housewives who wanted to know something about banking and investment.The speaker started off by using plain language and a humorous, light-hearted approach to put them at ease.He articulated their concerns, and more importantly, he explained technical terms such as "clearing", "taxation" and "payment" in simple and popular terms. clear.As a result, the speech was an unprecedented success.People are very grateful to him, and they all take the initiative to ask him about investment. If what you say is incomprehensible to other people, or beyond their comprehension, it is torture both for you and for the listener.There was once a missionary who wanted to translate the Bible into the language of the place where he was preaching.Among them was the line: "Though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snowflakes." Ordinarily, this line was translated verbatim, but now he had a problem.These aborigines have no experience in clearing snow at all, and they don't even know the word "snow". They don't know the difference between snow and coal.But there are coconut trees in the local area, and people are very familiar with it.So the missionaries linked "snowflakes" with "coconut meat".In the end, that sentence was translated as: "Although your crime is bright red, it will eventually be as white as coconut meat." Just such a clever change made it easy for the other party to understand what you said.
There must be a rhythm in speaking, fast when it should be fast, slow when it should be slow, and rising when it should rise. This way there are ups and downs, speed, and severity, which form the musicality and melodiousness of the spoken language. Otherwise, the words will not be touching and not moving.There are regular changes in spoken language, called rhythm.Only with this change can the language be vivid, otherwise it will appear dull.There was an Italian musician. He did not sing on stage, but counted the numbers from 1 to 100 rhythmically and with changes. As a result, he captivated all the audience, and even some audience were moved to tears. It can be seen that the rhythm is in life How important is it. You definitely hope that you can give people a capable and lively impression, so you must master the rhythm of speaking, which is the charm of speaking rhythm.There are two main factors affecting the rhythm of speaking: the speed of speaking and the simplicity and complexity of speaking content.If you speak so fast that some words are slurred, others will not understand what you are saying, and speaking too slowly will show that you are too slow and slow.In verbal communication, how fast or slow you speak will affect the information you convey to the other party.Too fast, like too high a pitch, can create tension and anxiety. Walter Stevens said in his book "Lincoln Through the Eyes of a Reporter": "He (referring to Lincoln) would utter a few words quickly, but when he came to a word he wished to emphasize, he would draw out his voice and speak each word with a heavy weight. Then he would be as fast as lightning He'll finish the whole sentence in a hurry...he will try to prolong the words that need to be emphasized, about as long as the other five or six sentences that are not important." Now you try to say the following sentence: "Today we are going to introduce to you this product of our company." The "" these three words, then paused, and enthusiastically said "this product" aloud.You will be able to get unexpected results by using this technique. But one thing to note is that although I don't object to you deliberately slowing down certain words and sentences to emphasize this or other content (depending on your pitch), if you speak the whole or most of the text In this case, I suggest that you never do this.Because this kind of deliberate procrastination will make people feel very annoying and eventually unbearable, so that the effect you expected will not be achieved. When we speak, we need to clarify the purpose of speaking: social language should be concise, concise, and carry as much and more useful information as possible.Only in this way can you make your speaking rhythm lively and make the audience feel that you are decisive, direct and sure of the content of your speech.Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand why some people state too much when expressing their views, and go on for too long, and the result is a complete failure.In Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg, he only spoke for two minutes, and the whole speech was only 226 words, but his rival Edward Everett talked for two hours.As a result, it is not difficult to know that Lincoln was successful. In life, some people speak very quickly, and can finish a lot of words in one breath. Others describe it as a machine gun.The other kind of people are just the opposite, they speak slowly and can't squeeze out a word for a long time.These two extreme situations are failure to master the rhythm of speaking.
Do you know what is the purpose of public speaking?Whether you know these things or not, any presentation generally has one of four purposes. (1) Persuade the audience to get a response. (2) Explain the situation. (3) Enhance the impression of the audience and make people convincing. (4) Bring joy to the audience. If your speech does not fall into one of these four, then your speech is undoubtedly a failure. In this section we are discussing "impressing the audience to get positive action and response". First of all, we need to know how to organize the speech so that the audience is willing to accept your suggestion and take positive action. I discussed this topic with a friend in 1930.At that time, my course became popular all over the country, and because the class was too crowded, we required each student to give a speech of only two minutes.This restriction does not affect speech if the speaker's goal is simply to entertain or explain a situation.We needed something fresh, a solid and effective approach that got results within two minutes and got responses and actions from the audience.God rewards us, and from these discussions we finally worked out a "magic formula" for speech structure.After this method was adopted in the class, it has been used to this day.What is this "magic formula"? First, describe the details of the example at the beginning, vividly explaining the idea you want to convey to the audience; second, express your point of view in detail and clearly; finally, state the reasons, emphasizing that if the audience does what you say, they will What benefits do you get. People are getting busier and they want speakers to say what's on their minds in direct words.This formula is perfect for today's fast-paced life.Speakers can no longer get bogged down in long, idle introductions.They are used to listening to condensed news reports, and they can get the facts directly without beating around the bush. Using this "magic formula," you are guaranteed to get your audience's attention and focus on the main points of your speech.Know that your audience isn't interested in apologizing or justifying, they want action, and in this "magic formula," you give them the motivation to act as soon as you speak. This formula works well for short speeches where there is some level of suspense.The audience will be hooked into your story the first time you begin the narrative, but it won't be until two or three minutes later that they get the point of your story.This trick is necessary if you want your audience to do what you ask them to do. If a speaker wants the audience to donate to something and starts by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here because I want you to donate $5 each." If they don’t have the money, they’re bound to scramble for the door; conversely, if a speaker describes visiting a remote children’s hospital and seeing a toddler unable to operate due to lack of assistance, he’s sure to win the audience’s support. This "magic formula" can also be used in business letters and instructions to employees, and mothers can use it to motivate children, who will find it easy to use it to ask parents for things.It is like a sharp weapon, through which you can convey your ideas to others in daily life. Even in the advertising world, this "magic formula" is used every day. For example, the series of TV advertisements made by the famous Everedy Battery Company recently were designed according to this formula. First, the host vividly described a story about someone trapped in an overturned car in the middle of the night.At this time, the host invited the victim out and asked him to tell the audience how he brought him help in time by shining the light of the flashlight using the Ifredy battery.Then, the host went back to his original purpose and pointed out the "importance and why": "Buy Everedy Batteries, and you can survive similar emergencies." These stories are all from Everedy Batteries real profile data.I don't know how many batteries this ad helped sell Ifredy, but I'm pretty sure this "magic formula" really works, effectively telling your audience what you want them to do or avoid. Here are a few ways to effectively move your audience to action. According to psychologists, there are two ways for people to learn: one is the law of practice, that is, let a series of similar events change people's behavior patterns; the other is the law of effect, that is, let a single event produce a strong shock, This changes people's behavior.In your speech, you should spend a lot of time describing experiences that have inspired you. When presenting facts, be sure to reframe things from your own experience so that your listeners feel the same way you do, and you can dramatize your experiences to make them sound more interesting and powerful. Then you can follow the suggestions below, which can make the audience like your speech very much. (1) Start with an unforgettable memory. Generally speaking, those single events that have a strong impact on your life will be a good choice, and will be a very effective choice.This kind of thing may not last more than a few seconds, but in that short moment, you have learned an unforgettable lesson. You need to remember this: a never-to-be-forgotten lesson is a must for this kind of talk.Use this kind of incident to move your audience and get them to take action, because the audience will reason that if this happened to you, it will happen to them in the future, then it is better to take your advice and do what you want them to do. do. (2) Always keep the audience curious about what comes next. There’s a famous slang saying: “Curiosity killed the cat.” Likewise, people’s curiosity about the unknown often creates an urgency to listen.As long as you grasp the psychological needs of people and create such an atmosphere in your speech content, then your speech will be successful.Remember the advice of a leading magazine columnist: "At the beginning of your story, grab your audience's attention." Doing so will grab your audience's attention immediately. In fact, there are also some heart-warming opening lines in my memory, they are always lingering in my ears, attracting me to pay attention to them: "That year, I suddenly woke up from my sleep, only to find myself lying on a hospital bed..." "Last summer, when I was speeding my car down the freeway..." "When I was reading in the study, I turned around and saw that the door was ajar..." "The door to the office was opened and our manager came straight in..." "While I was walking by the beautiful lake, I saw a huge wave rippling in the middle of the lake..." (3) Precise descriptions are more attractive. Details are not interesting by themselves, and too many details that don't matter can make a speech a boring activity, so you must choose those details that will highlight the main points of your speech. If you can focus on the topic and use details to render your story, this is indeed the best way.Here is a speech from a student in a Carnegie training course: “The morning before Christmas 1949, I was driving north on Indiana Route 41 with my wife and two children in the car. We had been traveling slowly for several hours along a mirror-smooth icy road. Hours. With the slightest touch of the steering wheel, my Ford car would skid freely. The time passed slowly hour by hour. ... The car soon went uphill and entered a forest area. When the car sped to the top ，我突然看到北边的山坡因为没有阳光照射，所以路面的冰还没有融化。可是已经太迟了，我们的车一打滑就冲了出去。我们的车冲过路沿，完全失去了控制，然后落进雪堆里，仍然直立着。汽车的车门被撞碎了，我们身上全是碎玻璃。” 这个事例中丰富的细节，很容易让听众有身临其境之感。你就是要让听众看到你所看到的，让听众听到你所听到的，让听众感觉到你所感觉到的。而要做到这一点，唯一的方法就是使用丰富而具体的细节。 （4）按照你的感觉情景再现。 除了运用图画般的细节之外，演讲者还应该尽可能让情景再现。演讲和“表演”有相近的地方，所有著名的演说家都有一种表演的天分，这并非是一种只能在雄辩家身上找到的稀有的特质，孩童们大多具有这种才能，我们所认识的许多人也都有这样的天赋，他们富于面部表情，善于模仿或做手势。我们多数人也都有这样的技巧，只要稍微努力和练习，就能有一定的发展。 假设你只讲两分钟，那你就只剩下30秒钟来表达你的期望，说明你希望听众采取的行动以及他们采取这种行动会有什么好处。这时，你就不再需要讲述细节了，该做直截了当的声明。这与报纸消息的技巧相反，不是先说标题，而是先讲故事，再以自己的目的或对听众行动的要求作为标题。这一步要通过三条法则来进行： （1）把你想要表达的汇总成一个重点。 你要简明扼要地告诉听众，你希望他们做什么。所以，你必须问自己，你是不是确实告诉他们该做什么了？像写电报稿一样把你的重点写下来，这是个很不错的主意，应该尽可能精简，又要使其清楚明白。不要说：“帮助我们本地孤儿院患病的孩子。”因为这样太笼统，而应该这样说：“今晚就签名，下星期天集合，带25名孤儿去野餐。” （2）使你表述的方法可以执行。 不论问题是什么，不论人们是不是还在争论不休，你都必须把自己的重点和要求讲得更容易让听众理解和实行，最好的方法就是要明确。 演讲者对听众给予明确的行动指示，比概略的言辞更容易激发听众的行动。例如“在祝贺康复的卡片上签名”，要比劝人们寄一张慰问卡或写信给一位住院的同学更好。 至于是使用肯定还是否定的语气来叙述，则要取决于听众的观点，这两种方式之间并没有好坏之分。 （3）对自己演讲的东西要自信。 演讲，直接表达出来。你现在就要给听众留下积极的印象，因此你应该有力而且信心十足地陈述出来，让听众感觉到你的诚意。你的请求不应有不确定或信心不足的语气，游说的态度也应该持续到最后一个词，然后再进行“魔法公式”的第三步。 在我们演讲的最后阶段，我们的时间几乎没有多少了。因此，我们要把握好最后的这点时间，做到结尾简短扼要，否则就收不到应有的效果。在这一步中，你必须说出自己说话的动机；或者告诉听众，如果按照你的要求去做，他们会有什么益处。 但是，这种目的明确的方法你也许会认为是一处败笔。其实不然，按照我给予你的方法去做吧： （1）给自己的例子做一句话的总结。 在演讲中，你所要做的，就是在演讲的高潮之际，用一两句话把好处说出来，然后坐下。不过，有一点很重要，就是你所强调的好处应该是从你所举的事例推论出来的。 （2）总结出一个类似广告语的口号。 说给听众的最后几句话应该清楚而明确，就像刊登在全国性的杂志里的广告词那样。推销员可以举出许多理由，劝说你为什么应该购买他们的产品；你也能举出好几个理由，来支持你自己的观点，并且全都与你所使用的事例有关。然而，最好还是选一个最突出的理由或利益。 如果你能研究一下各种广告，分析它们的内容，你就会惊讶地发现，在劝说人们购买商品时，这一“魔法公式”被使用的次数实在是太多了，你可以由此体会到，“切合题意”是整个广告成为一个统一整体的经纬线。
为什么罗素·康威尔能在一场接一场的演讲中成功地维系着和听众之间轻松愉快的关系呢？其中的确存在他成功的秘诀。 在罗素·康威尔发表著名的演说《发现自我》时，他前后发表过近6000次。或许你会想，重复这么多次的演讲，可能已经根深蒂固地刻在演讲者的脑海里，说话时的字句音调该不会有任何改变了吧？但结果并非如此，因为康威尔博士知道，听众的知识水平与背景各不相同，那么必须要让听众感到他的演讲是有针对性的、活生生的东西，是特意为他们准备的。 康威尔博士非常清楚，成功的沟通有赖于演讲者使他的演讲成为听众的一部分，同时也使听众成为演讲的一部分。尽管《发现自我》成为最受欢迎的演说，但我们却找不到一本演说词的副本。尽管他已经给大约6000场的听众讲过，但同一次演讲不会说两次。 通过这个例子，也许你应该有所领悟，准备演讲时，头脑里始终应该想着特定的听众。这里有一些简单有效的方法，可以帮助你建立起与听众之间的和谐与密切关系。 这种方法也正是康威尔博士所用的有效方法。他习惯在自己的演讲中加入许多当地人经常谈论的东西和他们熟悉的事情。听众之所以对他感兴趣，就是因为他的谈话内容与他们自身有关，与他们的兴趣有关，与他们的问题有关。正是这种与听众本身及其兴趣相关联的内在联系，才使他能够牢牢地抓住听众的注意力，保证他和听众之间的沟通顺利进行。 许多人在说话时，只谈论自己感兴趣的事情，但是听众对这些事情却感到无聊至极，所以他就不能成为一名成功的演讲者。所以，你不妨反过来做，引导别人谈论他们自己的兴趣、他们自己的事业、他们自己的成绩、他们自己的成就，如此一来，即使你说话很少，你也会被他人认为是一位很好的谈话对象。 当你面对听众时，如果不考虑听众自我中心的自然倾向，你就会发现自己面对的是一群烦躁不安的听众。他们会局促不安，表现出不耐烦，不时地抬起手看手表，并且渴望尽早离开。 如果你对他们所做的值得称赞的事情表示衷心的赞美，你就会赢得通往他们心灵的钥匙，但这也需要你去认真地加以研究。如果你的赞美只是一些夸张、肉麻的词句，比如“各位是我曾见过的最有智慧的听众”，也许会被大多数听众认为是空洞的谄媚而感到厌恶。在这里，我只想引用著名演说家德普的话：“你必须告诉他们一些有关他们的事，并且是一些他们没想到你可能会知道的事。”这将会是一项非常高超而有效的赞美手法。 有一个人最近要在巴尔的摩的基瓦尼俱乐部发表演讲，虽然他找不到该俱乐部的特殊资料，他只是知道大家都掌握的新闻，俱乐部的会员中曾有一位出任过国际会长、一位出任过国际董事，但是，他却使大家感到了与众不同的东西，他是如何做到的呢？ “巴尔的摩基瓦尼俱乐部是101898个基瓦尼俱乐部中的一个！”会员们听了有些奇怪，这个演讲者大错特错，因为全球只有2897个基瓦尼俱乐部。 然后这位演讲者接着说：“就算各位不相信我说的，但这仍然是事实，至少在数学方面是这样。各位的俱乐部确实是101898个当中的一个，而不是10万或20万个中的一个。 “我是如何计算出来的呢？不错，国际基瓦尼组织只有2897个俱乐部。但是，巴尔的摩俱乐部过去曾有人担任过国际会长和国际董事。从数学的角度来看，任何一个基瓦尼俱乐部想同时出一个国际会长和董事的概率是1：101898。我曾获得过琼斯·霍普金斯大学的数学博士学位，可以证明我计算出来的数字的准确性。”于是，他引起了大家的注意。 当然，他的赞美虽然巧妙，更主要原因还是他经过了精心的策划、用心的思考，可以看出他是发自内心的真诚，所以，如果你表示不出真心诚意的赞赏，那最好什么也别说。 演讲时，要尽早指出你和听众之间存在某种直接关系。如果你感到被邀请很荣幸，就不妨照实说出来。 另一种有效的方法，就是提到听众的名字。 在一次演讲前的宴会上，我坐在主持人的边上。我很奇怪他竟然对每一个人都非常好奇，不停地向宴会的主人打听，如那个穿蓝色西装的人是谁？那位帽子上缀满了鲜花的女士叫什么？直到他站起来讲话时，我才了解他为什么好奇。他非常巧妙地把他刚才了解的名字用到了自己的演讲中，那些被他提到名字的人，脸上全都洋溢着快乐，而这个简单的技巧也为演讲者赢得了听众的友谊。 不过要提醒你的是，如果你在演讲中用了比较奇特的名字，而这些名字是你通过询问得知的，那么你必须确保要正确无误，而且只能以友好的方式提到它们，当然还得有一定的节制。 还有一个方法可以让听众始终保持高度的注意力，那就是在演讲中使用第二人称代词“你”，而不要使用第三人称“他，他们”，这样可以让听众保持一种亲自参与的感觉。 你是否想过，怎样用点小小的表演技巧，就能让听众紧跟着你的思路前进呢？如果你在演讲时，让听众来协助你展示某个观点，或是把你的观点戏剧化地表现出来，那么听众的注意力就会明显地提升。 有个演讲者为了说明汽车在刹车后，还必须前进多长的距离才能够停下来，特意请了前排一位听众出来，帮他展示汽车在不同速度下的距离有什么不同。这个听众拿着钢卷尺的一端，沿着走道把它拉长到45尺……就在这位听众演示的过程中，其他听众也都全神贯注。那条卷尺除了能生动地层现演讲者的论点之外，还成了听众与演讲者之间一座沟通的桥梁。 这种方法之所以见效，正是因为当听众中的一个人被演讲者带入“表演”中时，其他听众就会敏锐地注意所发生的事。很多演讲者认为，在讲台上的人和讲台下的人之间有一堵墙，而你若能利用听众的共同参与，就可以推倒这堵无形的墙。 提问也是一些最常用到的方法。我喜欢请听众站起来，跟着我重复一句话，或举手回答我的问题。请记住本小节所讨论的重点，如果能让听众参与进来，你就把合伙人的权利送给了他们。
一次，美国参议院调查委员会被一位政府高级官员搞得坐立不安，如坠雾里。原来，这位官员不停地指挥，却含混不清，毫无重点，根本就没有把他自己的意思向大家讲清楚，委员会所有成员的困惑也逐渐增加。事后，一位来自北卡罗莱纳州的参议员小撒姆尔·詹姆士·阿尔文对此事说了几句精彩的比喻把大家说笑了。 他说：“这位官员让我想起了我家乡的一个男子。这个男子通知律师，说要把他的老婆休掉，不过他却向律师承认她很漂亮，是个好厨子，而且还是个模范母亲。” “那你为何还要休掉她？”律师问他。 “因为她总是在我耳边说个不停。”这个男人说。 "What did she say?" “这正是令我讨厌的地方呀，”男人说，“因为她从来没说清楚过。” 这名参议员的比喻让我们联想到了许多演说家，他们在当众说话时也像上面那个男子的妻子一样让人讨厌，大家根本不知道他们在说些什么，他们也从来没有说清楚过，从未把自己的意思讲明白过。你可千万不可小瞧了“说清楚”，它的重要性及困难程度说起来其实很大。 普鲁士名将毛奇元帅在普法战争爆发之初，对他属下的军官说：“各位，请记住，任何'可能会被误解'的命令，'将会被误解'。”拿破仑也深知这种“不清楚”的危险。他曾一再向他的秘书下达的最慎重的一道指示就是：“要清楚！一定要清楚！” 在前面小节中，我们介绍了一套“魔法公式”，它有助于你做简短的演讲，并且有效地获得听众的行动。那么在本小节中，我要教给你一些方法，帮助你如何将自己的意思表达清楚。 下面各项建议，将让你清晰、精确地使用语言，让听众毫无困难地了解你。 威廉·詹姆斯教授曾指出：“一个人在一次演讲中，只能针对一个要点。”当然，他所说的演讲是针对一小时的演讲而言的，但是我却听过一次3分钟的演讲，演讲者一开始就说他想谈11个要点。What?这样说来，平均每16.5秒钟就要表达一个要点！居然有人想做如此荒谬的事情，有些不可思议吧？ 我们要认清现状，要知道想在一天之内匆匆忙忙地看完巴黎所有的风光显然是办不到的，然而，如果你可以在有限的时间内表达完你所有的观点，结果又会怎样呢？听众最终什么印象也没有！ 如果你坚持要表达得面面俱到，其结果就是没有人会留下印象，而只是一片混乱和含糊，而且只是一些太过简单的大纲。 相反，你可以只讲述这个组织的一个方面，并且详细讲述。这样做的话，虽然你将给听众留下一个单一的印象，但却透彻易懂，也容易记忆。不过，如果你的演讲要谈论的内容真的很多，那我建议你至少在每个部分结束时做一个简要的总结。 有时，一些经验丰富的演讲者也会犯这样的低级错误——也许是他们具备多方面的才华，所以看不到精力分散的危险。但你千万不要向他们学习，而是要紧扣主题。 你所说的话中，也许存在多个主题，这样的结果是什么呢？这将使你和对方的精力都被分散。实际上，你要把一个主题讲得很透彻十分困难，所以更不可能把每个主题都讲透。如果非得这样，那么每个主题你都只会浅尝辄止，因此跟对方讨论各种话题会影响你主要观点的表达。 此外，很多人喜欢注重细节的描述。这并没有错，但是你必须注意一个前提，即不能影响你的主题的表达。如果你把精力和时间都放在这些细节中，那么，你的信息重点就会不清晰。千万不要期待对方花费更多的努力、精力或时间来分析解读你的观点，大多数人都不愿意这么去做。所以，通过你的表达，让对方直接得到重要的信息，这才是最重要的。 在演讲之前，材料的整理都是从最粗糙的原材料开始，然后经过各种各样的加工，最后完成真正的产品，至于其中加入多少细节，就取决于演讲的时间了。 几乎所有的演讲题材，都可以利用一定的时间顺序、空间顺序或者事物的内在逻辑顺序来展开演讲。比如时间顺序，我们可以按照“过去、现在、将来”这样的顺序来展开，也可以从某一天开始进行倒叙。 在空间顺序上，演讲者可以某个点为立足点，然后由此向外拓展；或者按照东、南、西、北的方位来处理。假设你要描述华盛顿城，你可以领着听众，从国会山庄的顶端按照各个方向来叙述。如果你要说明一驾喷气引擎或一辆汽车，最好是把它分解成各部分，再逐一谈论。 不过，有些演讲题材本身就具有自己的内在逻辑顺序。例如，美国政府的结构，有它原有的组织形态，只要按照立法、行政、司法三部门来介绍，效果就必然清晰。 如果你把要表达的语言全部杂乱无章地呈现给听众，肯定会把他们吓跑。如果你想让听众对你的演讲有一种井然有序、条理分明的印象，最简单的方法之一，就是在演讲过程中明白地表示你有几个重点，你会先讲哪一点，接下来再讲哪一点。例如你完全可以这样开门见山地说： “我要讲的第一点是……”在讨论完这一点之后，你可以提示将要谈第二点、第三点……就这样一直说到结尾。 在美国国会联合委员会举行的商业会议上，经济学家道格拉斯以税务专家和伊利诺州参议员的身份演讲，同样巧妙而有效地使用了这种办法。 他是这样开始的：“我演讲的主题是：最迅速、最有效的经济增长方式，是减少那些几乎会用去所有收入的中低收入阶层的个人所得税。” 然后，他用这样的方式继续他的谈话： 具体说…… 进一步说…… 此外…… 最后他说：“总之，我们需要做的，是立即减免中低收入阶层实行的个人所得税，以增加需求与购买力。” 因此，为了使你的说话不拖泥带水，你最好确保自己的信息简短、直接。为了达到这一点，你可以采用下面的方法来安排你需要表达的信息。 对于你要陈述的重要观点，你需要记住这一点：词汇或句子越少越好。有这么一句老话可以很好地表达我的意思，它是这么说的：“我问你几点钟，你不用告诉我表的工作原理。” 话虽如此，但是事实却并不是这样。明明可以用少数词句就可以表达清楚的观点，很多人却总是喜欢用过多的词句，甚至堆砌故事、人物、数字来说明他的主题。你需要避免过多的修饰，它只会损害你的表达。 一个十几岁的孩子第一次参加正式的舞会，他的父亲这样教导他说：“你也许不应该在今晚的舞会之前、之中或之后喝酒。” 这位父亲在这句话中犯了哪些错误呢？首先，像“也许”这样缺乏说服力的限制词或关联词，听起来叫人不那么肯定你要表达的究竟是什么意思，对方可能不明白你所肯定的是什么。其次，“之前、之中或之后”这样的词汇无非就是要说明不允许他喝酒这么一个目的，何须加这么多修饰的词语呢？这样就给人留下不果断、不直接和不坚决的印象，还会使你的表达不够简洁。
俗话说：“编筐编篓，重在收口；描龙画凤，难在点睛。”演讲的结尾，就是演讲的“收口”、“点睛”。美国作家约翰沃尔夫认为“演讲最好在听众兴趣未尽时戛然而止。”其意就是说，最好在演讲达到高潮时果断“刹车”，以此来强化给听众的最佳印象。 我曾经对工业家乔治·福·詹森做过一次访问。当我到达他的办公室的时候，他对我说：“你来的正是时候，我马上要进行一次演讲。你看，我现在已经准备好它的结尾了。” “对一个演讲者来说，”我说，“能够预先在头脑中有清晰的思路，这的确是很好的。” “噢，”他说，“我现在才开始准备它的结尾，我头脑里还没有完全清晰的思路，刚刚有了笼统的概念和结尾的方式。” 詹森先生并不是一个专业演说家，他只是依照自己的经验进行了许多成功的演讲。他已经认识到了结尾对一个演讲来说非常重要，并且认识到需要合情合理地进行推理，最后得出结论。结论可以说是演讲最重要的一部分。当演讲者结束演讲后，他所说的最后几句话可能还停留在听众的脑海中，这些话将会被听众长久地记住。 好的结尾能揭示题旨，加深认识，给听众留下完整深刻的印象；能收拢全篇，使通篇浑然一体；能鼓动激情，促人深思，令人觉醒，能让听众在反复回味中受到教育和启发。所以，每位演讲者不仅要熟练地掌握演讲结尾的艺术技巧，而且要善于设计，安排出既符合内容要求，又符合演讲的时境的新颖而又精彩的结尾，只有这样才能使自己的演讲取得全面成功。 如果说开场白是飞行的起飞的话，那么结论就是飞行的降落。我希望你能够做到“平稳降落”，为了做到这一点，你不防借鉴一下这几类结尾方式： 以总结归纳的方式结尾。这种结尾用极其精练的语言，对演讲内容和思想观点作一个高度概括性的总结，以起到突出中心、强化主题、首尾呼应、画龙点睛的作用。 用提希望或发号的方式结尾。这种结尾是演讲者以慷慨激昂、扣人心弦的语言，对听众的理智和情感进行呼唤，或提出希望，或发出号召，或展示未来，以激起听众感情的波涛，使听众产生一种蓬勃向上的力量。 以留余味、泛余波的方式结尾。这种结尾语尽而意不尽，意留在语外，像撞钟一样，清音有余，余味袅袅，回味无穷，三日不绝。 在演讲的高潮中结尾。即把演讲的高潮设计在最后，在高潮中结尾。演讲结束时，演讲者设法最后一次拨动听众的心弦，打开听众的心扉，掀起高潮。 用重复题目的方式结尾。演讲的题目或标题是演讲的重要组成部分，是最具个性和特色的标志。在演讲结束时，如果重复题目，再一次点题，那么，就能加深听众对演讲的印象，使听众产生强烈的共鸣。 用幽默、风趣的语言结尾。除了某些较为庄重的演讲场合外，利用幽默结束演讲可为演讲添加欢声笑语，使演讲更富有趣味，令人在笑声中深思，并给听者留下一个愉快的印象。 同时，你需要避免下面几种错误的结尾方式： 有些演讲者常常不知道应该如何结束自己的演讲。他们带领观众就如同进行一次没有规划过的旅行一样，他引领听众进入一个又一个的景观，并对景观进行了详细的描述，但是他却不知道如何停止下来。只有天黑了，他才意识到自己该结束了。这种演讲没有任何结论性的语言，但是他确实已经发表完自己的演讲了。 这种感觉就好像跌入了一个没有底的洞，原本愉快的心情突然被毫无征兆地关闭起来，让人感觉很不舒服。 很多人在演讲结束部分都会这么说：“对于这件事，我只能说这么多了。”又比如他们会这么说：“谢谢诸位。” 既然他们已经发表完自己的演讲，为什么还不坐下来呢？这种结论就好像他们放的烟雾弹，他们想借此来遮掩自己不会做结论的事实。 演讲就如同一场平等的交易，开场的时候你告诉听众你想要得到什么，结束的时候你很自然地希望听众能够满足你的要求。这是成功的演讲者常常会做的事情，这很自然，听众通常也不会拒绝。 也正因为这种交易，才让听众有参与的感觉，才能引起听众的兴趣。 说话切忌说雷同的话，千万不要让你的结论照抄前面的话，这种结论没有任何好处，只会让听众更加厌烦。因此，当听众不耐烦地说“又来了”的时候，你千万要小心。 演讲如同开车一样，平稳的驾驶才能让人感觉舒服，但是有些演讲者结束得过于迅速——当听众还沉浸在他的演讲之中，并且准备听他继续说下去的时候，他就匆匆地结束了演讲。 “这就结束了吗？”听众会产生这样的疑问。这就像汽车还没有到达目的地就抛了锚一样令人不愉快。这种结论没有任何的过渡，在听众刚开始感到愉快的时