Chapter 4 Believe in your own speaking potential

Since 1912, more than half a million people have taken my public speaking courses.Naturally, these courses all contained my theories and methods of public speaking.Moreover, many of the participants wrote in explaining why they took the course and what they aspired to achieve. Of course, the letters are not all worded in the same way, but most of the central ideas and fundamental needs are surprisingly consistent: "When I stood up to speak," wrote more than one person, "I became cautious. So nervous that I can't think clearly, express myself, and don't know what to say. I want to gain confidence, poise, and the ability to think for myself.

"In business, in clubs, or in public, I want my thoughts to fit together logically and to express them clearly and convincingly." Thousands of letters are roughly the same. This reminds me of a real incident: Years ago, I knew a gentleman named Ghent who attended a public speaking class I gave in Philadelphia.Not long after the term started, he invited me to lunch at the Manufacturing Workers' House Club. He is a middle-aged man with an extremely positive and optimistic attitude towards life; he not only owns his own business, but also actively participates in church work and community activities.

That day, we ate and chatted.He said with emotion: "People have invited me to speak in public many times before, but I never dared to try. Because whenever I think of facing so many people in the audience, I feel very nervous. My brain is also at a loss. So, I always try to avoid such occasions. However, I am now the chairman of the university board of directors. On the board of directors, I have to chair meetings and make some speeches. Do you feel a little late?" I encouraged him to say, "Mr. Ghent, learning is a lifelong process, it doesn't matter sooner or later. But whether you can succeed is not a question I can answer. The key depends on yourself. As long as you can use the right method, supplemented by With unremitting efforts, you will surely succeed.”

He really hopes that the future development will be as I said, but he is worried that it is too optimistic.So, he said dubiously, "Am I really okay? You don't mean it out of kindness, you just comfort and encourage me." We lost contact for a long time after the training session.Later, we ran into each other at the "Manufacturing Workers' Home Club".After exchanging pleasantries, we met again for lunch.It was still the restaurant last time, and it was still the same table.I asked him if I was being too optimistic, which reminded him of our earlier conversation.He took out a notebook with a red cover from his pocket, and showed me the list of speeches and dates scheduled for him.

“The ability to speak,” he confesses, “the joy of speaking, the other services I can bring to the community—all of those things have been the most satisfying things in my life.” Just before we met again , an important disarmament conference was held in Washington.When it became known that the British Prime Minister planned to attend the meeting, Baptists in Philadelphia telegraphed an invitation for him to speak at a large mass meeting in their city.Moreover, Mr. Ghent told me, he himself was singled out of all the Baptists in the city of Philadelphia to introduce the British Prime Minister to the public.

And yet, it was this man who, almost three years ago, sat at the same table and solemnly asked me if he could speak in public!Is the rate at which he is improving his oratory prowess extraordinary?Absolutely not, we have many similar examples.To give a clearer example: A few years ago, a Brooklyn doctor, whom we'll call Dr. Curtis, was sheltering from the cold near the Giants' training facility in Florida.A passionate baseball fan, he often goes to see the Giants practice.Before long, he became intimately acquainted with them.So, one day, he was invited to a banquet held in honor of the Giants.

After the coffee and nuts were served, several prominent guests stood up to say a few words.Suddenly, Dr. Curtis unexpectedly heard the master of ceremonies say: "Tonight, there is a doctor here, Dr. Curtis, and I plan to ask him to speak a few words about the health of baseball players." Is he prepared for this knowledge?Of course, Mr. Curtis was prepared, and he had the best preparation in the world: for more than thirty years he had been studying hygiene and conducting medical experiments.Originally, he could sit in a chair and talk at length all night on this subject.But standing up and speaking, even to a small audience, is another matter entirely.He felt powerless for the task.Thinking of this, his heart beat faster.He had never done a public speaking job in his life, and now all he wanted was to grow wings and get away.How on earth should he do it?The audience was clapping and everyone was looking at him.Curtis shook his head, but this made the applause even more enthusiastic. "Dr. Curtis! Speak! Speak!" The cry became more and more urgent.

He was in absolute trouble.He knew that if he tried to speak he would fail because he couldn't say a few words.Therefore, this person who felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed, without saying a word, stood up, turned around, and walked out of the room silently. One of the first things he did when he returned to Brooklyn was to sign up for my public speaking class, not wanting to get blushed and left speechless again. He was the kind of student whose teachers would cheer him up: a man with unbridled enthusiasm, an eagerness to speak in public, and absolutely no intention of deserting himself.He always prepared his presentations well, practiced them consistently, and he didn't miss a single lesson of the course.

As a student, he was serious about doing what he had to do: it made him progress at a speed that surprised him, faster than he could have imagined.After the first few learning sessions, his nervousness disappeared and his self-confidence grew.Two months later, he was the brightest speaker in his group.Soon after, he began to receive invitations to give speeches in various places; now, he admits that he likes the feeling and passion when giving a speech, and is grateful that the speech has made him an outstanding person, and he is also grateful that the speech has brought him new friends. A member of the New York City Republican Movement Committee, after hearing a speech by Dr. Curtis, invited him to lobby for his rally in the city.How surprised the politician would have been if he had known that this very man had left the public banqueting hall in shame and confusion only a year earlier, unable to speak because of stage fright!

Gaining confidence and courage when speaking in front of a crowd and the ability to think calmly and clearly is less than one-tenth as difficult as most people think.This talent is not a gift from God to the gifted few, but it is similar to the ability to play golf.Anyone can develop this potential in himself if he has sufficient enthusiasm. Is being directly with your audience the biggest reason you can't think well?Of course, you don't think so.In fact, you should be able to think better when you are in front of a crowd, and the presence of people should stimulate and elevate your thinking more.Many speakers see their audience as a motivator and an inspiration, and they make the speaker's brain work more clearly and sharply.At such times, as Henry Ward Beecher puts it, the ideas, facts, opinions that the speaker has not yet realized they have "are coming like smoke"; Just grab them and that's it.This should be your experience, and if you practice and persevere, it will work out.

Through these examples, one thing is certain: training and practice will remove your fear and, moreover, will give you self-confidence and the courage that goes with it. Don't think that you can overcome the blind fear and nervousness that even the best of your generation suffered from at the beginning of their speaking careers. William Janis Bran, once a war-wounded veteran.He confessed that his legs were shaking during his first attempt at public speaking. When Mark Twain gave his first speech, he felt like his mouth was stuffed with cotton, and his pulse was beating faster, as if he was racing with someone. Grant, leading the greatest army in the world at the time, captured Vicksburg and was victorious; yet, when he was about to give a public speech, he admitted that he was like a car running out of control. Joan Gerros, the most politically influential public speaker in France at the time, sat in the Capitol in silence for a full year before mustering up the courage to deliver her first speech. Lauder George said frankly: "The first time I gave a public speech, I was in a state of pain and didn't know what to say. In fact, at the beginning, my tongue was pressed against the roof of the mouth, almost Can't say a word." John Bate, the famous man dedicated to the unification and liberation of the country during the Civil War, gave his first lecture to a group of peasants in a school.On the way to a speech, he was so afraid of failure that he asked his peers to applaud him when he flinched. Charles Stewart Parnell, the great Irish leader, was at the very beginning of his oratorial career—attested by his brother: “so nervous that he clenched his fists so that his nails sank It got into the flesh, and the palms bleed." Disraeli admitted that the first time he spoke in the House of Commons he would have preferred to lead a cavalry charge and that his public address had been abysmal. In fact, many famous orators started out unsuccessfully.Therefore, you have to relax. After reviewing the experiences of many speakers growing up, I am always happy when the trainees initially appear restless and anxious.Even in a business meeting with just a few dozen people, your speech should try to do just that—by turns nervous, surprised, excited.At this time, the speaker should be tense and excited, like a well-trained horse galloping.Two thousand years ago, Cicero said: All truly great public speeches are characterized by emotional tension and excitement. Speakers can experience the same thing even when speaking into the radio, and it's called "microphone phobia."When Charlie Chaplin spoke over the radio, he had his speeches written out in full.Of course, he was used to speaking in public. In 1912, he revisited his hometown in England and wrote a miscellaneous note "Night in the Music Hall".Before that, he already had a certain status in the UK.However, when he entered the studio to face the microphone, he was filled with a feeling that was like crossing the Atlantic on a stormy February day. Famous film actor and director James Keckwood had a similar experience.He had been a star on the speaking stage before; but when he finished speaking in front of the microphone in the radio studio, he was in a cold sweat.He said frankly: "Even giving a speech on Broadway will not make me so nervous." Many people get nervous before a speech, whether or not they do it often.But after a while, the tension goes away and the speaker returns to himself.Even Lincoln squirmed during his first few speeches.His legal partner described: "At the beginning, Lincoln always felt at a loss, and it seemed difficult for him to adapt himself to the surrounding environment. He tried to change this excessive timidity and anxiety, but often It would be counterproductive. I have witnessed such moments many times and am very sympathetic to his situation. When he starts to speak, his voice trembles, often accompanied by harsh, unpleasant sounds. His manner, manner, that lacklustre , wrinkled face, erratic posture, and cautious movements—all of which seemed to work against him, but only for a short time.” After a few speeches, Lincoln became He became poised, and he was full of enthusiasm and passion again, so his real speech kicked off.