Carnegie Language Breakthroughs and the Art of Communication

Chapter 16 Speech Speakers and Audiences (5)
"People are selfish by nature," he said. "They're only interested in themselves. They don't really care if the government should nationalize the railroads, but they want to know how to get promoted, how to get paid more." , how to stay healthy. If I were the editor-in-chief of this magazine, I would tell readers how to take care of their teeth, how to bathe, how to keep cool in summer, how to get a job, how to cope with the employees they hire, how to buy a house, how to increase their Memory skills, how to avoid grammatical mistakes, etc. People are always interested in other people's life stories, so I'm going to ask some millionaires to talk about how they made millions in real estate. I'm also looking for some famous Bankers and CEOs of major corporations, ask them to talk about how they worked their way up from the bottom to where they are today."

Not long after, Siddah became the editor-in-chief of the magazine.At that time, the magazine sold very little, and it was not a successful magazine.Siddha immediately remodeled the magazine according to his above conception.How did it react?Very enthusiastic.The sales volume of the magazine has also risen rapidly, reaching 20, 30, 45, 50 copies... because its content is exactly what ordinary people want to read.Before long, the magazine was selling 100 million copies a month, then 150 million, and finally 200 million.But sales didn't stop there, and continued to rise for several years.Siddharth satisfies the reader's first interest.

So, the next time you're in front of an audience, imagine that they're eager to hear what you have to say -- as long as it applies to them.Speakers who fail to take into account the inevitable tendency of their audience to be self-centered can easily find themselves dealing with restless audiences who squirm, glance at their watches, and look hopefully for the exit.

2. Give sincere, genuine appreciation
Audiences are made up of many individuals, so they respond as individuals.Public criticism of an audience is bound to lead to resentment.Compliment them for something admirable they've done, and you've got a passport to their hearts and minds.This requires some research on your own.Exaggerated, gross phrases like "You guys are the wisest audience I've ever had to deal with" are also offended by flattery that most audiences see as empty.

To paraphrase the great speaker Giancy M. Depp, you have to "tell them something about them that they didn't think you might know".For example, a person recently wanted to give a speech at the Kewanee Club in Baltimore, but he couldn't find any special information about the club. He only knew that one of his members had served as the international president and one had served as an international director. Not news to those at the club.So he wanted to come up with something new, so he started like this:
The Baltimore Kewanee Club has 101 members! "

Members listened, the speaker was simply wrong—because there are only 2 Kewanee clubs in the world.The speaker then went on to say:
But even if you don't believe it, it's still a fact.According to the numbers, the club does have 101 members, not 898 or 10, but 000.How did I figure it out, the International Kiwanis only has 20 clubs.The Baltimore club has had an international president and an international director in the past.From the perspective of mathematical probability, the odds of any Kewanee club wanting to have an international president and director at the same time are 000 to 101-this number was told to me by a PhD in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University, The results should be quite reliable.

When talking about this kind of subject matter, the attitude must be 100% sincere.With words that are not sincere, you may occasionally deceive people, but you will never deceive your audience.What a "highly intelligent audience..." "These beauties and gentlemen from New Jersey..." "I'm so glad to be here because I love each and every one of you." Don't do that!If you can't speak your heartfelt words, then don't force yourself.

3. Be One with Your Audience

As soon as you start speaking, you should state that there is a connection between you and your audience.If you feel honored to be invited to speak, say so.When Harold McMillan addressed his graduating class at DePauw University in Indiana, he began:

I am very grateful for your kind welcome speech. As the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it is also a rare opportunity to be invited to speak at your school.But I know that my current title may not be the main reason for your invitation.He then mentioned that his mother was American, born in Indiana, and that his father was one of DePauw's first graduates.

“I assure you that I am honored to have such a relationship with DePauw,” he said. “Now, I am delighted to bring back this family's ancient tradition.”

No doubt McMillan made an instant friendship for himself by mentioning American schools and the American life his mother and pioneer father had known.

Another way to open up the conversation is to call out some people in the audience by name.Once, I was sitting next to the speaker of the day at a dinner party.I was surprised that the speaker kept asking for the names of certain people during the meal, which made me feel very strange.Throughout the meal, he kept asking the host who was the person in the blue suit at a certain table, and what was the name of the lady with the flowered hat?When he got up to speak, I immediately understood why he did it.He weaved the names he had just learned into his speech so deftly that the joy on the faces of those whose names were mentioned in the speeches and I feel that this simple technique has won the audience for the speaker Warm friendship again.

Or look at how Frank Pace, Jr., president of General Dynamics, used just a few names to achieve unexpected results.He spoke at the American Life Religious Company's annual dinner in New York:
Tonight, for me, is a very pleasant and meaningful moment.First, my own pastor, Robert Alpoa, was in the audience.His words, deeds, and teachings have made him an inspiration and inspiration to me personally, my family, and all of us...Secondly, the religious devotion of Louis Strauss and Bob Stevens here , which has expanded into a passion for the public good... It is indeed my greatest honor to sit with them.

It should be noted that if you are going to mention an unfamiliar name, especially a name that you have just inquired about, make sure you are not mistaken.Be sure why you are mentioning the name, and do so in an appropriate and appropriate manner.

Another way to keep your audience's attention at peak speed is to use the pronoun "you" instead of "they."This approach keeps the listener in a state of self-awareness.I have already pointed out this point before. If the speaker wants to grasp the attention and interest of the audience, he cannot ignore this factor.Here are some excerpts from a speech entitled "Sulfuric Acid" by a student in one of our training courses in New York:

Most liquids are measured in pints, quarts, gallons or barrels.We usually say quarts of wine, gallons of milk, and barrels of honey.After a new well is discovered, we also say that it produces several barrels per day.However, there is a kind of liquid, because the production and consumption are too large, it must be calculated in tons, and this liquid is sulfuric acid.

Sulfuric acid is involved in many aspects of our daily life.If there is no sulfuric acid, your car will not be able to run, you will have to ride a horse or drive a carriage like in ancient times, because sulfuric acid must be widely used in refining kerosene and gasoline.Whether it's the electric light that lights up your office, the lamp that lights your dining table, or the little lamp that guides you to bed at night, none of this would be possible without sulfuric acid.

When you get up in the morning, turn on the tap and turn on the water to take a shower.You're turning a nickel faucet, and sulfuric acid was used in its manufacture.Sulfuric acid is also used in the manufacture of your enamelled bathtub.It's also possible that the soap you're using is made from oils plus a sulfuric acid treatment...it's been treated to sulfuric acid before you've even dealt with your towel.The bristles on the combs you use also need to be treated with sulfuric acid, and your celluloid combs cannot be manufactured without sulfuric acid.Also, your razor must have been dipped in sulfuric acid after it was originally forged.

You put on your underwear, put on your coat, and button it up.It is used by bleachers, dye makers, and the dyers themselves.Someone who makes buttons may find that sulfuric acid must be used to make your buttons.Leathermakers also use sulfuric acid to treat the leather of your shoes, and that's where it comes in when we want to polish our shoes.

You go downstairs for breakfast.It's even more essential if you're using cups and plates that aren't pure white.Because sulfuric acid has always been used to make gold plating and other decorative materials.If your spoons, knives, and forks are silver-plated, be sure to soak them in sulfuric acid.

The wheat that makes your bread or burrito may have been grown using phosphate fertilizers, which require more sulfuric acid to make.If you are enjoying buckwheat cakes and syrup, syrup is also necessary...

Like this, throughout the day, in every way, sulfuric acid affects you.No matter where you go, you cannot escape its influence.Without it, we would not only be unable to fight wars, but also unable to live in peace.Therefore, this extremely important and basic sulfuric acid for human beings should not be completely ignored by the general public...but unfortunately, it is.

This speaker uses "you" subtly and draws the audience into the topic of his speech, thereby maintaining the audience's enthusiastic attention.There are times, however, when using the pronoun "you" is dangerous, and instead of building a bridge between the audience and the speaker, it may create division.This happens when we address or preach to our audience in a seemingly condescending tone.It is better to say "we" than "you" at this time.

Dr. WW Bauer, chair of the American Medical Association's Health Education Group, often uses this technique in his radio and television presentations. "We all want to know how to choose a good doctor, don't we?" he once said in a speech: "So since we want to get the best from our doctors, shouldn't we all know how to be a good patient?" Woolen cloth?"

4. Interact with the audience during your speech

Have you ever thought that with a little acting skill, you can make the audience pay attention to every word of yours step by step.When you choose an audience to help you make a point or dramatize an idea, your audience's attention is dramatically enhanced.Feeling themselves the audience, the audience is acutely aware of what happens when one of them is brought into the "performance" by the speaker.If, as many speakers have said, there is a wall between those on the stage and those off it, using the participation of the audience breaks down that wall.I remember a speaker explaining how far a car has to go to stop after applying the brakes.He asked someone in the front row to stand up and help him show how the distance would change at different speeds.The listener holds the end of a steel tape measure and pulls it 45 feet down the aisle.As I watched the process, I couldn't help noticing how engrossed the audience was in the presentation.I said to myself, that tape measure is really a line of communication between the audience and the speaker, besides showing vividly the speaker's argument.If it weren't for such a trick of acting, the audience would probably be concerned about what to have for dinner, or what the TV show will be tonight!
One of my favorite ways to involve the audience in my presentations is to ask questions and get answers.I like to ask the audience to stand up and repeat a sentence after me, or to raise their hands to answer my questions.Percy H. Whiting has a book: How to Add Humor to Your Speech and Writing, which provides some valuable advice on audience participation, suggesting asking the audience to vote on something, or inviting them to help solve a problem . "You have to be right about something," said Mr. Whiting. "You know, speech is not the same as reciting. The point of a speech is to get a reaction from the audience—to make the audience a participant in the whole affair." I Love how he describes the audience as "participants in the whole thing".And that's the crux of everything we've discussed.If you can get the listener involved, he's your good buddy.

5. Take a low profile

The easiest way to arouse the audience's disgust is to make the audience feel that you are superior.When you give a speech, it's like a showcase, every facet of your personality is on display, and the slightest bit of boasting or bragging can lead to failure.On the other hand, humility can inspire confidence and agreeableness.You can be humble, but you don't have to appear swayed and submissive.As long as you show that you are determined to speak well as best you can, why not mention your limited talents, your audience will like and respect you.

Of course, there is no substitute for sincerity in the speaker-audience relationship.Norman Vincent Peale once gave some useful advice to a pastor friend.The pastor simply could not keep the audience's attention on his sermon.Dr. Peale told the pastor to ask himself how he felt about the audience he faced every Sunday morning—whether he liked them, wanted to help them, thought they were less intelligent than himself, and so on.Dr. Peale said that he never stepped into the pulpit without feeling strongly about the men and women he was about to face.When the speaker thinks he is intellectually or socially superior, the audience knows it.Indeed, one of the best ways a speaker can gain the affection of his audience is by keeping a low profile.

Edmund S. Muskie demonstrated this technique in a speech to the American Debating Association in Boston when he was Senator from Maine:
This morning I hesitated to take up the task of speaking. He said, "First of all, I know that the audience here is all professional people, so I can't help but ask myself: Is it wise to expose my stupidity in front of everyone's sharp eyes like this.Second, it's a breakfast meeting, which is usually when people are least alert, so if I behave badly, the consequences for a politician are very serious.Furthermore, the topic I want to talk about today is: what influence does being a public servant have?On this point, as long as I continue to be in politics, my constituents seem to have significantly different opinions on whether this influence is good or bad.

Faced with these doubts, I felt a lot like a mosquito that had stumbled into the celestial kingdom and didn't know where to start.

Senator Muskie went on, and the whole speech turned out to be a great success.

Adlai E. Stevenson also showed great humility in his commencement speech at Michigan State University.In his opening remarks, he said:
I always have a sense of inadequacy on these occasions, and it reminds me of Samuel Butler's answer when he was asked how to make the most of his life.I think his answer was, "I don't even know how to use the next 15 minutes." I feel the same way about the next 20 minutes now.

The requirements of the American TV industry are extremely strict, and the actors with the highest ratings in each season are caught in a fierce competition.One of the actors who gets his life back every year is Ed Sullivan.He's not just an expert in television, but a journalist.He's an amateur in the competitive television world.The reason he was able to survive was because he didn't think he should be, but only thought he was an amateur.His unnatural behavior in front of the camera would be a flaw in anyone, not as natural and touching as him.He clutched his chin, shrugged his shoulders, tugged at his tie, and stammered.But these defects are harmless to him, and he doesn't take them seriously when people criticize him for them.At least once a season, he would bring a master impersonator to the TV screen, and let him imitate himself to perfection and exaggerate his shortcomings.He welcomes criticism, and that's what the audience likes about him. Audiences love humility, and they loathe pompous show-offs.

Henry and Dana Thomas, in their book "The Biography of Modern Religious Leaders", commented on Confucius: "He never showed off to others with his own unique knowledge. He only tried to enlighten others with his own tolerant compassion. People." If we can have this kind of inclusive compassion, we have the key to open the hearts of our listeners.

(End of this chapter)