Carnegie Language Breakthroughs and the Art of Communication

Chapter 27 The Art of Effective Communication (6)
What effect does the speaker's attire have on the audience?I have noticed that if the speaker is a slovenly man, wearing baggy trousers, deformed coat and shoes, fountain pens and pencils protruding from the breast pocket, a newspaper, a pipe or a pot of tobacco will make the suit If the speaker is a lady with a big ugly handbag and her petticoat showing, the audience has no more confidence in such a speaker than the speaker has in himself. There is no confidence in the general appearance.Seeing his or her disheveled appearance, wouldn't the audience also think that the speaker's mind must also be messed up, just like his unkempt hair, unpolished leather shoes, or bulging handbag? .

When General Robert E. Lee went to Appomattox to surrender on behalf of his troops, he wore a neat uniform and a precious long sword at his waist.In stark contrast to him, Grant wore neither coat nor sword, only a soldier's shirt and trousers.Grant later wrote in his memoirs: "I must have been a very grotesque object by comparison, and the other was a well-dressed man, six feet tall, well-dressed." Wearing appropriate attire became one of the greatest regrets of General Grant's life.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture once raised hundreds of hives of bees on its experimental farm.Each honeycomb is equipped with a large magnifying glass, and as long as the button is pressed, the interior of the honeycomb will be illuminated by electric lights.In this way, at any time, whether it is day or night, every move of these bees can be observed very carefully.The same is true for speakers.He too was placed under a magnifying glass, in a spotlight, with all eyes on him.In plain sight, the slightest incongruity in his personal appearance would instantly stand out like Mount Parker in Colorado.

A few years ago I wrote a story about the life of a New York banker for American Magazine.I asked a friend of his to explain his success.The most important factor in the banker's success, he said, was his charming smile.This statement may seem exaggerated at first, but I believe it is true.Others—perhaps dozens or even hundreds—may have more experience and superior financial judgment, but this banker has an additional quality that none of them have. Asset: Most easy-going personality.In this personality, his warm and welcoming smile is one of the biggest characteristics.This kind of smile can make him immediately win the trust of others, so that he can immediately win the favor of others.Anyone who has ever met him wants to see him succeed and is more than happy to support him.

There is a Chinese idiom called "peace makes wealth".Isn't smiling in front of an audience just as popular as smiling behind a counter?Speaking of this, I remembered a student who attended a speech training class sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.When he appeared in front of the audience, there was an air all over his body, as if to show the audience that he was happy to be here and that he enjoyed the speech he was about to give.He was always smiling and seemed more than willing to face his audience.His emotions quickly infected every audience in the audience, and people immediately felt that he was very kind, and he was also very popular.

In stark contrast, I have often seen speakers come up to the podium with a cold, artificial attitude, and deliver the speech with a very reluctant air.By the time the speech is over, it's like a chore, thank goodness.Those of us who are in the audience will also be quickly infected by his emotions, and will listen to his speech very seriously.

Professor Ofer Street writes in Influential Human Behavior:

Likes beget likes.If we are interested in our audience, the audience will be interested in us.If we don't like our audience, they will dislike us, both outwardly and inwardly.They also lack confidence in us if we act timid and flustered.If we acted like a rascal and boasted, the audience also displayed a protective arrogance.Often, we are judged good or bad by the audience before we even open our mouths.I have good reason, therefore, to point out that we must be sure in advance that our attitude will elicit an enthusiastic response from our audience.

3. Bring the audience together

As a speaker, I often speak to a small audience sitting sparsely in a hall in the afternoon, or to a large group crowded in a small space in the evening.At different times, the audience's reaction to the speaker is different. The same topic that the audience will laugh happily at night can only make the audience smile slightly in the afternoon; The audience would applaud each passage enthusiastically, but the afternoon audience was unresponsive.

Why is this?One reason for this was that the audience in the afternoon was mostly elderly women or young children.They certainly do not respond as enthusiastically to the topic as the more energetic and more discerning audience in the evening.But that's only part of the reason.

A more real reason is that when audiences are spread out, they are less susceptible to mutual infection.Nothing in the world dampens the enthusiasm of an audience more than empty audiences in that venue with lots of empty chairs between them.

When Henry Beecher gave a lecture on preaching at Yale University, he said:
"People often ask me, 'Do you think it's more interesting to speak to a large group than to a small group?' My answer is no. I can give a great speech to 12 people, and again, I An equally good speech can be given to 1 people, as long as the first group of 000 can sit around me, close together, and touch each other's bodies. Similarly, for the latter Situation, if 12 people are spread out, and every two people are separated by 1 feet, it is as bad as in an empty house... Get your audience close together, you only need to spend Half of the spirit can move them greatly."

When a man is in the midst of a large audience, he is liable to lose himself in the sense that he has become part of this audience, which is of course more susceptible than when he is alone, and he can't help With the atmosphere of the crowd, sometimes laughing and sometimes applauding enthusiastically.But if he is just one of the five or six people who listen to your speech, although you still say the same thing to him, because the atmosphere is too deserted, he will appear indifferent.

It is easy to make people react when they are a whole, but it is more difficult to make a person react when they are alone.For example, when male soldiers go to the battlefield, they must do the most reckless action in the world: they want everyone to stick together.During World War I, German soldiers were known to hold each other's hands tightly when they went into battle.

the masses!the masses!the masses!They are a very peculiar phenomenon.All large-scale movements and social reforms are carried out through the response of the masses.There is a very interesting treatise on this subject in my books, The Behavior of Crowds, by Everett Dean Martin.

If we are going to give a speech to a small group, we should find a small room.It is better to cram the audience into a small space than to spread them across a wide hall.

If your audience is spread out, ask them to move to the front and sit closer to you.You must insist that they move over before starting your speech.

Do not do this unless the audience is quite large and you really need the speaker to take the stage.You can step off the stage to be at their level, stand next to them, so that you can be informal and intimate with the audience, which can make your speech the same as ordinary conversation.

4. Pay attention to the environment of the speaking venue

Keep the air fresh.The supply of oxygen is an extremely important basic element during a speech.No matter how moving the speech, no matter how beautiful the soprano in the concert hall, cannot keep the audience awake in the bad air.Therefore, when I give a speech in an environment where the air is not very fresh, I always ask the audience to stand up and rest for 2 minutes before starting the speech, and open all the windows at the same time.

Major James Pound has been Henry Beecher's manager for the past 14 years, which has required him to travel all over the United States and Canada.At the time, the famous Brooklyn preacher was popular.Pound often went to inspect the place where Beecher was going to preach before the believers came, and carefully checked the lighting, seating, temperature and ventilation.Pound is a yelling ex-Army officer who likes to wield authority.So if a mission was too hot for the air to circulate, and he couldn't open the windows, he would take a book and throw it at the window, smashing the panes of the window with a single blow.He was convinced: "The next best thing to a preacher next to the grace of God is oxygen."

Lighting is another factor that affects the success of a speech.Unless you're performing a conjuration in front of a group, try to keep the room as well lit as possible.To arouse enthusiasm in an audience as dimly lit as the inside of a thermos is as difficult as taming a wild quail.

If you read the great filmmaker Pilasco's writings on stage production, you will find that the average speaker has absolutely nothing to say about the importance of proper lighting.

Let the light shine on your face, people want to see your face clearly.That subtle change in your five senses is part of self-expression, and the most authentic part.Sometimes it's more your appearance than your words.If you stand directly under the light, you may have shadows on your face; if you stand directly in front of the light, you must also have shadows on your face.So, before you get up to speak, isn't it a smart move to choose a spot with the best light?

Never hide behind a desk.Audiences want to see the full face of the speaker.Have you noticed that some people even poke their heads out of their seats in order to look at you, so that they can see the whole body of the speaker clearly.

Well-meaning speaker organizers are sure to set up a table, a jug and a glass for you.In fact, if your throat is very dry, consider taking a pinch of salt in your mouth, or tasting a lemon, which will get your saliva flowing again.

You can't ask for jugs or glasses.You also can't put all the useless and unsightly crap on your podium that normally sits on the podium.

Have you ever looked at the car showrooms of various brands located on Broadway Avenue are very beautifully arranged, neat and clean, which is pleasing to the eye.The offices of those famous brand perfume and jewelry stores in Paris, France are also decorated with elegance and luxury.why is that?Because these products are extremely advanced.When customers see these display rooms are so beautifully arranged, they will be more awe-inspiring, more confident and more envious of these products.

For the same reason, a speaker should have a pleasing background for him.In my mind, the ideal arrangement would be completely free of furniture, with nothing behind the speaker to attract the attention of the audience, nor anything on either side of him.That is, nothing but a dark blue velvet curtain.

But look, what's behind the average speaker?Maps and charts and tables and maybe a lot of dusty chairs stacked on top of each other.What is the result of this?There will only be a vulgar, messy and discordant atmosphere.Therefore, you must remove all useless things.

Henry Beecher said, "The most important thing in a speech is the people."

Therefore, you must make the speaker stand out in the whole venue, like the snow-capped summit of Jungfraujoch against the blue sky of Switzerland.

Once I was in Landon, Ontario, Canada, and happened to meet the Prime Minister of Canada giving a speech there.When he was giving a speech, a worker walked from one window to another with a long wooden stick, and he was adjusting the opening and closing of the windows one by one.So what happened?Almost unanimously, the audience temporarily forgot the speaker on the stage and turned to look at the worker, as if he was performing some kind of magic trick.

Neither listener nor spectator can resist—or should I say they are unwilling to resist—the temptation to look at moving objects.If only the speaker can remember this truth, he can save himself from troubles and unnecessary troubles.

First, he should refrain from fiddling with his fingers, fiddling with his clothes, or making nervous little movements that would distract others from him.I remember once a well-known New York speaker played with the tablecloth on the platform with his hands during a speech. As a result, the audience all focused on his hands for half an hour.

Second, if possible, the lecture organizer should seat the audience so that they cannot see latecomers coming in and thus prevent them from being distracted.

(End of this chapter)