Carnegie Language Breakthroughs and the Art of Communication

Chapter 34 The Challenge of Effective Speaking (6)
Don't say, "Please help the Red Cross." That's too general. Instead, say, "Mail the $1 admission fee to the American Red Cross at 125 Smith Street in this city tonight."

B. Ask the audience to respond as best they can

Don't say, "Let's vote against 'drunk'." That's impossible, we're not voting on "drunk" right now.However, they can be asked to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, or to donate to an organization that fights against alcohol.

C. Try to make it easy for the audience to act on the request

Don't say, "Please write to your senators to vote against this bill." 99% of your audience won't do that, they don't have such a strong interest, or it's too much trouble, or they forget.Therefore, it is necessary to make the audience feel relaxed and happy to do it.How to do it?Write yourself a letter to the Senator saying, "We jointly urge you to vote against Bill [-]." Pass the letter and pen among the audience, and you may get many signatures.

2. Concise and sincere compliments
The great Pennsylvania should lead the hastening of the new era.Pennsylvania is a large producer of steel, the mother of the largest railway company in the world, the third largest agricultural state in the United States, and one of the commercial centers of the United States.Her future is bright, and her chances as a leader are bright.

With these words Sz Webb concluded his address to the Pennsylvania Association of New York.After his speech, the audience was happy, happy, and full of optimism for the future.It's an admirable way to end.However, in order to receive full effect, the attitude of the speaker must be sincere.No flattery, no exaggeration.If the ending in this way cannot be shown to be very sincere, it will appear hypocritical, and very hypocritical, just like a fake coin, no one will accept it.

3. A humorous ending

George Cohan said, "When you say goodbye, put a smile on their face." If you have the ability and the subject matter, that's great, but how do you do it?As Hamlet said: this is a problem.Each must behave in its own unique way.

Lloyd George once gave a lecture on the maintenance of the cemetery of the famous missionary Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church) to the believers at the gathering of the Methodist Church.The subject was so serious that no one could think of anything funny about it.But, mind you, he did it anyway, and he did it very successfully.At the same time, please note that his speech ended so peacefully and beautifully:

I'm glad you guys have started to renovate his cemetery.This cemetery should be respected.He especially hates anything that is untidy and unclean.I think he said this, "Let no man see a Methodist in rags," and you'll never see such a Methodist because of him. (Laughter.) It would be disrespectful to him to leave his cemetery in a mess.You will all remember that once, as he was passing somewhere in Derbyshire, a girl ran to the door and called out to him; "God bless you, Mr. Wesley." The cleaner you are, the more valuable your blessing will be." (Laughter) That's how he feels about uncleanness.So don't let his graveyard be messy.It hurt him more than anything should he ever pass by.You must take good care of this cemetery.This is a sacred cemetery worth remembering.It is where your faith rests. (cheers)
4. End with a famous line

Of all the closing methods, nothing is more acceptable to the audience than humor or poetry.In fact, it's almost ideal if you can find the right phrase or verse to end yours with.It will produce the most suitable flavor and atmosphere of dignity, will express your unique style, will produce beauty.Sir Harry Lauder, President of Rotary Clubs of the World, concluded his speech in Edinburgh to a delegation of Rotary Clubs of America, which held their annual convention there:
When you return home, some of you will send me a postcard.If you don't send it to me, I will send you one too.You can tell at a glance that it's from me because there's no stamp on it. (Laughter) But I'll write something on it:
Spring goes to summer, autumn goes to winter,
Everything has its reason.

But there is one thing that is always as fresh as the morning dew,
That is my eternal love and affection for you.

This short poem fits Harry Lauder's personality well, and certainly with the pomp of his speeches.Therefore, this ending is very suitable for him.It would seem not only abrupt, but even absurd if a normally serious and prim Rotarian applied it at the end of a serious speech.The longer I have been teaching speeches, the more clearly I have seen, and the more vividly I have felt, the near impossibility of formulating general rules which will apply to all occasions.Because, in most cases, it depends on the topic, time, place and speaker of the speech.As Saint Paul said: "Each man must work for himself in order to save himself."

I was the guest of honor at a farewell party for a professional in New York City.A dozen or so speakers took to the stage separately to praise their departing friend and wish him success in his new endeavors.A dozen people took the stage to speak, but only one ended his speech in memorable fashion.He also ends with a quote from a short poem.The speaker turned to the departing guest and called out to him in a voice full of emotion:

Goodbye and good luck.

I wish you all the best in everything.

I sincerely wish like an Oriental:
May my peace and serenity be with you always.

Wherever you go, wherever you go,
May my beautiful palm tree thrive.

After the labors of the day and the rest of the night.

May my love bless you.

I sincerely wish like an Oriental:
May my peace and serenity be with you always.

Mr. Albert, the vice president of IAD Motor Company in Brooklyn, once gave a speech on "loyalty and cooperation" to his company's employees.He concluded his speech with a melodious verse from Kipling's Second Jungle Canto:
This is the Law of the Jungle—old and true as the sky; wolves who obey it will reproduce, but wolves who break it will die.

Clinging like vines to tree trunks, this law is everywhere - for the strength of unity is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is unity.

5. Climax
Climax is a very common ending method.This is often difficult to control, and, for all speakers and all topics, it's not really the end.However, if done properly, this method is quite good.It gradually develops upwards and reaches a peak, and the power of the sentence becomes stronger and stronger.One of the best examples of this climactic ending can be found in the book's award-winning speech on Philadelphia.

Lincoln used this method in a speech about Niagara Falls.Note that each of his similes is stronger than the last, and that he compares his age with the age of Columbus, Christ, Moses, Adam, etc., respectively, and thus achieves a cumulative effect:

This brings us back to the past.When Columbus first discovered this continent, when Christ suffered on the cross, when Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, nay, even when Adam was first born from his creator; then, as now, Niagara Falls roared here.Extinct species, but whose bones filled the Indian mounds of giants, once gazed at Niagara Falls with their eyes, just as we do today.Niagara Falls is contemporaneous with the distant ancestors of man, but older than the first man.It is as powerful and fresh today as it was 1 years ago.Prehistoric mammoths and mastodons, long dead, whose only evidence of their existence in this world is from bone fragments, also saw Niagara Falls.During this incomparably long time, the waterfall has never stood still for a minute, never dried up, never frozen, never closed its eyes, and never rested.

Wendell Phillips used the same method in her speech about Tosan Robecho, the founding father of the Haitian Republic.His speech is often excerpted in speech textbooks.I now quote the end of it below.It is alive and alive.Although it has become a bit too rhetorical in this practical age, the speech is still very interesting.This speech was written half a century ago. "Fifty years from now, when the facts are revealed," if you will notice that Wendell Phillips was horribly wrong about the historical importance of John Brown and Torshan Robert Qiu, Isn't this extremely interesting?Obviously, guessing the direction of history is as difficult as predicting next year's stock market or the price of lard.And listen:
I want to call him Napoleon, but Napoleon built his empire by breaking his oaths and killing countless people.This person never self-destructed the commitment. "No revenge" is his great motto and the rule of his life.His last words to his son in France were: "Son, you're going to go back to Santo Domingo one day and forget that France murdered your father." I'd like to call him Cromwell, but Cromwell Renwell was just a soldier, and the country he founded collapsed with his death.I like to call him Washington, but Washington, the great man of Virginia, also kept slaves.This man would rather take the risk of losing his country than allow the slave trade to occur in the most remote village in his country.

You probably think I'm a madman tonight, because you don't read history with your eyes, but with your prejudices.But in 50 years, when the truth is revealed, the goddesses of history will assign Phocion to Greece, Brutus to Rome, Hamptons to England, Lafayette to France, and Washington to be our early civilization A bright and supreme flower of the world, John Brown is the ripe fruit of our time.Then, dipping her pen in the sunlight, she wrote over all of them in bright blue the name of the soldier, statesman, and martyr—Toshan Robert Qiu.

Find, research, experiment until you get a good ending and a good opening.Then, bring them together.

Speakers who do not cut their talk to fit the atmosphere of this fast age will not be popular and, at times, repelled by the audience.

Even a saint, Saul of Tarsus (a disciple of the apostle Paul), made this mistake.He preached so much, until at last one of the lads in the audience, a young man named Jew Juss, fell asleep and fell out of the window and broke his neck.Even then, Saul probably didn't stop preaching.Does anyone know?I remember a speaker, a doctor, speaking one night at a college club in Brooklyn.That rally dragged on for a long time, and many people had already spoken on stage.

It was one o'clock in the morning when it was his turn to speak.If he had been a little more witty and tactful, or a little more understanding, he should have gone on stage, said a dozen words, and let us go home.But did he do it like this?No, he didn't.Instead, he launched a 45-minute speech in which he vehemently opposed vivisection.He's not even halfway through the story, and the audience is starting to wish that he, like Jew Juss, fell out of the window and broke some part, any part, as long as it shuts him down.

When Lorimer was editor of The Saturday Evening Post, he told me that he always stopped a series of articles when they reached the peak of popularity.Readers clamored for more.

So why stop them?Why stop at that time? "Because," said Mr. Lorimer, "the reader's satisfaction comes soon after the peak of popularity."

The same wise choice can be applied to speaking, and more should be done.When the audience is desperate for you to continue, stop quickly.

The greatest speech of Jesus Christ - "The Sermon on the Mount" can be repeated in only 5 minutes.Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" is only 10 sentences. The entire story of God's creation in the Genesis Bible takes less time than it takes you to read a murder story in the morning paper... Keep it simple!concise!
Dr. Jensen, Vicar of Nyasharam, has written a book on the primitive peoples of Africa.He lived with them and observed them for 49 years in order to write this book.

He recounts that if a speaker talked too much at a certain village meeting, the audience would ask him to shut up and shout "Imetosia! . . . " "Imetosia!" It’s enough! Enough!” means.

It is said that there is a tribe that stipulates that the speaker can only stand on one foot. When the toe of the raised foot falls to the ground because of being unable to support it, it is over, and he must end his conversation.

The average audience, though more polite and more restrained, has the same distaste for long speeches.Therefore, pay attention to the audience's reaction.I know you won't turn a blind eye.

Learn to approach the speech from their standpoint.

Make good use of the skills you have learned

When I teach in my classes, it is often comforting to hear students tell how they use the techniques in this book in their everyday lives.They confessed that after using these techniques, they all paid off.Salesmen report increased sales, managers report increased business growth, and executives admit to expanded control; all because of their improved skill at using the power of language in giving orders and solving problems .

N. Richard Diller wrote in "Language Today": "Speaking, the form of speaking, the frequency of speaking, and the atmosphere of speaking... are the lifeblood of the communication system of modern society." R. Fred Conrad, responsible for the instruction of General Motors' "Dale Carnegie Course - Domination Art".He also wrote in the same magazine: "One of the basic reasons why we are so excited to do language training at General Motors is that we know that every superintendent is also a teacher in one way or another. From interviewing a potential employee, through the initial training phase, and then through formal job assignment and possible promotion, a supervisor needs to constantly liberate, describe, reprimand, explain, instruct, criticize, and communicate with everyone in his department. Everyone discusses countless things."

As we move up the ladder of verbal conversation to near-public speaking situations, such as discussions, decision-making, problem-solving, and decision-making meetings, we revisit the effective speaking skills taught in this book and will It will be very effectively used in daily language activities.The principles of effective public speaking can be directly applied to the occasion of attending a meeting, and it will help you manage the process of the meeting.

The organization and expression of ideas, the correct choice of words and expressions, the enthusiasm and sincerity in the speech are all the elements to ensure that your ideas are perfectly resolved in the final stage.All of these elements have been discussed in detail in this book, and it is now up to the readers to apply what they have learned when attending various conferences.

Maybe you're wondering when to start applying what you've learned in this book.If you haven't decided yet, let me answer you in one word: Instantly.

Even if you never plan or have the opportunity to give a public speech at any time, I am sure that the principles and techniques in this book can be applied to your daily life as well.If you analyze what you say every day, you will be surprised to find that the purpose of your daily speech and the formal communication discussed in this book are very similar.

In the rest of this book, we ask you to keep one of the four general speaking purposes in mind when you speak in public.That is, whether you want to inform them, entertain your audience, persuade them to agree with your position, or persuade them to take some kind of action.In public speaking, we should try to make these purposes as clear as possible, both in the content of the speech and in the attitude of the speech.

(End of this chapter)