Carnegie Language Breakthroughs and the Art of Communication

Chapter 8 Basic Principles for Efficient Speech (2)
I have always believed that the pleasure you get from public speaking is the number one reason for successful speaking, and like the aforementioned Mr. Gantt story, I believe that this factor is far more important than any other.He really took our guidance, followed our advice, and did our homework without slacking.However, I believe he was able to do it because he wanted to do it himself, and he did it because he envisioned himself as a successful speaker.He puts himself into the image of the future and then works to make it happen.This is the action you have to actually give.

Going all out, being confident, and being able to speak like a lotus flower are extremely important to you.Think about how important this ability is to your friendships and your social life, how much it enhances your ability to serve others and society, how it affects your career...Jane In short, it will pave the way for your future leadership and personal success.

"Speech Quarterly" published an article by Mr. Erin, President of UNESCO, entitled "The Relationship between Speech and Leadership in Career"."In the history of business," he said, "many men have been honored for their excellence in the pulpit. Many years ago, a young man, who was then the director of a small branch in Kansas, did a wonderful After an incomparable speech, today is our vice president, responsible for business development."

The ability to calmly speak in public will make your future bright.There is a graduate student, Henry Burlestone, who is the president of the American Seaver Company.He said with deep emotion: "Conversing effectively with others and winning their cooperation is an ability that those who climb the ladder should strive to cultivate."

Think about how satisfying and refreshing it is when you rise up confidently to share your thoughts and feelings with your audience.I have traveled around the world several times, but few things can match the joy and joy of conquering an audience through the power of words.On that occasion, you will have a great sense of power.A graduate student said: "Two minutes before the start of speaking, I would rather be whipped than not be able to speak; but two minutes before the end of the speech, I would rather be shot than stop."

Now please start to imagine that you are facing many audiences, imagine that you are full of confidence and stepping forward, listen to the silence of the audience after you start your speech; feel the audience's rapt attention during your passionate speech; Feel the warmth of the warm applause when you leave the podium; listen to some of the audience's great appreciation for you after the party...

William James, a famous professor of psychology at Harvard University, once wrote 4 sentences.These 4 sentences are likely to have a profound impact on your life.These 4 sentences are the opening formula for Alibaba to bravely explore the treasure hole:

If you focus enough on a goal, you will naturally achieve it.

If you wish to do well, you will do well.

If you expect to be rich, you will be rich.

If you want to be learned, you will be learned.

Only then will you truly look forward to these things and look forward to them without distractions, instead of spending a lot of energy on irrelevant trivial matters.

Regardless of any subject, as long as you study it with enthusiasm, you will be able to learn it well.

Learning to speak effectively to groups has benefits beyond formal public speaking.In fact, even if formal public speaking is out of the question for the rest of your life, the training will still do you great good.For example, the training of public speaking is to pave the way to self-confidence, because once you find that you can stand up in public, speak eloquently and clearly to the crowd, you will definitely have more confidence and courage when you talk to others .Many professionals come to my Talking Effectively course primarily because they feel shy and uncomfortable in social situations.When they find that it is not so difficult for them to stand and talk to their colleagues, they will think how ridiculous their original discomfort is.They impress family, friends, business associates and customers with the poise they have developed through training.Many of our students, like Mr. Goodlitch, come to the class with the mindset of trying it out because of the extraordinary personalities of those around them who attend the training.

This kind of training will also affect a person's personality in various aspects, but the effect is not immediate.Not long ago, I asked Dr. David Ormen, a surgeon in Atlantic City and past president of the American Medical Association, what he thought public speaking training was beneficial from a mental and physical health standpoint.He smiled and answered the question.He said it would be better to write a prescription, which is "the medicine that cannot be found in the pharmacy, and the individual must fill it himself; if he thinks he can't, he is wrong."

There is such a prescription on my desk, and every time I read it, I feel touched.Here's Dr. Omen's prescription:

"Do your best to develop the ability to allow others to look into your mind and heart. Learn to express your thoughts and ideas clearly in front of others, so that they can be communicated to others. As you work hard to improve, you will Discover that you, your true self, are creating an unprecedented image in people's minds and generating unprecedented shock.

From this prescription, you can get a double benefit.When you learn to speak to others, your self-confidence will increase, and your whole personality will change a lot.In this way, your emotions will also enter a good state.When your emotions are getting better, your body will of course be getting better.In modern society, people of all ages, men and women, have to speak in public.Personally I don't know exactly what benefits it will bring in business and industry, I've only heard that the benefits are enormous.However, I do know its health benefits.You should speak to a few or to many, whenever you have the chance; the more you talk the better, as I did myself.At the same time, you'll feel refreshed and experience a sense of wholeness and roundness that you haven't felt before.

It's an exhilarating and wonderful feeling that no pill can give you.

Therefore, one of the principles of learning to speak is to imagine yourself successfully doing what you are currently afraid to do, and to think wholeheartedly about the benefits of being able to speak in public and be accepted.Remember the words of William James: "If you care enough about an outcome, you will achieve it."

3. Make a determination to succeed

Once, a radio host asked me to describe the most important lesson I've ever learned in three sentences.I said, "The biggest lesson I've learned is that what we think matters. If I know your thoughts, I can understand who you are because your thoughts make you who you are. By changing your Thoughts, we can change our lives."

Now you've set yourself a goal of increasing your confidence and having effective conversations.From now on, you must think positively rather than negatively, and your efforts will eventually succeed.You must maintain a light-hearted and optimistic view of the fruits of your public speaking efforts.You must put your resolution into every word, every action, and cultivate it with all your might.

Here is an anecdote that serves as powerful proof of the fact that sheer determination is required for anyone who is to meet the linguistic challenge of brevity.I am about a man who had climbed high up the career ladder and became a legend in the business world, but who, in college, failed when he stood up to speak for the first time because of his slow speech.Less than half of the 5-minute speech assigned by the teacher, he turned pale and hurried off the podium with tears in his eyes.

Although this young student has had such an experience, he is not willing to let such a failure knock him down.He made up his mind to be an excellent speaker, and put it into real action, unremitting for a moment, and finally became the government's economic adviser, world-renowned.His name is Clarence B. Nandoyle.In one of his many thought-provoking books, "The Faith of Freedom," he writes about his speaking experiences:
I have a packed speaking schedule every day, at manufacturers' association dinners, the Commerce Department, the Rotary Club, fundraisers, alumni associations, and other occasions.I've given patriotic speeches at Esken's in Michigan, thrown myself into World War I with impassioned speeches; Conan and University of Chicago President Robert M. Hutchins went to the countryside to preach education; I even gave an after-dinner speech in very broken French.

I think I understand what the audience wants to hear and how they want the speaker to express it.For those who are worthy of a career, the trick is: as long as he is willing to learn, there is nothing he cannot learn.

I feel the same way as Mr. Nandoyle.One's will to succeed is what makes or breaks one's success as an effective speaker.If I can read your mind, the strength of your will, the lightness or darkness of your thoughts, I can accurately predict how quickly you will improve your communication skills.

In one of my classes in the Midwest, a guy stood up on the first night of class and said "without shame" that he wasn't content to be a home builder, he wanted to be a spokesman for the National Association of Home Builders.What he wants most: to travel the country telling people about his problems and accomplishments in the homebuilding industry.Joe Haversty really walks the talk!He was the kind of student who made the teacher happy, and he had a kind of desperate fanaticism.He wants to talk about not just local problems but national ones, and he is not half-hearted about those desires.He fully prepared his speech and practiced it carefully. He never missed every opportunity to attend class. Even in the busiest time of the year, he unequivocally demanded himself according to the standards of a student. As a result, He improved so fast that even he surprised himself.In two months, he had already become a leader in the class and was elected as the monitor.

About a year later, the teacher who led the class in Norfolk, Virginia wrote:
I had completely forgotten about Joe Haversty in Ohio.Over breakfast one morning, I opened the Virginia Guide and there was a picture of Joe and a story praising him.He had spoken at a great gathering of area builders the night before, and it seemed to me that Joe was not just a spokesman for the National Association of Home Builders, he was actually a president.

Therefore, in order to be successful, the necessary conditions are: use your desire to increase your enthusiasm, use your perseverance to smooth the mountains, and at the same time believe that you will succeed.

How did Caesar ensure the success of his army when he came from Gaul, sailed across the Channel, and finally arrived with his legions in what is now England?He was full of wisdom: he parked his army on the chalk cliffs of the Strait of Dover, looking down at the waves two hundred feet below.They saw tongues of red flame devouring every ship that carried them across.In an enemy country, the last connection with the mainland has been lost, and the last means of retreat has been burned. They have only one choice: advance and conquer!That's exactly what they did afterwards.

More than the immortal spirit of Caesar!Why not make that spirit yours as you set out to conquer your fears of your audience?Throw every ounce of negativity into the raging fire, and close the steel gates at every pass that leads to hesitation.

4. Take every opportunity - practice

The courses that I taught at the Young Christians on 125th Street before World War I no longer exist, and I don't just teach what they were.Every year some new ideas replace those old ideas in the training sessions.But there is one feature that has remained unchanged for a long time, that is, every student in each class must stand up at least once (most of them twice) to speak in front of the classmates.Why do you want to do this kind of training?Because no one can learn to speak in public, no one can learn to speak in public, just as one cannot learn to swim without getting into the water.You can read all the books on public speaking, including this one, and chances are you won't be able to speak.Books are only exhaustive guidelines, and you have to put the advice in them into practice.

When George Bernard Shaw was asked how he learned to speak in public, he replied: "I did it the way I learned to skate—I made a fool of myself until I got used to it."

As a young man, Bernard Shaw was one of the most timid people in London, often walking outside for 20 minutes or more before finally emboldening himself to knock on someone's door.He admits: "Few people suffer as much from mere cowardice, or as deeply ashamed of it, as I do."

Later, he inadvertently used the best, fastest, and surest method to overcome his shyness, timidity, and fear.He is determined to turn his weakness into his strongest asset.He joined a debating society.Whenever there was a meeting for public discussion in London, he attended it.George Bernard Shaw devoted himself wholeheartedly to the socialist movement and went around lecturing for it.The result was one of the most confident and accomplished speakers of the first half of the 20th century.

Opportunities to speak are everywhere for each of us, join any organization and volunteer for positions that require you to speak.Stand up in public meetings and make yourself stand out, if only by seconding.During a meeting, never go to the last seat.Try to talk!Give yourself the opportunity to be active in various gatherings.You have only to look around yourself to see that there is no business, social, political, career, or even community activity without moving forward and speaking.You never know how much progress you're going to make unless you talk, and keep talking.

A young business executive once said to me: "I know all these things, but I always hesitate to face the difficult test of learning."

"What an ordeal!" I replied, "get that thought out of your mind. You've never used the right, conquering, spirit to think about learning."

"What spirit is that?" he asked.

"Adventurous spirit!" I told him.Then I talked to him about some successful ways to win in public speaking, and the personal personality can become more cheerful from this.

"I'm going to try," he said at last, "I'm going to engage in this adventurous activity."

As you continue to read this book and put the principles into practice, you, too, are taking an adventure.You will find that your strength of self-direction and keen observation will support you in this adventure; you will find that this adventure will change you, inside and out!

Be Prepared and Build Confidence
Mr. Carnegie, 5 years ago, I came to a restaurant where you held a demonstration.When I came to the door of the venue, I stopped.I knew in my heart that as long as I walked into this room and attended your training class, I would have to speak to people sooner or later.Thinking of this, my hand froze on the doorknob.I didn't have the courage to go in and finally turned around and left the restaurant.

If I had known that you could teach people how easy it is to overcome fear—the fear of paralyzing an audience, I wouldn't have missed that opportunity and lost 5 years of my life.

Someone who was so candid, he wasn't gossiping with me across the table, he was in a discussion with about 200 people.This is a grad party for one of my training classes in New York City.I was particularly drawn to his poise and confidence when he spoke.I imagined that his newfound expressiveness and confidence would greatly enhance his ability to carry out daily affairs.As his teacher, I am glad that he has been able to face his fears head on.I can't help but think how much more successful and happier he would be now if he had conquered his fear five or ten years ago!

Emerson said, "Fear has crushed man more than anything else in the world." I can really feel the truth in that statement.Thank God that in my life I can save these people from their fear. When I started teaching in 1912, I had no idea that these exercises would be one of the best ways to help people overcome their fears and feelings of inferiority.Now, I find that learning to speak in public is an innate way to overcome insecurity and build courage and confidence.Because speaking in public can make us control our inner fears.

Over the years, by training people to speak in public, I have found many ways and means to help people overcome their fear of being on stage and in front of others very quickly and within a few short weeks of training. Generate confidence.

1. The nature of public speaking

Your fear of speaking in public is not unique to you, it turns out to be a common weakness.Surveys of college students have shown that 80% to 90% of students in speech classes will feel the fear of going on stage at the beginning of class.I also believe that in my adult classes, at the beginning of the course, the percentage of students who are afraid of going on stage is higher than this, almost 100%.

(End of this chapter)