Carnegie Language Breakthroughs and the Art of Communication

Chapter 9 Basic Principles for Efficient Speech (3)
In fact, it can be beneficial to have a certain level of fear when going on stage. We are born with the ability to cope with the unusual challenges of the objective environment.So when you notice your pulse quickening and your breathing quickening, don't panic.Your body, which is always alert to external stimuli, is primed to deal with the unexpected.If this physiological warning signal is carried out within reasonable limits, you will think faster, speak more fluently, and generally speak more articulately than under normal circumstances. powerful.

Numerous professional speakers have solemnly told me that they never quite get rid of the fear of going on stage.There is almost always a sense of dread before they speak.This kind of fear will continue when you say the first few sentences, but after a while of psychological adjustment, you can enter a normal state.Preferring to be a racehorse than a packhorse is the price these speakers have to pay.

The main reason you are afraid of speaking in public is simply that you are not used to speaking in public. "Fear is mostly born of a sense of ignorance and uncertainty," Professor Robinson said in the book "The Breeding of Thought".For most of us, speaking in public is an unknown, and the result is fraught with anxiety and fear.For a novice, it is a series of complex and unfamiliar situations, which is more complicated than learning to play tennis or drive a car.Making this dreadful situation simpler and easier is all about practice, practice, and practice.You'll find, like many people, that speaking in public becomes less of a pain than a joy after you've built up a successful speaking experience!

After reading the story of the eminent speaker and renowned psychologist, Albert Edward Wiggen, I have always considered it an inspiration.He said that when he was in middle school himself, he was inexplicably horrified at the thought of standing up and giving a five-minute speech.He wrote:

As speaking day approaches, I can get really sick.Just the thought of doing that terrible thing made blood rush to his forehead, and his cheeks burned uncomfortably.I had to go to the back of the school and press my cheek against the cool brick wall to try to reduce the flush that was coming.It was the same when I was in college.

Once, I had just carefully memorized the beginning of a speech: "Adams and Jefferson are dead." But when I faced the audience, there was a sudden bang in my head, and I almost didn't know where I was.I still managed to squeeze out the opening remarks.But I couldn't utter any words other than "Adams and Jefferson are dead."I had no choice but to bow to everyone... In the thunderous applause, I had no choice but to walk back to my seat very solemnly.At this point, the principal had no choice but to stand up and smooth things over: "Well, Edward, we are really shocked to hear this sad news, but it has come to an end, and we will try our best to mourn." Then there was an uproar of laughter.Faced with this situation, I really want to die to escape.After that speech, I was sick for days.

After that experience, the last thing I could have expected in this world was to be a public speaker.

A year after he left college, he lived in Denver. The political campaign of 1 was hotly contested over the issue of "free silver coinage."One day, enraged when he read a pamphlet describing the proposals of the "Free Silvermen," thinking their promises were empty, he pawned his watch for travel expenses and returned home to Indiana.Once there, he volunteered to give lectures on the soundness of money to an audience that included many of his former schoolmates.He wrote in the book:
At the beginning, the scene of Adams and Jefferson lecturing at the university flashed back to my mind.I started to feel suffocated, I stuttered, and I was about to be wiped out.However, as Depp often said, under the encouragement and expectation of the audience, I managed to survive the introductory part, and this small success gave me courage to continue.I thought I had spoken for about 15 minutes, but to my surprise I had spoken for an hour and a half.

Over the next few years, I became truly the most amazing person in the world who made public speaking a living for himself.

I am most attached to what William James called the habits of success.

Yes, Albert Edward Wiggle finally learned how to overcome his fear of speaking in public, and one of the most effective ways he did it was to have a successful experience first and then use it as a backup.After you have achieved small successes, the fear hidden in your heart will gradually disappear, so you will be able to handle similar situations with ease.

As you should expect, since you will be speaking to many people, it is natural to have a certain degree of fear.However, you should learn to limit your fear within a certain range, so that it has the least negative impact, and then try your best to conquer it.

Even if your fear after taking the stage is unstoppable, causing your mind to stagnate, your speech to be sluggish, and your muscles to spasm excessively and uncontrollably, which seriously affects the effect of your speech, you don't need to despair.This symptom is not uncommon for beginners.As long as you work harder, you will find that this feeling of fear after coming to power, as long as you control it well, its level will soon be reduced to a certain limit. After this period, you will find that it is a kind of help, not A kind of resistance.

2. Proper way to prepare
A few years ago, the keynote speaker at a Rotary Club luncheon in New York was a prominent government official, and everyone was looking forward to hearing what he would say about the work of the Ministry.

As soon as he stood on the platform, we immediately found that he had not prepared beforehand.At first, he wanted to give an impromptu speech at random, but it didn't work.Then he hastily produced another stack of notes from his pocket.But these things seemed so disorganized, like scraps of iron in a freight car.He fumbled through these things for a while, and his speech became more and more awkward and clumsy.Time passed by, and he became more and more helpless and confused.At this point, he continued to struggle, and said something apologetic.He hoped to sort out the notes a little bit, and at the same time raised a glass of water with trembling hands and brought it to his parched lips. It was really horrible!He was so overwhelmed with fear that he had so little preparation for the speech that he sat down resignedly.It can be said that this is one of the most humiliating speakers I have ever seen.The way he delivered his speech was just like Rousseau said: he began without knowing and ended with not knowing.

Since 1912, professionally, I have judged more than 5 speeches every year.These speakers also taught me a great lesson: Confidence comes only from those who come prepared.Just imagine, when a person goes to the battlefield, if he is carrying a faulty weapon and has no ammunition on his body, how can he talk about launching a fierce attack on the enemy?Lincoln once said: "I believe that if I have nothing to say, no matter how experienced or how old I am, I will not be immune to embarrassment."

If you want to develop a sense of confidence, why not increase your sense of security by preparing yourself well before you give a speech?Daniel Webster once said that being in front of an audience unprepared is like running down the street with no clothes on.

Below we will mention some specific techniques when speaking.

A. Do not memorize speech verbatim
To the point that "adequate preparation" is about memorizing speeches, I say aloud, "No!" Many speakers plunge headlong into memorization in order to protect their ego from going blank when confronted with an audience. in the trap.Once you get hooked on this kind of mental anesthesia, you're hopelessly engaged in time-wasting preparations that will ruin your presentation.

H. V. Kattenborn, a senior American news critic, participated in a speech contest when he was a student at Harvard University.At that time he chose a short story entitled "Gentlemen, Kings".He memorized it verbatim and rehearsed it hundreds of times to make it a success.At the game scene, when he said the title "Gentlemen, King", his mind immediately went blank.Not only was it blank, but it was completely dark inside.He was overwhelmed with fear, and in desperation, he began to tell the story in his own words, and he finally succeeded!He was really surprised when the judges awarded him the first prize.Since that day, Kattenborn has not read or memorized a single speech.Summing up the secret to his success in journalism, he said he just takes notes and speaks to his audience naturally, never in script.

Writing out speeches and memorizing them is not only a waste of time and energy, but also prone to failure.We usually speak naturally, and we will never think about how to say every word and every sentence.We are thinking all the time, and when our thoughts are clear and clear, they will flow out unconsciously, like breathing air.

Winston Churchill learned this lesson, too, despite his hard work.When he was young, Churchill also wrote and recorded speeches.Then one day, when he was reciting his speech in the British Parliament, his train of thought suddenly stopped and his mind went blank.He was terribly embarrassed and terribly humiliated.He recited the last sentence again, but his mind was still blank.His complexion changed drastically, and he was so embarrassed that he sat down slumped.Since then, Churchill has never recited speeches.

Although we can recite speeches verbatim, once you face the audience, you are likely to forget them.Even if we don't forget it, spitting it out of our mouth is probably very mechanical, because it does not come from our heart, but only from memory.When we talk to people in private, we are so focused on what we want to say that we say it without paying particular attention to every word.Since we have always done it this way, why change it now?If we insist on writing and memorizing speeches, we are likely to repeat the mistakes of the previous losers.

Vance Bussler was a graduate of the Bouillon Art School in Paris and later became the vice president of one of the world's largest insurance companies.Years ago, in Virginia, he was in front of people from all over America

More than 2 life insurance salesmen gave speeches.At that time, he had actually only been engaged in the life insurance industry for two years. Although he was not long, he was quite successful, so the host arranged for him to give a 000-minute speech.

Knowing this arrangement, Vance was very happy. He felt that this was a rare opportunity to improve his social status.In order to win this opportunity, he took a lot of work. He wrote down his speech, then memorized it desperately, and rehearsed 40 rounds in front of the mirror.Before going on stage, he even prepared every detail very meticulously: every line, every gesture, every facial expression was just right.He thought he was perfectly prepared, flawless.

However, when he stood up to give a speech, he suddenly became frightened.He only said one sentence: "My function in this plan is..." His mind was blank.In a panic, he took two steps back, wanting to start over.But his mind was still blank, so he took two steps back and wanted to start all over again.He repeated this performance 3 times.The podium is 4 feet high, there is no railing behind it, and the space between the podium and the wall is 5 feet wide.So, when he stepped back for the fourth time, he fell back off the podium and disappeared into the gap.The audience roared with laughter, with one person falling out of his chair and onto the aisle.The antics of the head of an insurance company were never seen before or since.What's even more amazing is that so far, the audience really thinks this is an episode deliberately arranged for fun.

But what did the speaker himself, Vance Bussler, do about it?He told me himself that it was the most disgraceful speech of his life.He felt so humiliated that he wrote his resignation.

Fortunately, Vance's superiors persuaded him and tore up his resignation letter. They helped him rebuild his confidence.After this experience, Vance miraculously became one of the best talkers in the company.However, he never recited his speeches again.Let us use his experience as a reference.

I have heard countless stories of young men and women who memorized their speeches in preparation for speeches, and not a single one of them spoke more vividly, more effectively, and more personally after throwing the papers in the wastebasket. .Doing so may cause you to miss some points and make your speech a bit sloppy, but at least it will appear more human.

Lincoln once said: "I don't like to listen to sharp, boring speeches. When I listen to a man preaching, I like to see him act like he is fighting bees." Lincoln said that he likes to listen to a speech The speaker is comfortable, casual, and passionate when speaking.However, if you are reciting and memorizing words on the podium, you will never act like you are fighting bees.

B. Gather your ideas in advance
Is there a proper way to prepare a speech?There is, and it's not complicated and esoteric.You simply search your background for meaningful experiences that have taught you something about life, and then gather the thoughts, concepts, insights, etc. that have been distilled from those experiences.The real preparation you have to do is to think deeply about your topic.As Dr. Charles Reynolds Brown said in a series of evocative lectures given at Yale some years ago:

"Ponder over your topic until it's mature and interesting. Then write all these thoughts down. A few words are enough to convey the concept. Write them down on scraps of paper—these loose bits It's easy to arrange and organize."

Sounds easy, right?Of course not difficult.All it takes is a little focus and thought to get there.

C. Pre-speak in front of friends

When the speech is prepared a little bit, should it be rehearsed?Yes.Here's a foolproof, simple, and effective method: use the topic you choose to give a speech as a daily conversation with friends and colleagues.You don't have to pull out the whole thing, just lean over the lunch table and say something like, "Joe, do you know that something extraordinary happened to me one day, and let me tell you!" Joe might Would love to hear your story.Watch his reactions carefully, listen to his echoes, he may have some interesting ideas, and that happens to be quite valuable.He won't know that you are rehearsing. After you have finished "rehearsing", he may say that it was really fun.

The eminent historian Alan Nivens gave similar advice to writers: find a friend who is interested in your subject, and tell him at length what you have learned.In this way, you can find insights you may have missed, unforeseen arguments, and find the most appropriate form to tell the story.

3. Make up your mind, you must succeed

You should remember that in Chapter 1, we mentioned that when you speak in public, you need to develop the right attitude.This rule still applies to another special job to be described here-making the best use of the opportunity to tell a successful experience.There are three methods that can work, as shown below.

A. Integrate into your own subject matter
After the theme is selected, it should be sorted out according to the plan, and the exercise should be "speaking out" in front of friends.Such preparations are not yet complete.You also have to convince yourself that your subject matter is valuable, and you have to have some of the attitudes that have inspired people throughout history, which is—believe in what you believe in.How to make the content of the speech fan convincing fire?There is no other way than to delve into the subject matter in detail, to grasp its deeper meaning, and to ask yourself how your speech will help the audience and benefit them deeply after hearing it.

B. Stop thinking about embarrassing situations that upset you

For example, imagining yourself making grammatical mistakes or stopping somewhere in the middle of a speech is a negative assumption that can kill your confidence before you even start.Before starting a speech, it is especially important to take the attention away from yourself and concentrate on listening to what other speakers have to say, giving them your full attention so that you don't cause undue intimidation when you take the stage up.

C. Motivate yourself
Any speaker will have moments of doubting his subject unless he has some great purpose and feels he is giving his life to it.He will ask himself whether the topic is suitable, whether the audience will be interested, etc.He probably changed the title in a fit of anger.At times like these, when negative thoughts have the potential to completely destroy your self-confidence, it's time to do yourself a pep talk.Say to yourself in simple, straight words that your speech is right for you because it comes from your experience, from your perspective on life.Say to yourself that you are more qualified to give this particular speech than anyone in the audience, and that you will do your best to make the issue clear.Does the old-fashioned way work?possible.However, modern experimental psychologists agree that self-inspired motivation, even if feigned, is one of the most powerful stimuli for rapid learning.

4. Act confident

The famous psychologist William James wrote:
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