如何搞定公众演讲

如何搞定公众演讲

在众人面前发表演讲，对大多数人来说都是头疼不已的挑战。甚至有笑话说有人在葬礼上宁愿待在棺材中也不愿被叫去发表悼词。然而，公众演讲是一项非常重要的高附加值技能。那么，有哪些实用的小窍门？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

casket 棺材

eulogy 悼词

itch 痒，渴望

pare 削减

veneer 外表；虚饰

阅读即将开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用时间，并对照我们在文章最后给出的参考值来估算您的阅读速度。

Public speaking, private fears（782 words）

By Rhymer Rigby

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once joked about a study that suggested people’s number one fear was public speaking: “Go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

“It is significantly outside the average person’s comfort zone,” says Michael Crom, chief learning officer of Dale Carnegie Training. He recalls giving a talk to a medical conference: “I was the last speaker. It was late and the person before me ran over and they were starting to shut things down. So I suddenly had no PowerPoint or visuals.”For many people, losing the help of PowerPoint in front of an audience itching to get away would be a nightmare come true.

“Stage fright comes from all sorts of sources, but mainly a lack of experience,” says Paul Edwards, a professor at the school of information and department of history at University of Michigan. “One of the [other] reasons people are bad is that they see bad models – other poor speakers around them – and they learn bad habits and patterns.”

Also, because most people have to to do it infrequently, they tend to view public speaking as children view exams – as an ordeal to get over, rather than an opportunity to shine.

Another problem is that businesspeople tend to view themselves as good communicators. They often are good in meetings or social situations but these are not the same as public speaking.

Nick Smallman of Working Voices, a communication and presentation skills consultancy, says few people do anything to tackle their fears because they fail to appreciate fully the value of good speaking.

Moreover, Prof Edwards notes that the rewards are likely to grow because the proliferation of online video presentations and things such as TED talks means we are moving towards a more oral culture.

Mr Smallman likens the skill to learning to ride a bicycle: “You just need to retrain your brain. You need to practise, but once you learn, you never fall below that line.”

Furthermore, because most people are so bad at it, you merely need to be OK in order to shine. “People assume that if you can speak well you are a leader, regardless of whether you are or not.”explains Mr Church of Dramatic Resources, a business training company, “You put the slides in the right order and people will say it’s fine. And so if you actually do it well, people think you’re brilliant.”

Here are some tips to help you prepare for a talk or speech:

● Make sure you know your audience and then write with them in mind. “Sentences which are good on paper are often bad when spoken as they can be long and complex,” notes Prof Edwards.

● Think in terms of narrative, such as personal stories that bring subjects alive, and repetition. Most people will only take away three points from your speech, so there is no point covering nine.

● Prepare more material than you need. This will make you confident and will come in handy if there is a Q&A afterwards.

● Practise – whether alone or in front of colleagues and family. It is the best way to deal with nerves. Bob Etherington, author of Presentation Skills for Quivering Wrecks says: “When practising, videoing it can be a good idea, but don’t practise in the mirror as watching what you’re doing while you’re doing it can be very distracting.”

● Do not read off a script. Doing so will make it difficult to connect with your audience. Notes are OK.

● Recognise the difference between formal and informal communication. One of the biggest things here is getting rid of “vocalised pauses” – ums and ahs.

● Make the signposting very clear. When you speak in a group, the thread of your conversation is shaped by questions, queries and interjections from others. Public speakers need to compensate for the lack of this.

● Anticipate questions your audience might have and address them during your talk. This way people feel as if they are having a conversation with you.

● Dump or at least pare back the PowerPoint presentation. This often acts as the visual equivalent of management jargon, providing a veneer of professionalism – and complex slides are distracting. “A presentation comes alive when you stop using PowerPoint,” says Mr Etherington.

● You need a strong finish. Most people get to the end and say, “I guess that’s it”, and their body language collapses. Mr Etherington suggests a summary, then a call to action: “People expect to be told to do something at the end of a speech.”

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. What is the main source of fear in public speaking, according to the scholars?

a. Lack of experience.

b. There are so many bad models around.

c. People tend to view public speaking as exams.

d. Business people are distracted by meetings and social situations.

2. What is the value of good speaking?

a. The rise of online video presentations such as TED.

b. Help business people emerge as communicators.

c. Avoid the ordeal of preparing for a speech.

d. Let people know your abilities and gain popularity.

3. Which of the following tip is correct?

a. Make sure you prepare a personal story.

b. Rehearse in front of a mirror.

c. Anticipate questions your audience might have.

d. End the speech as simple as possible.

4. What should be avoided during a public speech?

a. Preparing more material than you need.

b. Covering as many points as possible.

c. Videoing when practising.

d. Writing down beautiful sentences.

[1] 答案a. Lack of experience.

解释：这是最先提到的最首要的原因。后面几个是其他的“演讲恐惧的来源”。

[2] 答案d. Let people know your abilities and gain popularity.

解释：shine这个词在文中出现了两次：an opportunity to shine，in order to shine，可以推断是提升知名度和向他人展示自己能力的意思。再加上后面Mr Church说，由于能做好公众演讲的人很少，你只要做的还行，就会让人觉得你能力超群，是个领袖人物。

[3] 答案c. Anticipate questions your audience might have.

解释：A只是一种可行的方案，专家们建议用讲故事的思维，而不是列举冗长的要点的形式来做演讲，准备个人有关的故事是办法之一。B是不推荐的做法，因为这会干扰自己。D也不推荐，艾瑟灵顿建议a call to action: “People expect to be told to do something at the end of a speech.”

[4] 答案b. Covering as many points as possible.

解释：AC是推荐的做法，D是不被推荐的，因为优美的书面语言往往是长句，用于口头表达并不适合。