卡耐基演讲·二、牢记自己的目标

前面曾提到的根特先生，提到了他所掌握的当众演讲的技巧带给他莫大的乐趣，这正是我认为他之所以能取得成功的原因（我认为这一因素远比其他因素更重要）。他的确是遵循着指导，毫不松懈地完成了所交代的任务。但是，我相信他之所以如此投入完全是出于自我需要，是出于希望成为成功的演讲家的愿望。他将自己投入未来的形象中，然后努力使梦想成真。这就是你最应该做的。When Mr. Ghent ·spoke of the pleasure his newly acquired skill in public speaking gave him, he touched upon what I believe (more than any other one factor) contributed to his success. It's true he followed the directions and faithfully did the assignments. But I'm sure he did these things because he wanted to do them, and he wanted to do them because he saw himself as a successful speaker. He projected himself into the future and then worked toward bringing that projection into reality. That is exactly what you must do.

集中全部注意力，时刻不忘自信与侃侃而谈的演讲能力对你有多么重要；想想由此而结交的朋友在社交上对你的重要性；想想自己为大众、社会服务的能力将会大增；想一想它对你的人生和事业所带来的积极影响……一言以蔽之，它将为你增添某种领袖气质。Concentrate your attention on what self-confidence and the ability to talk more effectively will mean to you. Think of what it may mean to you socially, of the friends it will bring, of your increased capacity to be of service in your civic, social or church group, of the influence you will be able to exert in your business. In short, it will prepare you for leadership.

美国的国家现金注册公司理事会会长、联合国教科文组织主席S.C.艾林在《演讲季刊》中写了一篇题为《演讲与领导在事业上的关系》的文章。文章中说：“在历史上，干我们商业这行的不少人是借着讲坛上的杰出表现而承蒙器重的。许多年前，有位青年，当时是堪萨斯州一处小分行的主管，在作了两场精彩无比的讲演之后，今天已是我们的副总裁，管理业务的拓展。”而我刚好还知道，这位副总裁正是当今的国家现金注册公司总裁。In an article entitled "Speech and Leadership in Business," S.C.Allyn, Chairman of the Board of the National Cash Register Company and Chairman of UNESCO, wrote in the Quarterly Journal of Speech, "In the history of our business, many a man has drawn attention to himself by a good job done on the platform. A good many years ago a young man, who was then in charge of a small branch in Kansas, gave a rather unusual talk, and is today our vice-president in charge of sales." I happen to know that this vice-president is now the president of the National Cash Register Company.

能从容不迫地站起来面对听众侃侃而谈，会使你的前途变得不可估量。在我的训练班里，有一位名叫亨利·柏莱斯通的学员，是美国舍弗公司的总裁，他曾说过这样的一句话：“和人们进行有效的交谈，并赢得他们的合作，是每一个正在努力追求上进的人所必须具备的一种能力。”There is no predicting how far the ability to speak on your feet will take you. One of our graduates, Henry Blackstone, President of the Servo Corporation of America, says," The ability to communicate effectively with others and win their co-operation is an asset we look for in men moving to the top."

想一想当你充满了自信，站起来与听众共同分享自己的思想和感觉时，是多么有满足感和舒畅啊。我曾多次环球旅行，但是用语言的力量影响全场听众的那种快悦感，却是其他事物难以比拟的。它能给你带来一种力量感、一种强劲感。一位毕业生曾这样说：“发表演讲的最初两分钟即使挨鞭子也无法开口；但到临结束的前两分钟，我宁可吃枪子儿也不愿停下来。”Think of the satisfaction and pleasure that will be yours when you stand up and confidently share your thoughts and feelings with your audience. I have traveled around the world several times, but I know of few things that give greater delight than holding an audience by the power of the spoken word. You get a sense of strength, a feeling of power. "Two minutes before I begin," said one of my graduates, "I would rather be whipped than start; but two minutes before I finish, I would rather be shot than stop."

现在就闭上眼睛想象一下：面对着可能的听众，充满自信地迈步走上讲台，听听你开场后全场的鸦雀无声，感觉一下在你深入浅出、一语中的时听众的全神贯注，感受你离开讲台时掌声的温馨，倾听台下听众对你的赞赏。相信我，这其中有奇迹存在，也有让人无法忘怀的兴奋感受。Begin now to picture yourself before an audience you might be called upon to address. See yourself stepping forward with confidence, listen to the hush fall upon the room as you begin, feel the attentive absorption of the audience as you drive home point after point, feel the warmth of the applause as you leave the platform, and hear the words of appreciation with which individual members of the audience greet you when the meeting is over. Believe me, there is a magic in it and a never-to-be-forgotten thrill.

哈佛大学最杰出的心理学教授威廉·詹姆斯曾写下六句话，对你的一生可能会产生深远的影响。这六句话就像是大盗阿里巴巴开密穴的开门口诀：“不论什么课程，只要你对它满怀热忱，就可以顺利完成。如果你对结果足够关注，你就一定会得到这一结果。只要你想做好，你就能做好。假如你企盼致富，你便会拥有财富。若是你想博学，你就会学富五车。但只有你真正地企盼这些事情，心无旁骛地一心盼望，而不是枉费心思地胡思乱想许多不相干的杂事才可以实现。”William James, Harvard's most distinguished professor of psychology, wrote six sentences that could have a profound effect on your life, six sentences that are the open sesame to Ali Baba's treasure cave of courage," In almost any subject, your passion for the subject will save you. If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it. If you wish to be good, you will be good. If you wish to be rich, you will be rich. If you wish to be learned, you will be learned. Only then you must really wish these things and wish them with exclusiveness and not wish one hundred other incompatible things just as strongly."

学习有效面对人群讲话，好处不仅仅是可以作正式的公开讲演。事实上，就算你一辈子都不需要正式公开演讲，但接受这种训练的好处仍然是多方面的。举个例子：当众演讲的训练，是帮助你培养自信的方法。因为你一旦发现自己能够站起来，口齿伶俐、头头是道地对着人群说话，那么在你和别人进行个别交谈时，必定会更有信心和勇气。很多人来上我的“成功演讲”课程，大多是因为在社交场合之中感到害羞而拘束。当他们发现，自己站着和同事讲话天也不至于会塌下来，便会发觉当初的拘束是多么的可笑。他们在训练过程中培养出的自然洒脱的气度，令家人、朋友、事业伙伴和顾客刮目相看。许多训练班的学生，都是因为看见周围的人通过训练，个性发生了巨大的改变，才被吸引着来上课的。比如顾立区先生就是这样的。Learning to speak effectively to groups brings other benefits than merely the ability to make formal public speeches. As a matter of fact, if you never give a formal public speech in your life, the benefits to be derived from this training are manifold. For one thing, public speaking training is the royal road to self-confidence. Once you realize that you can stand up and talk intelligently to a group of people, it is logical to assume that you can talk to individuate with greater confidence and assurance. Many men and women have taken my course in Effective Speaking primarily because they were shy and self-conscious in social groups. When they found they were capable of speaking on their feet to their fellow class members without having the roof fall in, they became aware of the ridiculousness of self-consciousness. They began to impress others, their families, friends, business associates, customers, and clients, with their newly found poise. Many of our graduates, like Mr. Goodrich, were impelled to take the course by the remarkable change in the personalities of those around them.

这种类型的训练，也会在各个方面影响到个性，不过这些影响不是马上就能显现出来的。不久前，我曾问大西洋城的外科医师兼美国医药学会的前会长大卫·奥门博士，就心理和生理健康的观点而言，当众演讲训练的好处是什么？他微微笑了笑说：“回答这个问题，最好是开个处方，这个处方是在药房里抓不到药的，每个人得自己配药；他要是以为自己不行，他就错了。”This type of training also affects the personality in ways that are not immediately apparent. Not long ago I asked Dr. David Allman, the Atlantic City surgeon and former president of the American Medical Association, what in his opinion were the benefits of public speaking training in terms of mental and physical health. He smiled and said he could best answer that question by writing a prescription that" no drugstore can fill. It must be filled by the individual; if he thinks he can't, he is wrong."

我桌上就放着这份处方，每读一次，都觉得若有所获。以下便是奥门博士挥笔为我写下的处方：I have the prescription on my desk. Every time I read it, I am impressed. Here it is, just as Dr. Allman jotted it down:

“尽力去培养一种能力，让别人能够走进你的脑海和心灵。试着面对单独的人或者在大众面前清晰地传达自己的思想和理念。在你通过这样的努力而不断进步时，你便会发觉：你——真正的自我——正在塑造一种崭新的形象，使周遭的人们产生前所未有的惊异。”Try your best to develop an ability to let others look into your head and heart. Learn to make your thoughts, your ideas, clear to others, individually, in groups, in public. You will find, as you improve in your effort to do this, that you-your real self-are making an impression, an impact, on people such as you never made before.

从这份处方中，你会获得双倍的好处。你试着开始对别人讲话时，你的自信心也会随之增强，而你的性格会变得越来越温和美好。这意味着你的情绪已渐入佳境。情绪既然渐入佳境，身体当然也就会跟着好起来。在我们现在这个世界上，不论男女老少，都需要当众讲话。我不清楚它在工业或商业中究竟会给人带来什么利益，但我听说它裨益无穷。但我确实了解它给健康带来的益处。只要有机会，便对几个人或许多人说说话——你会越说越好，我自己就是这样；同时你会感到神清气爽，感到自己完整无缺，这是你从前感受不到的。You can reap a double benefit from this prescription. Your self-confidence strengthens as you learn to speak to others, and your whole personality grows warmer and better. This means that you are better off emotionally, and if you are better off emotionally, you are better off physically. Public speaking in our modern world is for everybody, men and women, young and elderly. I do not know personally about its advantages to one in business or industry. I only hear that they are great. But I do know its advantages in health. Speak when you can, to a few or to many; you will do it better and better, as I have found out myself; and you will feel a buoyancy of spirit, a sense of being a whole, rounded person, such as you never felt before.

这是一种畅快、美妙的感觉，没有任何东西能给你这样的感受。It is a wonderful sense to have, and no pill ever made can give it to you.

所以，第二个指引便是想象自己成功地做着目前自己所害怕做的事，想象你已经能够当众说话，并且被大家接纳而获得了很多的益处。牢记威廉·詹姆斯的话：“如果你对结果足够关注，你就一定会得到这一结果。”The second guidepost, then, is to picture yourself as successfully doing what now you fear to do, and to concentrate on the benefits you will receive through your ability to talk acceptably before groups. Remember the words of William James," If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it."