卡耐基演講·一、學習他人的經(jīng)驗，激發(fā)自己的勇氣

無論是否處于被束縛的狀態(tài)，沒有哪一種動物是天生的大眾演講家。人類歷史的某些時期，當眾講演是一門精致的藝術(shù)，必須謹遵修辭法和優(yōu)雅的演講技巧，那時想成為一名優(yōu)秀的演講家十分艱難。而今，我們卻將當眾演講看成一種擴大的交談。以往邊說邊唱的演講方式和如雷貫耳的聲音已經(jīng)永遠消失了。人們無論是在與他人共進晚餐時，還是在教堂中做禮拜、在家里看電視時，更愿意聽到一些率真的話，彼此之間根據(jù)世事常理思考，誠摯、專心致志地討論問題，而不是對著我們大放厥詞。There is no such animal, in or out of captivity, as a born public speaker. In those periods of history when public speaking was a refined art that demanded close attention to the laws of rhetoric and the niceties of delivery, it was even more difficult to be born a public speaker. Now we think of public speaking as a kind of enlarged conversation. Gone forever is the old grandiloquent style and the stentorian voice. What we like to hear at our dinner meetings, in our church services, on our TV sets and radios, is straightforward speech, conceived in common sense and dedicated to the proposition that we like speakers to talk with, and not at, us.

當眾演講并不是一門封閉的藝術(shù)，也不像許多教科書中所說的那樣，只有經(jīng)過多年去美化聲音和修辭學訓練之后才能取得成功。我的教學生涯幾乎全部是在向人們證明一點：當眾說話其實并不困難，只要遵循一些簡單而重要的規(guī)則就可以了。1912年，我在紐約市125街的青年基督協(xié)會開始從事教學工作時，對此和學生們一樣無知懵懂。早期我的教育訓練方法，和自己在密蘇里州的華倫堡上大學時接受的教育方式大同小異。但很快，我就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己走上了歧路：我竟然將那些商界人士當成大學一年級的新生來教育了。我發(fā)現(xiàn)以韋伯斯特、柏克匹特及歐康內(nèi)爾（以上人物皆以演講著稱）為例，一味模仿，毫無裨益。我所教授的學生需要的是在商務會議中有足夠的勇氣站起來，向與會者作一番明晰、連貫的報告。于是，我將教科書全部拋棄，站在講臺上，用一些簡單的概念，和那些難兄難弟們埋頭苦干，直到他們的報告詞達意盡、深入人心為止。這種方法果然取得了一定的效果，以至于他們畢業(yè)后希望再回來，希望學習更多的東西。Despite what many school texts would lead us to believe, public speaking is not a closed art, to be mastered only after years of perfecting the voice and struggling with the mysteries of rhetoric. I have spent almost all of my teaching career proving to people that it is easy to speak in public, provided they follow a few simple, but important, rules. When I started to teach at the l25th Street YMCA in New York City back in 1912, I didn't know this any more than my first students knew it. I taught those first classes pretty much the way I had been taught in my college years in Warrensburg, Missouri. But I soon discovered that I was on the wrong track; I was trying to teach adults in the business world as though they were college freshmen. I saw the futility of using Webster, Burke, Pitt, and O'Connell as examples to imitate. What the members of my classes wanted was enough courage to stand on their hind legs and make a clear, coherent report at their next business meeting. It wasn't long before I threw the textbooks out the window, got right up there on the podium and, with a few simple ideas, worked with those fellows until they could give their reports in a convincing manner. It worked, because they kept coming back for more.

我希望大家能有機會到我家里看看世界各地的學員寄來的感謝函。這些信有的來自企業(yè)界的領(lǐng)袖們，他們的大名常見于《紐約時報》和《華爾街日報》，也有州長、國會議員、大學校長和娛樂圈的明星，當然更多的則是來自家庭主婦、牧師、教師，他們都是一些默默無聞的普通人，還有企業(yè)中已經(jīng)接受訓練和尚未接受訓練的主管人員、技術(shù)純熟和生疏的工人、工會會員、大學生和職業(yè)女性等。所有這些人都覺得自己需要足夠的自信心，需要有在公開場合中表達自己思想的能力，以便讓人接納自己。那些實現(xiàn)自己目標的人心懷感激，特意寫信給我以示謝意。I wish I could give you a chance to browse through the files of testimonial letters in my home or in the offices of my representatives in various parts of the world. They come from industrial leaders whose names are frequently mentioned in the business section of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, from governors of states and members of parliaments, from college presidents, and from celebrities in the world of entertainment. There are thousands more from housewives, ministers, teachers, young men and women whose names are not well known yet, even in their own communities, executives and executive trainees, laborers, skilled and unskilled, union men, college students, and business women. All of these people felt a need for self-confidence and the ability to express themselves acceptably in public. They were so grateful for having achieved both that they took the time to write me letters of appreciation.

在我開始醞釀這本書的寫作計劃時，有一個人立刻就閃現(xiàn)在我的腦海里，在我所教過的數(shù)千名學員中，他對我的影響頗大。D.W.根特，費城一名成功的企業(yè)家，參加訓練班不久就邀請我共進午餐。餐桌上，他傾身向前對我說：“卡耐基先生，我曾有許多在公眾場合說話的機會，但在潛意識中總是試圖躲避與人正面交流。但現(xiàn)在我已當選為大學董事會主席，必須經(jīng)常主持各種會議。你覺得我在遲暮之年是否還能學會當眾說話？”O(jiān)f the thousands of people I have taught, one example comes to mind as I write because of the dramatic impact it had on me at the time. Some years ago, shortly after he joined my course, D. W. Ghent, a successful businessman in Philadelphia, invited me to lunch. He leaned across the table and said." I have sidestepped every opportunity to speak to various gatherings, Mr. Carnegie, and there have been many. But now I am chairman of a board of college trustees. I must preside at their meetings. Do you think it will be possible for me to learn to speak at this late date in life?"

在我的訓練班上有許多像他這樣的人，他們經(jīng)過一段時間的訓練取得了很大的成效。為此，我以自己的經(jīng)驗向他保證，他一定能取得成功。I assured him, on the basis of my experience with men in similar positions who had been members of my classes, that there was no doubt in my mind that he would succeed.

三年后，我們在企業(yè)家俱樂部共進午餐時再一次相遇。同一餐廳，同一張桌子，我們又談起從前說過的話。當我問及我的預言是否已經(jīng)實現(xiàn)時，他微微一笑，從口袋中掏出一本紅色小筆記本，上面記錄著他未來幾個月預定的演講日程表?！坝心芰ψ鬟@些講演、講演時所獲得的快樂以及我能夠為社會提供更多的服務……這些是我一生中最為高興和滿足的事?！彼茏院赖卣f道。About three years later we lunched together again at the Manufacturers' Club. We ate in the same dining room and at the very same table we had occupied at our first meeting. Reminding him of our former conversation, I asked him whether my prediction had come true. He smiled, took a little red-backed notebook out of his pocket, and showed me a list of speaking engagements for the next several months. "The ability to make these talks," he confessed, "the pleasure I get in giving them, the additional service I can render in the community-these are among the most gratifying things in my life."

事情遠不僅僅如此，根特先生還十分得意地告訴我，他所在的教區(qū)曾邀請英國首相前來費城發(fā)表演講，負責向聽眾介紹這位杰出政治家的人就是根特先生。But that was not all. With a feeling of justifiable pride, Mr. Ghent then played his ace card. His church group had invited the prime minister of England to address a convocation in Philadelphia. And the Philadelphian selected to make the introduction of the distinguished statesman, on one of his rare trips to America, was none other than Mr.D.W.Ghent.

而就是這個人，三年前還在這張桌子旁傾身問我，有朝一日他是否能夠當眾暢談如流。This was the man who had leaned across that same table less than three years before and asked me whether I thought he would ever be able to talk in public!

還有一個例子。有一天，已故的顧立區(qū)公司董事長大衛(wèi)·M.顧立區(qū)，有一天來到我的辦公室對我說：“在我的一生中，我每一次面對眾人講話總是驚恐萬分。而身為董事長，我又不能不主持會議。董事們已彼此熟悉，大家圍桌而坐談話時，我能夠?qū)Υ鹑缌?，毫無障礙。然而一旦站起身，我就會有一種莫名其妙的驚恐感，一個字也說不出來了。這種情形已持續(xù)多年，已十分嚴重了，我都擔心你是否能夠幫得了我?！盚ere is another example. The late David M. Goodrich, Chairman of the Board of the B. F. Goodrich Company, came to my office one day. "All my life," he began, "I have never been able to make a talk without being frozen with fear. As Board Chairman I have to preside at our meetings. I have known all the board members intimately for years, and I have no trouble talking to them when we are sitting around the table. But the moment I stand up to talk, I am terrified. I can hardly say a word. I have been that way for years. I don't believe you can do anything for me. My trouble is too serious. It has existed too long."

“噢，”我說，“既然你對我是否能幫助還表示疑惑，為什么還要來找我呢？”Well, I said, "if you don't think I can do anything for you, why did you come to see me?"

“因為有一個原因，”他回答道，“我有一個專門負責處理私人賬目的會計師，是一個十分害羞的家伙。他進自己的辦公室時必須從我的辦公桌前走過。多年來，他一直都是躡手躡腳、小心翼翼的，眼觀地面不敢抬頭，也難得說一個字。但是，最近他卻改頭換面，變得神采奕奕了，走進辦公室時抬頭挺胸，并且大大方方地向我道早安。我對他的這種改變表示驚訝，于是問他是什么促成了這種改變，他告訴了我參加你的訓練課程一事。正是因為那個家伙身上的改變，讓我來尋求您的幫助的。”For one reason only, he replied. "I have an accountant who takes care of my personal accounting problems. He is a shy chap, and to get into his little office, he has to walk through my office. He has been sneaking through my office for years, looking at the floor and hardly ever saying a word. But lately, he has been transformed. He walks into my office now with his chin up, a light in his eye; and he says, 'Good morning, Mr. Goodrich, with confidence and spirit. I was astonished at the change. So, I said to him,' Who has been feeding you meat?' He told me about taking your course of training; and it is only because of the transformation that I have witnessed in that frightened little man that I have come to see you."

我對顧立區(qū)先生說：“定期來上課，并且嚴格按照我的要求做，不出幾個星期，你就會喜歡在大眾面前講話了?！盜 told Mr.Goodrich that if he attended the classes regularly and did what we asked him to do, within a few weeks he would enjoy speaking before audiences.

“如果你真的能改變我，”他回答說，“那我可就要成為全國最快樂的人之一了?！盜f you can do that, he replied, "I'll be one of the happiest men in the country."

他堅持上課并且進步神速。三個月后，我邀請他參加在阿斯特飯店舞廳舉行的一個三千人的聚會，希望他談一談自己是如何從口才訓練課程中獲益的。他對自己不能前來表示歉意，因為事先有約了。但是第二天，他又打電話給我，說自己要來，他說：“我把約會取消了。為你講演是我欠你的。我要告訴聽眾這些訓練帶給我的助益，借自己的故事來激勵人們祛除殘害他們生命的恐懼?！盚e joined the course, made phenomenal progress, and three months later, I invited him to attend a meeting of three thousand people in the ballroom of the Hotel Astor, and talk to them on what he had gotten out of our training. He was sorry-couldn't come-a previous engagement. The next day he phoned me. "I want to apologize," he said," I have broken that engagement. I'll come and speak for you. I owe it to you. I'll tell the audience what this training did for me. I'll do it with the hope that my story will inspire some of the listeners to get rid of the fears that are devastating their lives."

我給他兩分鐘演講時間，結(jié)果面對著三千人，他足足說了十一分鐘。I asked him to speak for two minutes only. He spoke to three thousand people for eleven minutes.

類似的奇跡，我親眼目睹過不下數(shù)千起。許多人的人生由于這項訓練而徹底改變，一些人在職場獲得了夢寐以求的提升，一些人則在生意上、事業(yè)上、工作中大獲其利。有時候，一場適時的演講就足以使事情大功告成。瑪利歐·拉卓的故事就是這樣。I have seen thousands of similar miracles worked in my courses. I have seen men and women whose lives were transformed by this training, many of them receiving promotions far beyond their dreams or achieving positions of prominence in their business, profession, and community. Sometimes this has been done by means of a single talk delivered at the right moment. Let me tell you the story of Mario Lazo.

幾年前，我十分意外地收到一封來自古巴的電報。電報上說：“除非你拍電報來阻止我，否則我立即來紐約接受講演訓練。”落款是瑪利歐·拉卓。我不知道他是誰，也從來沒有聽說過。Years ago, I received a cable from Cuba that astonished me. It read," Unless you cable me to the contrary, I am coming to New York to take training to make a speech." It was signed:" Mario Lazo." Who was he? I wondered! I had never heard of him before.

拉卓先生來到了紐約，他告訴我說：“哈瓦那鄉(xiāng)村俱樂部要慶祝創(chuàng)建人50歲生日，安排我在晚會上擔任主持，并為他頒發(fā)銀制紀念杯。我雖然是一名律師，但從未公開發(fā)表過演講。一想到要面對眾多的來賓，我害怕極了。在這樣隆重的社交場合，如果事情辦砸了，我和太太該多難為情啊，這會大大影響我在客戶心中的形象。為此，我特意從古巴趕來向你求援，但我只能停留三周時間?！盬hen Mr. Lazo arrived in New York, he said, "The Havana Country Club is going to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the founder of the club; and I have been invited to present him with a silver cup and to make the principal talk of the evening. Although I am an attorney, I have never made a public talk in my life. I am terrified at the thought of speaking. If I fail, it will be deeply embarrassing to my wife and myself socially; and, in addition, it might lower my prestige with my clients. That is why I have come all the way from Cuba for your help. I can stay only three weeks."

在三周時間里，我讓瑪利歐從這個班換到另一個班，每晚堅持發(fā)表三四次演講?；氐焦虐椭?，他在哈瓦那鄉(xiāng)村俱樂部盛大宴會上發(fā)表了一場精彩絕倫的講演。對此，《時代》雜志在國外新聞欄目中進行了特別報道，稱譽他為“銀舌雄論家”。During those three weeks, I had Mario Lazo going from one class to another speaking three or four times a night. Three weeks later, he addressed the distinguished gathering at the Havana Country Club. His address was so outstanding that Time Magazine reported it under the head of foreign news and described Mario Lazo as a "silver-tongued orator."

聽著像是奇跡，是不是？它的確是一個奇跡——20世紀克服恐懼的奇跡。Sounds like a miracle, doesn't it? It is a miracle—a twentieth-century miracle of conquering fear.