卡耐基演講·2.在自己的背景中找題目
有一回，有人請教我們的教師，問他們認為初學演講者所遇到的最大的問題是什么。經統(tǒng)計發(fā)現(xiàn)，“教導初學者根據(jù)適合的題目進行演講”，是這門課程上課初期最常碰到的問題。Once a group of our instructors were asked to write on a slip of paper what they considered was the biggest problem they had with beginning speakers. When the slips were tallied, it was found that" getting beginners to talk on the right topic" was the problem most frequently encountered in early sessions of my course.
什么才是適合的題目？如果它是你生活的一部分，是你的經驗或經過思考使它屬于你的，你就可以肯定這個題目適合你。又怎樣去找尋題目呢？翻開自己久遠的記憶，從自己的生活背景中去搜尋生命里那些有意義并給你留下鮮明印象的事情。我們曾就能夠吸引聽眾注意的題目作過調查，發(fā)現(xiàn)最為聽眾欣賞的題目，都與某些特定的個人背景有關：What is the right topic? You can be sure you have the right topic for you if you have lived with it, made it your own through experience and reflection. How do you find topics? By dipping into your memory and searching your background for those significant aspects of your life that made a vivid impression on you. Several years ago, we made a survey of topics that held the attention of listeners in our classes. We found that the topics most approved by the audience were concerned with certain fairly defined areas of one's background:
——成長的歷程：與家庭、童年回憶、學校生活有關的題目，一定會獲得注意。因為，別人在成長過程中如何面對艱難的經過，最能引起我們的興趣。Early Years and Upbringing. Topics that deal with the family, childhood memories, schooldays, invariably get attention, because most of us are interested in the way other people met and overcame obstacles in the environment in which they were reared.
不論何時，只要可能，就把自己早年的故事穿插在講演中。有很多膾炙人口的戲劇、電影和故事，都是講人們早年遭遇的挑戰(zhàn)，這可以證明關于成長的歷程的題材是很有價值的，當然也能適用于講演。如何去確定別人會不會對自己小時候發(fā)生的事感興趣呢？有個簡單的方法：只要多年以后，如果某件事情依舊鮮明地印在你的腦海中，呼之欲出，那幾乎可以保證是會令聽眾產生興趣的。Whenever possible, work into your talks illustrations and examples from your early years. The popularity of plays, movies, and stories that deal with the ·subject of meeting the challenges of the world in one's early years attests to the value of this area for subject matter of talks. But how can you be sure anyone will be interested in what happened to you when you were young? There's one test. If something stands out vividly in your memory after many years have gone by, that almost guarantees that it will be of interest to an andience.
——為了出人頭地所做的努力：這是洋溢著人情味的經歷。例如，回憶自己早期為追求成功所做的努力，一定能吸引聽眾的注意。講講你是如何從事某種特別的工作或行業(yè)的，是什么樣的機遇造就了你的事業(yè)；告訴我們，在這競爭激烈的世界里，創(chuàng)業(yè)時你遭遇的挫折、你的希望以及你的成功。真實地描述一個人的生活，至少它是吸引聽眾最保險的題材。Early Struggles to Get Ahead. This is an area rich in human interest. Here again the attention of a group can be held by recounting your first attempts to make your mark on the world. How did you get into a particular job or profession? What twist of circumstances accounted for your career? Tell us about your setbacks, your hopes, your triumphs when you were establishing yourself in the competitive world. A real-life picture of almost anyone's life-if told modestly-is almost surefire material.
——嗜好及娛樂：這方面的題目依各人的喜好而定，因此，也是能引起注意的題材。講一件完全是因為自己喜歡才去做的事，一般不可能會出現(xiàn)失誤。如果你對某一特別的嗜好有發(fā)自內心的熱誠，你就能把這個題目講得很生動有趣。Hobbies and Recreation. Topics in this area are based on personal choice and, as such, are subjects that command attention. You can't go wrong talking about something you do out of sheer enjoyment. Your natural enthusiasm for your particular hobby will help get this topic across to any audience.
——特殊的知識領域：多年在同一個領域里工作，你已經成為這行里的專家。如果用多年的經驗或研究來討論有關自己的工作或職業(yè)方面的事情，也可保證獲得聽眾的注意與尊敬。Special Areas of Knowledge. Many years of working in the same field have made you an expert in your line of endeavor. You can be certain of respectful attention if you discuss aspects of your job or profession based on years of experience or study.
——不尋常的經歷：有沒有會見過名人？有沒有經歷戰(zhàn)爭炮火的洗禮？有沒有經歷過精神頹喪的危機？這些經驗都可以成為最佳的演講材料。Unusual Experiences. Have you ever met a great man? Were you under fire during the war? Have you gone through a spiritual crisis in your life? These are experiences that make the best kind of speech material.
——信仰與信念：或許你曾經花費許多時間和努力，思考對于今日世界所面臨的重大情勢自己所應持的態(tài)度。那么，你自然很有資格談論它們。只是這樣做的時候，一定要舉例來說明。聽眾可不愛聽空泛陳舊的講演。千萬不可以認為隨意讀些報章雜志，就可以談論這些題目。如果自己所知的不比聽眾多多少，那還是避開為妙。但是反過來說，既然你曾經投注多年的時間研究它，那毫無疑問，這是注定該你說的題目，絕對要用它。Beliefs and Convictions. Perhaps you have given a great deal of time and effort to thinking about your position on vital subjects confronting the world today. If you have devoted many hours to the study of issues of importance, you have earned the right to talk about them. But when you do, be certain that you give specific instances for your convictions. Audiences do not relish a talk filled with generalizations. Please don't consider the casual reading of a few newspaper articles sufficient preparation to talk on these topics. If you know little more about a subject than the people in your audience, it is best to avoid it. On the other hand, if you have devoted years of study to some subject, it is undoubtedly a topic that is made to order for you. By all means, use it.
上一節(jié)已經指出，準備講演并不只包括寫些字在紙上，或者背誦一連串的字句；它也不是從匆忙讀過的報章雜志里抽取第二手的意見。應該在自己的腦海及心靈里深掘，并將生命貯藏在那兒的信念提取出來。不必懷疑那里有沒有材料，當然那里有，而且貯藏豐富，只等你去發(fā)掘。也不要以為這樣的題材太個人化、太輕微，聽眾不會喜歡聽。其實，這樣的講演比我聽過的那些職業(yè)演講家的演講更能讓我快樂，也更能讓我感動。As was pointed out in Chapter Two, the preparation of a talk does not consist merely in getting some mechanical words down on paper, or in memorizing a series of phrases. It does not consist in lifting ideas secondhand from some hastily read book or news paper article. But it does consist in digging deep into your mind and heart and bringing forth some of the essential convictions that life has stored there. Never doubt that the material is there. It is! Rich stores of it, waiting for you to discover it. Do not spurn such material as too personal, too slight for an audience to hear, I have been highly entertained and deeply moved by such talks, more entertained and more moved than I have been by many professional speakers.
