卡耐基演講·即席演講

不久前，在一家制藥公司新實(shí)驗(yàn)室落成典禮的聚會(huì)上，該公司研究處處長(zhǎng)的六名屬下進(jìn)行了發(fā)言，講述了化學(xué)家和生物學(xué)家們正在進(jìn)行的了不起的工作——他們正在研究抵抗傳染疾病的新疫苗，研究對(duì)抗過(guò)濾性病毒的新抗生素，研究舒解緊張的新鎮(zhèn)靜劑。他們先用動(dòng)物進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)，再在人類身上進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)，結(jié)果都令人非常滿意。NOT LONG AGO a group of business leaders and government officials met at the dedication of a pharmaceutical corporation's new laboratory. One after another, half a dozen subordinates to the research director arose and told of the fascinating work being done by chemists and biologists. They were developing new vaccines against communicable diseases, new antibiotics to fight viruses, new tranquilizers to ease tension. Their results, first with animals and then with human beings, were dramatic.

一批商場(chǎng)領(lǐng)袖和政府官員參加了聚會(huì)，其中一位官員對(duì)研究處處長(zhǎng)說(shuō)：“真是太神奇了，你的手下簡(jiǎn)直是魔術(shù)師。不過(guò)你怎么不講講呢？”This is marvelous, an official said to the research director. "Your men are really magicians. But why aren't you up there, speaking, too?"

“我只能對(duì)著自己的腳講話，卻不敢面對(duì)聽(tīng)眾?！毖芯刻幪庨L(zhǎng)黯然地說(shuō)。I can talk to my feet-not to an audience, the research director said gloomily.

沒(méi)有想到，主席讓他吃驚不小，因?yàn)橹飨f(shuō)：“我們還沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到我們的研究處處長(zhǎng)講話，他不喜歡發(fā)表正式演講，我想就請(qǐng)他對(duì)我們說(shuō)幾句話吧?！盇 little later, the chairman took him by surprise. "We haven't heard from our director of research," he said. "He doesn't like to give a formal speech. But I'm going to ask him to say a few words to us."

處長(zhǎng)站起來(lái)很費(fèi)勁地?cái)D出幾句話。他為自己沒(méi)能詳細(xì)地解說(shuō)道歉，這就是他所說(shuō)的全部?jī)?nèi)容。It was pitiful. The director stood up and managed no more than a couple of sentences. He apologized for not speaking at length, and that was the gist of his contribution.

他站在那里，一個(gè)在自己行業(yè)里的杰出人才，卻與普通人沒(méi)有兩樣，笨拙而迷惘。其實(shí)沒(méi)有什么么困難的，他可以學(xué)會(huì)即席講演的。我還沒(méi)有看到我訓(xùn)練班上任何一個(gè)有決心的學(xué)員學(xué)不會(huì)這一招。他們一開(kāi)始擁有的，就是這位研究處處長(zhǎng)沒(méi)有的——堅(jiān)決、勇敢地?fù)舻故〉膽B(tài)度。然后，需要一種不動(dòng)搖的意志，不論怎樣困難都堅(jiān)決要講。There he was, a brilliant man in his field, and he seemed as awkward and confused as a man could be. This was not necessary. He could have learned to speak impromptu on his feet. I have never seen a serious and determined member of our classes who couldn't learn this. At the start, it takes what this research director hadn't given it-a resolute and brave rejection of one's defeatist attitude. Then, perhaps for quite a while, it takes an unwavering will to do the job no matter how hard it may be.

“若是先有準(zhǔn)備并有練習(xí)，那沒(méi)有絲毫困難，”你會(huì)這樣說(shuō)，“可是如果是意料之外的講話，我真的不知所措了。”I get along all right if I've prepared my talk and practiced it, you may say. "But I'm at a loss for words if I'm asked to talk when I don't expect it."

情急之下，能夠整理自己的思想并發(fā)表談話，有時(shí)候，要比經(jīng)過(guò)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間努力準(zhǔn)備后的演講更重要。現(xiàn)代的商業(yè)需要以及現(xiàn)代人口頭溝通的自在隨意，使這種即席發(fā)言的能力不可缺少。我們需要迅速組織自己的思路并流暢地遣詞造句。許多影響到今日工業(yè)和政府的決定，都不是出于一人，而是在會(huì)議桌上商定的。個(gè)人可以各自發(fā)言，然而在這種群策群議的會(huì)議里，他的話必須強(qiáng)勁有力，才能對(duì)集體的決議產(chǎn)生影響。這也是即席演講要生動(dòng)突出的原因。The ability to assemble one's thoughts and to speak on the spur of the moment is even more important, in some ways, than the ability to speak only after lengthy and laborious preparation. The demands of modern business and the current casualness with which modern oral communication is carried on make it imperative to be able to mobilize our thoughts quickly and verbalize fluently. Many of the decisions that affect industry and government today are made, not by one man, but around the conference table. The individual still has his say, but what he has to say has to be forcefully stated in the forum of group opinion. This is where the ability to speak impromptu comes alive and produces results.