卡耐基演講·（1）請求聽眾舉手作答

請聽眾舉手回答問題，也是一個很好的方法，可以引起他們的興趣和注意。舉例來說，在談《如何避免疲勞》時，我用這個問題來開頭：A splendid way to get interested attention is to ask the audience to raise their hands in answer to a question. For example, I have opened my talk on How to Prevent Fatigue" with this question:

“讓我們來舉手瞧瞧，各位當中有多少人，在認為自己該疲倦前就早早疲倦了？”Let's see your hands. How many of you get tired more quickly than you feel you ought to?

記住這一點：要請聽眾舉手時，應先給聽眾一點提示，告訴他們你要這么做。不要劈頭就說：“這里有多少人相信所得稅應該降低的？讓我們舉手瞧瞧?！睉撨@樣說：“我想請各位舉手回答一個對各位而言十分重要的問題。問題是這樣：‘各位有多少人相信貨品贈券對消費者有好處？’”這樣可以讓聽眾做好回答的準備。Note this point: When you ask for a show of hands, usually give the audience some warning that you are going to do so. Do not open a talk with:How many people here believe the income tax should be lowered? Let's see your hands. Give the audience a chance to be ready for the vote by saying, for instance: "I am going to ask for a show of hands on a question of importance to you. This is the question: 'How many of you believe that trading stamps benefit the consumer?' "

請聽眾舉手的技巧可獲得極有價值的反應，也就是所謂的“聽眾參與”。當你使用它時，你的講演就已經(jīng)不再是單方面的事情了，聽眾早已投身參與了。當你問道“各位當中有多少人，在認為自己該疲倦前就早早疲倦了?！睍r，人人都開始想這個與他相關(guān)的題目：他自己，他的痛楚，他的疲倦。他舉起手來，可能還四下張望看看有誰也一樣舉手。他已經(jīng)忘記自己是在聽講演，他笑了，他對鄰座的朋友點頭，冰冷的氣氛也被打破了。而你，這個演講人，頓時輕松起來，聽眾同樣如此。The technique of asking for a show of hands gets a priceless reaction known as "audience participation." When you use it, your talk is no longer a one-sided affair. The audience is participating in it now. When you ask, "How many of yon get tired more quickly than you feel you ought to?" everyone starts thinking of his favorite topic: himself, his aches, his fatigue. He lifts his hand and possibly looks around to see who else has his hand up. He forgets that he is listening to a talk. He smiles. He nods to a friend sitting next to him. The ice is broken. You, the speaker, are at ease, and so is the audience.