【国外文学】The Art of Public Speaking.docx

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1、【国外文学】The Art of Public SpeakingTHINGS TO THINK OF FIRSTA FOREWORDThe efficiency of a book is like that of a man, in one important respect: its attitude toward its subject is the first source of its power. A book may be full of good ideas well expressed, but if its writer views his subject from the

2、wrong angle even his excellent advice may prove to be ineffective.This book stands or falls by its authors attitude toward its subject. If the best way to teach oneself or others to speak effectively in public is to fill the mind with rules, and to set up fixed standards for the interpretation of th

3、ought, the utterance of language, the making of gestures, and all the rest, then this book will be limited in value to such stray ideas throughout its pages as may prove helpful to the readeras an effort to enforce a group of principles it must be reckoned a failure, because it is then untrue.It is

4、of some importance, therefore, to those who take up this volume with open mind that they should see clearly at the out-start what is the thought that at once underlies and is builded through this structure. In plain words it is this:Training in public speaking is not a matter of externalsprimarily;

5、it is not a matter of imitationfundamentally; it is not a matter of conformity to standardsat all. Public speaking is public utterance, public issuance, of the man himself; therefore the first thing both in time and in importance is that the man should be and think and feel things that are worthy of

6、 being given forth. Unless there be something of value within, no tricks of training can ever make of the talker anything more than a machinealbeit a highly perfected machinefor the delivery of other mens goods. So self-development is fundamental in our plan.The second principle lies close to the fi

7、rst: The man must enthrone his will to rule over his thought, his feelings, and all his physical powers, so that the outer self may give perfect, unhampered expression to the inner. It is futile, we assert, to lay down systems of rules for voice culture, intonation, gesture, and what not, unless the

8、se two principles of having something to say and making the will sovereign have at least begun to make themselves felt in the life.The third principle will, we surmise, arouse no dispute: No one can learn how to speak who does not first speak as best he can. That may seem like a vicious circle in st

9、atement, but it will bear examination.Many teachers have begun with the how. Vain effort! It is an ancient truism that we learn to do by doing. The first thing for the beginner in public speaking is to speaknot to study voice and gesture and the rest. Once he has spoken he can improve himself by sel

10、f-observation or according to the criticisms of those who hear.But how shall he be able to criticise himself? Simply by finding out three things: What are the qualities which by common consent go to make up an effective speaker; by what means at least some of these qualities may be acquired; and wha

11、t wrong habits of speech in himself work against his acquiring and using the qualities which he finds to be good.Experience, then, is not only the best teacher, but the first and the last. But experience must be a dual thingthe experience of others must be used to supplement, correct and justify our

12、 own experience; in this way we shall become our own best critics only after we have trained ourselves in self-knowledge, the knowledge of what other minds think, and in the ability to judge ourselves by the standards we have come to believe are right. If I ought, said Kant, I can.An examination of

13、the contents of this volume will show how consistently these articles of faith have been declared, expounded, and illustrated. The student is urged to begin to speak at once of what he knows. Then he is given simple suggestions for self-control, with gradually increasing emphasis upon the power of t

14、he inner man over the outer. Next, the way to the rich storehouses of material is pointed out. And finally, all the while he is urged to speak, speak, SPEAK as he is applying to his own methods, in his own personal way, the principles he has gathered from his own experience and observation and the r

15、ecorded experiences of others.So now at the very first let it be as clear as light that methods are secondary matters; that the full mind, the warm heart, the dominant will are primaryand not only primary but paramount; for unless it be a full being that uses the methods it will be like dressing a w

16、ooden image in the clothes of a man.J. BERG ESENWEIN.NARBERTH, PA.,JANUARY 1, 1915.THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKINGSense never fails to give them that have it, Words enough to make them understood. It too often happens in some conversations, as in Apothecary Shops, that those Pots that are Empty, or have

17、Things of small Value in them, are as gaudily Dressd as those that are full of precious Drugs.They that soar too high, often fall hard, making a low and level Dwelling preferable. The tallest Trees are most in the Power of the Winds, and Ambitious Men of the Blasts of Fortune. Buildings have need of

18、 a good Foundation, that lie so much exposed to the Weather.William Penn.CHAPTER IACQUIRING CONFIDENCE BEFORE AN AUDIENCEThere is a strange sensation often experienced in the presence of an audience. It may proceed from the gaze of the many eyes that turn upon the speaker, especially if he permits h

19、imself to steadily return that gaze. Most speakers have been conscious of this in a nameless thrill, a real something, pervading the atmosphere, tangible, evanescent, indescribable. All writers have borne testimony to the power of a speakers eye in impressing an audience. This influence which we are

20、 now considering is the reverse of that picturethe power their eyes may exert upon him, especially before he begins to speak: after the inward fires of oratory are fanned into flame the eyes of the audience lose all terror.William Pittenger, Extempore Speech.Students of public speaking continually a

21、sk, How can I overcome self-consciousness and the fear that paralyzes me before an audience?Did you ever notice in looking from a train window that some horses feed near the track and never even pause to look up at the thundering cars, while just ahead at the next railroad crossing a farmers wife wi

22、ll be nervously trying to quiet her scared horse as the train goes by?How would you cure a horse that is afraid of carsgraze him in a back-woods lot where he would never see steam-engines or automobiles, or drive or pasture him where he would frequently see the machines?Apply horse-sense to ridding

23、yourself of self-consciousness and fear: face an audience as frequently as you can, and you will soon stop shying. You can never attain freedom from stage-fright by reading a treatise. A book may give you excellent suggestions on how best to conduct yourself in the water, but sooner or later you mus

24、t get wet, perhaps even strangle and be half scared to death. There are a great many wetless bathing suits worn at the seashore, but no one ever learns to swim in them. To plunge is the only way.Practise, practise, PRACTISE in speaking before an audience will tend to remove all fear of audiences, ju

25、st as practise in swimming will lead to confidence and facility in the water. You must learn to speak by speaking.The Apostle Paul tells us that every man must work out his own salvation. All we can do here is to offer you suggestions as to how best to prepare for your plunge. The real plunge no one

26、 can take for you. A doctor may prescribe, but you must take the medicine.Do not be disheartened if at first you suffer from stage-fright. Dan Patch was more susceptible to suffering than a superannuated dray horse would be. It never hurts a fool to appear before an audience, for his capacity is not

27、 a capacity for feeling. A blow that would kill a civilized man soon heals on a savage. The higher we go in the scale of life, the greater is the capacity for suffering.For one reason or another, some master-speakers never entirely overcome stage-fright, but it will pay you to spare no pains to conq

28、uer it. Daniel Webster failed in his first appearance and had to take his seat without finishing his speech because he was nervous. Gladstone was often troubled with self-consciousness in the beginning of an address. Beecher was always perturbed before talking in public.Blacksmiths sometimes twist a

29、 rope tight around the nose of a horse, and by thus inflicting a little pain they distract his attention from the shoeing process. One way to get air out of a glass is to pour in water.Be Absorbed by Your SubjectApply the blacksmiths homely principle when you are speaking. If you feel deeply about y

30、our subject you will be able to think of little else. Concentration is a process of distraction from less important matters. It is too late to think about the cut of your coat when once you are upon the platform, so centre your interest on what you are about to sayfill your mind with your speech-mat

31、erial and, like the infilling water in the glass, it will drive out your unsubstantial fears.Self-consciousness is undue consciousness of self, and, for the purpose of delivery, self is secondary to your subject, not only in the opinion of the audience, but, if you are wise, in your own. To hold any

32、 other view is to regard yourself as an exhibit instead of as a messenger with a message worth delivering. Do you remember Elbert Hubbards tremendous little tract, A Message to Garcia? The youth subordinated himself to the message he bore. So must you, by all the determination you can muster. It is

33、sheer egotism to fill your mind with thoughts of self when a greater thing is thereTRUTH. Say this to yourself sternly, and shame your self-consciousness into quiescence. If the theater caught fire you could rush to the stage and shout directions to the audience without any self-consciousness, for t

34、he importance of what you were saying would drive all fear-thoughts out of your mind.Far worse than self-consciousness through fear of doing poorly is self-consciousness through assumption of doing well. The first sign of greatness is when a man does not attempt to look and act great. Before you can

35、 call yourself a man at all, Kipling assures us, you must not look too good nor talk too wise.Nothing advertises itself so thoroughly as conceit. One may be so full of self as to be empty. Voltaire said, We must conceal self-love. But that can not be done. You know this to be true, for you have reco

36、gnized overweening self-love in others. If you have it, others are seeing it in you. There are things in this world bigger than self, and in working for them self will be forgotten, orwhat is betterremembered only so as to help us win toward higher things.Have Something to SayThe trouble with many s

37、peakers is that they go before an audience with their minds a blank. It is no wonder that nature, abhorring a vacuum, fills them with the nearest thing handy, which generally happens to be, I wonder if I am doing this right! How does my hair look? I know I shall fail. Their prophetic souls are sure

38、to be right.It is not enough to be absorbed by your subjectto acquire self-confidence you must have something in which to be confident. If you go before an audience without any preparation, or previous knowledge of your subject, you ought to be self-consciousyou ought to be ashamed to steal the time

39、 of your audience. Prepare yourself. Know what you are going to talk about, and, in general, how you are going to say it. Have the first few sentences worked out completely so that you may not be troubled in the beginning to find words. Know your subject better than your hearers know it, and you hav

40、e nothing to fear.After Preparing for Success, Expect ItLet your bearing be modestly confident, but most of all be modestly confident within. Over-confidence is bad, but to tolerate premonitions of failure is worse, for a bold man may win attention by his very bearing, while a rabbit-hearted coward

41、invites disaster.Humility is not the personal discount that we must offer in the presence of othersagainst this old interpretation there has been a most healthy modern reaction. True humility any man who thoroughly knows himself must feel; but it is not a humility that assumes a worm-like meekness;

42、it is rather a strong, vibrant prayer for greater power for servicea prayer that Uriah Heep could never have uttered.Washington Irving once introduced Charles Dickens at a dinner given in the latters honor. In the middle of his speech Irving hesitated, became embarrassed, and sat down awkwardly. Tur

43、ning to a friend beside him he remarked, There, I told you I would fail, and I did.If you believe you will fail, there is no hope for you. You will.Rid yourself of this I-am-a-poor-worm-in-the-dust idea. You are a god, with infinite capabilities. All things are ready if the mind be so. The eagle loo

44、ks the cloudless sun in the face.Assume Mastery Over Your AudienceIn public speech, as in electricity, there is a positive and a negative force. Either you or your audience are going to possess the positive factor. If you assume it you can almost invariably make it yours. If you assume the negative

45、you are sure to be negative. Assuming a virtue or a vice vitalizes it. Summon all your power of self-direction, and remember that though your audience is infinitely more important than you, the truth is more important than both of you, because it is eternal. If your mind falters in its leadership th

46、e sword will drop from your hands. Your assumption of being able to instruct or lead or inspire a multitude or even a small group of people may appall you as being colossal impudenceas indeed it may be; but having once essayed to speak, be courageous. BE courageousit lies within you to be what you w

47、ill. MAKE yourself be calm and confident.Reflect that your audience will not hurt you. If Beecher in Liverpool had spoken behind a wire screen he would have invited the audience to throw the over-ripe missiles with which they were loaded; but he was a man, confronted his hostile hearers fearlesslyan

48、d won them.In facing your audience, pause a moment and look them overa hundred chances to one they want you to succeed, for what man is so foolish as to spend his time, perhaps his money, in the hope that you will waste his investment by talking dully?Concluding HintsDo not make haste to beginhaste shows lack of control.Do not apologize. It ought not to be necessary; and if it is, it will not help. Go straight ahead.Take a deep breath, relax, and begin in a quiet conversational tone as though you were speaking to one large friend. You will not find it half so ba