想做演講？這六個技巧可讓聽眾印象深刻
Anne Fisher
2019-03-02
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長年生活在商業世界里，不聽上一兩次讓人昏昏欲睡的演講發言是不可能的，但在金融界，這種情況尤其可怕，“他們有時直接念Excel報表。”戴安·德瑞斯塔說，她聽起來有點嚇到了。德瑞斯塔是一位資深傳播媒體教練，寫了一本名為《制勝演講》（Knockout Presentations）的書。念一長串干巴巴的數字“實在太浪費了”，她補充道，“因為數字背后都是故事——有些故事還十分精彩。”如果你選擇接受任務，那你的任務就是找出故事，然后按照我們新聞專業的說法，開門見山，用最奪人眼球的內容開頭。
打算在工作小組或大會上發言？德瑞斯塔提出了六個讓你一鳴驚人的技巧：
1. 談關乎聽眾利益的事
也就是說回答這個問題，“他們為什么要關注？”假設你正在進行營銷演講。別一上來就滔滔不絕地講你的產品服務多好多好這種沒用的內容，坦率告訴聽眾你的產品服務能為他們做些什么。“開場就告訴聽眾他們最大的好處是什么，是能幫他們提高收益、主導市場，還是其他什么他們最關心的事。”德瑞斯塔說。“或者繪聲繪色地描述一個據你所知他們關心的問題，解釋你怎么能幫他們解決問題。”“如果看見人們點頭”，說明這個開場正中要害。
2. 描述矛盾
會對故事做出回應是人類的本能，講故事這種古老又有力量的藝術可以一路追溯至穴居時代，那時人類圍坐在火堆旁講故事，而引人入勝的故事似乎有固定公式。比如說，大多數爆紅的浪漫喜劇本質上是同一個講了上千遍（或者幾百萬遍）的故事：男孩得到女孩（或相反）、男孩失去女孩、男孩重新得到女孩。“如果里面沒有點掙扎，沒有點阻礙，你的故事就達不到預期效果。”德瑞斯塔還說其它的故事原型也有同樣效果。“商業界充滿了‘英雄的旅程’和‘大衛與歌利亞’的故事。”她說。“帶領你的觀眾開啟一段從高峰駛往低谷，再重達高峰的旅程。”
3. 調動全部感官
因為人們用不同的方式處理感官數據——例如，我們中有些人更注重視覺，其他人更依靠聽覺或觸覺——德瑞斯塔建議演講者要盡可能多地吸引不同感官。“給你的觀眾帶來體驗，而不僅僅是事實。你希望他們能把你放在一個場景中，他們可以聽到你聽到的，感受到你的感受。”在她的一次演講中，德瑞斯塔想說“查理握手很無力”時沒這么說，而是說他“‘握手時柔軟無力、像海蜇一樣。就像和魷魚在握手。’我看到觀眾里有人做鬼臉，還聽到了幾聲嘟囔。這是因為他們正和我一起親身經歷這個握手的場景。”好在可憐的“查理”是個化名。
4. 使用類比和暗喻
在布魯斯·斯普林斯汀1985年的標志性專輯《出生于美國》（Born in the U.S.A.）的“I’m On Fire”這首歌中，有句歌詞寫到，“我在夜晚醒來，床單濕透，一輛貨運火車穿過我的腦袋。”迪雷斯塔表示，斯普林斯汀完全可以寫，“我半夜醒來時頭痛欲裂”，能表達同樣的意思。但哪個版本更能激發你的想象力？他被稱為“老板”（ “The Boss”），可不是白叫的。
5. 打破一成不變
事實證明，想讓人們開始玩手機，那就用同樣的節奏、同樣的音調喋喋不休地說下去吧。德瑞斯塔說：“這樣觀眾就不會繼續聽了，因為他們能預測到后面的模式：用有邏輯的線性順序講第一項內容、第二項內容等等。”令人昏昏欲睡。改變你的音量、語調和語速，然后簡單地講一兩句題外話，甚至是個小笑話，這樣觀眾會留心尋找接下來可能會出現什么驚喜。你甚至可以用演講教練稱之為“鹽析”的技巧，提出一個你所知道聽眾關心的問題，許諾在演講最后回答。當然，不要忘了答，因為他們不會忘。
6. 加入個人因素
迪瑞斯塔曾經為一位知名首席執行官提供培訓，他取得了很多廣為人知的成功，所以普通聽眾會有點怕他。活動主持人先介紹了他令人驚嘆的生平，之后“他講了個參加《危險邊緣》（Jeopardy）節目慘敗的搞笑故事，讓所有人都放松了下來。”德瑞斯塔回憶道：“如果你愿意分享一個成功道路上的小缺點或過失，袒露自己的某一面，你會看上去更和善、更真實，聽眾會好奇你還會說些什么。”如果你能讓他們笑出聲，效果尤佳。（財富中文網）
安妮·費希爾是職場專家和問答類專欄作家，是《財富》雜志21世紀工作生活指南專欄“Work It Out”的作者。 譯者：Agatha |
It’s probably impossible to hang out anywhere in the corporate world for long without being subjected to a snooze-inducing speech or two, but it’s a particular hazard in finance, where “sometimes people just read to you off an Excel spreadsheet,” says Diane diResta, sounding mildly horrified. diResta is a longtime communications and media coach who wrote a book called Knockout Presentations. Reciting a dry list of numbers is “such a waste,” she adds, “because numbers always tell a story—sometimes a truly fascinating one.” Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Find the story and then, as we say in journalism, don’t bury the lead. Start with what’s most likely to grab your listeners’ attention.
Planning to speak to a group at work or a conference? Here are six of diResta’s tips for hitting it out of the park:
1. Talk to your audience’s self-interest.
This means answering the question, “Why should they care?” Let’s say you’re giving a sales presentation. Instead of wading right into the weeds about the wonderfulness of your product or service, tell up front what it can do for the people listening. “Start with the biggest benefit to them, whether it’s boosting their profitability, dominating a market segment, or whatever concerns them most,” says diResta. “Or vividly describe a problem you know they have, and then explain how you can help solve it.” You’ll know you’ve hit a bull’s-eye “when you see people nodding.”
2. Describe a conflict.
Humans are hardwired to respond to storytelling, an ancient and powerful art that goes all the way back to when we lived in caves and told tales around a fire, and certain formulas always seem to grab us. Most hit rom-com movies, for instance, are really just the same story retold for the thousandth (millionth?) time: Boy Gets Girl (or vice versa), Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl Back. “Without some kind of struggle or obstacle, your story falls flat,” says diResta, who adds that other archetypes work, too. “Business is full of ‘hero’s journey’ and ‘David versus Goliath’ stories,” she says. “Take your listeners on a ride from high to low to high.”
3. Engage all the senses.
Because people process sensory data differently—some of us are more visual, for instance, while others rely more on hearing or touch—diResta recommends appealing to as many senses as you can. “Give your audience an experience, rather than just facts. You want them to picture you in a scene, where they can hear what you heard and feel what you felt.” In one talk she gave, instead of saying, “Charlie had a weak handshake,” diResta described the man’s “‘limp, jellyfish handshake. It was like shaking hands with a squid.’ I could see people in the audience grimace, and I heard a few groans. That was because they were experiencing that handshake viscerally with me.” Happily, poor “Charlie” is a pseudonym.
4. Use analogies and metaphors.
In the song “I’m On Fire,” on Bruce Springsteen’s iconic 1985 album Born in the U.S.A., there’s a line that goes, “At night I wake up with the sheets soakin’ wet and a freight train running through the middle of my head.” Sure, diResta observes, he could have said, “I wake up at night with a pounding headache” and made the same point. But which version kickstarts your imagination? He’s not called “The Boss” for nothing.
5. Break the pattern.
A time-tested way to make people start checking their phones is to drone on and on in the same rhythm and tone of voice. “The audience will tune you out, because the pattern is predictable: Fact A to Fact B and so on, in a logical, linear order,” says diResta. Zzzz. Vary the volume, tone, and speed of your voice, and throw in a brief aside or two—maybe even a quick joke—so your audience stays alert to find out what surprises might be coming next. You can even use a technique that speech coaches call “salting,” where you raise a question you know your listeners care about, and promise to answer it at the end of your talk. Then, of course, don’t forget, because they won’t.
6. Get personal.
diResta once coached a famous CEO whose many much-publicized triumphs made him intimidating to his audience of ordinary mortals. After an awe-inspiring introduction from the host of the event, “he put everyone at ease with a very funny story about his crushing defeat as a contestant on Jeopardy!” diResta recalls. “If you’re willing to reveal something of yourself by sharing a foible or a misstep along the path to your success, you become much more relatable and authentic, and your listeners will be curious about what else you have to say.” Especially if you can also make them laugh.
Anne Fisher is a career expert and advice columnist who writes “Work It Out,” Fortune’s guide to working and living in the 21st century. |
