哎呀，我搞砸了！ 7 个常见的演讲问题及其解决方法

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/24/1196978022/life-kit-all-guides-feed-draft-10-24-2023

发表演讲可能会让你伤脑筋。 你到底说什么？ 如何吸引人们的注意力？ 如果你……搞砸了怎么办？

西翼作家组织 (West Wing Writers) 的劳伦·多明格斯·陈 (Lauren Dominguez Chan) 表示，只要具备正确的技能和足够的练习，任何人都可以克服这些挑战并成为一名优秀的演讲者。西翼作家组织是一个为政府官员、商界领袖和运动员撰写演讲和发布信息的作家团体。

“最终目标是让演讲者准备好以一种可以自由地与听众交流的方式进行演讲，”她说。

为此，你需要了解一些有关公开演讲艺术的基础知识。 德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校演讲团队的助理主任 Dominguez Chan 和 Eva Margarita 分享了在公共场合演讲时面临的七个常见问题以及如何解决这些问题。

1. 问题：我的讲话没有重点

解决方案：确定你的核心信息

多明格斯·陈 (Dominguez Chan) 表示，在开始演讲之前，先弄清楚你的核心信息。

“如果我的听众可以带着一个信息走出这个（演讲）房间，那个信息会是什么？” 她问。 它可以是一个想法，一种感觉，“就像希望你的观众离开时感到受到赞赏”，或者是号召性用语——比如激励某人参与投票选举。

在大流行的最初几年，她是美国卫生局局长维韦克·穆尔蒂博士（Dr. Vivek Murthy）的演讲撰稿人。 她为白宫撰写了他关于新冠病毒的每周评论和其他重要演讲，包括他在加州大学伯克利分校公共卫生学院 2021 年毕业典礼上的演讲。

她在那次演讲中的目的是提升学生的水平，让他们感觉可以依靠周围的人。 这是摘录：

“今天我给你留下一个练习，你可以在那些怀疑的时刻求助，这些怀疑将在未来的岁月中不可避免地浮现出来。拿起你的右手，轻轻地放在你的心脏上。然后闭上眼睛。深呼吸。然后思考 关于你生命中那些支持你走到这一刻的人。”

通过这个练习，“默蒂博士在反思的时刻引导你的注意力向内，然后再次向外，以感谢你脑海中想象的这些人，”多明格斯·陈说——帮助实现核心信息传递目标。

2. 问题：我不知道演讲中要包含什么内容

解决办法：一切都回到中心思想

多明格斯·陈 (Dominguez Chan) 表示，现在你已经掌握了核心信息，请确保演讲中的所有想法都指向这个核心信息。

她补充道，核心信息让你更容易决定要说什么，并且“帮助你做出其他所有决定，从结构到具体的故事和具体的图像”。

假设你准备在市政厅会议上就禁书问题发表讲话，并且你有三分钟的时间。 弄清楚你对这个主题的立场——这是你的核心信息——然后想出支持该信息的故事和轶事。 不要因提及不相关的事情而偏离主题。

3. 问题：感觉像是在对听众讲话

解决方案：使用生动的图像和讲故事

多明计斯·陈喜欢在演讲中使用她所说的“粘性故事”【sticky stories】——诚实、生动的轶事，以及吸引视觉、听觉、嗅觉、味觉和触觉的细节。

他们“会让你的演讲令人难忘。人们会记住故事和图像，”她说。

例如，你可以说“我的手颤抖得厉害，以至于我无法握住方向盘”，而不是说“我很害怕”。

4. 问题：我的讲话听起来不自然

解决方案：为耳朵而写演讲稿

多明格斯·陈 (Dominguez Chan) 表示，优秀演讲稿的一个重要组成部分是“为耳朵而写”。 这意味着使用“简短的单词和句子。它们通常是最有力的。”

我们再看一下Dr Murthy毕业典礼演讲的节选：

“今天毕业的你们都一起经历了一段相当长的旅程……我知道你们没有想到你们的公共卫生教育会因为突发公共卫生事件而受到干扰。然而，在我们的世界遭受了变化和苦难，这次公共卫生领导者的聚会——是的，我指的是你们——证明了我们必须对未来充满希望的所有理由。”

请注意他如何使用相对简单的词语来谈论像新冠病毒大流行这样的复杂话题。 “你不必在演讲中使用最大的词（the biggest word），”她说。

5. 问题：我的信息无法与听众产生共鸣

解决方案：在别人面前练习演讲

练习演讲可以缓解紧张感，并帮助你调整演讲内容。 它可以确保你的信息传达给听众。

“练习时请朋友或家人听你说话，”多明格斯·陈 (Dominguez Chan) 说。 “问他们，‘听起来像我吗？’ “节奏怎么样？” 你还可以用手机录制语音备忘录并回放给自己听。”

如果你需要陌生人的反馈，你可以加入像 Toastmasters International 这样的演讲俱乐部。 该组织已有近 100 年的历史，在全球拥有 14,200 个俱乐部，因此你附近可能就有一个这样的俱乐部。

Toastmasters 的会议非常有条理，时间精确到分钟，有很多机会获得有关您的语法、整体演示以及使用“嗯”、“你知道”和“啊”等填充词的次数的支持性反馈。 还有机会练习就即兴话题进行即兴简短演讲。

6.问题：我很紧张

解决方法：深呼吸

德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的玛格丽塔说，在演讲之前，请深呼吸。 她指导大学生如何研究、写作和发表演讲。

她建议进行“自我调节呼吸”，即“吸气时让腹部扩张，并可听到呼气声”。 在你真正大声说话之前，它会让你的身心有片刻的平静下来。

7. 问题：哎呀，我搞砸了！

解决方案：放慢速度并重新开始

如果此刻发生了意外的事情——比如你绊倒了或者失去了自己的位置——暂停或放慢速度。 “如果你感到舌头打结，那就停下来吧，”玛格丽塔说。 深吸一口气，回到句子的开头，或者重述你偶然发现的单词。

多明格斯·陈 (Dominguez Chan) 表示，别担心，人们不会像你想象的那样注意到这些停顿。 “即使有人注意到了，那也没关系。”

她补充道，重点是让自己为成功做好准备，而不是完美。

Oops, I messed up! 7 common public speaking issues — and how to fix them

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/24/1196978022/life-kit-all-guides-feed-draft-10-24-2023

Oops, I messed up! 7 common public speaking issues — and how to fix them

It can be nerve-wracking to deliver a speech in front of people. What the heck do you say? How do you capture people's attention? And what do you do if you ... mess up? 

With the right skills and enough practice, anyone can overcome these challenges and be a good speaker, says Lauren Dominguez Chan of West Wing Writers, a group of writers who create speeches and messages for government officials, business leaders and athletes. 

"The end goal is to prepare people to speak in a way where they're free to connect with their audience in the moment," she says.

To do that, you'll need to know a few basics about the art of public speaking. Dominguez Chan and Eva Margarita, assistant director of Texas Speech, the speech team at the University of Texas at Austin, share seven common problems that people face when speaking in public — and how to fix them. 

1. Problem: My speech is unfocused

Solution: Identify your core message

Before you dive into your speech, figure out your core message, says Dominguez Chan. 

"If my audience could walk out of this room with one thing, what would that one thing be?" she asks. It can be an idea, a feeling "like wanting your audience to walk away feeling appreciated" or a call to action — like inspiring someone to vote. 

During the early years of the pandemic, she was the speechwriter for the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. She wrote his weekly remarks on COVID for the White House and other important speeches, including his 2021 commencement speech at the U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health. 

Her aim in that speech was to elevate the students and make them feel like they could lean on the people around them. Here's an excerpt: 

"I leave you today with a practice you can turn to during those moments of doubt that will inevitably surface during the years ahead. Take your right hand and place it gently over your heart. And close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And think about the people in your life who have supported you on your journey to this moment."

Through this exercise, "Dr. Murthy guides your attention inward in this moment of reflection and then outward again in gratitude to these people that you're imagining in your head," says Dominguez Chan — helping to achieve the core messaging goal. 

2. Problem: I don't know what to include in my speech

Solution: Point everything back to the central idea 

Now that you have your core message, make sure all the ideas in your speech point back to it, says Dominguez Chan. 

It makes it easier to decide what to say and it "helps you make every other decision, from the structure to the specific stories and concrete images that you include," she adds. 

Let's say you're preparing to speak at a town hall meeting about book bans and you have three minutes to do so. Figure out your stance on the topic — that's your core message — then come up with stories and anecdotes that support that message. Don't stray by mentioning unrelated things. 

3. Problem: It feels like I'm talking at my audience

Solution: Use vivid imagery and storytelling 

Dominguez Chan likes using what she calls "sticky stories" in her speeches — honest, vivid anecdotes with details that engage the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. 

They "are going to make your presentation memorable. People remember stories and images," she says. 

For example, instead of saying, "I was terrified," you could say "my hands were shaking so much that I couldn't hold the steering wheel," she adds. 

4. Problem: My speech doesn't sound natural 

Solution: Write for the ear 

A big part of great speechwriting, says Dominguez Chan, is "writing for the ear." That means using "short, simple words and sentences. They are often the most powerful." 

Let's take a look at an excerpt from Murthy's commencement speech again: 

"All of you graduating today have been on quite a journey together ... I know you didn't expect your education in public health to be disrupted by, of all things, a public health emergency. Yet in the midst of the change and suffering our world has endured, this gathering of public health leaders – and yes, I'm referring to you — is a testament to all the reasons we have to be hopeful about the future." 

Notice how he uses relatively simple words to talk about a complex topic like the COVID pandemic. "You don't have to use the biggest word in a speech," she says.

5. Problem: My message isn't connecting with the audience

Solution: Practice in front of people

Practicing your speech can ease feelings of nervousness and help you fine tune your presentation. And it can ensure that your message is reaching people. 

"Ask a friend or a family member to listen to you as you practice," says Dominguez Chan. "Ask them, 'Does it sound like me?' 'How was the pace?' You can also take a voice memo with your phone and play it back to yourself." 

If you want feedback from strangers, you could join a speech club like Toastmasters International. It's an organization that's been around for almost 100 years and has 14,200 clubs all over the world, so there's likely a club near you. 

Toastmasters' meetings are very structured and timed down to the minute, with plenty of opportunities to get supportive feedback on your grammar, overall presentation and how many times you used filler words like "um," "ya know" and "ah." There's also a chance to practice improvising short speeches on an impromptu topic. 

6. Problem: I'm so nervous

Solution: Take a deep breath 

In the moments leading up to your speech, take some deep breaths, says Margarita of the University of Texas at Austin. She coaches college students on how to research, write and deliver speeches. 

She recommends doing a "self-regulating breath," a breath with "an inhale that allows the belly to expand — and audible exhaling." It will give your body and mind a moment to calm down before you actually speak out loud.

7. Problem: Oops, I messed up!

Solution: Slow down and start again 

If something unexpected happens in the moment — say you stumble or lose your place — pause or slow down. "If you get tongue tied, take a beat," says Margarita. Take a deep breath and go back to the beginning of a sentence or restate the word you stumbled on.

And don't worry, people don't notice those pauses as much as you think they do, says Dominguez Chan. "Even if someone does notice, that's OK too." 

The point is to set yourself up for success, not perfection, she adds. 

This episode of Life Kit was produced and fact checked by Audrey Nguyen, with engineering support from Phil Edfors. It was edited by Meghan Keane. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual producer is Kaz Fantone.

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