First, discover the speech, the times to give dividends to the expressor
One of the books you're introducing today is The Power of Speaking, subtitled: How to Make Public Expression Influential? The author is TED founder Chris Anderson.
When it comes to speeches, the first thing we think of is that only leaders and celebrities are qualified to speak, and what does it have to do with us ordinary people?
Looking at this ten years ago, there is really nothing wrong with this statement. Because in the past, people were mainly exposed to information and knowledge through newspapers, books, etc. In other words, ideas must first be translated into words before they can be disseminated.
But now completely changed, with the rapid development of mobile networking, video, live broadcast has become a very popular way of dissemination. Anyone can open a live broadcast and post a video anytime, anywhere, as long as you have thoughts.
In this day and age, any story, skill, or idea that inspires others deserves to be recorded and disseminated.
TED is a niche thought-sharing platform that originated in 1984 among the American elite. After being helmed by Chris Anderson in 2001, he quickly broke the circle by sharing videos of speeches online for free and became popular around the world.
For more than 20 years, TED has continued to be popular and has become an intensive release platform for cutting-edge ideas around the world, which comes from its three adherences.
First of all, TED collects the most worth sharing people and ideas around the world to ensure the scarcity and sense of value of content.
Secondly, TED hires a professional speech coach for each speaker and spends a lot of time carefully polishing the content to ensure the quality of the content.
Third, TED gives everyone a maximum of 18 minutes to complete a speech, and the 18-minute limit allows a topic to be explained thoroughly without procrastination.
There is no doubt that TED has become a benchmark for public speaking.
Chris Anderson, the author of this book, led TED in 2001 and has personally mentored and listened to the speeches of nearly 1,000 cattle people in various fields such as technology, art, education, and public welfare for 20 years.
Chris Anderson also has a unique advantage, he graduated from the Philosophy Department of Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the field of media for a long time, which can be said to be a cross-border elite who has both ideas and understanding of communication.
The core of the speech is the idea, but the influence of the speech comes from the communication. Arguably, no one is more qualified to teach you how to make an impactful speech than Chris Anderson.
There are many books on the market for writing speeches, why should I recommend this one?
I have worked in an educational institution for 11 years, and I have seen hundreds of business owners and executives do a very good job, but once invited to speak on stage, my legs tremble, my mouth is trembling, my speech is incoherent, and the public performance opportunities that may have added points to the enterprise often become a "laughing stock".
I have also seen hundreds of entrepreneurs completely break through their fears after just a few days of speech training, find a topic they are good at, perform affectionately on the stage, and be radiant, and have to be transformed by the host "forcibly shouting to stop" before they reluctantly put down the microphone.
Witnessing the huge contrast between before and after many ordinary people learning speeches, I am more determined in my heart: speech is not innate, but an ability that can be quickly mastered through professional learning and training.
As a speaker in the industry, I recommend from the bottom of my heart that I want to break through public speech, want to build a personal brand, and want to fully show my friends to understand this book with short videos and live broadcasts, which really can make you take a lot of detours.
Second, rise from the ground, 4 steps to create a good speech
Below I will introduce you to the core content of this book from four aspects: speech basics, speech tools, speech preparation, and stage presentation.
First, let's talk about the basics of speech. A good speech must first lay a solid foundation.
What is the foundation of the speech? The only thing that really matters in a speech is not self-confidence, not stage presentation, nor fluency in language, but valuable ideas. Finding the idea that you can express, that you can express well, is the first step to speech.
Of course, the ideas here are not just seeking to be noble, as long as they are things that have made you obsessed and moved you, they can be refined and shared with others. Even if it's a recipe for fruit tea drinking that you've created with a whimsical idea. As long as your sharing moves others, inspires others, and brings others to think, it is a good speech theme.
In this section, the author emphasizes that a speech can have only one topic and only one theme. Even if you have a lot of good things to share, you have to continue to refine until you find the one you want to express the most and will be most helpful to your audience.
Richard Bach, author of the best-selling book Jonathan the Seagull, said: "Great creation depends on the power of the words that are deleted." "The same is true for speeches, less is more, less can be explained thoroughly, unforgettable."
Second, we have to find good ways to cram that thought into the minds of the audience.
The effectiveness of the speech depends on the audience's harvest. In other words, the audience is willing to listen, and listening to the speech that they find valuable is an important basis for judging whether the speech is good or bad.
The content of the first part of the opening part of the speech has only one purpose, to make the audience trust you and be willing to listen to your speech. Think back to what was your first reaction when you saw a stranger talking to you? It must not be that I have to listen well, but "What qualifications does this man have to speak?" Did what he said work for me? And so on and so forth?
The first thing you have to do as a speaker is to find a way to unguard your audience and build a bond of trust with it. That way, at the next few hours, the audience will give you attention. You can present your "value" to the audience step by step through storytelling, analogy, logical deduction, etc.
This step is actually to prepare the outline and main ideas of the speech, and find a way to attract the audience to participate.
The third step, speech preparation, is mainly to prepare the speech, prepare the PPT, the beginning and the end.
In this section, it is best to prepare a verbatim manuscript and be able to recite the speech with ease. A lot of people who haven't experienced it may find it difficult. In fact, as long as it is your own carefully selected themes, opinions, stories and materials, it is actually not as difficult to memorize as you think.
In the preparation process, there are two more tasks.
One is to design a beginning that quickly grabs the audience's attention so that the speech can be integrated with the audience from the beginning.
The second is to design a memorable ending. After all, after ten minutes of speech, the audience can remember the beginning, the end, and the parts that bring them a strong emotional experience.
Excellent speech is not so much a flash of inspiration from a genius orator as a natural and traceless performance after full preparation and deliberate practice.
The final step is to take the stage. Although the content of the speech is the highlight of the speech, the potential power of the "acting" must not be ignored.
Do you look like someone speaking on this subject? Does your dress make the audience more trusting, or does it feel funny and offensive?
In this section, the authors share several very practical ways to overcome fear. For example, finding a few kind faces can quickly ease your tension.
Another point is that sound and body movements cannot be ignored. Why would the audience want to spend time listening to the speech instead of reading the transcript, let alone reading the transcript is more time-saving?
Because listening to speeches can harvest the strong inspiration that reading words rarely has, that is, to transform information into a human brilliance that can bring inspiration.
Third, speak bravely so that more people can hear your voice
The core content of the book "The Power of Speech" is shared here.
Of course, the author also shares in the book the prospects of speeches, the positive role of speeches in enhancing people-to-people links, and other richer content.
As the author says: We are strange creatures, we are human beings. On one level, all we need is to eat, drink, play, and get more material pleasures, but this hedonistic life will not end up being happy, and a good remedy is to start looking for ideas that are more important than yourself.
What is life? Everyone who comes to this earth has their own unique advantages and missions.
Whether you think you have "thoughts" or not, you must find the words that you hold in your heart and are eager to tell people, force yourself to come out boldly and bravely, use the skills of speech, share them, let more people hear your voice, and make the world a better place because of you.
As the world-famous philosopher Daniel Dennett said, "The secret to happiness is to find something more important than yourself and dedicate your life to it." ”