如何让自己成一名演讲高手

　　Now I travel the world to do several dozen paid speaking engagements a year. Public speaking is an invaluable skill no matter what your job is, whether you are in sales, need to talk to investors or just want to be better at getting buy-in from your colleagues. Considering how important a skill it is and how it scares so many people, it is amazing how few schools make it a course requirement. I assure you, though: If I could overcome my fears and get better at it, then you can, too. Here are three rules for successful public speaking that helped me:

　　如今，我一年都要到世界各地做几十场收费演讲。无论你从事什么工作，无论你是要销售产品，还是同投资者谈话，或者只是想更好地得到同事的认可，公众演讲都是一种宝贵的技能。公众演讲是一种那么重要的能力，但同时又令那么多人害怕，然而令人惊讶的是，将其作为一门必修课的学校少之又少。但是我向你保证：我都能克服恐惧，变得更会演讲，你也同样能做到。下面是帮助我演讲成功的三条准则：

　　The first rule is to ask a lot of questions. I usually engage the audience by asking questions, just as your professors asked you them in seminars. Asking questions helps get the audience really thinking about the issues you're raising and your solutions. Now, if I'm speaking to an audience of 3,000, it can't always be interactive. But I can still ask questions like, 'When you are buying a car, why do you choose a Ford over a Toyota?' 'What marketing campaigns do you think have failed, and why?' Those rhetorical questions help engage audiences and keep them away from their text messages and e-mails.

　　首先是要多问。我经常通过提问来吸引听众，就像教授在讨论会上问你一样。提问能让听众真正思考你提出的问题和解决方案。现在，如果我对3000人进行演讲，不可能总是互动的。但是我可以问这样的问题：“你买汽车时，为什么选福特，而不选丰田？”“你认为哪些营销活动失败了，为什么？”这些口头问题能吸引听众，让他们不去发短信或者写电子邮件。

　　Similarly, try not to talk too much about yourself or your company at the beginning of a speech. Get right to what will matter to the audience. The first 30 seconds of a presentation are critical. That's when the audience decides whether to listen to you or surf for last night's box scores on its iPhones. No one wants to hear about how big your company is or where you went to school. The key: Don't talk at the audience. Talk with it.

　　同样地，不要在演讲开始时过多谈论你自己和你的公司。直接说对听众有用的内容。演讲前30秒至关重要。这期间听众会决定是听你讲话，还是拿出iPhone手机找昨晚的游戏成绩。没人愿意听你的公司有多大，或者你是在哪里上的学。关键是：不要对着听众讲话。而要和听众一起讲。