如何做一次好的演讲

 　　Whether you’re giving a toast, presenting a project, or delivering a doomsday warning, these tips will help you look like less of an amateur during your speech.

　　Most of us don’t like giving speeches. Unfortunately, sometimes there’s no way to weasel out of delivering them. Maybe your jerk boss asks you to put together a presentation. Or your jerk friend decides to get married and you have to give a toast. Or some jerk milkman leaves an empty milk crate¹ on the street for you to stand to warn people about the end of the world. Whatever the situation is, you need to be ready to perform when the time comes.

　　To help you pull it off without embarrassing yourself, we asked Daniel Rex, executive director at Toastmasters International, for pointers on how to give an engaging speech.

　　Test Your Material

　　Write down what you’re planning to say and practice. And when you’re done practicing, rehearse a little more. Then you should find an audience to practice in front of to help you iron out any kinks. Ask your girlfriend, a coworker, the homeless guy on the corner — anyone. When it’s over, ask which parts of your speech worked, and which parts made them want to pelt³ you with tomatoes.

　　Control Your Mannerisms

　　You might use the word “like” too often, or say “uhh” during every pause, or maybe you tap your fingers on the desk or podium. Not only will those subconscious⁴ tics make you look like an amateur, they’ll also distract the audience. Since you won’t notice them — trying to find them would like trying to smell your own breath — ask your rehearsal⁵ audience to spot them. And make sure you tell them to be brutally⁶ honest. It might sting a little, but a few people calling you out will be much less humiliating than an entire room.

　　Use Selective Focus

　　Keep in mind that most of the audience is rooting for your speech to succeed. (If it sucks, they’ll be bored to tears.)  But if you see people playing on their phones or nodding off, ignore them and key on audience members who appear attentive⁷. ”Focusing on those people should help ease any jitters,” Rex says.

　　Look Comfortable (Even When You’re Not)

　　If your speech bombs, you’ll look (and feel) like an ass². So it’s normal to be nervous beforehand. Thing is, you can’t sell that you have butterflies while you’re speaking; if you look and sound in control, the audience will buy it. If you don’t, they’ll tune⁸ you out. ”Don’t put your hands in your pockets, don’t crack your knuckles⁹, and don’t constantly run your fingers through your hair,” he advises.

　　A Story Can Be Your Lifeline

　　If your speech is going down in flames — and the feeling that you’re dying a slow, painful death will let you know if it is — resist the urge to panic. Instead, when you sense you’re losing the audience, tell a story. If you’re at work, tell a funny office-related tale the crowd can relate to. If you’re at a wedding, ditch the cue cards and dive into the time the groom¹⁰ ate his weight at Godfather’s Pizza.

　　Learn How To Stall

　　You won’t always have ample time to prepare a speech. So if your boss puts you on the spot and asks you to explain a simple and fun topic like nuclear fission¹¹, buy yourself an extra second or two to formulate¹² a response by repeating the question. “Pause for a moment and say, ‘So if I understand correctly, what you want me to do is …’” Rex suggests. “You’ll make sure you know exactly what you’re supposed to answer, and the pause will allow your brain more time to develop an answer.”

1 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

2 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

4 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

5 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

6 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

7 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

8 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

9 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

11 fission   

n.裂开；分裂生殖

参考例句：

• The fission of the cell could be inhibited with certain chemicals.细胞的裂变可以通过某些化学药品加以抑制。
• Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy.核裂变释放出巨大的能量。

12 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。