卡耐基演講·即席演講

不久前，在一家制藥公司新實驗室落成典禮的聚會上，該公司研究處處長的六名屬下進行了發(fā)言，講述了化學(xué)家和生物學(xué)家們正在進行的了不起的工作——他們正在研究抵抗傳染疾病的新疫苗，研究對抗過濾性病毒的新抗生素，研究舒解緊張的新鎮(zhèn)靜劑。他們先用動物進行實驗，再在人類身上進行試驗，結(jié)果都令人非常滿意。NOT LONG AGO a group of business leaders and government officials met at the dedication of a pharmaceutical corporation's new laboratory. One after another, half a dozen subordinates to the research director arose and told of the fascinating work being done by chemists and biologists. They were developing new vaccines against communicable diseases, new antibiotics to fight viruses, new tranquilizers to ease tension. Their results, first with animals and then with human beings, were dramatic.

一批商場領(lǐng)袖和政府官員參加了聚會，其中一位官員對研究處處長說：“真是太神奇了，你的手下簡直是魔術(shù)師。不過你怎么不講講呢？”This is marvelous, an official said to the research director. "Your men are really magicians. But why aren't you up there, speaking, too?"

“我只能對著自己的腳講話，卻不敢面對聽眾。”研究處處長黯然地說。I can talk to my feet-not to an audience, the research director said gloomily.

沒有想到，主席讓他吃驚不小，因為主席說：“我們還沒有聽到我們的研究處處長講話，他不喜歡發(fā)表正式演講，我想就請他對我們說幾句話吧。”A little later, the chairman took him by surprise. "We haven't heard from our director of research," he said. "He doesn't like to give a formal speech. But I'm going to ask him to say a few words to us."

處長站起來很費勁地擠出幾句話。他為自己沒能詳細地解說道歉，這就是他所說的全部內(nèi)容。It was pitiful. The director stood up and managed no more than a couple of sentences. He apologized for not speaking at length, and that was the gist of his contribution.

他站在那里，一個在自己行業(yè)里的杰出人才，卻與普通人沒有兩樣，笨拙而迷惘。其實沒有什么么困難的，他可以學(xué)會即席講演的。我還沒有看到我訓(xùn)練班上任何一個有決心的學(xué)員學(xué)不會這一招。他們一開始擁有的，就是這位研究處處長沒有的——堅決、勇敢地擊倒失敗的態(tài)度。然后，需要一種不動搖的意志，不論怎樣困難都堅決要講。There he was, a brilliant man in his field, and he seemed as awkward and confused as a man could be. This was not necessary. He could have learned to speak impromptu on his feet. I have never seen a serious and determined member of our classes who couldn't learn this. At the start, it takes what this research director hadn't given it-a resolute and brave rejection of one's defeatist attitude. Then, perhaps for quite a while, it takes an unwavering will to do the job no matter how hard it may be.

“若是先有準(zhǔn)備并有練習(xí)，那沒有絲毫困難，”你會這樣說，“可是如果是意料之外的講話，我真的不知所措了。”I get along all right if I've prepared my talk and practiced it, you may say. "But I'm at a loss for words if I'm asked to talk when I don't expect it."

情急之下，能夠整理自己的思想并發(fā)表談話，有時候，要比經(jīng)過長時間努力準(zhǔn)備后的演講更重要?，F(xiàn)代的商業(yè)需要以及現(xiàn)代人口頭溝通的自在隨意，使這種即席發(fā)言的能力不可缺少。我們需要迅速組織自己的思路并流暢地遣詞造句。許多影響到今日工業(yè)和政府的決定，都不是出于一人，而是在會議桌上商定的。個人可以各自發(fā)言，然而在這種群策群議的會議里，他的話必須強勁有力，才能對集體的決議產(chǎn)生影響。這也是即席演講要生動突出的原因。The ability to assemble one's thoughts and to speak on the spur of the moment is even more important, in some ways, than the ability to speak only after lengthy and laborious preparation. The demands of modern business and the current casualness with which modern oral communication is carried on make it imperative to be able to mobilize our thoughts quickly and verbalize fluently. Many of the decisions that affect industry and government today are made, not by one man, but around the conference table. The individual still has his say, but what he has to say has to be forcefully stated in the forum of group opinion. This is where the ability to speak impromptu comes alive and produces results.