The Trick to Powerful Public Speaking | Lawrence Bernstein | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Sue Lu

Good afternoon everybody.

大家下午好。

Everybody here has been incredibly kind and welcoming.

这里的每个人都非常友善热情。

I parked the car,

当我停好了车，

I came out of the car park,

从停车场出来，

and somebody immediately came up to me, asked me what I was up to.

立刻就有人过来找我， 问我最近在忙什么。

Said she'd look after everything, and then she said,

她说都交给她吧，还说：

"I hope it goes well."

“祝你一切顺利。”

And I thought,

我就想，

"I haven't really focused on going well,"

我可并没专注于是否‘顺利’，

what it actually means here today.

“顺利”对于今天的演讲意味着什么。

And I guess if you're not feeling terribly positive,

我觉得要是不抱过高的期待，

it means not forgetting what you're going to say,

‘顺利’就是指别忘记你要讲什么，

which would be quite helpful.

那就很不错了。

It means nobody laughing at you,

‘顺利’就是指没人会笑话你， 当然，除非你在讲笑话。

unless you're trying to tell a joke.

And it means not looking over and seeing people falling asleep,

另外，它也是指当你环顾四周时， 不会发现有人睡着了、

looking at their phones or generally ignoring you.

有人在玩手机或压根就无视你。

And those are, by the way,

顺便说一句，

three of the biggest fears of people, subconsciously,

这是人们即将公开演讲时， 潜意识里最大的三种恐惧。

when they're about to speak in public.

So I'm going to set my sights just a tiny bit higher than that

我就把目标定得稍微比这高一点，

and say that I would love it

我希望大家在这场演讲的唯一收获就是

as the only thing you take away from this talk

that next time you have to give a speech or a presentation

下次你要发表演说、做报告、

or you're talking in a seminar or whatever it might be,

或者在研讨会上发言的时候，

that you just remember those two cups of coffee.

你只要记得这两杯咖啡就好。

And for the non-coffee drinkers amongst you,

对于在座不喝咖啡的各位，

peppermint tea, even a beer is absolutely fine.

那就记住薄荷茶，啤酒也没问题。

Because the sad truth is that however hard we work at what we're going to say,

因为令人遗憾的事实是， 无论我们多努力准备要讲的内容，

however much we learn the facts and the figures

无论我们多了解 要讲的事实、图表等等，

and all these things

that a typical member of this audience

任何一位观众，

tomorrow, this time tomorrow,

明天，明天这个时候，

I will be amazed if you remember more than one thing I've said.

我会很意外，如果你还记得 不止一件我说过的事情，

Or more than one thing

或者记得不止一件任何其他优秀 演讲嘉宾说过的精彩故事中的事情，

that any of the other amazing speakers with their brilliant stories have said,

because we just live in such a phenomenally noisy, busy world.

因为我们生活在一个 极度嘈杂又忙碌的世界中。

We've got WhatsApps and streams and apps

我们有 WhatsApps 、直播、各种应用程序，

and things to watch and things to do and things to learn,

还有很多要看的、 要做的、要学的东西，

and we've got dates to go on and games to go to.

还要约会、打游戏。

By this time tomorrow,

到明天这个时候，

these talks will be a distant, distant memory.

这些演讲都将成为遥远的回忆。

And it's extraordinary how our brains are relatively selective

神奇的是我们的大脑 对记住的内容具有相对的选择性。

about what we remember.

Now this doesn’t help,

但这没什么帮助，

and I include myself in amongst this,

包括我自己在内，

this doesn't help the nervous public speaker.

这对我们这些 紧张的公共演讲者没帮助。

Now that fear is a real problem,

恐惧已成为一个真正的问题，

because it means that we approach our speeches

因为这意味着我们在准备演讲时

already worried about how we're going to look and sound.

已经在担心自己的外表和声音了。

And it's why often we do things that are a bit unlike us.

这就是为什么我们总会 做一些与自己格格不入的事。

Some people just start talking really quickly,

有些人会语速非常快，

一直讲，停不下来。

and they get through their content and they can't stop.

有些人会僵住不动，

And other people freeze

完全静止地站在那里， 好像他们所有的能量都流失了，

and they just stand absolutely still and all the energy drains from them

and they start to talk in a monotone.

只能用单调的语调说话。

Isn't so great for being heard.

这种演讲听起来可不太好。

This is the fight or flight response.

这是一种战斗或逃跑反应。

And it means that when we are under pressure

就是说，当我们处于压力之下，

and we feel that spotlight on us,

感觉到聚光灯聚焦在我们身上时，

we just start to behave in very unnatural ways.

我们就会开始以 非常不自然的方式行事。

Now this is where I come back to the cup of coffee.

我现在要讲回那杯咖啡了。

Because if after this, I bump into one or two of you at the canteen,

因为如果演讲结束以后， 我在食堂遇到几位观众，

we have a chat

我们聊起来，

and you ask me what I'm doing for the rest of the weekend,

你问我周末接下来会做些什么。

I hope, if you had a football shirt on,

如果你穿着一件足球 T 恤，

I might say I’m looking forward to watching a game on telly,

我可能就会说， 我想在电视上看一场足球，

and I might give you the absolute highlight of what I'm up to.

我也可能会告诉你 我真的要做些什么事。

看看会不会产生共鸣， 看看你的反应。

See if it connects, see how you react.

I might say, "I'm knackered after all that prep for TED.

我可能会说：“准备 TED 已经让我精疲力竭了。

I'm going to spend the rest of the weekend watching boxsets on TV."

周末余下的时间 就全花在电视上看碟片吧。”

What I probably wouldn't say is,

我可能不会说的是：

"Thank you so much for asking that question.

“非常感谢你提出这个问题。

I'm going to break the weekend down into 12 points,

我会把周末分成 12 个要点，

and I'm going to talk through each point one by one

一个点一个点介绍，

and break the weekend into segments.

把周末分成几段。

But before I do that,

但在我这么做之前，

I'd like to introduce the concept of the weekend,

我想介绍一下‘周末’的概念，

and I'd like to talk about the weekend as a post-industrial concept,

周末是一个后工业时代的概念，

because it didn't really exist before the Industrial Revolution."

因为在工业革命以前并没有周末。”

If I talk like that, would you think I was slightly, slightly unusual?

如果我这么说话， 你会觉得我有点不正常吧？

And we sort of laugh about this stuff, and I laugh about it a lot.

我们会嘲笑这种说话方式， 我经常嘲笑它。

But actually, when we are under pressure,

但其实当我们在压力之下，

particularly in a professional situation

尤其是在专业环境中，

or a student having to give a seminar that really matters,

或者当学生主持 一场非常重要的研讨会时，

we start to talk in that way.

我们就会这么说话。

Let me tell you about two jobs I've done relatively recently,

我想分享我最近进行的两项工作，

and I will keep the names and the places anonymous

为了保护无辜人员， 我会匿名处理人名和地名。

to protect the innocent.

So a few months ago,

几个月前，

I went to another university campus

我去了另一所大学的校园，

where the human resources team

那里的人事处

had asked if I would help six of them develop their communication skills.

邀请我帮助其六位员工 培养沟通技巧。

And it was one of those days.

时间就是他们的某个工作日。

Sometimes people in these groups don't really want to go on a course,

有时，这些人真的不想来上课，

他们很忙，你会得到冷冰冰的回应，

they're very busy, you can get quite a frosty reception

because people don't want any sense of criticism.

因为人们不想听到任何批评。

But on this day I turned up and the sun was shining

但是我来的这一天，阳光灿烂。

and I arrived

当我到达时，

and the head of human resources came up to me, phenomenally friendly,

人事处主管迎上来，相当友好，

she did everything but hug me.

除了拥抱我，她什么都做了。

She offered me a drink, she took me inside.

她给了我一杯饮料，带我进到办公室。

She told me a story about one of her kids had dropped ink

给我讲了一个故事， 说她的一个孩子那天早上

all over her school uniform before she'd left that morning.

在她出门前把墨水撒得整件校服都是。

She made me feel completely at ease,

她让我感到完全放松，

and I knew instantly it was going to be a great day.

我立刻知道这将是完美的一天。

And she introduced me to her colleagues,

她还把我介绍给了同事们，

and we all had a chat about worries

我们一起聊了聊心中的担忧，

and what we had to do when we spoke in public.

以及在公开场合怎么讲话。

And then I said, "Right guys, it's time to do it.

然后我说：“各位，我们开干吧。

Let's each of you,

每个人

you've got a minute or two to prepare,

有一两分钟的准备时间，

but could you for one minute talk to me about something important

然后用一分钟告诉我 当前你工作中的一件重要事情，

that's going on at work at the moment?

And the other five will be your audience.

其他五位就是你的听众。

And I will also pull out a camera,

我还会拿出摄像机

and the camera is going to film you

来拍下你，

just to put you under that little bit of pressure."

只是为了给你施加点压力。”

We'll call her Jane, the head of HR.

人事处主管叫珍。

I said, "Jane, would you like to go first?"

我说：“珍，你先来好吗？”

She said, "No, not really."

她说：“不，最好不要。”

So I said, "Go on, you're the leader here, Jane."

于是我说：“来吧， 你是大家的领导，珍。”

And this is what happened to this charismatic woman.

以下就是在这位 充满魅力的女士身上发生的。

She said,

她说道：

"Well, there are a number of reasons we're here today, and I'd really ...

“我们来到这里的原因有很多， 我很想……

the important thing is the LRUs.

最重要的就是 LRU。

And I'm going to talk about the needs of LRUs and what they need ..."

我想说一说 LRU 的需求 和他们需要什么……”

And she went on like this for a minute,

她就这样讲了一分钟，

and at the end everyone gave her a little polite round of applause.

结束时大家给了她一点礼节性掌声。

And I turned to her colleagues and said, "Guys, what is an LRU?"

我转身问她的同事： “各位，LRU 是啥？”

And ...

看到几张迷茫的脸， 我又问道：“珍，LRU 是啥？”

I got some blank faces and said, "Jane, what is an LRU?"

And she went, "Oh, it's a learning receptor unit."

她答道：“哦，就是学习受体单元。”

Now anyone know what a learning receptor unit is?

有人知道“学习受体单元”是什么吗？

Guys, you are all learning receptor units right now.

各位，你们现在都是学习受体单元。

A learning receptor unit is somebody on a course

学习受体单元是来上课的人，

or a delegate at a talk

或在这个人事部门参加讲座的代表。

in the small print in the HR department of this place.

And what had happened is Jane had turned from this incredibly charismatic speaker

珍，之前和我喝咖啡时 那位极其有魅力谈话者，

having coffee with me beforehand,

but she had failed the coffee shop test.

却没有通过咖啡店测试。

When she was under pressure,

压力之下，

she started speaking like some sort of corporate robot.

她开始像某种企业机器人一样讲话。

Now I get paid to do some very odd things.

现在我靠做一些奇特的事赚钱。

And a little before that,

在此之前，

I was asked by one of the big transport providers in the country

英国最大的一家交通提供商邀请我

if I'd go and sit in their boardroom where 30 very stern-looking,

参加他们的董事会， 那里有 30 位看起来很严厉的

middle-aged people with laptops and notepads

中年人拿着笔记本电脑和记事本，

receive presentations of five minutes each

听取一批资深工程师 每人五分钟的报告。

from a bunch of very senior engineers.

And each engineer is coming in to ask for money for a new project.

每位工程师都是来为新项目要钱的。

And this group has to decide.

这些董事必须做出决定。

It's like the gladiators in the amphitheater.

工程师们就像竞技场里的角斗士，

That means they get the money and they go on,

拿着钱就能继续干下去，

and that means you have to go and find something else to do.

没拿到就得去找点别的干了。

The first guy, call him Jim, wasn't his name.

第一位，化名就叫吉姆吧。

Jim walks in and he flusters around

吉姆走进来，手忙脚乱地，

and he puts up a slide which has got notes

打开一张幻灯片，上面有笔记、

and graphs and numbers and charts

图形、数字和图表，

and God knows what else.

天知道还有些什么。

And again, I'll paraphrase,

再说下，我是转述他的话。

but he stood there and just went,

他站在那里，直接就开始讲：

"Well, I'm going to talk about the footbridge.

“我想说一说人行天桥。

We've got to get through a number of --

我们会讲到很多……

there's a number of reasons we need it.

有很多我们需要它的原因。

I'm going to talk about the background.

我还要讲一下背景，

I'm going to give you an introduction to the subject."

介绍一下主题。”

And he went on and on.

然后他一直不断地讲。

And with about 4.5 minutes gone,

大概过了四五分钟，

he then said,

他说：

"And what really matters is the type of material we use to build the bridge."

“最重要的是我们建造桥梁的材料类型。”

And to be honest, it was beyond me at this point,

说实话，此时我已经无法理解了，

but it was something steel or aluminium or iron or some choice.

估计是钢、铝、铁之类的材料选择。

And then he finished.

然后他讲完了。

And there was an intense debate for about two minutes

大约有两分钟长的激烈讨论，

amongst two of the team, the board of this organization,

在这家公司的两位董事间展开，

about which type of metal would be better.

他们在讨论哪种金属更好。

And at the end of the session they had a vote.

在会议结束时，他们进行了投票。

Poor old Jim, he'd asked for a million pounds

可怜的老吉姆， 他本想要一百万英镑

to keep his team busy building this footbridge.

让他的团队建造这座人行天桥。

And after the session had finished, I went down to their canteen.

会议结束后，我去了他们的食堂。

I spend a lot of time in coffee shops.

我在咖啡店里待了很长时间，

And I saw him sitting alone, looking a bit miserable.

看到吉姆独自坐着， 看上去有点悲惨。

And I said, mate, do you mind if I just have a quick chat

我就说，兄弟，我们可以 很快聊聊刚才的情况吗？

about how it went?

So why did you need the footbridge built?

你为什么需要建造人行天桥呢？

And he said,

他说：

"Because there's a junction on a bend

“因为这个相当繁忙的交通系统 附近的拐弯处有一个交叉路口，

near this very, very busy transport system,

and it sits between the housing estate and the local school.

位于住宅区和一所当地学校之间。

And every morning our CCTV catches kids sprinting across the junction

每天早上我们的监控 都会捕捉到孩子们冲过路口，

trying to get to school

跑去上学，

because they haven't got time to go up the road another half mile

因为他们没时间再走半英里，

to go over the footbridge that's already there.

去使用那里建好的天桥。

And we reckon in the last couple of months three kids have almost died.

我们估计，在过去的几个月中， 有三个孩子差点死掉。

They've been inches away from dying.

他们离死亡只有一线之隔。

And this footbridge would have saved their lives."

而这座人行天桥 就可以避免造成生命危险。”

And I said, "Why didn't you tell them that?"

我说：“你为什么不告诉董事们呢？”

He said, "No, but you have to be more professional than that.

他说：“不行，我得讲得更专业些，

You have to go through all the detail."

必须谈到所有施工细节。“

And this board clearly didn't have a clue that this was the reason.

而董事会显然不知道 建桥的真正原因。

And they turned down something

他们拒绝他的拨款请求 是因为不赞同他提议的建材，

on the basis of the material he would have used for a footbridge,

and they weren't even engineers,

而他们甚至都不是工程师，

rather than the need to save children's lives.

他们完全不知道建桥 是为了拯救孩子性命。

Again, he'd failed the coffee shop test.

同样，他也没通过咖啡店测试。

And ultimately, the more pressure we are under

归根结底，我们 承受的压力越大、代价越高，

and the higher the stakes are,

be they your friend's 21st birthday party,

无论是你朋友的 21 岁生日聚会、

be they a job interview where you're speaking to a panel,

在求职面试中对着一组人讲话，

be they a TED Talk,

还是 TED 演讲，

where you've been planning to get your great idea over to the world

你多年来一直计划 将你很棒的想法传播给全世界，

for years and years and years,

you've got to appeal to people's human side.

你都必须打动听众人性的一面。

And what we do in a coffee shop completely naturally

我们在咖啡店里自然而然会做的

is we think about our audience,

是考虑我们的听众，

and we are relevant to them and to their needs.

讲的内容要跟他们有关， 符合他们的需求。

We think entirely about using --

我们会想用……

we don't even think about using our natural charisma because it happens.

我们甚至不会想到去使用天生的魅力， 因为它会自然而然。 发生的。

我们只需激发他们更好的本性。

We just appeal to their better nature.

我们会告诉他们 他们会喜欢的事情。

We tell them things they think they will enjoy.

And that starts with stories.

这就要从讲故事开始。

Even the most complicated subjects come to life when we tell a story.

讲故事可以 让最复杂的话题都生动起来。

And I'm sure recently,

我相信你们都注意到了 英国最近的邮政丑闻。

all of you are aware of the Post Office scandal

that's gone on in the UK.

Everyone know what I'm talking about,

大家都知道我在说什么，

and the Horizon software that has ruined the lives of people

Horizon 软件摧毁了 在邮局勤勤恳恳工作的

who were working honestly in post offices,

these subpostmasters.

这些分局经理的生活。

You'd think this was news,

你可能以为这是新闻，

but actually this has been going on for 20 years.

但该事件其实持续了 20 年。

And you know, I like to try and keep up with current affairs,

我喜欢关注时事，

but I couldn't miss, this thing has been in "Private Eye,"

所以不可能错过这个事件， 它刊载在《私家侦探》、

it's been in Sunday newspapers, it's gone through the high courts.

上了周日报纸、 还经过了高等法院的审理。

It's been inside the papers, but always on a very technical,

它一直都在报纸上刊登， 但描述始终非常技术性、

mathematical, legal basis.

数学性和法律性。

All that's happened in the last two months

过去两个月发生的， 都是源于一档报道该事件的电视节目。

is there was a TV show about it.

But the TV show didn’t focus on the facts and the figures

这个节目并没有一开始 就聚焦于事实和数字,

at the beginning anyway.

It focused on people,

而是聚焦于受害人，

an emotional connection to those people.

从而建立观众与这些人的情感联系。

And we saw how these lives, through storytelling,

通过讲故事，我们看到了 他们的生活是如何被彻底改变的。

had been completely and utterly transformed.

And within weeks,

几周之内，

the Prime Minister is promising

首相就承诺提供数亿英镑的赔偿，

hundreds of millions of pounds of compensation

without even having a vote in Parliament.

承诺甚至没有经过议会表决。

That is the power of storytelling.

这就是讲故事的力量。

Now I’m not saying the detail doesn’t matter,

我并不是说专业细节无关紧要，

and some of you, I'm sure,

我相信在座有人在研究 非常复杂的学术课题，

are doing the most phenomenally complex academic subjects

that you're going to need to talk about

在毕业、进入业界时 你会需要很专业地阐述它们。

as you graduate and go into careers.

But still, the way you would describe that subject to a friend over a coffee

但是，你和朋友喝咖啡时 给他们讲这个课题采用的方式，

is a brilliant way to introduce it

也是一个很好的讲述方式，

to an audience who may need you to give them a lot of information,

尤其是在听众需要你提供大量的信息，

but still need to be hooked in,

你也需要让他们保持兴致的时候。 在这忙碌的世界里，听众很容易走神。

in this busy world where they are so easily distracted.

And the coffee shop thing continues again and again and again,

咖啡店测试一次次地重演，

it's a benchmark for everything.

它是一切的基准。

When we talk to our friends,

当我们与朋友交谈时，

we look at the benefits of a problem rather than its features.

我们关注的是问题带来的益处， 而不是它的特质。

So I went to the GP some time ago.

前段时间我去看了全科医生。

I'd had a tummy ache that had been going on for days,

我肚子已经痛了好几天，

and I just began to get a bit worried about it.

才开始有点担心。

And the GP does what GP's do

全科医生做了他们该做的事情，

and prodded around and asked me questions.

东戳西戳，问些问题。

It was all a bit mucky.

感觉有点乱糟糟的。

And then typed some stuff into his computer

他在电脑上打了些东西，

and then looked at me and said,

然后看着我说：

"Mr. Bernstein,

“伯恩斯坦先生，

I think you've got a problem with electrolytes

我认为你的电解质和致病菌有问题。”

and pathogenic bacteria."

And I can promise you,

我可以向你保证，

my sort of mild state of worry turned into complete panic.

我轻微的忧虑状态 变成了彻底的恐慌。

I can remember the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

我都记得后颈的汗毛竖立起来。

I thought, "Oh my God, this is it, I'm finished."

我想，“天啊，这下完了，我完蛋了。”

I said, "What does that mean?"

我说：“那是什么意思？”

And he said, “Well, I think it’s food-related.”

他说：“嗯，我认为与食物有关。”

And I said, "Well, I'm not going to die of food poisoning?"

我就说：“那我不会死于食物中毒吧？”

"No, no, no, I think you'll be fine by the weekend."

“不，不会，你应该周末就好了。”

Now, what he had done is used his technical knowledge

他利用自己的技术知识

to give me the facts

先告诉了我那些医学事实，

before he'd actually explained the context and the benefit to me.

然后才真正解释相应的 背景信息和对我的好处。

And had he gone about it the other way and said,

如果他采取另一种方式，这样说：

"Mr. Bernstein, you're going to be absolutely fine.

“伯恩斯坦先生，你没事的。

I think it’s food-related.”

我认为病情与食物有关。”

I would have said, "What is it?"

我就会问：“到底是什么？”

He would have told me all about his electrolytes,

他再把电解质等等告诉我，

我就会很感兴趣。

and I would have been fascinated.

在咖啡店里，你首先问朋友的 就是他们过得怎么样。

But in a coffee shop, the first thing you ask your friend is how they are.

他们要么说挺好的， 要么说不怎么样。

And they will either say they're great or not so great.

他们不会说到医学技术细节。

They won't go into the technical medical detail,

如果他们真要说， 你压根不会和他们喝咖啡。

and if they are,

you probably wouldn't be having a coffee with them in the first place.

当我们走进咖啡店时， 我们会做的另一件事

是谈论我们的关键信息。

The other thing we do when we go into a coffee shop

我们会讨论主要的话题。

我们直到要离开前 10 分钟 都在讨论这个话题。

is we talk about our key message.

We talk about the subject.

We don't leave it until 10 minutes before we're due to leave.

我们会跟他们说 我们要谈论一场比赛，

We let them know that we're going to talk about the match,

或者问他们有没有看过某档电视节目，

or we ask them if they saw the TV show,

或者问他们昨晚的约会怎么样，

or we ask how their date went last night

然后我们才会谈到他们穿了什么、

before we get into the minutia of what they might have worn

他们前菜点了什么 这样的细枝末节。

or what they had for their starter.

Again, we get to the key message and in my case,

同样，我们要抓住关键信息， 而在我的例子里，

the key message is simply that we waste too much time

关键信息就是 我们浪费了太多时间

worrying about the symptoms of public speaking worry,

担心公开演讲焦虑的表征，

which are things like shaking and looking like this

比如发抖或者像这样的姿势，

and breathing too quickly.

还有呼吸过快。

And we try and cure those

我们尝试治愈这些，

when in fact they're not the problem.

但它们其实根本不是主要问题。

It's a bit like going to the doctor

有点像去看医生，

when you've got hay fever and lots of sneezing

因为你花粉过敏，总是打喷嚏，

你说：“能帮帮我吗？” 医生就说：“去买张更软的纸巾。”

and saying, "Can you help me?"

And he says, "Get a softer tissue."

纸巾并不能让你不打喷嚏，

It doesn't really stop you sneezing.

你想要的是抗组胺药。

What you want is the antihistamine.

就公开演讲而言， 抗组胺药就是你的内容。

And for public speaking, the antihistamine is your content.

And if you talk to a group of people the same way you would talk to a friend,

如果你像和朋友说话那样 和一群人说话，

you will find your natural charisma and energy comes to life.

你就会展现出你天生的魅力和能量。

You'll start to move your hands without thinking about it,

你会情不自禁地做出手势，

because that's what you do when you're on the telephone to a friend,

因为你在和朋友打电话的时候 就是这么做的。

and you will find that instantly, thinking about those cups of coffee

你会立即发现，想想那几杯咖啡

will relax you and make you more confident

就能让你放松下来， 在下次公开发言时更加自信，

next time you have to go and speak in public.

Thank you very much.

非常感谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）