Speech Topics Are Everywhere 演講主題無(wú)處不在
Pay attention to your life and the ideas will come.
關(guān)注你的生活，靈感自然會(huì)出現(xiàn)。
By Ray Engan
Where do you find speech topics? A simple answer comes from 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking Jim Key: “I live life, and I pay attention.”
你在哪里找到演講主題? 一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的答案來(lái)自2003年世界演講冠軍吉姆·基: “ 我生活，我關(guān)注?！?/p>
Here are three words to help you use that advice, which in turn can lead you to develop hundreds of speech topics.
這里有三個(gè)詞可以幫助你使用這個(gè)建議，它可以引導(dǎo)你形成數(shù)百個(gè)演講主題。
1 Reflect. 反思。
Great stories lead us to reflect. Fairy tales begin “Once upon a time …” The movie classic Star Wars starts with the words “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away …” Reflect on your life, and feel the stories flow. Your childhood is a wonderful place to start. Use your older, wiser eyes to look back at your youth, and reflect on the memories and how they’ve changed you.
偉大的故事引導(dǎo)我們反思。經(jīng)典電影《星球大戰(zhàn)》的開(kāi)頭是這樣的:“很久以前，在一個(gè)遙遠(yuǎn)的星系里……”反思你的生活，感受故事在流動(dòng)。你的童年是一個(gè)美好的開(kāi)始。用你年長(zhǎng)而睿智的眼睛去回顧你的青春，反思那些記憶，以及它們是如何改變你的。
Live life, pay attention. When I was 4, my brother convinced me to steal a piece of candy. As I grabbed it, he screamed, “Mom! Ray’s stealing candy!” She instantly busted me. Reflecting on that moment, I now understand, no matter who says otherwise, wrong is wrong. Twenty-five years later, that moment led me to return 1,263 USD that I had found and could easily have kept. It’s a story I now use in my speeches. It’s relatable because all children have people who influence them. What we take from those people defines us.
關(guān)注生活。我四歲的時(shí)候，我哥哥說(shuō)服我去偷一塊糖。我一把抓過(guò)去，他尖叫道:“媽媽! Ray偷糖果!”她立刻抓住了我。回想起那一刻，我現(xiàn)在明白了，不管誰(shuí)不這么說(shuō)，錯(cuò)就是錯(cuò)。25年后，那一刻讓我歸還了那1263美元，那是我找到的，本可以很容易地保存下來(lái)的。這是我現(xiàn)在在演講中使用的一個(gè)故事。這是有關(guān)聯(lián)的，因?yàn)樗械暮⒆佣加杏绊懰麄兊娜恕Ｎ覀儚哪切┤松砩蠈W(xué)到的東西定義了我們。
2 Connect.連接。
Your story needs to connect with your audience. I had a client talk about taking his driving test in a Porsche. My first car was a 100 Ford automobile with huge windows. I couldn’t relate to my client’s “Porsche pain,” but I found that many loved to hear about my “terrarium on wheels.” People relate to challenges and adversity—like not being able to buy a better car.
你的故事需要與你的觀眾產(chǎn)生共鳴。我有個(gè)客戶說(shuō)要開(kāi)保時(shí)捷參加駕照考試。我的第一輛車是一輛福特100型號(hào)的大車窗汽車。我無(wú)法理解我的客戶的“保時(shí)捷之痛”，但我發(fā)現(xiàn)很多人喜歡聽(tīng)我的“帶輪子的玻璃箱”。人們會(huì)把挑戰(zhàn)和逆境聯(lián)系起來(lái)——比如買不起更好的車。
We have all seen odd things. People connect to those as well. What stories of the strange do you have? Live life, pay attention. In a grocery store once, a well-dressed man picked up a mini-watermelon and held it to his ear.
我們都見(jiàn)過(guò)奇怪的事情。人們也會(huì)與這些聯(lián)系在一起。你有什么奇怪的故事?關(guān)注生活。有一次，在一家雜貨店里，一個(gè)穿著考究的男人拿起一個(gè)迷你西瓜，把它舉到耳邊。
Who taught you the greatest lessons of your life? Share those.
是誰(shuí)教會(huì)了你人生中最重要的一課?分享這些。
I asked my only possible question. “Are you a Watermelon Whisperer?”
我問(wèn)了我唯一可能的問(wèn)題?！澳闶俏鞴险Z(yǔ)者嗎?”
He stared down at me with an uppity raised nose, declaring, “If they speak to me, I take them home.”
他傲慢地抬起鼻子，低頭盯著我，宣稱:“如果他們跟我說(shuō)話，我就把他們帶回家。”
I turned this into a story about how leadership shouldn’t be difficult, because there are people waiting for watermelons to guide them. Strange is good when you can connect it to a life lesson.
我把這個(gè)故事變成了一個(gè)關(guān)于領(lǐng)導(dǎo)應(yīng)該不難的故事，因?yàn)橛泻芏嗳嗽诘戎鞴蟻?lái)引導(dǎo)他們。當(dāng)你能把它和人生課程聯(lián)系起來(lái)時(shí)，奇怪是好的。
3 Resonate.產(chǎn)生共鳴。
The story or the message must resonate with your audience. Speeches work wonderfully when they include some combination of leadership, laughter, and influence.
故事或信息“必須”與你的觀眾產(chǎn)生共鳴。當(dāng)演講結(jié)合了領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力、笑聲和影響力時(shí)，效果會(huì)很好。
What actions routinely make people laugh? When have you purposely, or not, led a group? When have you been talked into doing something? What unique things have you witnessed in your life? These are all stories! Who has taught you a lesson? That’s a story!
什么行為通常會(huì)讓人發(fā)笑?你什么時(shí)候有意或無(wú)意地領(lǐng)導(dǎo)過(guò)一群人?你什么時(shí)候被說(shuō)服做過(guò)什么事?在你的生活中，你目睹了什么獨(dú)特的事情?這些都是故事!誰(shuí)給了你一個(gè)教訓(xùn)?這是一個(gè)故事!
Mark Brown, the 1995 World Champion of Public Speaking, talked about creating characters out of inanimate objects. I presented that lesson to my club, and it turned into a District-winning humorous speech about my luggage (now named Jack) mistakenly being sent to Paris while my plane landed in Kentucky. Jack wound up explaining turbulence to me and having a fling with a French handbag named Chanel. He returned to America wearing a beret … and now wants to be called Jacques!
1995年的世界演講冠軍馬克·布朗(Mark Brown)談到了用無(wú)生命的物體創(chuàng)造人物。我把這一課講給我的俱樂(lè)部，結(jié)果變成了一場(chǎng)贏得大區(qū)獎(jiǎng)的幽默演講，講的是當(dāng)我的飛機(jī)降落在肯塔基州時(shí)，我的行李(現(xiàn)在叫杰克)被誤送到了巴黎。杰克最終向我解釋了氣流，還和一個(gè)名叫香奈兒的法國(guó)手提包發(fā)生了關(guān)系。他帶著貝雷帽回到美國(guó)，現(xiàn)在他想被稱為雅克!
What business mistakes have you lived through and how did you overcome them? That’s another topic.
你曾經(jīng)經(jīng)歷過(guò)哪些業(yè)務(wù)上的錯(cuò)誤，你又是如何克服它們的?這是另一個(gè)話題。
Your story can be lighthearted, and deliver a meaningful message. For example, what would it be like if people were as faithful as dogs? That might lead to an interesting speech on loyalty.
你的故事可以是輕松愉快的，傳遞有意義的信息。例如，如果人們像狗一樣忠誠(chéng)會(huì)是什么樣子?這可能會(huì)引出一個(gè)有趣的關(guān)于忠誠(chéng)的演講。
Or this: The spider web you walk through outside every morning means there’s a spider unwilling to give up on catching you. A speech on persistence?
或者這個(gè):你每天早上在外面走過(guò)的蜘蛛網(wǎng)意味著有一只蜘蛛不愿放棄抓住你。關(guān)于堅(jiān)持的演講?
Stories are everywhere. If you reflect, connect, and make your speech resonate, then the phrase “I live life, and I pay attention” won’t just be speaking champion Jim Key’s advice—it will be the key to let your stories flow.
到處都是故事。如果你思考，連接，并使你的演講產(chǎn)生共鳴，那么“ 我生活，我關(guān)注 ” 這句話將不僅僅是演講冠軍吉姆·基的建議，它將是讓你的故事流動(dòng)起來(lái)的關(guān)鍵。
New Supplemental Reading Available! 新的補(bǔ)充閱讀!
Looking for more reading to support your Toastmasters learning? You can now access curated Toastmaster magazine articles directly from Base Camp!
想要更多的閱讀來(lái)支持你在演講會(huì)的學(xué)習(xí)?您現(xiàn)在可以直接從Base Camp主頁(yè)訪問(wèn)策劃的Toastmaster雜志文章!
If you've started work in Level 1 of any path, check your Suggested Learning box on the Base Camp home page for a list of articles that complement topics covered in Level 1. Or, look for the Supplemental Reading subject on the Tutorials and Resources page. Be sure to check back regularly for more articles to enrich learning throughout your path.
如果您已經(jīng)開(kāi)始在任何路徑的Level 1學(xué)習(xí)，請(qǐng)查看Base Camp主頁(yè)上的“Suggested Learning （建議學(xué)習(xí)）”框，以獲得補(bǔ)充Level 1所涵蓋主題的文章列表?；蛘?，在“Tutorials and Resources ”（教程和參考資料）頁(yè)面中查找Supplemental Reading（補(bǔ)充閱讀）主題。一定要定期查看更多的文章來(lái)豐富你的學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程。
