The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking

by Dale Carnegie

While you are involved in this process you will be under strong temptation to write your talk out, word for word. Try not to do this, for once you have set a pattern, you are likely to be satisfied with it, and you may cease to give it any more constructive thought.

In addition, there is the danger of memorizing the script.

Mark Twain had this to say about such memorization: “Written things are not for speech; their form is literary; they are stiff, inflexible, and will not lend themselves to happy effective delivery with the tongue. Where their purpose is merely to entertain, not...

and turned into the common form of unpremeditated talk; otherwise they will bore the...

Fill Your Talk with Illustrations and

Examples

There are five ways of doing this: Humanize, Personalize, Specify, Dramatize, and Visualize.

Of course, the richest source of such human interest material is your own background. Don’t hesitate to tell us about your experiences

because of some feeling that you should not talk about yourself. The only time an audience objects to hearing a person talk about himself is when he does it in an offensive, egotistical way. Otherwise, audiences are tremendously interested in the personal stories speakers tell.

They are the surest means of holding attention; do...

PERSONALIZE YOUR TALK BY ...

As Rudolf Flesch points out, “Nothing adds more realism to a story than names; nothing is as unrealistic as anonymity. Imagine a story whose hero has no name.”

BE SPECIFIC, FILL YOUR TALK WITH DETAIL

Use the 5-W formula every reporter follows when he writes a news story: answer the questions When? Where? Who? What? and Why? If you follow this formula your examples will have life and color.

If you clutter your talk with too much detail, your audience will blue-pencil your remarks by refusing to give you their complete attention. There is no blue pencil more severe than inattentiveness.

DRAMATIZE YOUR TALK BY USING DIALOGUE

If the speaker has some imitative skill and can get the original tone of voice into the words, dialogue can become more effective. Also, dialogue gives your speech the authentic ring of everyday conversation.

VISUALIZE BY DEMONSTRATING WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT

Public speaking, too, is a visual as well as auditory art.

One of the best ways to enrich a talk with detail is to incorporate visual demonstration into it.

It is a good idea to ask yourself, “How can I put some visual detail into my talk?” Then proceed to demonstrate, for, as the ancient Chinese observed, one picture is worth ten thousand words.

Use Concrete, Familiar Words that Create Pictures

The speaker who is easy to listen to is the one who sets images floating before your eyes.

Pictures, Pictures. Pictures. They are as free as the air you breathe. Sprinkle them through your talks, your conversation, and you will be more entertaining, more influential.

Make your eye appeals definite and specific. Paint mental pictures that stand out as sharp and clear as a stag’s antlers silhouetted against the setting sun.

the surest way to arouse and hold the attention of the reader is by being specific, definite, and concrete.

It is detail that makes conversation sparkle.

Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve said. –

Vitality, aliveness, enthusiasm—these are the first qualities I have always considered essential in a speaker.

How do you acquire this vital delivery that will keep the attention of your audience? In the course of this chapter I will give you three sovereign ways to help you put enthusiasm and excitement into your speaking. FIRST Choose Subjects You Are Earnest About

Unless you are emotionally involved in the subject matter you have chosen to talk about, you cannot expect to make your audience believe in your message.

If a speaker believes a thing earnestly enough and says it earnestly enough, he will get adherents to his cause,

There is only one way to make sure that they will be interested: stoke the fires of your enthusiasm for the subject and you will have no difficulty holding the interest of a group of people.

As I have pointed out repeatedly, you cannot help but succeed if you choose the right topic for you.

talk about your convictions!

Learn more and more about what you now consider a pretty good topic. The more you know about something the more earnest and excitedly enthusiastic you will become.

“The more you know about a good product, the more enthusiastic you become about it.” The same thing is true about your topics—the more you know about them, the more earnest and enthusiastic you will be about them.

Relive the Feelings You Have About Your Topic

the more you relive the scene you are describing, or recreate the emotions you felt originally, the more vividly you will express yourself.

Don’t repress your honest feelings; don’t put a damper on your authentic enthusiasms. Show your listeners how eager you are to talk about your subject, and you will hold their attention.

Act in Earnest

When you walk before your audience to speak, do so with an a...

The spring in your walk may be largely put on, but it will do wonders for you and it gives the audience the feeling that you have s...

Just before you begin, take a deep breath. Keep away from furniture or from the speaker’s stand. Keep your head high and your chin up. You are about to tell your listeners something worthwhile, and every part of you should inform them of that clearly and unmistakably....

If you make an effort to send your voice to the back of the hall, the sound will reassure you. Once you begin making gestures of any ...

If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.

There is something besides the mere words in a talk which counts. It is the flavor with which they are delivered. It is not so much just what you say as how you say it.

you have an individuality. As a speaker, it is your most precious possession. Cling to it. Cherish it. Develop it. It is the spark that will put force and sincerity into your speaking.

Converse with Your Audience

The audience must feel that there is a message being