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Can you remember the first time you spoke in front of a group? My own "first" happened in front of 30 people. My hands were shaking, my legs trembling. “G-g-g-g-good morning everyone. Today I will talk about…”
你還記得第一次在人群面前講話的情景嗎？我的“第一次”是在30個人面前講話。雙手顫抖，兩腿哆嗦。“大家早……早上好，今天我要講的是……”

After that failure, I did whatever it took to overcome my fear of public speaking. I read books on presentations.I watched TED talks. I worked with public speaking coaches.
那次丟臉的經歷后，我用盡一切辦法克服演講的恐懼。我閱讀有關演講的書籍，看TED演講，向演講老師學習。

Fast-forward a few months, to when I spoke in front of 200 people. I was still nervous about public speaking but I knew the audience wanted me to succeed. So, instead of focusing on my own fears, I focused on serving my audience. And in that way I became a confident speaker.
幾個月很快過去了，又到了面對200人演講的時刻。這次我仍然很緊張，但我明白觀眾希望我成功。所以，我并沒有將焦點放在自身的恐懼上，而是將注意力集中在為觀眾服務上。這種方法使我成為一名自信的演講者。

I've since discovered three simple steps to becoming a confident speaker, and created the Expressive Leader System. I teach these steps to thousands of business leaders, helping them to speak with confidence and make a bigger impact.
從那以后，我發現只需簡單三步就可以成為自信的演講者，并自創了一套“表現型領導體系”。我把這些方法教給成千上萬的企業領導，幫助他們自信演講，獲得更大的影響。

Apply these three simple steps so you too will become a confident speaker:
如果你也想成為自信演講達人，不妨試試下面這三步。

1. Prepare.
1. 充分準備講稿

While preparing for my speech, I was at a loss about what I should say. Hall of Fame speaker Patricia Fripp later asked me, “If you could have one sentence instead of the entire talk, what would you say?”
有一次在準備演講稿時，我無從下手。名人堂演講大師派翠西亞·傅立普之后問我：“如果你只能說一句話而不是完整的演講，你會說什么？”

My message was, “Go for your dreams and never give up.” Using that as a guide, I came up with personal stories that people could relate to. In just minutes, I wrote an entire memorable speech.
我的答案是：“追求夢想，永不放棄”。把這句話作為演講綱領，我想到了許多能與觀眾產生共鳴的個人軼事。僅僅幾分鐘，我就寫出了一整篇令人難忘的演講稿。

The takeaway: Create a clear overall message so you know exactly what to say.
秘訣：要有一條清晰的主線，這樣才會知道自己要說什么。

2. Practice, with a coach.
2. 找專業教練幫你練習

Practice doesn’t always make perfect. But practice augmented by coaching will help you greatly improve. I wanted to have a powerful voice, so I worked with celebrity voice coach Roger Love. He has a track record of having worked with successful entrepreneurs, including Tony Robbins and Suze Orman.
熟練并不總能生巧。但輔以教練指導的練習就能幫我們大幅提升演講技能。我想擁有強有力的嗓音，所以我找到了專門給名人提供發音指導的羅杰·洛夫。他口碑不錯，與許多成功的企業家合作過，比如托尼·羅賓斯和蘇斯·歐曼。

So, with Love's help, I learned to do voice exercises before speaking, to warm up my voice. The more I practiced, the more confident I became. I now have a powerful voice.
就這樣，在洛夫的幫助下，我學會了在演講之前做發聲練習，預熱嗓子。練習得越多，我就變得越自信。現在，我的嗓音已經很有力量了。

The takeaway: If you want to practice public speaking more effectively, get coaching.
秘訣：如果你想更高效的練習演講，請找一個教練幫你。

3. Perform.
3. 增強表現力

Confident speakers are performers. They express ideas effectively and confidently.
自信的演講者都是表演家。他們能有效并自信地表達自己的觀點。

I once had to speak in front of a group of CEOs over age 50. I worried that they might say, “You're too young. You're not qualified to speak here.” And then I remembered what Richard Branson had taught me: “Picture you're talking to friends in the living room.”
有一次，我為一眾50多歲的CEO做演講。我曾擔心他們可能會說，“你太年輕了，你沒有資格在這演講。”但我又想起了理查德·布蘭森說過的話：“想象你和朋友在客廳聊天時的情景。”

I arrived at the venue early. I talked to audience members: “Hi, I'm Jonathan, it's good to meet you.” Once I was on stage, people no longer thought of me as a stranger. I was a friend.
我早早來到了會議地點，在臺下和觀眾閑聊：“嗨，我是喬納森，很高興見到你們。”這樣一來，當我站上講臺時，觀眾就不再把我當成陌生人看待，我已經成為他們的朋友了。

After the talk, people said, “Jonathan, I liked your talk. Can you be my public speaking coach?”
演講結束后，他們都說：“喬納森，我很喜歡你的演講。你愿意當我的演講教練嗎？”

The takeaway: Picture yourself talking to friends in your living room, so you will be more relaxed and in control.
秘訣：想象自己正和朋友在客廳閑聊，會讓你放輕松、把握好節奏。

How do any of us become confident speakers? Prepare, practice, perform.
想成為自信的演講達人？充分準備，反復練習，表現自己。

Vocabulary

at a loss: 不知所措，茫然
track record: 過去的成績或成就，業績記錄

英文來源：entrepreneur.com

譯者：心若水（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）

編審：yaning