选题是关键 本课重点 一、好的内容是演讲的灵魂 二、值得讲的话题 三、选题三大原则 四、通过头脑风暴法选题 Hi, this is Alice. 大家好 我是Alice When we talk about public speaking, 说起公众演讲 some people would think in this way, 有的人会有这样的想法 "Oh, public speaking, I know, it's really easy! 公众演讲啊 我知道 很简单的 It's just about speaking in front of people, 不就是在别人面前讲话嘛 speaking loudly, putting on some make up, 讲大声点 化个妆 getting well dressed and having a big smile! 穿好看点 保持微笑 You just need to pay more attention to delivery!" 只要注重舞台表现就可以了 Well, that's partially true. 这种说法比较片面 But, without a good content, 但如果没有好的内容 your delivery would be just an empty shell. 你的舞台表现不过是个空壳 Good content is the soul of a speech, 好的内容才是演讲的灵魂 without a soul, 如果没有灵魂 no matter how sweet your voice is, 不管你声音多甜美 how hot your figure is, 身材多火辣 how attractive your delivery is, 舞台表现多有吸引力 the audience will just focus on you 观众最多也只会看你 for no more than 3 minutes. 三分钟而已 So, what does a good content include? 好的内容包括些什么呢 Interesting topic, vivid language, 有趣的话题 生动的语言 good logic, well-organized structure... 清晰的逻辑 有条理的结构 These are all important factors in a good content. 这些都是构成好的内容的重要因素 Today, we are going to talk about 今天 我们就来讲 how to choose an interesting, 如何选择一个有趣 attractive and meaningful topic. 引人入胜 又有意义的话题 What topics are worth talking about? 什么话题才值得拿出来讲 Can we just pick out any topic, 我们能随便挑个话题 and hope that our audience 然后寄希望于观众 will have great interest to listen to? 能兴趣盎然地听下去吗 To answer that question, let's ask ourselves: 我们先问问自己 What issues should we care about? 我们应该关心什么样的问题 And what do you, my dear students, 各位亲爱的同学 care about most right now? 你们目前最关心的事情又有哪些 High scores in exams? 考试拿高分 Finding a well-paid job? 找个高薪工作 Looking for a hot-figured soulmate? 找个身材火辣的另一半 Now, please press the button, 现在 请大家暂停视频 and pause for about 1 minute to think about it: 花一分钟时间思考一下 if the end of the world would come in 10 days, 如果十天后就是世界末日 what are the top 5 things that you want to do? 你最想做的五件事是什么 Now please take out a piece of paper and a pen, 请拿出你们的纸笔 and make a list. 列一张表 Let's start! 开始吧 Alice is watching you! Alice在盯着你呢 Where's your pen and your paper? 你的纸和笔呢 OK, come back. 好了 回到课堂 The world is still fine. 世界还没有毁灭 Have a look at what you have written. 一起来看看你们想做的事有哪些 You may have written something about 有的同学可能写了 "travelling around the world," 环游世界 "spending time with your family," 陪伴家人 "saying 'I love you' to someone you secretly love,” 向暗恋对象表白 "do some crazy things"... 做一些疯狂的事等等 Well, family, love, friends... 家庭 爱情 朋友 These must be really important to you, 对你来说肯定都很重要 and you really care about. 也是你关心的人和事 So does everyone. 大家都一样 Of course, we should care about family, 我们当然要关心自己的家庭 friends, parents... 朋友和父母 But think about it. 但你想 If this is a speaking competition, 在演讲比赛中 every contestant shares the same topic, 所有选手说的都是同一个话题 talks about the same thing, 讲的都是一样的内容 do you think the audience will like it 你觉得观众会喜欢吗 and keep listening? 会一直听下去吗 It is the same in any other speaking occasions. 在其他任何演讲场合也是如此 Therefore, 所以 sometimes we need to jump out 有时我们需要跳脱出 from our "self-caring zone," 自己所关心的事物 and think differently. 去想一些与众不同的内容 Get out from the identity of your major, 摆脱自己的专业背景 of students and of youngsters. 摆脱自己学生 青年的身份 Say something that are meaningful to not only yourself, 选择的内容不仅是自己觉得有意义 but more people, people of different ages, genders, 而且要让不同年龄 不同性别 majors, and cultures! 不同专业 不同文化背景的人都认同 Talk about something that are related to 可以讲一些关系到 people's well being. 人类福祉的内容 Say something that the audience don't know, 一些观众不了解 or they know, but know a little. 或者不是特别了解的内容 In this way, 这样的话 people will be attracted by your speech. 人们就会被你的演讲所吸引 Well, you may ask me: 你可能会问我 "Alice, I am only 20! "Alice 我才二十岁 How can I think about that much?" 哪里会有那么多想法" That's why you need to read more, 所以你需要多阅读 experience more, and think more! 多经历 多思考 To be more technical, 说得更专业一点 here are several guidelines on topic selection: 选题可以遵循以下几个原则 Select a topic that fits 选题 the requirements of the assignment. 要符合实际要求 Remember the different types of speeches? 大家还记得演讲的种类吗 Informative ones, persuasive ones, 说明性演讲 说服性演讲 and speaking on special occasions. 还有特殊场合演讲 Your topic should fit the type 你的话题应该要符合 of the speech you make. 你做的那一类演讲 For example, 比如说 "The Development of High Speed Railways", "高铁的发展" would make a good informative speech, 就比较适合说明性演讲 but would be difficult to make persuasive. 但要做说服性演讲就很困难 "Lowering the Incidence of Child Abuse", "减少虐童事件发生" would lend itself more to persuasion 这个话题 than to any other type of speech. 最适合用来做说服性演讲 "Using Powerpoint to Prepare Visual Aids", "利用幻灯片提供视觉辅助" would make excellent informative speeches. 很适合用来做说明性演讲 but wouldn't make a good persuasive 但却不适合做说服性演讲 or after-dinner speech! 或者餐后演讲 What's more, 而且 you need to cover the topic to a proper degree 你必须在有限的时间内 within the given time. 尽量把话题讲全面 A topic that takes 如果一个话题里 like 20 points to clarify 有二十个信息点需要讲述 should be avoided. 那就该避免说这类话题 Big topics like "The Analysis of US Foreign Policy", 像"美国外交政策分析" "On Social Media", "谈社交媒体" "The Power of Art", "艺术的力量"这样的宏大话题 can only be covered very superficially, 你只能说点皮毛 thus, not clear enough. 显然没有深度 Next one. Select a topic that interests you. 下一条 选择自己感兴趣的话题 If you don't even think your topic is interesting, 如果连你都不觉得自己的话题有意思 how can you speak it out with great passion? 怎么可能饱含激情地做演讲呢 How can you expect your audience to get interested? 又怎么指望观众会感兴趣呢 It would be hard for you to find inspirations. 你自己也会没有动力讲下去 Think about it: 大家想想 What do you want to share with others most? 你最想和别人分享的话题是什么 What topics do you feel strongly about? 你对什么话题感受最深 Select a topic that you are passionate about, 你要选择自己喜欢 有热情的话题 and your enthusiasm will carry over to your audience. 这样你的热情才能传递给观众 It is the same in speaking contests. 在演讲比赛中也是如此 Here is a tip for prepared speech! 关于已备演讲 我有一个建议要给大家 Even though every contestant is given the same topic, 尽管所有选手讲的都是同一个话题 you need to find out something unique about yourself, 但你要找到自己的特色 something you are interested in, to illustrate the topic. 利用自己感兴趣的内容来呈现这个话题 This makes your prepare speech different 这样才能让你的演讲与众不同 and helps you stand out. 让你脱颖而出 Number 3. Select a topic that is interesting 第三点 选择观众感兴趣 and valuable to your audience. 而且有意义的话题 Remember that we have talked about audience analysis? 还记得我们之前讲过的听众分析吗 Always remember your speech is audience-centered. 大家要记住 演讲要以听众为中心 A good topic should be something that 好的话题一定是 listeners worth spending time hearing about. 要让听众愿意花时间去听的 If you are talking about too trivial things, 如果你说的内容太过琐碎 they may feel they are wasting their time 听众可能觉得坐在那里 by sitting there, listening to you. 听你演讲是浪费时间 But this does not mean that 但这也不是说 you have to say something really profound 你讲的内容一定要足够深刻 or deadly serious. 或者极度严肃 New insights on familiar subjects, 分享关于熟悉事物的新见解 or light-hearted humor 或者来点轻松的小幽默 can work very well in a speech. 都会为你的演讲增色不少 Ask yourself: 问问自己 Will my speech make my listeners healthier, 听了我的演讲 听众会不会变得更健康 happier, or more aware? 更开心或者更醒觉 Will it show them how to save money? 我的演讲能否帮人省钱 Save lives? 救人性命 Communicate better with dates or parents? 帮助他们更好地与对象 父母沟通 Study more productively for exams? 备考更有效率 Learn something new? 学到新的知识 Will it reveal a myth 解开他们心中的迷惑 or add more excitement to their lives? 或者让他们的生活更加精彩 In other words, 换句话说 a good speech topic 好的话题 should bring something new to your listeners. 就是要给观众新鲜的内容 One practical way to find out 头脑风暴 a proper topic is to do brainstorming. 可以帮助你想出合适的话题 This is a mental exercise 这一思考过程 that helps you find out new topics. 可以帮你找到新的话题 First, divide a paper into different columns, 首先 把一张纸分成几栏 like in the following picture. 如图中所示 Give each column a "big topic". 每栏的第一行写上"大标题" Under each heading, 在每个大标题下 write down whatever first comes to your mind, 写出你脑海中的第一个念头 no matter how crazy it seems. 不管这个想法有多疯狂 "Crazy" ideas sometimes lead to really good topics! 有时"不切实际"的想法会成为一个绝佳的话题 After listing all the items, 完成表格后 you can select them based on the above guidelines. 大家就可以按照上述的原则进行选择 Another important concept is that 还有一个非常重要的概念 you need to find out your exact purpose. 那就是找到你的演讲目的 When you are doing a public speaking assignment, 当演讲对你来说只是作业时 you may think that fulfilling the task is an end in itself. 可能你最后的目的就是完成任务 That is a disaster in real speeches, 这在实际演讲中是行不通的 because good speeches 因为好的演讲 always have a clear sense of purpose. 都有一个清晰的目的 So after brainstorming, 所以在头脑风暴之后 you should turn the topic items into "themes". 你要把这些话题转化为"主题" Ask yourself: 问自己 What do you want your audience to know? 想让听众知道什么 To remember? To take with them? 记住什么 收获什么 This helps you develop your topic into a "theme". 这样做可以帮你把话题转化为主题 So now, 现在 I think you are mentally prepared for topic selection. 我想大家对话题选择已经做好了心理准备 But how to research on our topic? 但要怎么搜集我们的话题素材呢 How to organize our speech based on our topic? 怎么从话题出发 组织我们的演讲 No hurry. 别急 In next class, 下节课 we are going to talk about how to research on our topics. 我们就来讲如何快速而有效地搜集素材 请记住本课重点
