英语公众演讲技巧Public Speaking Skills - How To Persuade People

Public Speaking Skills - How To Persuade People Persuasion is the key to accomplishment, not only for politicians or stockbrokers（股票经纪人）, but for everyone of us. In a job interview, you have to persuade your interviewers why they should hire you and not the other candidates. In a classroom presentation, you have to convince your classmates and professor to believe that what you are talking about is worth listening to, and your hard work deserves a good grade. In a workplace, you need to be able to pitch your ideas persuasively in order to prosper （繁荣，昌盛；成功）in your career. If you look at highly successful people, you will see that they are not only hard workers and creative thinkers, but also great persuaders.

In public speaking, it all comes down to this question: how can you win over your audience? And the answer is one word: CREDIBILITY.

Imagine Bill Gates saying the following hypothetical sentences:

"Within ten years, all laptop computers will also be used as televisions. The televisions we use nowadays will turn into something completely old-fashioned."

Now imagine Britney Spears saying the same thing. You would probably nod at Gates and shrug（耸肩）at Spears, right? You would choose to trust his judgment rather than hers because you know that he is a guru（领袖，专家)of the computer industry and she is not. This is called "initial credibility", meaning the credibility that the speaker has even before he/she begins speaking.

Initial credibility is a blissful（充满喜悦的）advantage for public speakers. If your audience already knows you are an expert in something and already trusts you, you won't have to try so hard to create credibility in your speech. But what if you are not really an expert in anything and your audience doesn't even know who you are? The answer is simple: you will have to build your credibility during your speech.

How to Build Your Credibility

1. Advertise your competence - At the beginning of your presentation, tell your audience about your expertise on the speech topic. If you have done a lot of research about the topic, tell them so. If you have a certain experience that gives you special knowledge or insight, go ahead and say so. But keep in mind; you don't want to sound boastful（自夸，自负的）to your audience. Do not over-advertise yourself. Keep it short and simple. Say it as a matter of fact, not a boast.

2. Connect to the audience - Try to identify with（认为…等同于，与一致）your audience early in your speech. Even if you are going to talk about something very controversial or something your listeners may disagree with, you still have to make them feel that you share the same common ground and values.

Four years ago, I watched Senator John Kerry give a speech about keeping woman's rights to abortion in one of the "red" states, in a room