第一节选题

第一节　选题Topic Selecting

第一部分　理论学习（Theory Introduction）

一个合适的题目首先是听众感兴趣的话题或是听众希望了解的信息。演讲者在决定演讲选题前，首先要对听众进行研究，了解他们缺乏什么和渴望了解什么信息。演讲者对听众做认真研究和分析是决定一个话题是否合适的前提。只有了解听众才能有助于明确你的演讲目的。一个合适的题目应该是演讲者感兴趣并且熟悉的话题。其次，演讲者应认真分析自己，明确自己擅长什么和能够给予听众什么。一个合适的题目可以激发演讲者给予听众新的观点甚至是思想火花。好的演讲稿还要有一个明确的演讲意图，也就是这篇演讲要达到的目的必须一目了然，这样才能在演讲者和听众之间架起一座沟通的桥梁。演讲的目的一般有两种:传达信息和规劝说服。总统竞选演讲的目的是拉选票，教师授课的目的是传授知识，律师在法庭上论辩的目的是维护当事人的利益，推销员演说的目的是要推销产品。此外，演讲稿的写作不同于一般的写作。在一般的写作上，读者完全可以根据自己的需要对一篇文章仔细阅读，认真领会，因此，即使语言晦涩亦无大碍。然而演讲稿则不同，一般情况下听众是无法反复研读演讲者的演讲稿的。因此，演讲者必须尽可能在演讲现场以简洁明了的语言把自己的演讲目的和相关信息传达给观众。那么，在开始选择题材和角度时就应该遵循以下原则。

一、所选题材要适合演讲的场合（A topic with proper occasion）

在选题时，首先要考虑演讲场合。根据演讲场合的不同，演讲形式类别有:告知、解说类演讲，包括自我介绍、公司简介、导游解说等；说理、劝说类演讲，包括竞争、自荐、劝导、辩驳、宣传、鼓动等；特殊场合演讲，包括颁奖仪式、欢迎仪式、欢送仪式、介绍嘉宾、纪念仪式、奠基仪式、悼念仪式等。显而易见，不同场合的演讲内容不同，题材的角度和措辞就不同，从而导致的演讲效果会有很大不同。下面是一篇关于“人与自然”的劝说类演讲范例:

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen: When the topic “people and nature”first caught my eye, I was reminded of a story about myself and my violin. I began learning to play the violin when I was eight years old. At first, it was a very hard thing for me. After my continued efforts, I was able to play a lot of musical pieces very soon. I felt so proud of myself that I began to behave arrogantly. My violin teacher noticed this and told me: “To be a good violin player, you should first of all love and respect your violin. You should obey the rules of playing it so as to make harmonious melodies. Remember, play the violin not only with your hands, but also with your heart and soul. ”Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that nature is to people what my violin is to me. Isn’ t it true that people deal with nature just as I play the violin？ Isn’ t it true that we have been so arrogant that we take liberties with nature, which brings about the discord between nature and ourselves？ Since my violin and I have finally reached harmony, why can’ t people and nature head toward the same direction？Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot wait. Nor can we afford to wait until the day when we find no city, no Hilton hotel, no lecture hall to hold any speech contests in. Let us love and respect nature, nature that is the violin people have played for thousands of years. Let us treasure it, and play it with our heart and soul. Let us observe its rules while developing our industry,modernizing our traffic system,and improving our living conditions, so that one day, people and nature will together produce the most beautiful and peaceful music. On that day, I am sure to be there with my violin, to join the world orchestra, in playing the ode to harmony, the eternal harmony between people and nature. Let my speech today be an overture to that grand symphony.

Thank you.

二、所选题材要符合时间要求（A topic with proper time）

根据所需时间不同，演讲的形式和类型也有所不同。例如在各类仪式上的特殊演讲，如果选择极有深度的内容，离题太远，势必会加重听众的思想负担，使听众产生一种焦虑感，因为他们关心的仅仅是今天的主题仪式。再如在课堂上提问中，如果学生占用太多时间陈述，就会使老师和其他学生产生一种啰嗦、庸冗的感觉，老师也会打断学生的发言。因此，对于不同的演讲在时间上都是有限制的，演讲者要充分考虑时间因素和题目的关系问题。下面是一篇庆祝圣诞晚会的特殊类演讲范例:

Welcome, everybody, Merry Christmas to you all!Thank you for coming tonight to celebrate this happy and joyous occasion. Christmas is really a wonderful time of the year, and there is something in this holiday to appeal to everybody. For myself, I love the pretty decorations that can be seen everywhere. See how wonderful this room looks with all the bright reds and greens everywhere. I know of a fact that my friend over to be here, Mr. Brown appreciates Christmas food the most, especially the roast turkey that can be had during the season. And Miss Wyse over there likes Christmas because of all the presents she gets from her boyfriends.

There’ s another reason for liking Christmas, a reason that we should all try to remember. Christmas is the time of brotherhood. At Christmas, we all think more of our friends and relatives, we are all kind to each other, and we all become generous and warm to each other in the spirit of the season. This is a wonderful attitude to have, and we all feel the better for it. How miraculous it would be if we could keep this spirit through out the year.

Merry Christmas once again to all of you!

三、演讲者所选题材要力所能及（A topic with speaker’ s ability）

在考虑了演讲场合和合理把握演讲时间的同时，演讲者对于题目的驾驭能力也是演讲稿撰写成败的关键。如果你选择的题目过泛，罗列的内容多，则会导致演讲稿信息冗杂、层次凌乱、内容空洞、道理阐述不明，最终缺乏说服力。例如:

Ladies and gentleman,

I still remember a photo which impressed me deeply during the Wenchuan Earthquake. It is a photo of a small hand of a child stretching out of the wreckage. I didn’ t know at that time whether the child was still alive or not. But it brought great pain to my heart because I realized that thousands of children were suffering agony and pain in the debris.

Three months later,I watched the opening ceremony of the Paralympics Games. In the ceremony, there was a beautiful little girl in white dress dancing in her wheelchair. And the commentator said she was a survivor of Wenchuan Earthquake. Again, I was shocked, and my heart was torn up by the clear awareness that the biggest loss we suffered was actually the loss of children. Many of them will become great writers, musicians, dancers and even scientists in the future. Even if they grow up humbly, they can still blossom and dedicate themselves to the prosperity of our nation. So ladies and gentleman, have you ever thought of this immeasurable loss？

Now through mass media I get to know more and more children in China——many of them are in kindergarten, donating their pocket money to support the relief work and reconstruction. The devastating earthquake has shaken their youthful hearts. They are no longer greenhouse flowers, but a new generation with sympathy and a strong sense of social responsibility. If there were real changes taking place in China after the earthquake, then I strongly believe that’ s the change of the children.

四、一定要以你深有感触,或深受感动的角度选择题目（A topic from moveable perspective）

在演讲前期,演讲者需要选择一个自己所关心的、愿意讲的角度或切入点。这一点非常重要。只有关心自己所要表达的,认为自己所传达的信息是重要的,你才会有演讲的热情和积极性，并且同时会充分调动听众的所有热情和积极性来参与到演讲中。当你演讲时,你会很兴奋,你的面部表情、声音、手势都向听众表明你的信息很重要，你愿意和听众一起来分享。这样无形之中你的热情和兴奋就会感染听众,为一个良好的沟通过程奠定了基础。

假如要为一次说服性演讲定题,选择好一个题材后，就应该做一些调查,诸如，读一些报道,看一些图片，从实际调查中得到启发、触动。然后将这些心灵的触动和震颤真心地和大家一起分享。经过严密地组织材料和大量地调查,这样的演讲必定会与听众产生共鸣，取得成功。

如果是给定的题目该怎么办？就最近几年大学生演讲比赛的题目来说，一般而言,都是一些比较大的题目,例如全球化、奥运、教育等。不管题目有多大,或者被大家谈过多少次,一定有一个你可以切入的、适合你自己的角度。例如,这些年大家都在谈奥运,也举办过这样那样的演讲比赛,大家也都有各自不同的切入点,如奥运的颜色、奥运的口号、奥运的精神、奥运的影响等等。遇到这样的题目,你可能会觉得实在没什么可谈的了。事实上,只要你深入挖掘,你一定可以找到一个适合的角度。例如,一个学生在谈奥运时,通过她的亲身经历,挖掘出这样的角度,即为奥运做准备的幕后工作人员所作的贡献,很有意义。如:

On November 11th, 2005, I was at the 1000-day countdown ceremony to the 2008 Olympic Games. When the mascots were unveiled in a round of applause, a BOCOG official next to me murmured “This is one great game.”This is one great game. But unlike those who get to how Olympics through newspapers and television, I was there when China sent its teams to Turin, when the Beijing Olympic Committee launched its marketing schemes, and when the 1000-day countdown was initiated. I worked with the BOCOG staffs, met with the Olympic IT teams and talked to major media. When I think of Olympics, I see people whose work has made this event possible, and two kinds of spirit that have lifted it to greatness—dedication and the pursuit for perfection.

五、选题新颖，具有独创性和感染性（A topic being creative and interest）

成功的沟通一定是双向的,是演讲者与听众之间的相互交流。所以在选择角度时,应该充分分析听众,如听众的背景、年龄、学识、阅历等。听众对演讲者有一定的期望值,如果演讲者所谈的内容在他们的期望值之下,演讲也就无法胜出了。但如果演讲者谈的内容超过了听众的期望值,是听众没有想到的,很新奇,很有趣,有创造性,那么演讲者胜出的机会就会大大增加。例如, “我眼中最伟大的发明”这个题目,很多人都写计算机、网络、音乐、学校、电、指南针、印刷术、电视等,大家很熟悉,不会有什么异议,但也很难说服听众它们是多么的伟大。但一个学生写的是“眼镜” ,是这样写的:

In the past few days, I was troubled by a really controversial topic: What is the greatest invention？ I did a little survey, and was dazzled by many brilliant ideas such as wheels, paper, clock, language, agriculture, penicillin, and so on. All of them are so great that I can’ t stop admiring the power of men’ s innovation. However, I am still quite uncertain what the greatest invention in my eyes is.

Then this happened. I woke up late this Friday morning and what’ s wrong？ I couldn't find my glasses!How could I live without them？Eyeglasses are always a part of me: They are the very first thing I put up when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I take off before I go to sleep. I was so terrified at the thought of walking outside of my dorm, bare-eyed. And suddenly, flick. The sparkles came out and I found my answer: The greatest invention in my eyes is the eyeglasses.

六、所选择的题材或角度应该具体（A concrete topic）

许多演讲者进行自命题演讲时,选择的题材非常宽泛。有的演讲者选择在一个8至9分钟的演讲中讨论安乐死、死刑有无必要或同性恋等问题。这样的题材非常具有争议性,存在很多不同的观点,有很多具体的问题牵涉在里面,在这么短的时间内很难解释清楚。在一些定题演讲中,有时给出的题目也是非常大,范围非常广,如奥运、因特网、全球化、东西方文化的碰撞等。无论在哪种情况下,你都需要将题目缩小到一个足够具体的角度,使你能够在给定时间内用充足的材料阐述清楚。下面是主题为“希望学生参与学校的决策过程,增加学生的自主权”的演讲稿的开头部分:

Though you work hard in your major course during the whole semester, your score, 84, is far from your expectation. As your teacher has admitted, some students’scores have to be lowered randomly in order to meet some requirements of the Academic Division. You are discontented because this score cannot represent your actual performance in your coursework effectively.

This is my own experience and I believe most of you would have similar ones because the Academic Division has adopted “Score Normal Distribution”policy since last semester. Since I have learnt something about testing in my statistics courses, I find some weaknesses in this policy. Besides, I have read some related articles and talked with my classmates and teachers to verify my doubts about this policy. So, today I want to talk about the faults of this policy and encourage you to take action to make university administration abolish normal distribution requirement.

七、所选择的题材或角度应该真实而有意义（A topic of reality and meaningful）

演讲者所传达的主题应该是经过深思熟虑,并通过调研具有现实意义,对其他人来说是值得听的,而不是肤浅的空话套话。伟大的演讲一般都有一个深刻的主题,和当时的时代气息息息相关,甚至超越这一层面,是对一些永恒主题的追索或对当时现状的探询和剖析。这样的主题才能对当时的听众乃至后人产生巨大的影响，例如耳熟能详的马丁·路德·金的演讲《我有一个梦想》 。在这里,并不是鼓励所有的演讲者一定要在演讲中设定一个很高的高度,但至少你所说的不能偏离普通听众的价值观和道德观,如爱、宽恕、诚实、正直等。尽管在现实社会中,这些价值观和道德观有时会有一些冲突,但是在美与丑、善与恶的基本区别上是一致的,是大家愿意追求的目标。这也是演讲中推崇的道德底线。另外，演讲者所讲的,所描绘的理想画面一定是你深信不疑的。否则,在演讲时如果只是在谈一些空话、大道理,这样的演讲一定不会成功，因为，听众能觉察到你是否在说自己的真实感受。下面是定题演讲“Beijing 2008: The Meaning of the Bid”中其中一篇演讲词的开头:

Last December, I went to Boston to visit my parents. One day, when I was skating at Boston Common, I came to how a skating coach by the name of Joe Toliver, a very nice man. Joe was teaching several boys and girls, black and white. We talked, and he told me how much he loved sports. He said, “Sports are a sort of art, or a sort of music, that bring people together without the need of translation.”Those lovely boys and girls were here and there, giggling, shouting, and frolicking with joy. At that moment, an idea came to me, or rather a heart-felt wish: What if these children some day go to China, and play with Chinese boys and girls？

Sincerely, I wish they will come. I wish they will grow into strong and handsome young men and women, and come to Beijing in the year 2008 for the grand Olympic Games. Why they come I don’ t really care. They may come to compete in sports events other than skating. They may even come, not to play sports, but to cheer for their national teams. What’ s important is that they come. What is more important is that people all over the world will gather in Beijing for the bliss of peace and friendship. As Mr. Samaranch has said that the essence of Olympia is not confrontation; rather, the Olympic spirit is the desire for a healthy life, the desire for a better world.

在中间部分,又说到:

Coming to recall the sight of the Sydney games, however, we see the athletes of North and South Korea parading as one team. We see American and Chinese women footballers hugging each other with tears in their eyes. There used to be no boundary in human world, and there shouldn’ t be. The Olympic flag represents a dream. People from the five continents join their hands like the five rings tightly connected. Misunderstandings are gone; confrontations are gone.

在结尾处,又提到:

My dear friends, let us firmly believe that under the guidance of the Olympic Flame, we will march together and sing together, for the peace of the world, for the brotherhood of mankind. That day will come, when our songs cross the time and space and go everlasting. And that will be the very day, when the Olympic dream comes true.

从演讲所描绘的画面可以看到,世界各地的人们和谐地聚集在一起,没有分歧,没有纷争。这是一种理想境界,但却是大家愿意接受和看到的。通过演讲者个人经历的描写,我们可以感受到这样一幅画面,是演讲者真心希望的,是演讲者想要传达给大家的信息。那么这个主题就很真实,不空洞,很有意义。

八、所选择的观点或角度经得起推敲和琢磨（A topic with reasoning idea）

在写演讲稿之前,需要做充分的调研,了解演讲中谈及的社会问题的方方面面,留心不同的声音,在此基础上做出自己的判断,并且这个判断是符合自己身份的。演讲内容要具体,讨论的东西要经得起别人的推敲，要站得住脚。那么究竟该怎么样选择题目或角度呢？

（一）无论是定题演讲还是自己选择题目的演讲,可以找到一张白纸,开始天马行空式地在脑子里搜寻（brainstorming）你想演讲的主题或某个已定题目的方方面面,把它们都写在纸上,然后根据上述原则从最想谈的角度去依次排列,再针对最想谈的去做调研。

（二）对于定题演讲,还可以和朋友、同学、家长或老师谈一谈,看一看他们有什么新角度、新想法,这些想法或角度可能是你没想到,但却是很有价值的。

去图书馆,去翻看最近一年的期刊,看一看有没有你感兴趣的专题，如果你已经定题了,那么就根据这个题目去做调研,看看有哪些专栏文章,有哪些主题可以谈,你最感兴趣的角度是哪些,有哪些不同的声音。某一专题会在很多期刊杂志上或某一杂志的很多期上都有讨论,多收集一些文章,在你开始写稿子之前是非常有帮助的。

第二部分　案例阅读（Case Study）

No.1 Confronting Myself——The Terror Causing Face

Imagine the most grotesque“face”you’ ve ever seen. One that makes you so disgusted that you flinch in pain, wanting to get away.

What do you see that frightens you so？ A partial face directly under his sullen, sunken face is a dark, black, cavernous hole, inhabiting the place where his nose, mouth, and cheeks should be. His entire nasal and oral cavities are missing. It appears to be eaten out, as if by some unknown, tragic disease. This is the face of a real man. A living, feeling person, whose looks would shock even the most calloused of individuals.

Seeing this made me confront myself, admit my inability to be love or accept the suffering of another; so serious, so severe, hat I would rather run and hide, than look again on the one whose pain is so deep and whose appearance causes such terror on the faces looking back.

“How would I feel if I was that man？”Looking in the mirror, I get upset having a few pimples. This man has to go through life with a face that frightens people.

Worse still, what if I wasn’ t affected by his looks, his pain, and I just kept walking, pretending this man’ s pain didn’ t exist. “Can I love this man？”I had to admit:“I can’ t! ”

Kingma said, “See if you can stretch your heart and expand your love, so that it touches not only those to whom you can give it easily, but also those who need it so much.”That day I confronted my humanity, and myself. It is easy to love those who are easy to love, but now I’ m trying to love those who are not so easily loved. How about you？

No.2 Confronting Myself

Honorable Judges, Ladies and Gentlemen, it’ s my great honor to be one of the speakers today.

First of all, I’ d like to share a story with you. Three years ago I found a part-time job as a training officer at a school. One day shortly after listening to my lecture, the headmaster came and shouted at me,“Do you know that half of your listeners walked off？ I want an explanation! ”

The following day, I turned in my resignation. But I wept bitterly that night. I thought a lot and I kept thinking, on and on until two years later. I restarted my career at the very school I once left merely because of my pride. You might say,“wasn’ t it quite embarrassing for you to go back？ ”“Well, yes.”So why did I do it？ Because I wanted to stand up again right from where I fell down!

During these two Years, I’ ve been actively involved in higher education administration for student counseling, conference arrangement, project coordination and inter-collegiate communication. The enrichment of experience taught me the significance of modesty, responsibility, tolerance, and perseverance. And I gradually realized how conceited and narrow-minded I was two years ago.

The way I saw things was created by the condition of my own reality then. And the way I understood these things produced the substance of their effect upon me. The decision of resuming my duty is not only a confrontation of that failure two years ago, but also the way it impacts me in my daily life. And I believe the achievement of this understanding will be found in the totality and tenacity with which I confront each obstacle.

No.3 Confronting Myself——Color of the wind

When I was in the kindergarten, I once showed off my painting to the class. To my surprise, they all burst into laughter.“Why did you paint the sky green？”One asked. Unable to seek a valid answer, I replied drily.“Well, that’ s the color of wind.”

Though at that time I didn't realize that I was a color-blind at that time, my sensitivity told me something missing. My confidence wavered and from then on, I tried to avoid every occasion that called for the use of colors.

However, there is something in life that I can never avoid. In my senior high, I had to choose photography to meet curricular requirements. Still suffering from “color-phobia” , I only used black-and-white films to take pictures. Yet, my works turned out to be good ones. They say I have a special sense of light and shade; and by the use of simple picture composition, I can fully convey the theme of the photo.“Why not try some color films？”my photography teacher asked.

“I’ m a color-blind.”

“So what？”he patted on my shoulder, “it is your color blindness that gives you the stronger sense of light and shade, and helps you to grasp the theme of the photo without the distractions of colors.”

My teacher’ s words struck me. Later, I found out that the incidence of color-blindness is one of a thousand. To me, it is a blessing in disguise. With that in mind, I put a roll of color film in my camera and set out to take pictures. With the snapping sound of the shutter, I could not help but to paint the color of wind in my own pictures. The colors lie in my heart.

No.4 Confronting Myself——No Mountain is too High for Us to Climb

Honorable Judges, Ladies and Gentlemen

When in senior high school, I was a good student who was expected to perform well in the College Entrance Exam. However, to everyone’ s surprise, I failed and my heart sank. So I tried again the following year, but it seemed that God was not on my side. Peking University closed its doors to me. Feeling completely lost in time and space, I wanted to escape, even abandon myself to despair because I didn’ t know what my future would be like.

After a long period of meditation, I realized that no matter how excellent we think we were, it has become history and we have to face the facts.

Because if we don’ t confront and overcome our internal fears, we would cease to grow. We become trapped in a shell of our own making. And the best way to predict my future is to create it!

So, I started again, and to change, to make a breakthrough.

With this attitude and great efforts, doors have opened, as if by magic.

I won the second prize in a National TV Host Competition for college students.

And also, I got the 3rd place in a National Business Plan Contest.

Just several days ago, I received an offer from a famous multi-national company, which is many college students’dream. Looking back on the past days, these words are calling in my ear,“Bitter, sweet.”

Everything can be accomplished with your devotion and determination, for no mountain is too high for us to climb!Thank you!

第三部分　课后练习（ Practice）

思考与讨论（Thinking and discussion）

1. Why interests are so important to public speech？

Key Points:

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2. How to control the direction of a topic？

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应用演练（Application exercises）

Design topics: 1. Cause of Failure in Study

　　　　　　　 2. Is It Necessary for People to Tell Lies Sometimes？

Example 1:

Cause of Failure in Study

There are usually several reasons why students do not do well m college. One reason is poor study habits. Many students do not know how to study effectively. They will just glance at their books instead of reading them carefully. They do not know how to take notes that will help them to learn. Other students seem to be going to college only for fun. They do not take their classes seriously. In my case, I a1most failed my first year because I did not know how to use my time effectively. Given a twenty five page history assignment to read, two pages of

French to translate, and a paragraph to write in English all at the same time, I did not how where to begin. Often I didn’ t finish all of my homework. It took me a whole year to learn how to manage my time. There may be other reasons why students fail their studies which they cannot help. For example, health problems, money problems, or family problems, may cause a student to do poorly. However improper use of one's time is certainly a major cause off failure.

Example 2:

Is It Necessary for People to Tell Lies Sometimes？

A lot of people like to tell lies. In daily life, telling lies has become the custom. Some people even feel proud of it. In fact, if they do not tell lies, they will be called “stupid” , or told that they are “not clever enough”or that“they lack social experience” . Therefore, people frequently say that if a person says two sentences, only one of them will be truthful.

In companies, people fear that others may know their own situation, so they mutually tell lies to each other. In society, the elder generation tells the youth not to tell the truth; otherwise, they will be ticked. At home, sometimes father and son tell lies to each other in order to hide their own faults. In the market, there is too much deception, such as fake products, poor quality disguised as good quality, false contacts, false advertisements for sales, fa1se services, and false businessmen. If you do not have a sharp pair of eyes, you cannot discern the difference.

Why do people like to tell lies？ The reason is that the traditional culture pursues the “good”but does not pursue the “truth” . Thus, the negative effects influence people until today. The irregular political and economic systems that exist today result man environment where people have to tell lies. Moreover, some people lack a boundary between“public”and “private” . The desire people have for knowing about others’private lives is another reason that people tell lies.