SPEAKING EFFECTIVE AMERICAN ENGLISH

  

 

    How can I control my anxiety, my 1)stage fright, when I must deliver a speech or make a formal presentation?

  Put your attention on the listener, instead of on yourself. Concentrate on your message to the listener. 2)Subdue your 3)ego. Try to relax before you speak. Take a few deep breaths, a sip¹ of water, sit quietly by yourself and review what you are about to say. Read some of the excellent books on stage fright. There are many in your libraries and bookstores. Insecurity and lack of self-confidence lead to stage fright and performance anxiety. Probably the best advice we can give to you is improveyour voice and speech to the point where you feel confident as a speaker. People only feel good about things they believe they do well.

    People often ask, how can I become a more lively and interesting speaker? Be sure that the words you use are colorful and interesting. Interest in your subject always shines through. Make sure that you're in a good frame of mind, positive, 4)upbeat when you speak. Your energy level is vital to becoming an interesting speaker. And smile. Use those eyes. Look bright and interesting.

    A frequent question is how can I help my children to speak more effectively? Start working with them when they are very young. Parents, if you are not a particularly good speech model for your children, make certain that they are exposed to people who are. Choose television programs wisely. Many improper² speech models are on television these days. Many of our athletes and media celebrities³ are not good speech role models for the young. Children speak by imitating those around them. That's the best advice we can give. Make sure that you provide your children with effective voice models to imitate.

    Another tip: Public speaking prowers starts in early childhood. Take advantageof every opportunity at your church, a social club, a family gathering⁴ for your children to speak, to make an announcement, to toast the bride and groom⁵. Performance anxieties will be greatly reduced in adulthood⁶ if children are encouraged to speak in public.

    Why do people keep asking me to repeat myself? I speak too rapidly. I rather 5)slur my words together. I sometimes admit the final consonant⁷ sounds of the -ing ending from my words.

    All of these problems concern articulation⁸, the clarity⁹ of speech. Do you speak with a lazy mouth? You must actively¹⁰ use your articulators to produce the crisp, clear speech sounds that effective speakers use.

   Speak naturally and convincingly. Although we live in a world of fast cars, fast food, fast travel, speech improvement takes time. It's never a quick fix. But take heart. It's faster than you may imagine.

 

 

 

流利美语训练妙方

 

   当我必须做一次演讲，或做一场正式讲话时，我怎能才能控制住自己的焦虑和怯场情绪？

　 集中精力在听众身上，而不是自己。注意自己想传达给听众的信息。征服自我。演讲前要放松。做几次深呼吸，喝一小口水，自己安静地坐一会儿，回想一下要说的内容。读几本克服怯场情绪的好书。图书馆和书店都有很多这种书。缺乏安全感和自信是导致怯场和紧张的元凶。也许我们能给你的最好的建议就是提高自己的音量，达到一个令自己觉得自信的高度。人们只要在认为自己做得不错时才感觉良好。

   人们总是会问，我怎样才能使自己的讲话生动有趣呢？要确定你的用词语生动有趣。讲话主题的趣味性能使你的演讲熠熠生辉。在演讲的时候要注意保持良好的心境，乐观积极。你的精神活力将是成为一名优秀演讲者的关键因素。还有微笑。运用你的眼睛，使眼睛看起来炯炯有神而又趣味盎然。

   一个问得比较多的问题就是怎样才能使孩子讲话更加优秀？那要从小就开始培养。如果父母讲话并不出色，那么要保证孩子多接触一些出色的讲者。选择适当的电视节目。现在电视上的许多讲话并不规范。许多运动员和传媒界名人的说话方式并不适合成为青少年模仿的典范。儿童总是模仿他们周围的人说话。这是我们给出的最好建议。让孩子模仿优秀的讲者。

　 小窍门之一：公众演讲的魄力从孩提时代就开始显露了。利用每一个机会锻炼孩子的说话能力，无论是在教堂、社交俱乐部，还是在家庭聚会上，无论是演讲、做一次宣告，还是向新郎新娘祝酒。如果从小就鼓励孩子做公众演讲，长大后紧张感就会少很多。

   为什么人们总是要我重复一遍刚才的话？我说得太快了。我的吐词又快又含糊。有时候我省略了以“ing”结尾的单词的最后的辅音[η]。

   所有这些问题都与说话的清晰度有关。你说话时是否含混不清？你必须多用发音矫正器来练习优秀演讲者所发出的清脆清晰的音节。

   演讲时要自然、令人信服。尽管我们生活的世界里充斥着高速汽车、快餐和快速的旅游方式，但提高演讲能力却是需要时间的。没有一蹴而就的事情。但是别担心，这终归还是比你想的要快哦。

 

1) stage fright  怯场       

2) subdue  vt. 征服    

3) ego  n. 自我，利己主义

4) upbeat  a. 乐观的，欢乐的注释：

5) slur  vt. 急促而不清楚地讲，含糊读出

 

1 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

2 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

6 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

7 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

8 articulation   

n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合

参考例句：

• His articulation is poor.他发音不清楚。
• She spoke with a lazy articulation.她说话慢吞吞的。

9 clarity   

n.清澈，透明，明晰

参考例句：

• His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。