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 It’s no
secret: The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more important
your pubic speaking skills become.
這不是秘密：公司的位階你爬得越高，公開演說技巧就變得更重要。
If you have your sights set on increased responsibility and the position
and salary that go with them, you will need to position yourself ahead
of the crowd in advance. You need to sell yourself, your ideas, your
value and your ability at all stages of your career. This requires
learning high-level public speaking skills.
如果你將眼界設定在增加責任，同時層級和薪水也隨著調整，你就得事先讓自己領先群倫。在事業的各個階段，你需要推銷自己，包括你的想法、價值和能力。這就必須學習高階的公開演說技巧。
What’s the worst reaction you’ve ever received when you delivered a
presentation to your senior management? It would probably come in second
to the one I recently heard about. A woman – ironically she was
interviewing me for an article about “Knockout Presentations” – told me
the story of her disaster. It was early in her career as a policy
analyst. She was just out of school, proud of her MBA and working in her
first real job. When her supervisor praised a report she’d done, she was
thrilled. She was less thrilled when her “reward” turned out to be
presenting the report to the executive team.
你在對上司做報告時，曾經得到過最差的回應是什麼？或許都比不過我最近聽到的這一個。有一個女士告訴我，她難堪的親身經歷；恰巧她當時正訪問我，關於「給人印象深刻的表達」這個主題。她說，當時剛拿到MBA的學位，意氣風發地從事第一份關於政策分析的工作。有一次，主管對她的報告讚不絕口，讓她興奮不已；可是，得知要對執行團隊做報告後，她卻興奮不起來了。
She spent hours writing out her presentation and prepared every
conceivable statistic to back up her points. However, it never occurred
to her that how she presented was as important as what she
presented. When her turn came, things quickly went downhill. She
stumbled through 200 slides, forgot her lines and got more and more
flustered. The executives weren’t sure what her point was and started
glancing at their watches. Desperate, she wanted to flee. When the young
woman concluded, the audience didn’t ask a single question. That would
have extended the already painful event.
她花了數小時，撰寫報告內容；又準備了一切合理的分析，來支持她的論點。她卻沒想到，「如何表達」和「表達什麼」一樣重要。輪到她報告時，所有的事情變得不可收拾。她結結巴巴地放了200張投影片，忘了要講述的內容，因此也變得越來越緊張。那些聽眾不曉得她在說什麼，開始頻頻看錶。她一心只想逃離現場。當這位年輕女士結束報告後，沒有人提問，不想讓這個災難繼續擴大。
How to Present in the Boardroom
在會議室該如何表現
Perhaps you’re already speaking up in team meetings and getting your
ideas across effectively. If so, how do you feel about facing a room
full of senior management, or even five executives around a boardroom
table, all staring at you? What is different? Well, for one thing the
stakes are higher. All business communications are important, but with
senior management as your audience, you are in the hot seat. They are
going to accept or reject the recommendations that you, your department
or your team have worked so hard on. Weeks, months, maybe even years of
work depend on your few minutes. Who wouldn’t be nervous?
或許你在團隊會議上，可以就自己的論點侃侃而談。想像一下，如果是面對一屋子的資深管理人員呢？或是坐滿會議桌的五個執行團隊？當每個人都看著你唱獨角戲，情況還會相同嗎？其中的利害關係可是大大不同。沒錯，每一次的業務溝通都很重要，但是，當你面對的是資深管理人員時，可是如坐針氈。不管事對於你個人的，部門的，或是團隊的努力的成果，他們掌握生殺大權。你短短的幾分鐘，將決定幾個星期以來，甚至幾個月或幾年的成果的命運。能不緊張嗎？
Don’t worry. You are human. This is a perfectly natural way to feel. But
remember – they can’t see how you feel, only how you look and act. And
you’ll look cool and collected when you follow these Dos and Don’ts.
別擔心，你也不過是個人，這個感覺是正常的。千萬記住，他們可是看不見你的感覺的，看見的是你的表現和行為。只要遵循以下這些「可」和「不可」，你看起來將會是冷靜和鎮定的。
Dos:
「可」做的事
•
Practice.
練習A report to
senior managers is not a conversation; however, it must sound
conversational. Once you have your notes, practice by speaking out loud
to an associate, or when you are driving to work or exercising on the
treadmill. Make sure you are familiar with what you intend to say.
對資深管理人員的報告並非是一般對話，但是，卻要像對話一樣流暢。一旦準備好內容，對著同事大聲練習，即使在開車或是在踏步機上運動時，也不要放棄練習的機會。
• Open with your conclusions.
用結論作為開頭。
Don’t make your senior-level audience wait to find out
why you are there.
別讓你的上司猜臆你所為何來。
•
Describe the benefits
把利益說清楚。
if
your recommendation is adopted. Make these benefits seem vivid and
obtainable.
一旦你的建議被採納，讓可獲得的利益一目了然。
•
Describe the costs
攤開成本。
but frame them in a positive manner. If possible, show
how not following your recommendation will cost even
more.
用一種正面的方式提出成本說明。儘可能證明，如果不採納你的提案，成本將會提高。
•
List your specific recommendations
將具體的建議表列。
and keep them on target. Wandering generalities will
lose the audience’s interest. Focus on the bottom line.
緊咬主題，聚焦在重點的陳述，空泛的言論會讓聽眾乏味。
•
Look everyone in the eye when you talk.
緊抓住每個聽眾的目光。
You
will be more persuasive and believable.
你的言論將會更有說服力和可信度。
• Be brief.
簡潔有力。
The fewer words you can use to get your message across,
the better. Shorter is more memorable and repeatable.
演講要像女人的裙子，越短越好。只要能表達你的訊息，越短的話語，越能被複頌，被記住。
Don’ts
「不可」做的事
•
Don’t try to memorize the whole presentation.
不要像背書一樣，從頭背到尾。
Memorize your opening, key points and conclusion. Practice enough so you
can “forget it.” This helps retain
your spontaneity.
只要記住開頭、重點和結尾。一旦練習夠，你就可以「把它忘記」；這樣可以保持你的自主性。
•
Never, never read your lines
–
不要照本宣科。
do not read from a script or from your slides. Your audience will go to
sleep.
不要照著稿子或投影片唸；除非，你想讓觀眾睡著。
•
Don’t wave or hop.
避免不必要的肢體動作。
Don’t let nervousness (or enthusiasm) make you too animated – but don’t
freeze. Don’t distract from your
own message with unnecessary movement.
不要因為緊張或是興奮，導致手舞足蹈，當然，也別愣在那裡。不要讓自己不當的動作影響你要表達的
訊息。
Where to Start When Preparing a Presentation
從哪裡開始準備
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What is the topic or subject
主題是什麼？
you are reporting on? Be clear with yourself so you can be clear with
your audience.
你必須先清楚自己要講的主題，才能讓聽眾知道你在講什麼。
•
Why is your topic important
為什麼你的主題夠重要
enough to be on the busy agenda of senior-level managers?
可以讓忙碌的上司必須來聽你的報告？
•
What questions will your audience have?
你的聽眾會有哪些提問？
Can you answer them early in your presentation?
最好在報告時就給他們解答。
What Should You Present?
你該表達些什麼？
•
Present your conclusion:
呈現你的結論：
What is the central theme, objective or big idea of your report? How can
you introduce it in one sentence?
Suppose that you’ve been in charge of a high-level, cross-functional
team studying whether there is a need for diversity training in your
company. You might start by saying, “Our committee has spent three
months studying diversity-training programs and whether one could
benefit our company. Our conclusion is that diversity training would be
an exceptionally good investment. We would save money, increase employee
retention and improve company morale.”
你的報告的中心思想、主旨或重點為何？如何用一句話說清楚？假設你負責公司內，高階層，跨部門的綜合訓練，你可能會這樣開場：「委員會花了3個月評估綜合訓練課程，每一項對我們公司都很有幫助。我們的結論是，綜合訓練將會是個不錯的投資，不僅能幫助我們省更多錢，減少員工流動率，又能提升公司內的士氣。」
•
Present your recommendations:
表達你的建議：“We
recommend that the company initiate a pilot program, starting next
quarter, using the ABC Training Company at an investment of $.... The
ABC Company has successfully implemented this program with one of our
subsidiaries, as well as with many Fortune 100 companies. All 27 members
of the cross-functional team agreed with this conclusion.”
•
「我們建議公司從下一季開始，投入某某金額，使用一個ABC訓練公司前瞻性的計畫。我們的一個子公司也成功地完成ABC公司的這項計畫，許多財富雜誌公佈的前一百大公司也完成過。我們跨部門所有27個會員，都認同這個決定。」
•
Describe what’s in it for them:
告訴他們牛肉在哪裡：Address
the needs of senior management, as well as the company. Answer the
questions they will be asking, and show them how your recommendation can
make them look good.
說明對於資深管理人員和公司的需求。回答他們可能會提問的問題，告訴他們這個建議對大家都有好處。
For
example, senior management is usually charged with increasing sales and
reducing costs. What if this program means saving money by lowering
employee turnover yet has a relatively modest cost?
例如，資深管理人員在乎的是如何增加營收和減少成本。是否這個計畫可以減少員工流動率，並減少相關的成本？
“Why is this a good idea, just when we are cutting unnecessary spending?
One of our company’s key initiatives is to recruit and retain 20 percent
more of the best available talent than we did in the last fiscal year.
If this training had been in place last year, not only would morale have
been higher, but our minority associates – who represent 23 percent of
our company population – would have rated their employee-satisfaction
survey higher. For the last three years, our minority associates rated
their satisfaction 3 percent lower than the other company employees.
This training could have helped increase satisfaction and retention.”
「為什麼它是個好意見？只是減少不必要的開支而已嗎？我們公司的競爭力之一，就是能比去年招募超過20%的優秀人才。如果這個訓練去年就進行，不僅公司內士氣會更高昂，公司內佔有23%的少數民族同事，工作滿意度也會提高。過去3年，這些同事比起其他公司的滿意度少了3%。這個訓練也可以增加工作滿意度、減少流動率。」
•
Wrap it up:
包裝:
“On behalf of the
27-member committee, thank you for this opportunity. The friendships we
have formed and our increased company knowledge is invaluable to us all.
The entire team is committed to this project. We are asking for your
okay to start the pilot program.”
「委員會的27位會員代表，一致感謝有這次機會，讓我們建立友誼並且對於公司有更進一步的認識，這個價值是難以衡量的。我們整個團隊全心全意投入這個專案，也希望得到你們的認同，可以開始這項前瞻性的計畫。」
You’ll make a strong
impression and increase your chances of acceptance when you can be
brief, clear and concise. Practice your presentation and be prepared.
It’s okay to be nervous, because nobody sees how you feel – just how you
look and act.
好好準備，並且不斷練習；如果能扼要地、清楚地和簡明地說明，就能留下深刻的印象，增加被接受的機會。緊張不會誤事，因為沒有人看得到你的感覺，只看得到你如何表現。
Patricia Fripp,
CSP, CPAE, is an executive speech coach, keynote speaker and the
co-author of Speaker’s Edge. Visit her Web site at www.fripp.com.
Patricia Fripp，是一位演講教練，專題演說家，《演說者優勢》一書的作者之一。
譯者：Alex
Chiu 邱少為 屏東分會
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